Titan is the only body in the Solar System other than Earth to have large bodies of surface liquid. Since Saturn is much more massive than the Moon, I would expect for tides, if they're present to begin with, to be much larger than the ones here on Earth.
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asked Jun 21, 2020 at 23:59
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$\begingroup$ Do the Great Lakes have tides? and Why Lakes Don’t Have Tides? and There are no tides on the Great Lakes. Here’s why and Are there lakes that have tides? and in Physics SE Why don't lakes have tides? $\endgroup$– uhohCommented Jun 22, 2020 at 0:34
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1$\begingroup$ Recently submitted paper on Titan's tidal currents: Tidal Currents Detected in Kraken Mare Straits from Cassini VIMS Sun Glitter Observations $\endgroup$– William MillerCommented Jul 22, 2020 at 5:49
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2 Answers
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Sort of... Titan is tidally locked to Saturn, so points the same side toward Saturn all the time. The tide caused by Saturn on Titan should be nearly unchanging, except that Titan has an elliptical orbit, and is at times closer. This cases a significant tidal effect, but it doesn't travel like on Earth. See this article for more information. This article states that this tide deforms Titan about 33 feet. I do not know how much the lakes themselves would change though.
The sun should also cause a very minor tide because it is further away.
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I would like to add some more points.
Titan is indeed tidally locked to Saturn. Numerical calculation shows Titan's tides due to Saturn's gravity is 400 times as strong as Moon's tidal effect on Earth. Saturn's gravitational pull on Titan varies as Titan orbits along an elliptical path around the planet every 16 days. As Titan nears the closest point in its orbit around Saturn (pericenter), it feels the maximum gravitational pull and at the farthest point in its orbit (apocenter), Titan feels the minimum gravitational pull. This varying pull causes bulges on Titan which is called solid "tides". Near the middle of Titan's orbit around Saturn (quadrature), there is still sufficient pull to cause a gravitational distortion, or deviation from a spherical shape. Tides on Titan raised by Saturn's gravity can be as high as 30 feet (10 meters). Titan is believed to have liquid water ocean beneath its surface. If it ever comes out of the surface, it will indeed experience tides.
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answered Oct 17, 2020 at 10:32