Dune Worlds
How Windblown Sand Shapes Planetary Landscapes
Page
%P
-
Article
Open AccessExploration of Enceladus and Titan: investigating ocean worlds’ evolution and habitability in the Saturn system
We present a White Paper with a science theme concept of ocean world evolution and habitability proposed in response to ESA’s Voyage 2050 Call with a focus on Titan and Enceladus in the Saturn system. Ocean wo...
-
Article
Open AccessScience goals and new mission concepts for future exploration of Titan’s atmosphere, geology and habitability: titan POlar scout/orbitEr and in situ lake lander and DrONe explorer (POSEIDON)
In response to ESA’s “Voyage 2050” announcement of opportunity, we propose an ambitious L-class mission to explore one of the most exciting bodies in the Solar System, Saturn’s largest moon Titan. Titan, a “wo...
-
Article
Open AccessKey Technologies and Instrumentation for Subsurface Exploration of Ocean Worlds
In this chapter, the key technologies and the instrumentation required for the subsurface exploration of ocean worlds are discussed. The focus is laid on Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus becau...
-
Article
Open AccessThe root of anomalously specular reflections from solid surfaces on Saturn’s moon Titan
Saturn’s moon Titan has a methane cycle with clouds, rain, rivers, lakes, and seas; it is the only world known to presently have a volatile cycle akin to Earth’s tropospheric water cycle. Anomalously specular ...
-
Article
A Bayesian approach to biosignature detection on ocean worlds
Astrobiologists hope to detect signs of life on ocean worlds such as Europa. But the major challenge will actually come if such detections are successful — how to prove they are real and not artefacts of conta...
-
Article
Open AccessLightning detection on Venus: a critical review
Claimed detections and nondetections of lightning and related electromagnetic emissions on Venus are qualitatively contradictory. Here, motivated by the commencement of observations by the Akatsuki spacecraft ...
-
Article
A post-Cassini view of Titan’s methane-based hydrologic cycle
The methane-based hydrologic cycle on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is an extreme analogue to Earth’s water cycle. Titan is the only planetary body in the Solar System, other than Earth, that is known to have ...
-
Chapter
Titan Submarine
The conceptual design of a submarine for Saturn’s moon Titan was a funded NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Phase 1 for 2014. The effort investigated what science a submarine for Titan’s liquid hydroc...
-
Article
Editorial: Topical Volume on Dust Devils
-
Article
Dust Devil Sediment Transport: From Lab to Field to Global Impact
The impact of dust aerosols on the climate and environment of Earth and Mars is complex and forms a major area of research. A difficulty arises in estimating the contribution of small-scale dust devils to the ...
-
Article
Dust Devil Populations and Statistics
The highly-skewed diameter and pressure drop distributions of dust devils on Earth and Mars are noted, and challenges of presenting and comparing different types of observations are discussed. The widely-held ...
-
Article
Dust Devil Steady-State Structure from a Fluid Dynamics Perspective
Simple analytical models for the flow structure of dust devils in steady state, and a “thermophysical” scaling theory that explains how these flow structures are maintained are reviewed. Then, results from hig...
-
Article
Open AccessHistory and Applications of Dust Devil Studies
Studies of dust devils, and their impact on society, are reviewed. Dust devils have been noted since antiquity, and have been documented in many countries, as well as on the planet Mars. As time-variable vorte...
-
Article
Open AccessProduction and global transport of Titan’s sand particles
Previous authors have suggested that Titan’s individual sand particles form by either sintering or by lithification and erosion. We suggest two new mechanisms for the production of Titan’s organic sand particl...
-
Article
A Barometric Survey of Dust-Devil Vortices on a Desert Playa
Dust devils, and other columnar vortices, are associated with local surface pressure drops that can be observed in time-series data on both Earth and Mars. High cadence measurements are needed to resolve these...
-
Book
-
Chapter
Venus Dunes
Since Venus has a thick atmosphere (Fig. 14.1), it seems a natural place to contemplate aeolian transport. Although speculations about Venus’ surface ranged from a global ocean world (of water), to a tarry swa...
-
Chapter
Sand
When we hear the word ‘sand’, the visual image evoked is most likely of sand in aggregate—of a pleasant beach or a massive field of dunes.
-
Chapter
Dunes as Physical Systems
The balance of complexity and regularity is something that human beings, a species adapted to exploit niches in a dynamic environment, are attuned to detect. Dunes are often rather regular landforms, but rarel...
-
Chapter
Moving on Sand
The challenges of moving people or equipment across sand can be a significant impediment to the researcher, and indeed have been important in sha** the history of commerce and warfare in desert regions. We d...
