Jupiter's South Equatorial Jet: Speed variations with and without the South Equatorial Disturbance

Details Jupiter's South Equatorial Jet: Speed variations with and without the South Equatorial Disturbance Jupiter's South Equatorial Jet: Speed variations with and without the South Equatorial Disturbance

Oct 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011epsc.conf..169a&link_type=abstract

EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2011, held 2-7 October 2011 in Nantes, France. http://meetings.copernicus.org/epsc-dps2011, p.169

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Scientific paper

Amateur observers are now producing frequent highquality images of Jupiter to give a near-continuous record of its weather systems, with sufficient resolution to record zonal wind profiles in many regions. As an example of the level of detail now obtainable from amateur imaging and analysis, we show recent results on the diverse speeds within the jet at 7ºS (SEBn), and their modulation by the South Equatorial Disturbance (SED). The SED is a largescale wave in the jet [ref.1]. From analysis of amateur images, we have previously shown that there are substantial longitudinal variations in the peak speed, as traced by the motions of the small chevronshaped features on the SEBn edge [ref.2]. When the SED is present and conspicuous, the speed of the jet is markedly reduced east of the SED and sometimes, to a variable extent, at all longitudes. When the SED is absent or inconspicuous, the maximum jet speed is observed all around the planet, but some individual features move more slowly over shorter intervals. Here we present new data which confirms these phenomena at higher resolution and provides some insight into the underlying dynamics. In 2008, the SED was prominent, and the speed gradient to its east was clearly demonstrated by numerous chevrons; many of them were seen to accelerate. In 2010, the SED disappeared as the SEB whitened, and the alternative regime was observed: there were longlived bands of disturbance moving with the peak jet speed, and many individual spots moving with the same speed, but many others were moving more slowly. Characteristics of the slower spots suggested that they were partially detached from the regular array of chevrons in the jet peak.

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