How do Triton’s geyserlike plumes form dark streaks across the surface?

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Moons of Neptune: Triton — Triton Image of Triton, Neptune's largest satellite, captured by a camera aboard Voyager 2, 1989.

Triton’s dark surface streaks are formed by active, geyserlike plumes that erupt through vents in the moon's icy surface. These plumes consist of nitrogen gas that escapes from beneath the overlying ice, carrying entrained dust particles to altitudes of approximately 8 km (5 miles). Once the dust reaches this height, it is transported by surface winds for distances of up to 150 km (90 miles), creating the dark, elongated streaks observed on the surface.1

While the exact mechanisms driving these plumes are not fully understood, their tendency to occur at latitudes where the Sun illuminates the surface vertically suggests that incident sunlight plays a critical role in their formation.1