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Variability of Jupiter's Five-Micron Hot Spot InventoryGlobal upheavals on Jupiter involve changes in the albedo of entire axisymmetric regions, lasting several years, with the last two occurring in 1989 and 2006. Against this backdrop of planetary-scale changes, discrete features such as the Great Red Spot (GRS), and other vortices exhibit changes on shorter spatial- and time-scales. We track the variability of the discrete equatorial 5-micron hot spots, semi-evenly spaced in longitude and confined to a narrow latitude band centered at 6.5degN (southern edge of the North Equatorial Belt, NEB), abundant in Voyager images. Tantalizingly similar patterns were observed in the visible (bright plumes and blue-gray regions), where reflectivity in the red is anti-correlated with 5-microns thermal radiance. Ortiz et al. (1998, GRL, 103) characterized the latitude and drift rates of the hot spots, including the descent of the Galileo probe at the southern edge of a 5-micron hot spot, as the superposition of equatorial Rossby waves, with phase speeds between 99 - 103m/s, relative to System III. We note that the high 5-micron radiances correlate well but not perfectly with high 8.57-micron radiances. Because the latter are modulated primarily by changes in the upper ammonia (NH3) ice cloud opacity, this correlation implies that changes in the ammonia ice cloud field may be responsible for the variability seen in the 5-~m maps. During the NEB fade (2011 - early 2012), however, these otherwise ubiquitous features were absent, an atmospheric state not seen in decades. The ongoing NEB revival indicates nascent 5-~m hot spots as early as April 2012, with corresponding visible dark spots. Their continuing growth through July 2012 indicates the possit.le re-establishment of Rossby waves. The South Equatorial Belt (SEB) and NEB revivals began similarly with an instability that developed into a major outbreak, and many similarities in the observed propagation of clear regions.
Document ID
20120013523
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Yanamandra-Fisher, Padma A.
(Space Science Inst. Boulder, CO, United States)
Orton, G. S.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Wakefield, L.
(Cal Poly CA, United States)
Rogers, J. H.
(BAA Ltd. United Kingdom)
Simon-Miller, A. A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Boydstun, K.
(Ohio State Univ. OH, United States)
Date Acquired
August 26, 2013
Publication Date
July 23, 2012
Subject Category
Space Sciences (General)
Report/Patent Number
GSFC.ABS.6837.2012
Meeting Information
Meeting: 44th Annual Meeting AAS Division of Planetary Sciences
Location: Reno, NV
Country: United States
Start Date: October 14, 2012
End Date: October 19, 2012
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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