Animations

Jovian zonal flows

Schematic of the east-west zonal flows on Jupiter extending down 3000 km deep, overlaying an interior which is rotating nearly as a rigid-body.

 

Surface temperature dependance on rotation rate for an Earth-like planet

Surface temperature (colorscale, in K) illustrating the dependence of temperature and eddy scale on rotation rate. Simulations have rotation rates ranging from half (upper left) to four times that of Earth (lower right). Baroclinic instabilities dominate the dynamics in mid- and high latitudes, leading to baroclinic eddies whose length scales decrease with increasing planetary rotation rate. Kaspi and Showman, 2015, Fig. 3.