Why is the H3+ hot spot above Jupiter's Great Red Spot so hot?.pdf (1.95 MB)
Why is the H3+ hot spot above Jupiter's Great Red Spot so hot?
journal contribution
posted on 2019-09-17, 08:28 authored by LC Ray, CTS Lorch, J O'Donoghue, JN Yates, SV Badman, CGA Smith, TS StallardRecent observations of Jupiter's Great Red Spot indicate that the thermosphere above the storm is hotter than its surroundings by more than 700 K. Possible suggested sources for this heating have thus far included atmospheric gravity waves and lightning-driven acoustic waves. Here, we propose that Joule heating, driven by Great Red Spot vorticity penetrating up into the lower stratosphere and coupling to the thermosphere, may contribute to the large observed temperatures. The strength of Joule heating will depend on the local inclination angle of the magnetic field and thus the observed emissions and inferred temperatures should vary with planetary longitude as the Great Red Spot tracks across the planet. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Advances in hydrogen molecular ions: H3+, H5+ and beyond'.
Funding
L.C.R. was funded by STFC Consolidated Grant ST/R000816/1 to Lancaster University. C.T.S.L. was supported by an STFC Studentship. J.N.Y. was supported by a European Space Agency research fellowship. S.V.B. was supported by an STFC Consolidated Grant to Lancaster University, ST/R000816/1, and an STFC Ernest Rutherford Fellowship, ST/M005534/1. J.O'.D. was supported by an appointment to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Postdoctoral Program at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, administered by Universities Space Research Association under contract with NASA.
History
Citation
Philosophical Transactions A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2019, 377 (2154), pp. 20180407-?Author affiliation
/Organisation/COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING/Department of Physics and AstronomyVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)
