Planetary Climate Dynamics

Abstract:

Until recently, observations of the giant planets of our Solar System were confined to sampling relatively shallow regions of their atmospheres, leaving many uncertainties as to the dynamics of deeper layers. The Cassini and Juno missions to Saturn and Jupiter, however, have begun to address these issues, for example, by measuring their gravity and magnetic fields. The results show that the zonally coherent jets and cloud bands extend to levels where the electrical conductivity of the fluid becomes significant, whereas large-scale vortices, such as the Great Red Spot, are relatively shallow but may have deep-seated roots. The polar regions also exhibit intense cyclonic vortices that, on Jupiter, arrange themselves into remarkably regular “vortex crystals.” Numerical models seem able to capture some of this complexity, but many issues remain unresolved, suggesting a need for models that can represent both deep and shallow processes sufficiently realistically to compare with observations.