Evidence for the Exposure of Water Ice on Titan's Surface

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1081897
• Publication Date: 2003-04-25T12:15:25Z
• Authors: Caitlin A. Griffith; Tobias Owen; Thomas R. Geballe; John Rayner; Pascal Rannou
• Keywords: Carbon Monoxide; Saturn; Extraterrestrial Environment; Atmosphere; 13. Climate action; Ice; 0103 physical sciences; Water; Organic Chemicals; Methane; 01 natural sciences

The smoggy stratosphere of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, veils its surface from view, except at narrow wavelengths centered at 0.83, 0.94, 1.07, 1.28, 1.58, 2.0, 2.9, and 5.0 micrometers. We derived a spectrum of Titan's surface within these “windows” and detected features characteristic of water ice. Therefore, despite the hundreds of meters of organic liquids and solids hypothesized to exist on Titan's surface, its icy bedrock lies extensively exposed.