1

06.04.2018
As to this publication. Early (ADMISSIBLE HEIGHT OF LOCAL ROUGHNESS
OF TITAN’S LANDSCAPE, V. I. Dimitrov, A. Bar-Nun, Journal of Geoph. Res.,
ser. E, v.104, E3, 5933-5938, 1999) we suggested that the upper layer (thickness ~ 40
m) is nothing but the sediment of atmospheric chemistry activity. This layer is mobile
(due to the SALTATION-effect) and so, its electro-physical properties may be be
master-phenomenon in the variable visible picture of Titan’s landscape.

Journal of Geoph. Res., ser. E, v.104, E3, 5933-5938, 1999

ADMISSIBLE HEIGHT OF LOCAL ROUGHNESS OF TITAN’S
LANDSCAPE
V. I. Dimitrov and A. Bar-Nun
Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, Tel-Aviv University,
Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel.
http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/1999/1998JE900028.shtml
Abstract. Titan’s landscape has been formed by both short-term phenomena,
such as internal tectonic processes and atmospheric activity, and long-term factors of
planetary scale such as global stress and gravity forces. A short-term phenomena can
be ignored since any relaxation processes rel~5.1014 sec is shorter than Titan’s life-
time life~1.43*1017 sec. Global stress can be ignored as well, because Titan’s figure
R =(Req-Rpol)~95m., q=R/Req=3.85*10-5 is practically a right sphere. Thus, both
Titan’s body as a whole and the crust in particular are free from any stress, except the
gravity force. For the stable, cold, incompressible Titan, the only really significant
relief-forming factor is the counteraction between the gravity force and the crust’s
ability to resist this force. This results in a simple estimation of the maximal height of
any admissible Roughness (hills, plateaus, mountains) located Above Ocean Level
(RAOL) Hmax=3ult/g.
The issue is the proper estimation of the crust density  and shearing stress .
Chemically, Titan’s crust is a rock-ice medium, while physically it is a frozen two-
phase system, the density of the crust being equal to  ~1.81.103 kg/m3. Titan’s crust
has been assumed to be similar to Earth’s permafrost, corrected for a lower
temperature. This medium was treated as quasi-isotropic entity that is subjected to a
slow visco-elastic deformation, the shearing stress being equal to =2.15 MPa. The
estimation of the admissible height of Titan’s RAOL results eventually in Hmax ~1900
m. The validity of the gravitational approach was verified by the calculation of known
Hmax for the rocky inner planets - Earth, Venus and Mars and the icy Jovian satellites -
Callisto and Ganymede, and proves its reliability with a probable accuracy of~50%.

1. Introduction
The main properties of Titan, Saturn’s sixth’s moon, are now quite well-
known [Jarkov, 1983; Hunten et al., 1984]. Some are listed in Table 1. Since the
oblateness is very small R 95 m, the figure of the moon is
practically a right sphere, while the pressure at the center is relatively low [Jarkov,
1983]. This is of extreme importance because it permits the assumption of a cold
incompressible Titan model. This, in turn, means that the densities of the central area
(the core density) and the exterior (the crust density) should be almost the same and
the admissible difference in any case, does not exceed ~ 5%. Since the mass ratio of
the core substance to the whole body of the planet is known with an accuracy of ~
 2

5%, one can estimate the crust density as crust  1.81.103 kg/m3 with approximately the
same accuracy.
Titan is known to have a dense atmosphere [Hunten et al., 1984] and possibly
even an ocean [Flasar, 1983; Lunine et al., 1983]. The composition, properties and
very geometry of this hypothetical ocean differ for each model [Dubouloz et al.,
1989]. However if the ocean really does exist, it would be on a global depression or
local lowlands, i.e., the so-called relief Roughness located Below Ocean-Level
(RBOL). The very level of this ocean should be in line with the geometric boundary
of Titan and thus may be accepted as a “coordinate level”. Titan’s landscape on the
whole may not only have RBOL but as well local relief Roughness located Above
Ocean-Level (RAOL), i.e., various mountains, hills, plateau, etc.
The possible maximal height of these RAOLs, on the basis of present planetary
indices and the main laws of mechanics, will be estimated in this paper.

2. Model
Generally, any existing RAOL may be conceptually generated either by the
growth of some primary low-height roughness due to any local relief-forming
process, or visa versa by the diminution of some primordial high-height roughness in
the course of global surface evolution resulting in surface leveling. As to the former,
all known data [Consolmagno and Lewis, 1978; Squyres and Croft, 1986; Lorenz,
1993; Lorenz et al., 1995] points to Titan being passive in respect to any tectonic or
cryovolcanism activity, and thus now being in a stable state.
Given this, it can be assumed that in some way some RAOL appears in the
initial stage of Titan’s life and its evolution can be traced. This evolution depends on
the processes in the bulk and atmosphere, as well as on some long-acting factors of
planetary nature. As observed above, bulk activity can be discounted. However,
atmospheric one is manifested via two opposite physical phenomena. The first is
either pure airing or a combined (airing + washing out) effect. The second is saltation,
i.e. transport with further sedimentation and accumulation of erosive materials due to
horizontal wind [Lorenz, 1993; Lorenz et al., 1995]. These effects are examined
below.
The primary reason of any atmospheric perturbation (independently of any
features of any definite atmosphere) is due to absorption of external energy Labs, i.e.
solar flux. This is governed by the geometric albedo, being equal to

5.32*1013 kg.m/sec (1)

where LSun=3.91.1025 kg.m/sec is the solar flux, Rsun-Sat=1.43*1012 m is the Sun-Saturn

distance and A=(0.1560.010) is the integrated geometric albedo, after Lockwood et
al. [1986]. The total efficiency of transformation of this absorbed energy into
mechanical energy of air mass motion after Monin and Yiaglom [1967] is close to
10%, i.e. Lmech~0.1Labs= 5.3*1012 kg.m/s. The relation among wind speed u, specific
relaxation time relax= Requ /u and mechanical energy Lmech is

(2)

which permits a simple upper estimation of the near-surface horizontal wind umax
0.44 m/sec. This estimation is qualitatively in agreement with other available data umax
<< 1 m/sec [Flasar et al., 1981]. The dynamic pressure of such wind ( u2/2)~0.3Pa
seems to be too small for any considerable pure airing or combined (airing+washing
 3

out) effect [Small et al., 1997]. Thus, in line with Greeley and Iversen [1985], we
believe that this process can be discounted. Note that the specific relaxation time of
short-term transfer phenomena on Titan relax=Requ /u~5.9*106 sec ~ 68 Earth days,
when compared with the same time for Earth ( relaxEarth~7 days), proves that weather
atmospheric relaxation processes and not climate proceeds ~ 10 times slower on Titan
than on the Earth. As to saltation, the latter has a very low efficiency for a number of
reasons. Above all, the threshold friction speed uf ~(0.10.3) m/sec is 5-20 times
greater when compared to the actual friction speed ureal ~ (0.0030.06) m/sec [Greeley
and Iversen, 1985; Lorenz et al., 1995]. Therefore, these effects can be ignored in this
case.
Titan’s figure presents an almost regular sphere. As a result, its lithosphere, on
the whole, is free from any large-scale (planetary) tension, while any RAOL is
subjected to small-scale stress caused by its own weight. The relaxation time rel
~2(/G) depends solely on the viscoelastic properties of the crust substance (  is the
viscosity and G is the modulus of rigidity) [Jarkov, 1983], which for Titan’s crust
equals rel ~ 2*(2.3*1024/4.5*109) ~ 5*1014sec. This is a relatively rough estimate and
still falls far too short of Titan’s life-time life ~ 1.43*1017 sec. This is consistent with
Kirby et al. [1984] that “any…topographic features with relief of kilometers should
be largely relaxed in 3.2*1014 to 3.2*1015 sec”. Thus, it follows that Titan’s relief has
been permanently formed and currently remains unchanged.
The height of any RAOL in the course of relaxation is governed mostly by the
interaction between gravity force Fg and shearing strength of the crust substance Fs.
For a regular cone of height h and uniform density , the pressure on the cone’s foot
equals Pg=1/3gh. This pressure develops considerable shearing strain in the cone’s
interior, and for a slope steepness >450, the edge tangential pressure reaches an
ultimate shearing stress . Equating these two forces, a simple analytical expression
can be produced [Sedov, 1970; Tcytovich, 1973]
(3)
which permits an estimate of the admissible maximal height of any RAOL in a stable
state, depending only on planetary indices and the nature of the RAOL substance.
Eq.(3) is influenced by the atmosphere through precipitation of the final products of
global chemical evolution, i.e., condensed aerosols. This covers the underlying solid
base, creating an additional load on RAOL. Freshly precipitated aerosols are
originally a loosely-bound substance composed of acetylene polymers. It is still,
chemically active [Dimitrov and Bar-Nun, 1997a, b] and as time passes, it hardens
through cross-linking between the polymer chains to form an upper layer known as
regolith. Taking this factor into consideration, the results of Eq. (3) can be specified
as follows:
(4)

where h and aer are thickness and density of the aerosol sediment, respectively.
Given Titan’s life-time Tlife after Hunten et al. [1984], column rate of aerosol
sedimentation Waer=3.4*10-13 kg/m2sec after Bar-Nun and Podolak [1979] and the
physico-chemical properties of aerosol aer ~103*kg/m3 after Dimitrov and Bar-Nun
[1997a, b], it follows that the admissible additional height increase caused by the
chemical factors, i.e. the second term of Eq.(4)
 4

aer G  Waer  Tlife

h  aer  aer  ~ 40 m. (5)
crust aer crust crust
is minute when compared with the first term. Therefore, the chemical activity of the
atmosphere can be ignored as a landscape-forming factor.
Thus, the efficiency of Eq.(3) depends on the reliability of the quantitative
indices of the crust substance. As is evident from the foregoing, the magnitudes of
gravitational force (accuracy is ~1%) and crustal density (accuracy is ~5%) should
present no problems.
At the same time a reasonable, but still reliable estimation of the shearing
strength for the crust is a very complicated issue, since crust depends crucially on
crust composition, state, age and temperature. Actual data regarding these items are
unavailable. Most models predict a crust of binary frozen composition of mineral
matrix (rock) and ice [Kargel et al., 1991; Kargel, 1992; Lorenz et al., 1995]. This
seems to be realistic, while the nature and state of both matrix and ice, as well as the
exact “ice/rock” ratio, remain unknown at this point. Rough consideration may be
presented as follow. As an extensive entity, the density is known to share an additive
property

 (6)

where i is the volume ratio. Therefore, assuming ice ~103*kg/m3, the rock-
constituent density rock of a binary mixture crust=1.81*103 kg/m3={()rock+()ice}
for some scenarios X=(rock/ice) is within the following limits given in Table 2.
The compositions are 60/40<X<40/60 after [Lorenz, 1993] and
X~(56/4452/48) after Kargel et al. [1991], i.e., rock are within the range
~(2.452.65).103 kg/m3. It is of interest to try to identify which known bedrocks and
minerals fulfill this constraint. With this in mind, some available data [Melnikov et
al., 1975; Dortman, 1984, 1992; Lebedev et al., 1986] is condensed in Table 3.
The formation of coesite or stishovite under Titan’s conditions is of low
probability [Christie and Green, 1964]. This logically (though indirectly) results in
the assumption that the rock-constituent is, in fact, either pure alumosilicate or a bulk
of alumosilicate with some admixture of quartz. In this case, the estimation of density
and shearing stress for the rock-constituent results in rock~2.55.103 kg/m3. Yet, we
believe that this is not the only possibility. Based on the observation of comet Hale-
Bopp [Wooden et al., 1998; Hanner et al., 1998] there is good reason to assume that
Titan’s minerals are mainly pyroxene and light olivines (i. e. - and -olivines). This
is the case if the cometary minerals are not altered when these icy bodies form the icy
satellites. This results in the composition X~33/67 with the density and shearing stress
indices equal to rock ~3.4.103 kg/m3 and rock ~(150170) MPa. The last, but not least,
probable alternative is that Titan’s crust presents a pure icy-medium. Therefore if the
value of X is known, the sequential use of Tables 2 and 3 may be a proper way for the
identification of the rock material.
As to the shear stress, a reasonable and reliable estimation of this complex
non-additive mechanical parameters for any multiphase non-uniform medium (like
the crust) is a very complicated issue, since real crust depends crucially on crust
composition, state, age and temperature. Actual precise regarding these items are
unavailable. In turn, this means that real cannot be estimated theoretically with any
accuracy on the basis of composition alone. It is well known only that the ultimate
shear stress is usually predetermined by the weaker constituent) i.e., by ice in our
 5

case) and found in close proximity to its lower limit, being typically very small
[Rgevski and Novic, 1984].
Since we have no data on Titan's rock/ice properties, we turned our attention
to the Earth's permafrost, which is rheologically similar to Titan's crust and well
understood. Indeed, both the dynamics of load and the main relevant indices of the
permafrost (shearing stress, tensile stress, fiber stress, modulus of rigidity, Young’s
modulus, Poisson’s ratio, etc.) are well known for extremely large variations of
different factors [Ohotin, 1937; Vialov and Gmoshinsky, 1962; Ivanov and Gavriliev,
1965; Frolov, 1976; Lebedev et al., 1986]. These include :
94/6~X=(rock/ice) [%]~traces/100; 187< T [K]<273; 2.5< rock [103 kg/m3]<4.9;
1.21<permafrost [103 kg/m3]<3.16; 1~<P [bar]< 80; ~2.8<of size distribution, repeated
reversible phase conversion of the water-constituent “thawingfreezing”, variable
content of various inorganic salts in the water, and load regime varying between very
low (static) load (satellites) and very fast (impact) load.
Thus, terrestrial permafrost may be considered as a rheologically narrow
quasi-isotropic example of a broader class of frozen rock-ice mixtures. Any slow
static loading of this causes visco-elastic deformation [Sedov, 1970; Tcytovich, 1973;
Frolov, 1976; Passey and Shoemaker, 1982] characterized with only two independent
elastic moduli [Kudriavcev, 1978]. The correlation between Young’s modulus E,
Poisson’s ratio  and modulus of rigidity G is
(7)
For the case of a visco-elastic deformation under very slow-rate loading regime) like
the gravity action), the ratio between Young’s modulus E and the ultimate shearing
stress  [Rgevsky and Novic, 1984] could be expressed semi-empirically as:
=4.2.107*(E.10-10 -1.06) (8)
As noted above, the actual E-, - and G-indices of diverse terrestrial
permafrost materials are well-known down to 187 K. They are E11.1 GPa, 0.24,
G4.5 GPa for the medium {44% alumosilicate+56% ice-I} at~190 K. The
estimation of ultimate shearing strength  through Eq.(7, 8) with the subsequent
consideration of temperature dependence after Kirby et al. [1984], eventually results
in the theoretical quantity 2.15 MPa. The real value of the shearing stress ult is
mostly dictated by the porosity =(Vpor/Vtotal). This dependence is in the form
ult  (1-A)2 (9)
where A is a constant, dependent on the shape of the pores. In particular, A=2.8 for
the grains of regular spherical shape [Rgevsky and Novic, 1984]. Among other
reasons (phase ratio X, real nature of rock-constituent, etc.), this factor is the primary
source of error in solving Eq. (3), resulting in an overall uncertainty of the order ~
50%.
Unfortunately, any direct or indirect verification by comparison of the
calculated quantity with some direct observation or theoretical estimation is not
possible, because of the complete lack of any data. Therefore, there only remains the
possibility of checking the trustworthiness of this approach with direct application to
some known cases. With this in mind, two groups were chosen; the rocky inner
planets (Venus, Earth and Mars) and the icy Jovian satellites (Ganymede and
Callisto). Their RAOLs were calculated based on Eq. (3, 7-9) and relevant physical
properties. The main results are presented in Table 4.
It should be noted that referred accuracy of observation (~ 40%) and accuracy
of estimation (last column) are in reasonable agreement for the given composition X,
 6

being essentially dependent on the nature of the crust. The crusts of Ganymede and
Callisto’s consist of either pure ice or icy matrix containing traces of the rock
[Prentice, 1995; Clark, 1980]. Other models [Squyres, 1980a; Passey and Shoemaker,
1982] suggest a two-phase crust of different compositions X~{(6-20)/(94-80)}. Thus,
pure ice was used in one case, and for the second, two real permafrosts were used, i.
e. Verhne-Yansky permafrost deposit {X=8/92, .=1.16*103 kg/m3, ult=1.90 MPa,
rock-constituent is alumosilicate} and Taimir permafrost {X=20/80,
.=1.59*103kg/m3, ult=2.10 MPa, rock-constituent is alumosilicate} [Vialov and
Gmoshinsky, 1962].
On Ganymede …“Topographic relief is generally 300 to 400 m. and reaches a
maximum of~700m.” [Squyres, 1980b, 1981]. This is entirely consistent with the
model of pure icy-crust (see Table 4). At the same time, on one unusual feature of
Ganymede has been reported...“The one observed at high resolution has a summit
elevation 2-2.5 km. above the surrounding plains.” [Squyres, 1980a]. This
observation requires an ice-rock crust, rather than pure ice. However, since ice-rock
compositions typically belong to the mantle rather than to the crust, this in turn means
that we could be dealing with the mother bedrock. Neither generation nor existence of
such RAOL is prohibited by Ganymede’s geological history (see some scenarios in
Shoemaker et al. [1982]). This is simultaneously entirely consistent with our
gravitational model for X~{(6-20)/(94-80)} (Table 4).
Finally, for Titan, both a pure icy crust and an ice-rock crust result in two
Hmax, as shown in Table 4. This proves that calculated Hma x~{1900(+50%)} m. for a
two-phase crust is really lower limit of the maximal admissible height for any crust
composition.
From the above, it follows that this gravitational approach is sufficiently
reliable. In fact, it is a reasonable compromise between current ignorance as to
Titan’s landscape on the one hand and the accuracy of the approach on the other.
Some of the main conclusions can be summarized as follows:

3. Conclusion
1. All uncertainties (last column in Table 4) are only of a positive sign. This is
natural since the estimation produces hmax, rather than hreal. In spite of the simplified
nature of the approach, the difference h=(hest-hreal) is certainly the consequence of
either bulk effect (both current and at primordial times), or atmospheric processes, or
combined (bulk+atmospheric) activity. All are to be ignored when applied to Titan.
Thus, hreal can be close to hmaxest in the context of this approach, with the latter being
an lower limit of the upper admissible value of the former.
2. The plausible minor importance of tectonic and atmospheric processes as
landscape-forming factors allows the assumption that the relief-forming processes on
Titan are over by now, and its landscape is currently in a steady-state, being in the
nature of extensive planar plateaus, rather than more or less separate well-shaped
figures.
3. The small thickness and moderate friability of the regolith leaves this out of
consideration as a relief-forming factor. Horizontal transfer (saltation) can be ignored
as well.
4. Finally, the maximal admissible height of Titan’s RAOL does not exceed ~
{1900 (+50%)} m. for any crust composition.
 7

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. This research was supported by a grant of the Israel

Science Foundation. We gratefully acknowledge the constructive comments of M.
Podolak, J. I .Lunine and W. B. Durham.

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Vialov, S. S., and V. G. Gmoshinsky, (Rus.), Strength and Creep of Frozen Soils, pp.
71-84, M., Nauka, 1962.
Wooden, D. H., D. E. Harker, C. E. Woodward, H. M. Butner, and C. Koike,
Discovery of Mg-rich pyroxene in comet Hale-Bopp: pristine relic ISM grains
revealed at perihelion, First International Conference on comet Hale-Bopp, ed. by R.
West, Tenerife, 79-80, 1998.
 9

Table 1.

FIGURE OF PLANET (oblateness) Requ - Rpolar)/Requ q 3.85.10-5

RADIUS km Re 2.575.103
MASS kg M 1.315.1023
GRAVITY FORCE m/s2 g 1.35
MOMENT OF INERTIA kg.m2 0.25
MASS OF ATMOSPHERE kg Matm 1019
MASS OF OCEAN kg Moc 2.2.1016 (?)
AVERAGED DENSITY kg /m3  1.881.103
PRESSURE AT CENTER (UNIFORM MODEL) kbar Pcent 32.7
PRESSURE AT CENTER (TWO-LAYER MODEL) kbar Pcent 67.9
PRESSURE on the “CORE-MANTLE” BOUNDARY kbar Pc-m 11.4
CORE RADIUS km Rcore 1.818.103
MASS RATIO OF CORE SUBSTANCE Mcore/M Y 0.655
SURFACE PRESSURE mbar PS 1496
SURFACE TEMPERATURE K TS 94
EQUILIBRIUM RADIATION TEMPERATURE K Teq 86
ABSORBED SOLAR FLUX 5.26.1014
INTEGRATED GEOMETRIC ALBEDO (L -Labs) /L A 0.156
LIFE TIME sec life 1.42.1017

Table 2.
X =(rock/ice )% 60/40 55/45 50/50 45/55 40/60 33/67
Density rock.103 kg/m3 2.33 2.44 2.57 2.73 2.93 3.40

Table 3.

ULTIMATE
CHEMICAL DENSITY
SHEARING
CLASS TITLE COMPOSITION kg/m3.103 STRESS, MPa
ORTHOCLASE K.AL[Si3O8] 2.5-2.6 130
FELDSPAR
NEPHELINE Na2[Al2Si2O8] 2.5-2.6 110
(ALUMOSI-
LICATE )
ALBITE Na[AlSi3O8] 2.6-2.7 110
ANORTHITE Ca[Al2Si2O8] 2.7-2.8 135
QUARTZ SiO2 2.65 400
QUARTZ COESITE SiO2 2.92 95
STISHOVITE SiO2 4.28 380
MICA MUSCOVITE KAl2[AlSi3O10](OH)2 2.8-3.0 35
BIOTITE K2(Mg,Fe)6. 2.8-3.2 44
 10

(Al2-3Si6-5O20)(OH,F)4
TREMOLITE Ca2Mg5[Si8O20](OH)2 2.9-3.2 85
AMPHIBOLE HORN-BLENDE (CaNa)2(MgFe)4(AlFe) 3.0-3.4 94
[Al4Si4O8](OH)2
ENSTATITE MgSiO3 3.2 70
PYROXENE HYPERSTHENE Mg(0.7-0.8)Fe(0.15-0.3)SiO3 3.34-3.44 85-110
FERROSILICATE FeSiO3 3.98 136
ORTOSILICATE FORSTERITE Mg2SiO4 3.24 95
GARNEL (AlFe+3Cr)2[Si3O12] 3.2-3.4 97
DIOPSIDE CaMg[Si2O6] 3.2-3.6 89
AUGITE Ca(MgFeAl)[Al2Si2O6] 3.2-3.6 80
-OLIVINE (MgFe)2[SiO4] 3.4 175
-OLIVINE (MgFe)[SiO4] 3.8 195
-OLIVINE (Mg0.4Fe1.6)2[SiO4] 4.17 215
FAYALITE Fe2SiO4 4.39 230

Table 4.

g .103  KNOWN DATA ESTIMATION ACCURAC

m/s2 kg/m3 MPa Hreal , m Hmaxest , m Y%

Earth 9.81 2.63(1) 125(1) 8848-Everest 10700 +21

Venus 8.87 2.80(2) 155(2) 11200-Maxwell 13900 +24

Mars 3.73 2.55(3) 140(3) 27500-Arsia 32700 +19

Ganymede(4)
1.42 1.03 1.10 ~700(6) 1100 ~ + 50
X=0/100
Ganymede(5)
1.42 1.59 2.10 (20002500)(6) 2500 ~ + 50
X=20/80
Callisto(4)
1.23 1.03 1.10 ~700(6) 1300 ~ + 50
X=0/100
Titan(4)
1.35 1.03 1.10 ? 1700 ~ + 50
X=0/100
TITAN(5) 1.35 1.81 2.15 ? 1900 ~ + 50
X=54/46
Notes :
(1)
For a Himalayan low-porosity (=0.05) solid bedrocks, consisting of granite/gneiss
and granite [Buward and Hayden, 1934].
(2)
For a low-porosity (=0.05) solid bedrocks, consisting of heavy basalt (-,-olivine
+ garnel + pyroxene) [Jarkov, 1983].
(3)
For a low-porosity (=0.05) solid bedrocks consisting of light basalt ( -olivine +
ortoclase + klinopyroxene) [Jarkov, 1983].
(4)
For a pure icy crust with porosity  = 0.10.
(5)
For a low-porosity ( = 0.05) two-phase crust, the rocks being alumosilicate.
(6)
After Squyres [1981]. The error bars of the observation based on this work to be ~
40%.
Table legends
Table 1. Main indices of Titan.
 11

Table 2. Admissible rock density for some X-scenarios.

Table 3. Physico-chemical characteristics of some bedrocks and minerals.
Table 4. Admissible heights of the RAOL depending on the crust properties
and planetary data.