Cassini RADAR constraint on Titan's winter polar precipitation
Lorenz, R. D.; West, R. D.; Johnson, W. T. K.
United States
Abstract
The Cassini RADAR instrument made a dedicated cloud backscatter observation near Titan's north pole, presently in winter darkness, to constrain the precipitation of material onto the surface. The detection limit is ∼5 orders of magnitude above that expected in methane rainstorms, and rules out 'drizzle' of more than ∼10cm/yr, placing constraints on the winter accumulation of material on Titan's surface during polar winter.