loading page

Constraints on the latitudinal profile of Jupiter's deep jets
  • +7
  • Eli Galanti,
  • Yohai Kaspi,
  • Keren Duer,
  • Leigh N Fletcher,
  • Andrew Ingersoll,
  • Cheng Li,
  • Glenn S Orton,
  • Tristan Guillot,
  • Steven M. Levin,
  • Scott J Bolton
Eli Galanti
Weizmann Institute of Science

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile
Yohai Kaspi
Weizmann Institute of Science
Author Profile
Keren Duer
Weizmann Institute of Science
Author Profile
Leigh N Fletcher
University of Leicester
Author Profile
Andrew Ingersoll
Caltech
Author Profile
Cheng Li
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Author Profile
Glenn S Orton
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Author Profile
Tristan Guillot
Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur
Author Profile
Steven M. Levin
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Author Profile
Scott J Bolton
Southwest Research Institute
Author Profile

Abstract

The observed zonal winds at Jupiter’s cloud tops have been shown to be closely linked to the asymmetric part of the planet’s measured gravity field. However, other measurements suggest that in some latitudinal regions the flow below the clouds might be somewhat different from the observed cloud-level winds. Here we show, using both the symmetric and asymmetric parts of the measured gravity field, that the observed cloud-level wind profile between 25oS and 25oN must extend unaltered to depths of thousands of kilometers. Poleward, the midlatitude deep jets also contribute to the gravity signal, but might differ somewhat from the cloud-level winds. We analyze the likelihood of this difference and give bounds to its strength. We also find that to match the gravity measurements, the winds must project inward in the direction parallel to Jupiter’s spin axis, and that their decay inward should be in the radial direction.
16 May 2021Published in Geophysical Research Letters volume 48 issue 9. 10.1029/2021GL092912