Global mapping of Titan in the infrared using a heuristic approach to reduce the atmospheric scattering component

Author

Le Mouélic, S. ; Cornet, T. ; Rodriguez, S. ; Sotin, C. ; Barnes, J.W. ; Brown, R.H. ; Bourgeois, O. ; Baines, K.H. ; Buratti, B.J. ; Clark, R.N. ; Nicholson, P.D.

Author_Institution

Lab. de Planetologie et Geodynamique, Univ. de Nantes, Nantes, France

fYear

2010

fDate

14-16 June 2010

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

4

Abstract

Titan is the largest satellite of Saturn, and the only one to have a dense atmosphere. Whereas its surface cannot be seen at visible wavelengths due to the strong absorption and scattering of the atmospheric gases (mainly N₂ and CH₄) and aerosols, it can be seen at specific wavelengths in the infrared. We focus in this paper on the global mapping of Titan geological units using the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer onboard Cassini, and discuss the problem of the decorrelation between atmospheric and surface components.

Keywords

planetary atmospheres; planetary satellites; planetary surfaces; space vehicles; Cassini-Huygens spacecraft; Saturn; Titan; Titan geological units; Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer; absorption; aerosols; atmospheric gases; atmospheric scattering component; dense atmosphere; global mapping; heuristic approach; infrared; surface components; visible wavelengths; Aerosols; Atmosphere; Geometry; Image color analysis; Pixel; Scattering; Surface waves; Cassini; Titan; VIMS; hyperspectral; infrared;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Hyperspectral Image and Signal Processing: Evolution in Remote Sensing (WHISPERS), 2010 2nd Workshop on

Conference_Location

Reykjavik

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-8906-0

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4244-8907-7

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/WHISPERS.2010.5594903

Filename

5594903