Mesoscale waves as a probe of Jupiter's deep atmosphere

Details Mesoscale waves as a probe of Jupiter's deep atmosphere Mesoscale waves as a probe of Jupiter's deep atmosphere

Oct 1986

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1986joat.conf..193f&link_type=abstract

In NASA. Goddard Inst. for Space Studies The Jovian Atmospheres p 193-194 (SEE N87-17598 09-91)

Computer Science

Gravity Waves, Jupiter Atmosphere, Mesoscale Phenomena, Wave Propagation, Zonal Flow (Meteorology), Ammonia, Chemical Clouds, Flow Velocity, Meridional Flow, Richardson Number, Vertical Air Currents

Scientific paper

Images from the Voyager north/south mapping sequences were searched for waves. A remarkable class of mesoscale waves was identified, with the following features: (1) the wavetrains are usually aligned zonally, i.e., wavecrests are north-south; (2) the average wavelength is 300 km with a standard deviation of only 20%; (3) the wavetrains are long; (4) the waves occur within 25 degrees of the equator, the bulk being at the equator itself; (5) the waves are centered at the extrema (in latitude) of the zonal flow; and (6) the meridional extent of the waves is typically 1 degree of latitude. These observations are interpreted as evidence of gravity waves propagating vertically within a leaky duct. A three-level model is assumed composed of a stable duct which extends up to the base of the NH3 cloud deck near 600 mb. Above this is a thin wave-trapping region characterized by a Richardson number Ri less than 1/4 and containing a critical level, where the local value of the zonal flow velocity equals the phase speed of the wave. This in turn is overlain by a stable region, representing the tropopause region and stratosphere.

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