Clouds, aerosols, and photochemistry in the Jovian atmosphere

An assessment is made of the development status of concepts for cloud and aerosol compositions, vertical and horizontal distributions, and microphysical properties, in the Jovian upper troposphere and stratosphere. Attention is given to several key photochemical species' relationships to aerosol formation as well as their transport process implications, treating photochemistry in the context of comparative planetology and noting differences and similarities among the outer planet atmospheres; since this approach emphasizes observational data, a variegated assortment of ground-based and spacecraft observations is assembled. Current views on the tropospheric distribution of clouds are challenged, and a rationale is presented for alternative accounts.