Temperature and circulation in the stratosphere of the outer planets

Conrath, B. J.; Gierasch, P. J.; Leroy, S. S.

doi:10.1016/0019-1035(90)90068-k

Cited by 141 publications

(224 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Cooling from C 2 H 2 and C 2 H 6 emissions was included but the C 2 H 2 and C 2 H 6 distributions were assumed to be constant with latitude and altitude. West et al (1992) found that the preponderance of aerosols at high latitudes forced a circulation pattern opposite to that calculated by Conrath et al (1990) with subsidence in equatorial regions. The results from West et al (1992) were used by Friedson et al (1999) to show that the meridional mixing rate of aerosols created in the SL9 collisions was consistent with horizontal eddy mixing derived from the divergence of the Eliasen-Palm flux.…”

Section: Previous Radiative Equilibrium Modelsmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Conrath et al (1990) argued that the lack of latitudinal gradients in the stratospheric temperature is due to the fact that the weak CH 4 bands are optically thin, implying a latitude-independent heating rate. The optically thin behavior of the heating rates in Conrath et al (1990) is a consequence of their approximate radiative transfer treatment. The small latitudinal temperature gradients on Jupiter requires a different explanation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Voyager and ground-based observations indicate that the temperature of the stratosphere is surprisingly uniform with latitude, implying efficient meridional redistribution of heat (Conrath et al 1990. Conrath et al (1990) utilized a model including radiation and friction to study the dynamics of outer planet stratospheres. These authors found that the lower stratosphere is forced primarily by the prevailing winds in the upper troposphere.…”

Section: Previous Radiative Equilibrium Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Radiative forcing becomes important in the upper stratosphere causing a Hadley-cell circulation pattern with upwelling at low latitudes and subsidence at high latitudes, driven by the excess solar energy deposited in equatorial regions. Conrath et al (1990) did not consider aerosol heating. West et al (1992) studied the radiative and dynamical structure of the jovian stratosphere using a Transformed Eulerian Mean model to infer diabatic circulation patterns and eddy forcing from observed temperatures and calculations of net radiative heating rates.…”

Section: Previous Radiative Equilibrium Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Structure of the Jovian Stratosphere at the Galileo Probe Entry Site

Yelle

Griffith

Young

2001

Icarus

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The structure of the Jovian stratosphere at the Galileo probe entry site is investigated through calculations of radiative heating rates based on measurements of the temperature profile, composition, and aerosol distribution. From analysis of mid-IR observations of Jupiter, we determine a C 2 H 2 mole fraction of 1.1-4.3 × 10 −6 at 0.01 mbar, and a C 2 H 6 mole fraction of 2.8-6.5 × 10 −6 at 0.4-10 mbar. The derived distributions imply that C 2 H 6 and C 2 H 2 are the most important coolants in the Jovian stratosphere from 0.004 to 10 mbar, and that the stratosphere is close to radiative equilibrium. In Jupiter's stratosphere, as in the stratosphere of the Earth, photochemical species play an essential role in the energy balance.

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Section: Previous Radiative Equilibrium Modelsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Previous Radiative Equilibrium Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Previous Radiative Equilibrium Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Structure of the Jovian Stratosphere at the Galileo Probe Entry Site

Yelle

Griffith

Young

2001

Icarus

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“…A minimum cooling rate of 0.15 K/day in the 10−100 mbar region is significantly larger than the nominal rate of radiative cooling (a 2−3 year timescale at these pressures, Bézard 1997;Conrath et al 1990). Additional radiative cooling from the silicate debris in the 9−11 μm and 17−20 μm regions and stratospheric NH 3 at 10.0 μm are likely to contribute, but we also note that significant horizontal redistribution of energy and material occurred in the week following the impact, mixing and diluting the warmer gases with unperturbed regions (Fig.…”

Section: Stratospheric Coolingmentioning

confidence: 87%

Jupiter’s stratospheric hydrocarbons and temperatures after the July 2009 impact from VLT infrared spectroscopy

Fletcher

Orton

Pater

et al. 2010

A&A

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Aims. Thermal infrared imaging and spectroscopy of the July 19, 2009 Jupiter impact site has been used to identify unique features of the physical and chemical atmospheric response to this unexpected collision. Methods. Images and high-resolution spectra of methane, ethane and acetylene emission (7−13 μm) from the 2009 impact site were obtained by the Very Large Telescope (VLT) mid-infrared camera/spectrometer instrument, VISIR. An optimal estimation retrieval algorithm was used to determine the atmospheric temperatures and hydrocarbon distribution in the month following the impact. Results. Ethane spectra at 12.25 μm could not be explained by a rise in temperature alone. Ethane was enhanced by 1.7−3.2 times the background abundance on July 26, implying production as the result of shock chemistry in a high C/O ratio environment, favouring an asteroidal origin for the 2009 impactor. Small enhancements in acetylene emission were also observed over the impact site. However, no excess methane emission was found over the impact longitude, either with broadband 7.9-μm imaging 21 h after the impact, or with center-to-limb scans of strong and weak methane lines between 7.9 and 8.1 μm in the ensuing days, indicating either extremely rapid cooling in the initial stages, or an absence of heating in the upper stratosphere (p < 10 mbar) due to the near-horizontal orientation of the impact. Models of 12.3-μm spectra are consistent with a ≈3 K rise in the lower stratosphere (p > 10 mbar), though this solution is highly dependent on the spectral properties of stratospheric debris. The enhanced ethane emission was localised over the impact streak, and was diluted in the ensuing weeks by redistribution of heated gases by zonal flow and mixing with the unperturbed jovian air. Conclusions. The different thermal energy deposition profiles, in addition to the highly reducing (C/O > 1) environment and shallow impactor angle, suggest that (a) the 2009 plume and shock-fronts did not reach the sub-microbar altitudes of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 plumes; and (b) models of a cometary impact are not directly applicable to the unique impact circumstances of July 2009.

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New Observations and Modeling of Jupiter's Quasi‐Quadrennial Oscillation

et al. 2017

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The quasi‐quadrennial oscillation (QQO) and its ∼4 year period in Jupiter's atmosphere were first discovered in 7.8 μm infrared observations spanning the 1980s and 1990s from detecting semiregular variations in equatorial brightness temperatures near 10 hPa. New observations that probe between 0.1 and 30 hPa in Jupiter's atmosphere using the Texas Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (TEXES), mounted on the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, have characterized the vertical structure of the QQO during a complete cycle between January 2012 and April 2016. These new observations show the thermal oscillation previously detected at 10 hPa and that it extends over a pressure range of 2–17 hPa. We have incorporated a spectrum of wave drag parameterizations into the Explicit Planetary Isentropic Code general circulation model to simulate the observed Jovian QQO temperature signatures inferred from the TEXES observations as a function of latitude. A new stochastic wave drag parameterization explores vertical wind structure and offers insight into the spectra of waves that likely exist in Jupiter's atmosphere to force the QQO. High‐frequency gravity waves produced from convection likely contribute significantly to the QQO momentum budget. The model temperature outputs show strong correlations to equatorial and surrounding latitude temperature fields retrieved from the TEXES data sets at different epochs. Our results reproduce the QQO phenomenon as a zonal jet that descends over time in response to Jovian atmospheric forcing (e.g., gravity waves from convection).

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Temperature and circulation in the stratosphere of the outer planets

Cited by 141 publications

References 23 publications

Structure of the Jovian Stratosphere at the Galileo Probe Entry Site

Structure of the Jovian Stratosphere at the Galileo Probe Entry Site

Jupiter’s stratospheric hydrocarbons and temperatures after the July 2009 impact from VLT infrared spectroscopy

New Observations and Modeling of Jupiter's Quasi‐Quadrennial Oscillation

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