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Jupiter’s Equatorial Plumes and Hot Spots: Spectral Mapping from Gemini/TEXES and Juno/MWR
  • +13
  • Leigh N Fletcher,
  • Glenn S Orton,
  • Thomas K. Greathouse,
  • John H. Rogers,
  • Zhimeng Zhang,
  • Fabiano A. Oyafuso,
  • Gerald Eichstadt,
  • Henrik Melin,
  • Cheng Li,
  • Steven M. Levin,
  • Scott J Bolton,
  • Michael A Janssen,
  • Hans-Jorg Mettig,
  • Davide Grassi,
  • Alessandro Mura,
  • Alberto Adriani
Leigh N Fletcher
University of Leicester

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Glenn S Orton
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
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Thomas K. Greathouse
Southwest Research Institute
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John H. Rogers
British Astronomical Association
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Zhimeng Zhang
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Fabiano A. Oyafuso
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
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Gerald Eichstadt
Independent
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Henrik Melin
University of Leicester
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Cheng Li
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
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Steven M. Levin
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Scott J Bolton
Southwest Research Institute
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Michael A Janssen
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Hans-Jorg Mettig
British Astronomical Association
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Davide Grassi
INAF
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Alessandro Mura
Unknown
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Alberto Adriani
IAPS-INAF
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Abstract

We present multi-wavelength measurements of the thermal, chemical, and cloud contrasts associated with the visibly dark formations (also known as 5-µm hot spots) and intervening bright plumes on the boundary between Jupiter’s Equatorial Zone (EZ) and North Equatorial Belt (NEB). Observations made by the TEXES 5-20 µm spectrometer at the Gemini North Telescope in March 2017 reveal the upper-tropospheric properties of 12 hot spots, which are directly compared to measurements by Juno using the Microwave Radiometer (MWR), JIRAM at 5 µm, and JunoCam visible images. MWR and thermal-infrared spectroscopic results are consistent near 0.7 bar. Mid-infrared-derived aerosol opacity is consistent with that inferred from visible-albedo and 5-µm opacity maps. Aerosol contrasts, the defining characteristics of the cloudy plumes and aerosol-depleted hot spots, are not a good proxy for microwave brightness. The hot spots are neither uniformly warmer nor ammonia-depleted compared to their surroundings at p<1 bar. At 0.7 bar, the microwave brightness at the edges of hot spots is comparable to other features within the NEB, whereas they are brighter at 1.5 bar, signifying either warm temperatures and/or depleted NH3 at depth. Temperatures and ammonia are spatially variable within the hot spots, so the precise location of the observations matters to their interpretation. Reflective plumes sometimes have enhanced NH3, cold temperatures, and elevated aerosol opacity, but each plume appears different. Neither plumes nor hot spots had microwave signatures in channels sensing p>10 bars, suggesting that the hot-spot/plume wave is a relatively shallow feature.
Aug 2020Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets volume 125 issue 8. 10.1029/2020JE006399