The Huygens Probe - Titan's Volcanic Activity
One special feature that the Titan probe detected – something different from all other moons surrounding Saturn - was a circular feature, about 30 kilometers in diameter. Unsure of what this was at first, now scientists are interpreting this as an “ice volcano” on Titan’s surface. It is a ‘dome formed by upwelling icy plumes that release methane into the moon’s atmosphere’ (ESA Science and Technology). Infrared and visual mapping spectrometers have shown pictures of the size of this “volcano”. It ‘covers 150 kilometers square, and within those 150 kilometers is a kind of bright circular feature – which mentioned above is about 30 kilometers in diameter, and contains two long wings which extend westward’(ESA Science and Technology).
Scientists have come to the conclusion that it may be a volcano because it resembles volcanoes found here on Earth and ones found on Venus. It contains ‘overlapping layers of material from a series of flows’ (NASA). One scientist states “we all thought that volcanoes had to exist on Titan, and now we’ve found the most convincing evidence to date.” Further data has shown scientists that the substance that is erupting from the volcano might be ‘an ice mixture of methane-water that is being combined with other ices and hydrocarbons’ (NASA). The reason for these eruptions are thought to come from energy from an internal heat source, causing these substances to well up towards the surface and later evaporate once they reach the surface.
However, to gather more information on this new discovery, it is said that further probes are needed to flyby and descend onto Titan – these next probes will be able to tell us whether or not the volcano can be driven by tidal forces as well, or if it is only the energy source from the internal heat that makes it erupt. The Huygen’s probe also sent data back showing ‘black channels’ which are thought to have been formed by ‘erosion from liquid methane rains’ (ESA Science and Technology) – this being further proof that this new feature is indeed a volcano and that it is indeed active.