共查询到20条相似文献，搜索用时 15 毫秒
1.
Jon Legarreta 《Icarus》2008,196(1):184-201
Numerical simulations of jovian vortices at tropical and temperate latitudes, under different atmospheric conditions, have been performed using the EPIC code [Dowling, T.E., Fisher, A.S., Gierasch, P.J., Harrington, J., LeBeau, R.P., Santori, C.M., 1998. Icarus 132, 221-238] to simulate the high-resolution observations of motions and of the lifetimes presented in a previous work [Legarreta, J., Sánchez-Lavega, A., 2005. Icarus 174, 178-191] and infer the vertical structure of Jupiter's troposphere. We first find that in order to reproduce the longevity and drift rate of the vortices, the Brunt-Väisälä frequency of the atmosphere in the upper troposphere (pressures P∼1 to 7 bar) should have a lower limit value of 5×10−3 s−1, increasing upward up to 1.25×10−2 s−1 at pressures P∼0.5 bar (latitudes between 15° and 45° in both hemispheres). Second, the vortices drift also depend on the vertical structure of the zonal wind speed in the same range of altitudes. Simulations of the slowly drifting Southern hemisphere vortices (GRS, White Ovals and anticyclones at 40° S) require a vertically-constant zonal-wind with depth, but Northern hemisphere vortices (cyclonic “barges” and anticyclones at 19, 41 and 45° N) require decreasing winds at a rate of ∼5 m s−1 per scale height. However vortices drifting at a high speed, close to or in the peak of East or West jets and in both hemispheres, require the wind speed slightly increasing with depth, as is the case for the anticyclones at 20° S and at 34° N. We deduce that the maximum absolute vertical shear of the zonal wind from P∼1 bar up to P∼7 bar in these jets is ∼15 m s−1 per scale height. Intense vortices with tangential velocity at their periphery ∼100 m s−1 tend to decay asymptotically to velocities ∼40 to 60 m s−1 with a characteristic time that depends on the vortex intensity and static stability of the atmosphere. The vortices adjust their tangential velocity to the averaged peak to peak velocity of the opposed eastward and westward jets at their boundary. We show through our simulations that large-scale and long-lived vortices whose maximum tangential velocity is ∼100 m s−1 can survive by absorbing smaller intense vortices. 相似文献
2.
We have used the Hubble Space Telescope archived images of Jupiter for the period 1994-2000, complemented by ground-based telescopic observations, to study in detail the long-term properties of synoptic-scale anticyclonic vortices (size > 1500 km, lifetime > months). We have also analyzed a set of Voyager 1 and 2 images obtained in 1979 to compare anticyclone properties from the two different periods. The latitudinal range covered by this survey spans 75°N to 75°S, encompassing 12 anticyclonic zones. We present data on vortex size, aspect ratio, number, latitude location, lifetime, motion, interaction, and morphology for more than 100 vortices. We study empirically the relation between these properties and the mean ambient zonal flow.We show that most of these properties are not related to latitude and location relative to the jet pattern. However, a significant linear anticorrelation is found when plotting vortex relative speed (vortex propagation speed minus zonal flow velocity) against the zonal flow velocity at the central latitude of each vortex. As the mean eastward flow increases its velocity within a given anticyclonic domain, vortex velocity becomes more westward. This relation holds for all anticyclones except those moving at high velocities (at latitudes 20°S and 23°N), whose origin appears to be of a different nature. Moreover, there is also some evidence that the drift rate could be connected to the planetary minus flow vorticity gradient (most conspicuous at 40 and 45°N). We present simple dynamical interpretations of these observations. 相似文献
3.
Ashraf Youssef 《Icarus》2003,162(1):74-93
In early 1998 two of the three, long-lived anticyclonic, jovian white ovals merged. In 2000 the two remaining white ovals merged into one. Here we examine that behavior, as well as the dynamics of three earlier epochs: the Formation Epoch (1939-1941), during which a nearly axisymmetric band broke apart to form the vortices; the Kármán Vortex Street Epoch (1941-1994), during which the white ovals made up the southern half of two rows of vortices, and their locations oscillated in longitude such that the white ovals often closely approached each other but did not merge; and the Pre-merger Epoch (1994-1997), during which the three white ovals traveled together with intervening cyclones from the northern row of the Kármán vortex street in a closely spaced group with little longitudinal oscillation. We use a quasi-geostrophic model and large-scale numerical simulation to explain the dynamics. Our models and simulations are consistent with the observations, but none of the observed behavior is even qualitatively possible without assuming that there are long-lived, coherent cyclones longitudinally interspersed with the white ovals. Without them, the white ovals approach each other and merge on a fast, advective timescale (4 months). A necessary ingredient that allows the vortices to travel together in a small packet without spreading apart is that the strong, eastward-flowing jetstream south of the white ovals is coincident with a sharp gradient in background potential vorticity. The jet forms a Rossby wave and a trough of the wave traps the white ovals. In our simulations, the three white ovals were trapped before they merged. Without being trapped, the amount of energy needed to perturb two white ovals so that they merge exceeds the atmosphere’s turbulent energy (which corresponds to velocities of ∼1 m s−1) by a factor of ∼100. The mergers of the white ovals BC and DE were not observed directly, so there is ambiguity in labeling the surviving vortices and identifying which vortices might have exchanged locations. The simulation and modeling make the identifications clear. They also predict the fate of the surviving white oval and of the other prominent jovian vortex chains. 相似文献
4.
New measurements of the dynamical properties of the long-lived Saturn's anticyclonic vortex known as “Brown Spot” (BS), discovered during the Voyager 1 and 2 flybys in 1980-1981 at latitude 43.1° N, and model simulations using the EPIC code, have allowed us to constrain the vertical wind shear and static stability in Saturn's atmosphere (vertically from pressure levels from 10 mbar to 10 bars) at this latitude. BS dynamical parameters from Voyager images include its size as derived from cloud albedo gradient (6100 km East-West times 4300 km North-South), mean tangential velocity ( at 2400 km from center) and mean vorticity (4.0±1.5×10−5 s−1), lifetime >1 year, drift velocity relative to Voyager's System III rotation rate, mean meridional atmospheric wind profile at cloud level at its latitude and interactions with nearby vortices (pair orbiting and merging). An extensive set of numerical experiments have been performed to try to reproduce this single vortex properties and its observed mergers with smaller anticyclones by varying the vertical structure of the zonal wind and adjusting the static stability of the lower stratosphere and upper troposphere. Within the context of the EPIC model atmosphere, our simulations indicate that BS's drift velocity, longevity and merging behavior are very sensitive to these two atmospheric properties. The best results at the BS latitude occur for static stability conditions that use a Brunt-Väisäla frequency constant in the upper troposphere (from 0.5 to 10 bar) above 3.2×10−3 s−1 and suggest that the wind speed slightly decays below the visible cloud deck from ∼0.5 to 10 bar at a rate per scale height. Changing the vortex latitude within the band domain introduces latitude oscillations in the vortex but not a significant meridional migration. Simulated mergers always showed orbiting movements with a typical merging time of about three days, very close to the time-span observed in the interaction of real vortices. Although these results are not unique in view of the unknowns of Saturn's deep atmosphere, they serve to constrain realistically its structure for ongoing Cassini observations. 相似文献
5.
6.
A study of the dynamics of the second largest anticyclone in Jupiter, Oval BA, and its red colour change that occurred in late 2005 is presented in a three part study. The first part, this paper, deals with its long-term kinematical and dynamical behaviour monitored since its formation in 2000 to September 2008 using ground-based observations archived at the public International Outer Planet Watch (IOPW) database. The vortex changed its zonal drift velocity from 1.8 m s−1 in the period 2000-2002 to 0.8 m s−1 in 2002-2003, and to 2.5 m s−1 since late 2003. It also migrated southwards by 1.0 ± 0.5° in latitude between 2000 and 2004, remaining afterwards at an almost fixed latitude position. During the period 2000-2007, the oval also changed its triangular-like shape to a more symmetrical one. No latitudinal change was found in the months before the development of a red annulus in its interior. The colour change took place in less than 5 months in 2005-2006 and no red colour feature was observed to have been present or entrained by BA months before the annulus development. After detailed examination of the four encounters between BA and GRS that took place during this 9 year period, we did not detect any noticeable change in its drift rate or in apparent structure associated with the encounters at cloud level. Also, the area of BA did not significantly change in this period. Additionally, we found that BA displays a long-term oscillation of ∼160 days in its longitude position with peak to peak amplitude of 1.2°. Numerical experiments using the global circulation model EPIC reproduce accurately the shape, connecting it to its latitude migration, and morphology of the oval and confirm that no strong interaction between BA and the GRS is possible at least in the current situation. 相似文献
7.
We present results regarding the dynamical meteorology of Jupiter’s White Ovals at different points in their evolution. Starting from the era with three White Ovals FA, BC, and DE (Galileo), continuing to the post-merger epoch with only one Oval BA (Cassini), and finally to Oval BA’s current reddened state (New Horizons), we demonstrate that the dynamics of their flow have similarly evolved along with their appearance. In the Galileo epoch, Oval DE had an elliptical shape with peak zonal wind speeds of ∼90 m s−1 in both its northern and southern peripheries. During the post-merger epoch, Oval BA’s shape was more triangular and less elliptical than Oval DE; in addition to widening in the north-south direction, its northern periphery was 20 m s−1 slower, and its southern periphery was 20 m s−1 faster than Oval DE’s flow during the Galileo era. Finally, in the New Horizons era, the reddened Oval BA had evolved back to a classical elliptical form. The northern periphery of Oval BA increased in speed by 20 m s−1 from Cassini to New Horizons, ending up at a speed nearly identical to that of the northern periphery of Oval DE during Galileo. However, the peak speeds along the southern rim of the newly formed Oval BA were consistently faster than the corresponding speeds in Oval DE, and they increased still further between Cassini and New Horizons, ending up at ∼140-150 m s−1. Relative vorticity maps of Oval BA reveal a cyclonic ring surrounding its outer periphery, similar to the ring present around the Great Red Spot. The cyclonic ring around Oval BA in 2007 appears to be moderately stronger than observed in 1997 and 2001, suggesting that this may be associated with the coloration of the vortex. The modest strengthening of the winds in Oval BA, the appearance of red aerosols, and the appearance of a turbulent, cyclonic feature to Oval BA’s northwest create a strong resemblance with the Great Red Spot from both a dynamical and morphological perspective.In addition to the White Ovals, we also measure the winds within two compact cyclonic regions, one in the Galileo data set and one in the Cassini data set. In the images, these cyclonic features appear turbulent and filamentary, but our wind field reveals that the flow manifests as a coherent high-speed collar surrounding relatively quiescent interiors. Our relative vorticity maps show that the vorticity likewise concentrates in a collar near the outermost periphery, unlike the White Ovals which have peak relative vorticity magnitudes near the center of the vortex. The cyclones contain several localized bright regions consistent with the characteristics of thunderstorms identified in other studies. Although less studied than their anticyclonic cousins, these cyclones may offer crucial insights into the planet’s cloud-level energetics and dynamical meteorology. 相似文献
8.
Raúl Morales-Juber?&#x;asAgust?&#x;n Sánchez-Lavega J. LecacheuxF. Colas 《Icarus》2002,160(2):325-335
This work presents a six-year study aimed at characterizing the morphology and properties of the atmospheric features present in jovian cyclonic regions. It complements our previous analysis for the same period on the anticyclonic vortices (Morales-Juberias et al. 2002, Icarus 157, 76-90). The main difference between cyclonic and anticyclonic regions in Jupiter is that a variety of organized morphologies are present in the cyclonic areas, although they can be grouped consistently into five different types: filamentary turbulence related to the highest speed jets, organized folded filamentary regions, elongated areas with contours closed by a ribbon-like feature, discrete, closed brown cyclones (“barges”), and peculiar transient structures such as short wave trains and cyclonic cells. We present data on their color contrast, size, aspect ratio, distribution, lifetimes, relation to the jet system and to the anticyclones, and motions (global and internal to the features). Most cyclonic features show a rapid evolution, compared to the anticyclones, and tend to be dispersed zonally although some survive for a few years. We used the barges that are the most representative, long-lived, and extended type of cyclonic features to show that there exists a linear relationship between their relative velocity and the mean zonal flow speed, similar to that found in our previous work on the anticyclones. There is also some evidence that the drift rate of barges is related to the planetary minus flow vorticity gradient. 相似文献
9.
We show that the peak velocity of Jupiter’s visible-cloud-level zonal winds near 24°N (planetographic) increased from 2000 to 2008. This increase was the only change in the zonal velocity from 2000 to 2008 for latitudes between ±70° that was statistically significant and not obviously associated with visible weather. We present the first automated retrieval of fast (∼130 m s−1) zonal velocities at 8°N planetographic latitude, and show that some previous retrievals incorrectly found slower zonal winds because the eastward drift of the dark projections (associated with 5-μm hot spots) “fooled” the retrieval algorithms.We determined the zonal velocity in 2000 from Cassini images from NASA’s Planetary Data System using a global method similar to previous longitude-shifting correlation methods used by others, and a new local method based on the longitudinal average of the two-dimensional velocity field. We obtained global velocities from images acquired in May 2008 with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Longer-term variability of the zonal winds is based on comparisons with published velocities based on 1979 Voyager 2 and 1995-1998 HST images. Fluctuations in the zonal wind speeds on the order of 10 m s−1 on timescales ranging from weeks to months were found in the 1979 Voyager 2 and the 1995-1998 HST velocities. In data separated by 10 h, we find that the east-west velocity uncertainty due to longitudinal fluctuations are nearly 10 m s−1, so velocity fluctuations of 10 m s−1 may occur on timescales that are even smaller than 10 h. Fluctuations across such a wide range of timescales limit the accuracy of zonal wind measurements. The concept of an average zonal velocity may be ill-posed, and defining a “temporal mean” zonal velocity as the average of several zonal velocity fields spanning months or years may not be physically meaningful.At 8°N, we use our global method to find peak zonal velocities of ∼110 m s−1 in 2000 and ∼130 m s−1 in 2008. Zonal velocities from 2000 Cassini data produced by our local and global methods agree everywhere, except in the vicinity of 8°N. There, the local algorithm shows that the east-west velocity has large variations in longitude; vast regions exceed ∼140 m s−1. Our global algorithm, and all of the velocity-extraction algorithms used in previously-published studies, found the east-west drift velocities of the visible dark projections, rather than the true zonal velocity at the visible-cloud level. Therefore, the apparent increase in zonal winds between 2000 and 2008 at 8°N is not a true change in zonal velocity.At 7.3°N, the Galileo probe found zonal velocities of 170 m s−1 at the 3-bar level. If the true zonal velocity at the visible-cloud level at this latitude is ∼140 m s−1 rather than ∼105 m s−1, then the vertical zonal wind shear is much less than the currently accepted value. 相似文献
10.
《Icarus》2003,166(1):63-74
Observations of the merger of Jupiter's White Ovals BE and FA show altitude-dependent behavior that we seek to capture in numerical simulations. In particular, it was observed that the upper portions of the vortices orbited each other before merging, but the lower portions translated into each other without orbiting, a phenomenon we term the pair-orbit vertical dichotomy. To reproduce this dichotomy in the EPIC model, it is sufficient to have (i) a decrease with altitude of the background zonal winds above the cloud level with a scale height of ∼2.4, (ii) a height scale of the winds inside the vortices that is the same or larger, and (iii) a maximum tangential velocity in each vortex of ∼100 m s−1 or larger. Condition (i) is expected from thermal-wind analyses, (ii) is consistent with thermal-wind and Shoemaker-Levy 9 debris-trajectory analyses, and (iii) is consistent with cloud-top wind tracking. The model generally does not reproduce the dichotomy for vortices with smaller vertical extent or weaker circulations. Our simulated mergers correctly reproduce the observed ∼9° separation at which vortices start to orbit in the upper layers before they merge and the ∼70% area ratio of the final vortex BA to the sum of BE and FA. 相似文献
11.
We combine high-resolution observations of the dynamical behavior of small vortices (diameters ?5000 km) located at latitude 60°N on Jupiter with forward modeling, using the EPIC atmospheric model, to address two open questions: the dependence of the zonal winds with depth, and the strength of vortices that are too small to apply cloud tracking to their internal structure. The observed drift rates of the vortices can only be reproduced in the model when the zonal winds increase slightly with depth below the cloud tops, with a vertical shear that is less than was measured at 7°N at the southern rim of a 5-μm hotspot by the Galileo Probe Doppler Wind Experiment (DWE). This supports the idea that Jupiter's vertical shear may vary significantly with latitude. Our simulations suggest that the morphology of the mergers between vortices mainly depends on their maximum tangential velocities, the best results occurring when the tangential velocity is close to the velocity difference of the alternating jets constraining the zone in which the vortices are embedded. We use this correlation, together with the high-resolution data available for the White Ovals, to derive an empirical relationship between the maximum tangential velocity of a jovian vortex and its size, normalized by the strength and size of the encompassing shear zone. The Great Red Spot stands out as a significant anomaly to this relationship, but interestingly it is becoming less so with time. 相似文献
12.
Leigh N. Fletcher G.S. Orton P. Yanamandra-Fisher P.G.J. Irwin L. Vanzi T. Fuse E. Edkins J. De Buizer 《Icarus》2010,208(1):306-328
Thermal-IR imaging from space-borne and ground-based observatories was used to investigate the temperature, composition and aerosol structure of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS) and its temporal variability between 1995 and 2008. An elliptical warm core, extending over 8° of longitude and 3° of latitude, was observed within the cold anticyclonic vortex at 21°S. The warm airmass is co-located with the deepest red coloration of the GRS interior. The maximum contrast between the core and the coldest regions of the GRS was 3.0-3.5 K in the north-south direction at 400 mbar atmospheric pressure, although the warmer temperatures are present throughout the 150-500 mbar range. The resulting thermal gradients cause counter-rotating flow in the GRS center to decay with altitude into the lower stratosphere. The elliptical warm airmass was too small to be observed in IRTF imaging prior to 2006, but was present throughout the 2006-2008 period in VLT, Subaru and Gemini imaging.Spatially-resolved maps of mid-IR tropospheric aerosol opacity revealed a well-defined lane of depleted aerosols around the GRS periphery, and a correlation with visibly-dark jovian clouds and bright 4.8-μm emission. Ammonia showed a similar but broader ring of depletion encircling the GRS. This narrow lane of subsidence keeps red aerosols physically separate from white aerosols external to the GRS. The visibility of the 4.8-μm bright periphery varies with the mid-IR aerosol opacity of the upper troposphere. Compositional maps of ammonia, phosphine and para-H2 within the GRS interior all exhibit north-south asymmetries, with evidence for higher concentrations north of the warm central core and the strongest depletions in a symmetric arc near the southern periphery. Small-scale enhancements in temperature, NH3 and aerosol opacity associated with localized convection are observed within the generally-warm and aerosol-free South Equatorial Belt (SEB) northwest of the GRS. The extent of 4.8-μm emission from the SEB varied as a part of the 2007 ‘global upheaval,’ though changes during this period were restricted to pressures greater than 500 mbar. Finally, a region of enhanced temperatures extended southwest of the GRS during the survey, restricted to the 100-400 mbar range and with no counterpart in visible imaging or compositional mapping. The warm airmass was perturbed by frequent encounters with the cold airmass of Oval BA, but no internal thermal or compositional effects were noted in either vortex during the close encounters. 相似文献
13.
Retrievals of jovian tropospheric phosphine from Cassini/CIRS 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
On December 30th, 2000, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft reached the perijove milestone on its continuing journey to the Saturnian System. During an extended six-month encounter, the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) returned spectra of the jovian atmosphere, rings and satellites from 10-1400 cm−1 (1000-7 μm) at a programmable spectral resolution of 0.5 to 15 cm−1. The improved spectral resolution of CIRS over previous IR instrument-missions to Jupiter, the extended spectral range, and higher signal-to-noise performance provide significant advantages over previous data sets.CIRS global observations of the mid-infrared spectrum of Jupiter at medium resolution (2.5 cm−1) have been analysed both with a radiance differencing scheme and an optimal estimation retrieval model to retrieve the spatial variation of phosphine and ammonia fractional scale height in the troposphere between 60° S and 60° N at a spatial resolution of 6°. The ammonia fractional scale height appears to be high over the Equatorial Zone (EZ) but low over the North Equatorial Belt (NEB) and South Equatorial Belt (SEB) indicating rapid uplift or strong vertical mixing in the EZ. The abundance of phosphine shows a similar strong latitudinal variation which generally matches that of the ammonia fractional scale height. However while the ammonia fractional scale height distribution is to a first order symmetric in latitude, the phosphine distribution shows a North/South asymmetry at mid latitudes with higher amounts detected at 40° N than 40° S. In addition the data show that while the ammonia fractional scale height at this spatial resolution appears to be low over the Great Red Spot (GRS), indicating reduced vertical mixing above the ∼500 mb level, the abundance of phosphine at deeper levels may be enhanced at the northern edge of the GRS indicating upwelling. 相似文献
14.
We have produced mosaics of the Great Red Spot (GRS) using images taken by the Galileo spacecraft in May 2000, and have measured the winds of the GRS using an automated algorithm that does not require manual cloud tracking. Our technique yields a high-density, regular grid of wind velocity vectors that is advantageous over a limited number of scattered wind vectors that result from manual cloud tracking. The high-velocity collar of the GRS is clearly seen from our velocity vector map, and highest wind velocities are measured to be around 170 m s−1. The high resolution of the mosaics has also enabled us to map turbulent eddies inside the chaotic central region of the GRS, similar to those mapped by Sada et al. [Sada, P.V., Beebe, R.F., Conrath, B.J., 1996. Icarus 119, 311-335]. Using the wind velocity measurements, we computed particle trajectories around the GRS as well as maps of relative and absolute vorticities. We have discovered a narrow ring of cyclonic vorticity that surrounds the main anti-cyclonic high-velocity collar. This narrow ring appears to correspond to a ring surrounding the GRS that is bright in 5 μm [Terrile, R.J., Beebe, R.F., 1979. Science 204, 948-951]. It appears that this cyclonic ring is not a transient feature of the GRS, as we have discovered it in a re-analysis of Galileo data taken in 1996 first analyzed by Vasavada et al. [Vasavada, A.R., and 13 colleagues, 1998. Icarus 135, 265-275]. We also calculate how absolute vorticity changes as a function of latitude along a trajectory around the GRS and compare these measurements to similar ones performed by Dowling and Ingersoll [Dowling, T.E., Ingersoll, A.P., 1988. J. Atmos. Sci. 45, 1380-1396] using Voyager data. We show no dramatic evolution in the structure of the GRS since the Voyager era except for additional evidence for a counter-rotating GRS core, an increase in velocity in the main velocity collar, and an overall decrease in the length of the GRS. 相似文献
15.
We measured the velocity distributions of impact ejecta with velocities higher than ∼100 m s−1 (high-velocity ejecta) for impacts at variable impact angle α into unconsolidated targets of small soda-lime glass spheres. Polycarbonate projectiles with mass of 0.49 g were accelerated to ∼250 m s−1 by a single-stage light-gas gun. The impact ejecta are detected by thin aluminum foils placed around the targets. We analyzed the holes on the aluminum foils to derive the total number and volume of ejecta that penetrated the aluminum foils. Using the minimum velocity of the ejecta for penetration, determined experimentally, the velocity distributions of the high-velocity ejecta were obtained at α=15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°. The velocity distribution of the high-velocity ejecta is shown to depend on impact angle. The quantity of the high-velocity ejecta for vertical impact (α=90°) is considerably lower than derived from a power-law relation for the velocity distribution on the low-velocity ejecta (less than 10 m s−1). On the other hand, in oblique impacts, the quantity of the high-velocity ejecta increases with decreasing impact angle, and becomes comparable to those derived from the power-law relation. We attempt to scale the high-velocity ejecta for oblique impacts to a new scaling law, in which the velocity distribution is scaled by the cube of projectile radius (scaled volume) and a horizontal component of impactor velocity (scaled ejection velocity), respectively. The high-velocity ejecta data shows a good correlation between the scaled volume and the scaled ejection velocity. 相似文献
16.
Imke de Pater Michael H. Wong Philip Marcus Statia Luszcz-Cook Maté Ádámkovics Al Conrad Xylar Asay-Davis Christopher Go 《Icarus》2010,210(2):742-762
We present observations and theoretical calculations to derive the vertical structure of and secondary circulation in jovian vortices, a necessary piece of information to ultimately explain the red color in the annular ring inside Jupiter’s Oval BA. The observations were taken with the near-infrared detector NIRC2 coupled to the adaptive optics system on the 10-m W.M. Keck telescope (UT 21 July 2006; UT 11 May 2008) and with the Hubble Space Telescope at visible wavelengths (UT 24 and 25 April 2006 using ACS; UT 9 and 10 May 2008 using WFPC2). The spatial resolution in the near-IR (∼0.1–0.15″ at 1–5 μm) is comparable to that obtained at UV–visible wavelengths (∼0.05–0.1″ at 250–890 nm). At 5 μm we are sensitive to Jupiter’s thermal emission, whereas at shorter wavelengths we view the planet in reflected sunlight. These datasets are complementary, as images at 0.25–1.8 μm provide information on the clouds/hazes in the troposphere–stratosphere, while the 5-μm emission maps yield information on deeper layers in the atmosphere, in regions without clouds. At the latter wavelength numerous tiny ovals can be discerned at latitudes between ∼45°S and 60°S, which show up as rings with diameters ?1000 km surrounding small ovals visible in HST data. Several white ovals at 41°S, as well as a new red oval that was discovered to the west of the GRS, also reveal 5-μm bright rings around their peripheries, which coincide with dark/blue rings at visible wavelengths. Typical brightness temperatures in these 5-μm bright rings are 225–250 K, indicative of regions that are cloud-free down to at least the ∼4 bar level, and perhaps down to 5–7 bar, i.e., well within the water cloud.Radiative transfer modeling of the 1–2 μm observations indicates that all ovals, i.e., including the Great Red Spot (GRS), Red Oval BA, and the white ovals at 41°S, are overall very similar in vertical structure. The main distinction between the ovals is caused by variations in the particle densities in the tropospheric–stratospheric hazes (2–650 mbar). These are 5–8 times higher above the red ovals than above the white ones at 41°S. The combination of the 5-μm rings and the vertical structure derived from near-IR data suggests anticyclones to extend vertically from (at least) the water cloud (∼5 bar) up to the tropopause (∼100–200 mbar), and in some cases into the stratosphere.Based upon our observations, we propose that air is rising along the center of a vortex, and descending around the outer periphery, producing the 5-μm bright rings. Observationally, we constrain the maximum radius of these rings to be less than twice the local Rossby deformation radius, LR. If the radius of the visible oval (i.e., the clouds that make the oval visible) is >3000 km, our observations suggest that the descending part of the secondary circulation must be within these ovals. For the Red Oval BA, we postulate that the return flow is at the location of its red annulus, which has a radius of ∼3000 km.We develop a theory for the secondary circulation, where air is (baroclinically) rising along the center of a vortex in a subadiabatic atmosphere, and descending at a distance not exceeding ∼2× the local Rossby deformation radius. Using this model, we find a timescale for mixing throughout the vortex of order several months, which suggests that the chromophores that are responsible for the red color of Oval BA’s red annulus must be produced locally, at the location of the annulus. This production most likely results from the adiabatic heating in the descending part of the secondary circulation. Such higher-than-ambient temperature causes NH3–ice to sublime, which will expose the condensation nuclei, such as the red chromophores. 相似文献
17.
G.D. Aburjania Kh.Z. Chargazia G.V. Jandieri A.G. Khantadze O.A. Kharshiladze J.G. Lominadze 《Planetary and Space Science》2005,53(9):881-901
In the present article, the results of theoretical investigation of the dynamics of generation and propagation of planetary (with wavelength 103 km and more) ultra-low frequency (ULF) electromagnetic wave structures in the dissipative ionosphere are given. The physical mechanism of generation of the planetary electromagnetic waves is proposed. It is established, that the global factor, acting permanently in the ionosphere—inhomogeneity (latitude variation) of the geomagnetic field and angular velocity of the earth's rotation—generates the fast and slow planetary ULF electromagnetic waves. The waves propagate along the parallels to the east as well as to the west. In E-region the fast waves have phase velocities (2-20) km s−1and frequencies (10−1-10−4) s−1; the slow waves propagate with local winds velocities and have frequencies (10−4-10−6) s−1. In F-region the fast ULF electromagnetic waves propagate with phase velocities tens-hundreds km s−1 and their frequencies are in the range of (10-10−3) s−1. The slow mode is produced by the dynamoelectric field, it represents a generalization of the ordinary Rossby-type waves in the rotating ionosphere and is caused by the Hall effect in the E-layer. The fast disturbances are the new modes, which are associated with oscillations of the ionospheric electrons frozen in the geomagnetic field and are connected with the large-scale internal vortical electric field generation in the ionosphere. The large-scale waves are weakly damped. The features and the parameters of the theoretically investigated electromagnetic wave structures agree with those of large-scale ULF midlatitude long-period oscillations (MLO) and magnetoionospheric wave perturbations (MIWP), observed experimentally in the ionosphere. It is established, that because of relevance of Coriolis and electromagnetic forces, generation of slow planetary electromagnetic waves at the fixed latitude in the ionosphere can give rise to the reverse of local wind structures and to the direction change of general ionospheric circulation. It is considered one more class of the waves, called as the slow magnetohydrodinamic (MHD) waves, on which inhomogeneity of the Coriolis and Ampere forces do not influence. These waves appear as an admixture of the slow Alfven- and whistler-type perturbations. The waves generate the geomagnetic field from several tens to several hundreds nT and more. Nonlinear interaction of the considered waves with the local ionospheric zonal shear winds is studied. It is established, that planetary ULF electromagnetic waves, at their interaction with the local shear winds, can self-localize in the form of nonlinear solitary vortices, moving along the latitude circles westward as well as eastward with velocity, different from phase velocity of corresponding linear waves. The vortices are weakly damped and long lived. They cause the geomagnetic pulsations stronger than the linear waves by one order. The vortex structures transfer the trapped particles of medium and also energy and heat. That is why such nonlinear vortex structures can be the structural elements of strong macroturbulence of the ionosphere. 相似文献
18.
The Dark Spot in the atmosphere of Uranus in 2006: Discovery, description, and dynamical simulations
We report the first definitive detection of a discrete dark atmospheric feature on Uranus in 2006 using visible and near-infrared images from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck II 10-m telescope. Like Neptune's Great Dark Spots, this Uranus Dark Spot had bright companion features that exhibited considerable variability in brightness and location relative to the Dark Spot. We detected the feature or its bright companions on 16 June (Hubble), 30 July and 1 August (Keck), 23-24 August (Hubble), and 15 October (Keck). The dark feature—detected at latitude ∼28±1° N with an average physical extent of roughly 2° (1300 km) in latitude and 5° (2700 km) in longitude—moved with a nearly constant zonal velocity of , which is roughly 20 m s−1 greater than the average observed speed of bright features at this latitude. The dark feature's contrast and extent varied as a function of wavelength, with largest negative contrast occurring at a surprisingly long wavelength when compared with Neptune's dark features: the Uranus feature was detected out to 1.6 μm with a contrast of −0.07, but it was undetectable at 0.467 μm; the Neptune GDS seen by Voyager exhibited its most prominent contrast of −0.12 at 0.48 μm, and was undetectable longward of 0.7 μm. Computational fluid dynamic simulations of the dark feature on Uranus suggest that structure in the zonal wind profile may be a critical factor in the emergence of large sustained vortices. 相似文献
19.
The evolution of a large-amplitude disturbance at cloud level in Jupiter's 24° N jet stream in 1990 is used to constrain the vertical structure of a realistic atmospheric model down to the 6 bar pressure level. We use the EPIC model (Dowling et al., 1998, The explicit planetary isentropic-coordinate (EPIC) atmospheric model, Icarus 132, 221-238) to perform long-term, three-dimensional, nonlinear simulations with a series of systematic variations in vertical structure and find that the details of the 1990 disturbance combine with the characteristics of the 24° N jet, the fastest on Jupiter, to yield a tight constraint on the solution space. The most important free parameters are the vertical dependence of the zonal-wind profile, and the thermal structure, below the cloud tops (p>0.7 bar) at the jet's central latitude. The temporal evolution of the disturbed cloud patterns, which spans more than 2 years, can be reproduced if the jet peak reaches ∼180 ms−1 at the cloud level and increases to ∼210 ms−1 at 1 bar and up to ∼240 ms−1 at 6 bar; the observations were not reproduced for other configurations investigated. This trend is consistent with that measured by the Galileo Probe at 7° N; the implication is that this jovian jet extends well below the solar radiation penetration level situated near the 2 bar level. 相似文献
20.
E. García-Melendo J. Arregi R. Hueso J.M. Gómez-Forrellad J.F. Sanz-Requena 《Icarus》2011,211(2):1242-1257
We present a study of the equatorial region of Jupiter, between latitudes ∼15°S and ∼15°N, based on Cassini ISS images obtained during the Jupiter flyby at the end of 2000, and HST images acquired in May and July 2008. We examine the structure of the zonal wind profile and report the detection of significant longitudinal variations in the intensity of the 6°N eastward jet, up to 60 m s−1 in Cassini and HST observations. These longitudinal variations are, in the HST case, associated with different cloud morphology. Photometric and radiative transfer analysis of the cloud features used as tracers in HST images show that at most there is only a small height difference, no larger than ∼0.5-1 scale heights, between the slow (∼100 m s−1) and fast (∼150 m s−1) moving features. This suggests that speed variability at 6°N is not dominated by vertical wind shears but instead we propose that Rossby wave activity is the responsible for the zonal variability. Removing this variability, we find that Jupiter’s equatorial jet is actually symmetric relative to equator with two peaks of ∼140-150 m s−1 located at latitudes 6°N and 6°S and at a similar pressure level. We also study the local dynamics of particular equatorial features such as several dark projections associated with 5 μm hot spots and a large, long-lived feature called the White Spot (WS) located at 6°S. Convergent flow at the dark projections appears to be a characteristic which depends on the particular morphology and has only been detected in some cases. The internal flow field in the White Spot indicates that it is a weakly rotating quasi-equatorial anticyclone relative to the ambient meridionally sheared flow. 相似文献