The vertical structure of Jupiter's equatorial zonal wind above the cloud deck, derived using mesoscale gravity waves. Issue 3 (13th February 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Watkins, C.; Cho, J. Y‐K.
• Is Part Of: Geophysical research letters. Volume 40:Issue 3(2013:Feb.)
• Page Start: 472
• Page End: 476
• Publication Date: 2013-02-13
• Subjects: Geophysics -- Periodicals; Planets -- Periodicals; Lunar geology -- Periodicals; 550
• DOI: 10.1029/2012GL054368
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0094-8276

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p id="grl50028-para-0001">[1] Data from the Galileo Probe, collected during its descent into Jupiter's atmosphere, is used to obtain a vertical profile of the zonal wind from ~0.5 bar (upper troposphere) to ~0.1 µbar (lower thermosphere) at the probe entry site. This is accomplished by constructing a map of gravity wave Lomb‐Scargle periodograms as a function of altitude. The profile obtained from the map indicates that the wind speed above the visible cloud deck increases with height to ~150 m s^‐1 and then levels off at this value over a broad altitude range. The location of the turbopause, as a region of wide wave spectrum, is also identified from the map. In addition, a cross‐equatorial oscillation of a jet, which has previously been linked to the QQO in the stratosphere, is suggested by the profile.</p> </abstract>