Numerical Simulations of Saturn's Northern Hemisphere Ribbon Wave

Details Numerical Simulations of Saturn's Northern Hemisphere Ribbon Wave Numerical Simulations of Saturn's Northern Hemisphere Ribbon Wave

Sep 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.4308s&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #43.08; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.476

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

We present numerical simulations of the wave-like feature in Saturn's northern mid-latitude known as the Ribbon wave. It was discovered in analyzing the images returned by the Voyager spacecraft in 1980-81 (Sromovsky et al. 1983, JGR). In the visible wavelengths, the Ribbon appears as a dark line which meanders around 48 degree north planetographic latitude and completely engirdles the planet. Studies in the past suggest that the dark line traces the core of the zonal jet blowing at the latitude, and the Ribbon has been interpreted as a manifestation of an instability mode (Godfrey and Moore 1986, Icarus). The wave's time dependent behavior suggests that nonlinear wave-wave interaction between different instability modes play an important role in shaping the Ribbon. It is remarkable because even though the oscillation amplitude is beyond the linear regime, the instability seems to reach an equilibrium and does not destroy the zonal jet in which it resides. The Ribbon was found again in ground-based observations in 1994-1995 (Sanchez-Lavega 2002, Icarus), and it can be also seen in recent Cassini images as well, which suggests that this instability is a long-lived feature on the planet.
Our investigation examines the conditions that allow the instability mode to have the observed zonal-wavelength characteristics and propagation phase speed. Our simulations capture important nonlinear features of the observed Ribbon wave. We focus on the effects of the static stability in the troposphere and the planetary rotation rate on the behavior of the instability. We find that the planetary rotation rate in particular has a significant impact on the behavior of the Ribbon wave. The rotation rate of Saturn is a debated topic today, and our study provides an atmospheric dynamics perspective to the question. Our study uses the EPIC atmosphere model by Dowling et al (1998 and 2006, Icarus).

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