Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Sep 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.4110d&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #41.10; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.471
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
As sister ice giants, Neptune and Uranus share many similarities. Yet, the history of vortex activity on these planets has been notably different. Neptune has exhibited at least three relatively large dark spots starting with the dynamically active 1989 Great Dark Spot observed by Voyager II. In contrast, despite generally higher resolution observations no vortex activity had been seen on Uranus until 2006. This may reflect the strongly changing seasonal conditions on tilted Uranus, where atmospheric heating is mainly dependent on solar insolation compared to the weaker solar and stronger internal heating on Neptune. This difference in heating may drive the stronger zonal winds on Neptune, and may also mean that atmospheric dynamics on Uranus are more sensitive to seasonal conditions. The combination of differences and similarities make the Uranus-Neptune pairing one of the most interesting laboratories for comparing atmospheric dynamics.
In this work, we use the Explicit Planetary Isentropic Coordinate General Circulation Model (EPIC GCM) to examine the dynamics on these planets. The behaviors of the dark spots on both planets are the first focus in our study. Parametric studies, including vortex strength, size, aspect ratios, and vertical locations, are conducted and resulting vortex oscillations, drifts, and life spans are compared. Different proposed background winds and temperature-pressure profiles are used, reflecting uncertainties in the zonal wind profiles and vertical shears as well as possible seasonal effects on Uranus. Furthermore, the effects of numerical parameters, including the grid size, simulation region, time step, and damping and viscosity coefficients, are investigated. Successfully modeling observed vortices on both planets using the same numerical techniques will increase confidence in the accuracy of the simulations as well as highlight the critical differences in the atmospheric dynamics of Uranus and Neptune.
Deng Xiaolong
Lebeau Raymond P.
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