Other
Scientific paper
Sep 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.2402l&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #24.02
Other
Scientific paper
Jupiter exhibits numerous east-west (zonal) jet streams with speeds up to 150 m/sec. These banded jets correlate with the planet's dark and bright cloud bands, often called "belts" and "zones". The mechanisms that produce these banded zonal jets and clouds are poorly understood. Our previous studies demonstrated that large-scale latent heating associated with condensation of water vapor can trigger the formation of numerous zonal jets, including superrotating and subrotating equatorial jets on Jupiter/Saturn and Uranus/Neptune respectively. However, we ignored the presence of clouds that define Jupiter's visible appearance and could affect jet formation. Here we investigate some effects of cloud microphysics on the large-scale dynamics by performing three-dimensional numerical simulations of jet formation on Jupiter including cloud formation, precipitation and evaporation. We solve the primitive equations including the transport of water vapor, ammonia, and clouds as active tracers. Water and ammonia vapor condense (forming cloud) when the relative humidity exceeds 100%; clouds sublimate (increasing the humidity) when the relative humidity is less than 100%. To keep the microphysics simple, we here assume that the cloud particle size is a constant, which we treat as a free parameter that we vary over a wide range. We calculate cloud settling using the Stokes velocity given our assumed particle size. Our goal is to test the hypothesis that large-scale latent heating and cloud formation can induce formation of Jupiter-like jets, including the superrotating equatorial jet; these are the first simulations of jet formation on the giant planets that include clouds. We will determine how the dynamics depends on the cloud particle size, water and ammonia abundances, and other parameters.
Lian Yuan
Showman Adam P.
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