Date of Graduation
12-2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Civil Engineering
Advisor/Mentor
Chevrier, Vincent
Committee Member/Reader
Hale, Micah
Committee Member/Second Reader
Fairey, Julian
Committee Member/Third Reader
Edwards, Findlay
Abstract
The study of cryogenically viscous liquids such as methane and ethane offers critical insight into the behavior of fluids on icy moons such as Saturn’s moon Titan. Shrouded by a hazy hydrocarbon shield, Titan’s significant nitrogen atmosphere of 1.5 bar, methane-driven hydrological cycle, and lakes and rivers are vaguely similar to our Earthly home. The European-created Huygens probe, carried by the Cassini spacecraft, arrived on Titan’s surface in January 2005 [1]. Upon landing, Huygens photographed its landing site, as seen in Figure 1. The photo depicts rock like objects, thought to be comprised of water ice sitting in a dry lake bed with diameters 15 cm (left object) and 4 cm (right object). Their rounded shape and the darkened depressions at their bases indicate erosion due to fluvial travel.
Citation
Neighbour, D. (2016). Cryogenic Viscous Liquids on Icy Moons. Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/cveguht/35