Statistics – Computation
Scientific paper
Sep 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.4102m&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #41.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.469
Statistics
Computation
Scientific paper
We present high-resolution modeling results of two iconic features of planetary atmospheres, Saturn's Polar Hexagon and Jupiter's Great Red Spot. In 1988, Voyager images revealed the presence of a circumpolar wave at 76 degrees planetocentric latitude in the northern hemisphere of Saturn. It was characterized for having a zonal planetary wavenumber of six, appearing like a hexagon in polar projected images, and for being stationary with respect to Saturn's Kilometric Radiation rotation rate. This hexagonal feature was confirmed in 1991 through ground-based observations, and it was observed again in 2006 with the Cassini VIMS instrument. The latest observations highlight the longevity of this feature and suggest that it extends at least several bars deep into the atmosphere. Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS), located at 22 degrees planetocentric latitude in the southern hemisphere, is another long-lived feature that may have been observed as early as in 1665. Using the EPIC general circulation model, we numerically model these features and describe how relevant physical parameters affect their characteristics. In the case of the North Polar Hexagon, we show how a wavenumber six instability mode arises naturally from initially barotropic jets when perturbed with random turbulence. In the case of the GRS, we show how a high-resolution model with no cloud processes can produce maps of potential vorticity that capture a surprising number of fine details observed in high resolution images of the GRS cloud tops. Computational resources were provided by the New Mexico Computing Applications Center and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. This work was supported by PATM grant number NNX08AE91G.
Dowling Timothy E.
Morales Juberias Raul
Sayanagi Kunio Max
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