Modeling Deep Thermal and Compositional Heterogeneity in Uranus: Explaining the Microwave Observations

Details Modeling Deep Thermal and Compositional Heterogeneity in Uranus: Explaining the Microwave Observations Modeling Deep Thermal and Compositional Heterogeneity in Uranus: Explaining the Microwave Observations

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.1130f&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #11.30; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.501

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

Microwave observations of Uranus' atmosphere show large variations of brightness temperature with latitude. These have been interpreted as indicating the presence of large, order-of-magnitude gradients in the microwave opacity associated with abundance variations of condensable species (Hofstadter and Butler 2003). Traditional models of the internal dynamics and thermal structure of Uranus cannot account for a heterogeneous opacity distribution occurring at the depths sensed by the microwave observations, which probe to levels where the pressure may exceed 50 bars. In an effort to address the origin of the heterogeneity in the opacity distribution, we are developing a radiative-diffusive mixing-length model to calculate the seasonal flow of heat and minor constituents in the atmosphere and interior of Uranus. The model includes the effects of seasonally varying solar heating and radiative cooling, latent heat associated with ortho-para hydrogen conversion, and dynamical heat transport due to small-scale convection and large-scale eddies. Particular attention is given to the influence of these effects on the static stability and efficiency of mixing in Uranus' interior. This research is supported by a grant from NASA's Outer Planet Research Program.

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