Abstracts Category : Other

Laboratory Simulations Of Titan Lakes: Potential Ethylene-Based Evaporite Deposits

by Michael F Heslar

Titan has always been an intriguing satellite of Saturn considering its the only known objects to have stable liquid bodies on its surface besides Earth. The lacustrine formations, located primarily in the polar regions, are thought to be comprised of methane, ethane, and a variety of dissolved hydrocarbons, such as ethylene and acetylene. Cassini infrared and radar images have shown a variety of depths and fill percentages of these lakes with approximately 30% of them being completely dried out. The current literature is lacking a concise understanding of the solutes expected in the lakes and dry lake beds, but bright 5.0 micron "bathtub rings" indicate these are likely composed of evaporites. To help better understand the potential composition of these evaporites, laboratory experiments were performed in a Titan simulation chamber to simulate the life cycle of a simplified Titan lake (liquid ethane or methane) with a candidate hydrocarbon, ethylene, and determine the potential stability of this evaporite on Titan's surface. The experiment results found sufficient evidence for methane-ethylene evaporites being stable under Titan surface conditions, while an ethane-ethylene mixture remained inconclusive as an evaporite candidate. ( en )