The Shape of Jupiter and Saturn Based on Atmospheric Dynamics, Radio Occultations and Gravity Measurements
arXiv:2305.02647 · doi:10.1029/2022GL102321
Abstract
The shape of the two gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn, is determined primarily by their rotation rate, and interior density distribution. It is also affected by their zonal winds, causing an anomaly of O(10 km) at low latitudes. However, uncertainties in the observed cloud-level wind and the polar radius, translate to an uncertainty in the shape with the same order of magnitude. The Juno (Jupiter) and Cassini (Saturn) missions gave unprecedented accurate gravity measurements, constraining better the uncertainty in the wind structure. Using an accurate shape calculation, and a joint optimization, given both gravity and radio-occultation measurements, we calculate the possible range of dynamical height for both planets. We find that for Saturn there is an excellent match to the radio-occultation measurements, while at Jupiter such a match is not achieved. This may point to deviations from a barotropic flow above the cloud level, which might be tested with the forthcoming radio-occultation measurements by Juno.
References in corpus (15)
- Saturn's deep atmospheric flows revealed by the Cassini Grand Finale gravity measurements
- Jupiter's inhomogeneous envelope
- Cassini Ring Seismology as a Probe of Saturn's Interior I: Rigid Rotation
- Interior Models of Saturn: Including the Uncertainties in Shape and Rotation
- Comparison of the deep atmospheric dynamics of Jupiter and Saturn in light of the Juno and Cassini gravity measurements
- Saturn's fast spin determined from its gravitational field and oblateness
- Models of Saturn's Interior Constructed with Accelerated Concentric Maclaurin Spheroid Method
- How well do we understand the belt/zone circulation of Giant Planet atmospheres?
- Gravity and Zonal Flows of Giant Planets: From the Euler Equation to the Thermal Wind Equation
- A full, self-consistent, treatment of thermal wind balance on oblate fluid planets
- Jupiter's Temperate Belt/Zone Contrasts Revealed at Depth by Juno Microwave Observations
- Jupiter's Equatorial Plumes and Hot Spots: Spectral Mapping from Gemini/TEXES and Juno/MWR
- An adjoint based method for the inversion of the Juno and Cassini gravity measurements into wind fields
- Constraints on the latitudinal profile of Jupiter's deep jets
- Jupiter's Occultation Radii: Implications for its Internal Dynamics