Thermal structure and composition of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot from high-resolution thermal imaging

Fletcher, Leigh N.; Orton, Glenn S.; Mousis, O.; Yanamandra-Fisher, P.; Parrish, P.; Irwin, Patrick; Fisher, B.; Vanzi, L.; Fujiyoshi, Takuya; Fuse, Tetsuharu; Simon-Miller, A. A.; Edkins, E.; Hayward, T. L.; Buizer, James De

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2010.01.005

Cited by 59 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Our PH 3 profile falls off in the upper troposphere and is zero in the stratosphere in order to be consistent with previous studies (e.g. Irwin et al (2004), andFletcher et al (2010)); however, the 4.66-µm spectrum is not sensitive to pressures less than 0.7 bar. The model with 0.8 ppm provides the best fit to the spectrum.…”

Section: Phosphine Abundancesupporting

confidence: 92%

The Gas Composition and Deep Cloud Structure of Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Bjoraker¹,

Wong

Pater

et al. 2018

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We have obtained high-resolution spectra of Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) between 4.6 and 5.4 µm using telescopes on Mauna Kea in order to derive gas abundances and to constrain its cloud structure between 0.5 and 5 bars. We used line profiles of deuterated methane (CH 3 D) at 4.66 µm to infer the presence of an opaque cloud at 5±1 bars. From thermochemical models this is almost certainly a water cloud. We also used the strength of Fraunhofer lines in the GRS to obtain the ratio of reflected sunlight to thermal emission. The level of the reflecting layer was constrained to be at 570±30 mbars based on fitting strong NH 3 lines at 5.32 µm. We identify this layer as an ammonia cloud based on the temperature where gaseous NH 3 condenses. We found evidence for a strongly absorbing, but not totally opaque, cloud layer at pressures deeper than 1.3 bars by combining Cassini/CIRS spectra of the GRS at 7.18 µm with ground-based spectra at 5 µm. This is consistent with the predicted level of an NH 4 SH cloud. We also constrained the vertical profile of H 2 O and NH 3 . The GRS spectrum is matched by a saturated H 2 O profile above an opaque water cloud at 5 bars. The pressure of the water cloud constrains Jupiter's O/H ratio to be at least 1.1 times solar. The NH 3 mole fraction is 200±50 ppm for pressures between 0.7 and 5 bars. Its abundance is 40 ppm at the estimated pressure of the reflecting layer. We obtained 0.8±0.2 ppm for PH 3 , a factor of 2 higher than in the warm collar surrounding the GRS. We detected all 5 naturally occurring isotopes of germanium in GeH 4 in the Great Red Spot. We obtained an average value of 0.35±0.05 ppb for GeH 4 . Finally, we measured 0.8±0.2 ppb for CO in the deep atmosphere.

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Section: Phosphine Abundancesupporting

confidence: 92%

The Gas Composition and Deep Cloud Structure of Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Bjoraker¹,

Wong

Pater

et al. 2018

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“…In a subadiabatic atmosphere this leads to the top of the vortex being colder than the ambient temperature at the same pressure level. This is exactly what is observed for several ovals at mid-infrared wavelengths (e.g., Conrath et al 1981;Cheng et al 2008;Fletcher et al 2010). In a stable long-lived vortex, gas that is rising upwards, must fall back down.…”

Section: Secondary Circulationsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…In an analysis of the 2010 fading of the South Equatorial Belt (SEB), Fletcher et al (2011) present observations at 8.6 and 10.8 µm which reveal that the top of the Northern Red Oval is slightly colder than the ambient temperature at the same pressure level, similar to findings for the GRS and Oval BA (e.g., Conrath et al 1981;Cheng et al 2008;Fletcher et al 2010). This suggests that air is baroclinically rising along the center axis of the oval.…”

Section: Secondary Circulationmentioning

confidence: 52%

Keck adaptive optics images of Jupiter’s north polar cap and Northern Red Oval

Pater

Wong

Kleer

et al. 2011

Icarus

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“…We have included for completeness an image obtained at 4.78 µm in the thermal infrared (Figure g), a wavelength sensitive to the opacity of the clouds to the thermal emission from Jupiter. The GRS and BA show low thermal emission in their centers because of the high cloud opacity but higher emission in a low‐opacity peripheral ring that results from a relatively low cloud opacity [e.g., Fletcher et al ., ; de Pater et al ., ]. For the RO the situation is similar, with a high emission ring that corresponds well with the dark circular filament seen at the vortex periphery in the visible images (Figures and ).…”

Section: Vortices Cloud Top Altitudesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colors of Jupiter's large anticyclones and the interaction of a Tropical Red Oval with the Great Red Spot in 2008

et al. 2013

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[1] The nature and mechanisms producing the chromophore agents that provide color to the upper clouds and hazes of the atmospheres of the giant planets are largely unknown. In recent times, the changes in red coloration that have occurred in large-and medium-scale Jovian anticyclones have been particularly interesting. In late June and early July 2008, a particularly color intense tropical red oval interacted with the Great Red Spot (GRS) leading to the destruction of the tropical red oval and cloud dispersion. We present a detailed study of the tropical vortices, usually white but sometimes red, and a characterization of their color spectral signatures and dynamics. From the spectral reflectivity in methane bands we study their vertical cloud structure compared to that of the GRS and BA. Using two spectral indices we found a near correlation between anticyclones cloud top altitudes and red color. We present detailed observations of the interaction of the red oval with the GRS and model simulations of the phenomena that allow us to constrain the relative vertical extent of the vortices. We conclude that the vertical cloud structure, vertical extent, and dynamics of Jovian anticyclones are not the causes of their coloration. We propose that the red chromophore forms when background material (a compound or particles) is entrained by the vortex, transforming into red once inside the vortex due to internal conditions, exposure to ultraviolet radiation, or to the mixing of two chemical compounds that react inside the vortex, confined by a potential vorticity ring barrier.Citation: Sa´nchez-Lavega, A., et al. (2013), Colors of Jupiter's large anticyclones and the interaction of a Tropical Red

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Thermal structure and composition of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot from high-resolution thermal imaging

Cited by 59 publications

References 43 publications

The Gas Composition and Deep Cloud Structure of Jupiter's Great Red Spot

The Gas Composition and Deep Cloud Structure of Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Keck adaptive optics images of Jupiter’s north polar cap and Northern Red Oval

Colors of Jupiter's large anticyclones and the interaction of a Tropical Red Oval with the Great Red Spot in 2008

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