Conjecture about a hurricane system in the Jovian atmosphere

Abstract

Kuiper (1972) had suggested that the Great Red Spot (GRS) of Jupiter is a giant hurricane. We present further arguments in support of this idea and propose that it may also apply to the smaller vortices such as the white and brown ovals (barges). Our estimates indicate that the spin-down timeconstants for these Jovian vortices are significantly shorter than the observed lifetimes. Thus, the motions must be sustained through the continued release of internal energy. In analogy with the CISK mechanism for the terrestrial hurricane, transport of water vapor, which is observed on Jupiter, may provide the latent energy to fuel the motions. The energy the planet emits must be transported upwards; therefore its troposphere should be convectively unstable. In such an atmosphere, the proposed solar driven meridional circulation is multicellular, of the Ferrel-Thomson type. If the energy transport from the planetary interior is accelerated by the upward motions in the circulation, eastward zonal jets develop such as observed in the equatorial region. But if the upward flow of energy is impeded by the prevailing downward motions in the meridional circulation (which occur, for example, near 20" latitude), we propose that the convective instability is amplified. The conditions then are more favorable for the development of hurricanes which may appear in the form of the GRS and the white and brown ovals. The GRS with its large size and long life time (indicating that it is very deep) is unique, and we suggest that it may have been induced by meteor impact.

Rare Super Cyclone Phailin in the Indian Ocean: Analysis of VIIRS High-Resolution IR Images and 40 kHz Sferics Data

“…It was noted that the maximum IR brightness temperature in the eye of the cyclone in the 20:04 UTC on October 10, 2013 image was 24.4°C, which is pretty warm for a hurricane/ cyclone/typhoon eye (see footnote 2) (Hanley et al 2001;Mayr et al 1985). In fact, it is rare for the observed IR brightness temperature inside the eye to exceed 25-26°C.…”

Meridional Circulation with Latitude Bands of Long-Lived Cyclones in Jupiter’s Convective Atmosphere

“…The latitudinal temperature/pressure variations are generated by the internal convective energy source and in part by solar heating. The energy is mainly dissipated by the multi-cellular meridional circulation (Mayr and Harris [30]; Mayr et al [16]) which is involved (Mayr et al [1]) in the formation of the latitude bands where the long lived Jovian vortices are mainly observed.…”

“…Considering that the observed horizontal dimension of the planetary vortex can reach as an upper limit the Rossby diameter of deformation (Holton [26]), the depths, h, and spin-down times, τ, can be estimated (Holton [27]) to produce h = 400 km and 200 km, and τ = 1.6 years and 4 months for the GRS and the white/brown ovals, respectively (Mayr et al [1]). The long life time of the GRS, discovered centuries ago, indicates that it is rooted deep in the convective region of Jupiter's atmosphere, and high-precision gravity measurements with the Juno mission are exploring the depth of the vortex down to more than 300 km (Gilanti et al [9]).…”

“…The white and brown ovals also have live times exceeding the spin-down times, which suggests that they originate well below the clouds. These long-lived vortices are observed organized along latitude bands, and Mayr et al [1] propose that the downward motions in the global-scale meridional circulation can produce regions with amplified convective instability, varying with latitude, where the dynamical conditions are favorable for generating and sustaining the Jovian vortices.…”

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Mayr et al [1] proposed that the vertical velocities in the global scale meridional circulation can produce distinct latitude bands where Jovian vortices like the white and brown are observed, and we present here a brief review of the mechanism. The observed life times of the ovals are much longer than the estimated spin-down times, which indicates that the vortices must be sustained through the release of internal energy.

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