Laboratory simulation of the formation of drainage networks on titan

Introduction: Drainage networks were among the first features to be observed on Cassini and Huygens imagery [1, 2]. They have been interpreted as having originated analogously to Earth drainage networks, mutatis mutandis: whereas on Earth catchment basins collect and distribute water atmospheric precipitation, precipitation on Titan is assumed to be composed mainly of liquid methane ‘raining’ from a much colder, denser atmosphere than the Earth’s [3]. In 2017 we began a project to investigate the influence of a few variables (mainly related to soil composition and water saturation) in the formation of periglacial features [4]. Our laboratory simulations indicated another possibility for the formation of Titan’s drainage networks: that they may collect liquid methane originated by the seasonal thawing of permafrost. Materials and methods: We used a Teca AHP1200CPV Peltier effect thermoelectric plate (Fig. 1), which can be easily programmed to cycle between -15 and 23°C every 40 minutes, thus simulating 36 freeze/thaw cycles per day [5].