A Mariner’s Insights into Titan’s Hydrology: Glassy Seas, Fish Finders, and Mystery Islands

Abstract: Within the past year, the Cassini spacecraft has made several groundbreaking discoveries regarding Titan’s lakes and seas. These observations restrict the surface of Ligeia Mare to smoother than ~1 mm, directly measure a bathymetric profile through a Titan sea, constrain the volume of the exposed liquid inventory, determine liquid composition to be nearly pure methane and ethane, and place constraints on the formation and evolution of polar basins. We will review these recent discoveries and discuss their impact on our knowledge of Titan’s Hydrologic System.