Gravity Wave-Driven Fluctuations in the H3+ Emission of Jupiter

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3359 Radiative Processes, 3384 Waves And Tides, 5707 Atmospheres: Structure And Dynamics

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It is widely recognized that acoustic-gravity waves and atmospheric tides play a major role in the dynamical coupling of different atmospheric regions. In the terrestrial atmosphere waves and wave related phenomena are systematically studied from the ground, air and space. In recent years, a number of ground-based and spacecraft observations provided us with compelling evidence for wave activity in the atmospheres of other solar system planets. Temperature profiles of the upper atmosphere of Jupiter derived from stellar occultations and in situ measurements (Galileo atmospheric probe) exhibit small amplitude variations that are interpreted as signatures of propagating gravity waves. We consider the possibility of using Jupiter's H3+ near-IR emission as a complementary remote sensing method for studying the horizontal morphology of the wave activity in Jupiter's atmosphere at ionospheric heights. Similar to the gravity wave-driven variations in the OH nightglow in the Earth's atmosphere, the intensity of the jovian H3+ emission can be modified by a passing wave directly by inducing fluctuations in the ion temperature and number density, and indirectly by disturbing the local ion chemistry. We perform numerical simulations of the response of the H3+ emission to propagating waves using a linear gravity wave model in a dissipative, nonisothermal atmosphere coupled with a detailed radiative transfer model of H3+ near-IR emission from an extended atmospheric region. We investigate the magnitude of the wave impact on the planetary emission for different values of the wave parameters in a variety of ionospheric conditions and for different H3+ profiles. Recent observations of the H3+ emission at high sensitivity with the VLT/ISAAC instrument at 3.5 micron in December 2000 allow us to determine an upper limit on the direct detection of gravity waves by this method.

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