Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 5 May 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5774, p. 653
DOI: 10.1126/science.312.5774.653a
Table of Contents | Next

This Week in Science

Figure 1 Cassini radar observations of Titan by Lorenz et al. (p. 724; see the Perspective by Lancaster) show that large regions of its surface contain parallel or 'seif,' dune fields, similar to those in the Sahara Desert on Earth. The height of the dunes is about 150 meters, and they occur in regions up to 1500 by 200 kilometers in extent, especially near the equator. The east-west alignment of the dunes and other flow features suggest that they form from the actions of easterly surface winds. The presence of dunes indicates that processes create sand-sized particles, and that Titan's equatorial surface lacks persistent liquids that would otherwise trap the sand.

CREDIT: LORENZ ET AL.




To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)