The Impact of Titan's Impacts

Impact cratering is arguably the most ubiquitous geologic process in the Solar System. Impacts reshape surfaces, process and redistribute materials, and provide valuable information regarding the target’s properties. While considerable information has been gleaned from the study of Titan’s impact craters, significant limitations exist. Much of the difficulty arises from the presence of liquid methane at Titan’s surface, which may be saturating the surface and/or forming a clathrate, both of which may influence the cratering process (Neish and Lorenz, 2014, Icarus 228). Impacts into Titan may also play an important role in the resupply of methane (Zahnle et al., 2014, Icarus 229) into its atmosphere. In this project, we will investigate the unique interplay between impact cratering and methane on Titan via two focused objectives: 1) Test the hypothesis of Neish and Lorenz that the dearth of Titan lowland craters observed by Cassini results from impacts into a methane-saturated crust and/or former shallow seas and 2) Building on the preliminary results of Zahnle et al., provide quantitative constraints on the amount of methane released by impacts into Titan’s crust & determine the significance impacts play in Titan’s methane cycle.