Numerical study of tides in Ontario Lacus, a hydrocarbon lake on the surface of the Saturnian moon Titan

Numerical study of tides in Ontario Lacus, a hydrocarbon lake on the surface of the Saturnian moon Titan

Vincent, David (Université Catholique de Louvain)
Karatekin, Özgur (Royal Observatory of Belgium)
Vallaeys, Valentin (Université Catholique de Louvain)
Hayes, Alexander G (Cornell University)
Mastrogiuseppe, Marco (Cornell University)
Notarnicola, Claudia (EURAC - Institute for Applied Remote Sensing)
Dehant, Véronique (Royal Observatory of Belgium; Université Catholique de Louvain)
Deleersnijder, E.L.C. (TU Delft Mathematical Physics; Université Catholique de Louvain)

2016-03-07

In the context of the emergence of extraterrestrial oceanography, we adapted an existing oceanographic model, SLIM (www.climate.be/slim), to the conditions of Titan, a moon of Saturn. The tidal response of the largest southern lake at Titan’s surface, namely Ontario Lacus, is simulated. SLIM solves the 2D, depth-averaged shallow water equations on an unstructured mesh using the discontinuous Galerkin finite element method, which allows for high spatial resolution wherever needed. The impact of the wind forcing, the bathymetry, and the bottom friction is also discussed. The predicted maximum tidal range is about 0.56 m in the southern part of the lake, which is more than twice as large as the previous estimates (see Tokano, Ocean Dyn 60:(4) 803–817
doi:10.1007/s10236-010-0285-3 2010). The patterns and magnitude of the current are also markedly different from those of previous studies: the tidal motion is not aligned with the major axis of the lake and the speed is larger
nearshore. Indeed, the main tidal component rotates clockwise in an exact period of one Titan day and the tidal currents can reach 0.046 ms−1 close to the shores depending on the geometry and the bathymetry. Except for these
specific nearshore regions, the current speed is less than 0.02 ms−1. Circular patterns can be observed offshore, their rotational direction and size varying along the day.

Ontario Lacus
Tides
Titan
Finite element
Numerical model
Extraterrestrial oceanography

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:671d50ab-e445-45c4-aa75-202ae05550f6

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-016-0926-2

2017-04-30

1616-7341

Ocean Dynamics: theoretical, computational oceanography and monitoring, 66, 461-482

Accepted author manuscript

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2016 David Vincent, Özgur Karatekin, Valentin Vallaeys, Alexander G Hayes, Marco Mastrogiuseppe, Claudia Notarnicola, Véronique Dehant, E.L.C. Deleersnijder