Publications

Jupiter's equatorial eastward zonal flows reach wind velocities of ∼100 m s⁻¹, while on Saturn they are three times as strong and extend about twice as wide in latitude, despite the two planets being overall dynamically similar. Recent gravity measurements obtained by the Juno and Cassini spacecraft uncovered that the depth of zonal flows on Saturn is about three times greater than on Jupiter. Here we show, using 3D deep convection simulations, that the atmospheric depth is the determining factor controlling both the strength and latitudinal extent of the equatorial zonal flows, consistent with the measurements for both planets. We show that the atmospheric depth is proportional to the convectively driven eddy momentum flux, which controls the strength of the zonal flows. These results provide a mechanistic explanation for the observed differences in the equatorial regions of Jupiter and Saturn, and offer new understandings about the dynamics of gas giants beyond the Solar System.

Chang (2024, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl110011) challenged the methodology proposed recently by Okajima et al. for evaluating cyclonic and anticyclonic contributions to Eulerian eddy statistics and atmospheric energetics based on the local flow curvature. He argued that using the local wind curvature to separate energetic contributions from cyclones and anticyclones is not physically meaningful. Here we argue that his claims are based on an unrealistic assumption of monopolar relative vorticity in an entire storm-track domain and a meridionally uniform zonal background flow atypical to midlatitudes. We also demonstrate that the error in attributing eddy statistics to cyclones and anticyclones is significantly smaller than his estimation. Rather, we further demonstrate that the curvature-based methodology effectively eliminates the shear influence to identify cyclonic and anticyclonic regions, which is dismissed in his argument. We conclude that the curvature-based methodology is beneficial in evaluating distinct cyclonic and anticyclonic contributions to atmospheric energetics in realistic conditions.

Climate models generally predict a poleward shift of the midlatitude circulation in response to climate change induced by increased greenhouse gas concentration, but the intermodel spread of the eddy-driven jet shift is large and poorly understood. Recent studies point to the significance of midlatitude midtropospheric diabatic heating for the intermodel spread in the jet latitude. To examine the role of diabatic heating in the jet response to climate change, a series of simulations are performed using an idealized aquaplanet model. It is found that both increased CO₂ concentration and increased saturation vapor pressure induce a similar warming response, leading to a poleward and upward shift of the midlatitude circulation. An exception to this poleward shift is found for a certain range of temperatures, where the eddy-driven jet shifts equatorward, while the latitude of the eddy heat flux remains essentially unchanged. This equatorward jet shift is explained by the connection between the zonal-mean momentum and heat budgets: increased diabatic heating in the midlatitude midtroposphere balances the cooling by the Ferrel cell ascending branch, enabling an equatorward shift of the Ferrel cell streamfunction and eddy-driven jet, while the latitude of the eddy heat flux remains unchanged. The equatorward jet shift and the strengthening of the midlatitude diabatic heating are found to be sensitive to the model resolution. The implications of these results for a potential reduction in the jet shift uncertainty through the improvement of convective parameterizations are discussed.

Letter

Abstract Jupiter's atmosphere comprises several dynamical regimes: the equatorial eastward flows and surrounding retrograde jets; the midlatitudes, with the eddy-driven, alternating jet-streams and meridional circulation cells; and the jet-free turbulent polar region. Despite intensive research conducted on each of these dynamical regimes over the past decades, they remain only partially understood. Saturn's atmosphere also encompasses similar distinguishable regimes, but observational evidence for midlatitude deep meridional cells is lacking. Models offer a variety of explanations for each of these regions, but only a few are capable of simulating more than one of the regimes at once. This study presents new numerical simulations using a 3D deep anelastic model that can reproduce the equatorial flows as well as the midlatitudinal pattern of the mostly barotropic, alternating eddy-driven jets and the meridional circulation cells accompanying them. These simulations are consistent with recent Juno mission gravity and microwave data. We find that the vertical eddy momentum fluxes are as important as the meridional eddy momentum fluxes, which drive the midlatitudinal circulation on Earth. In addition, we discuss the parameters controlling the number of midlatitudinal jets/cells, their extent, strength, and location. We identify the strong relationship between meridional circulation and the zonal jets in a deep convection setup, and analyze the mechanism responsible for their generation and maintenance. The analysis presented here provides another step in the ongoing pursuit of understanding the deep atmospheres of gas giants.

ESAs Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) will provide a detailed investigation of the Jovian system in the 2030s, combining a suite of state-of-the-art instruments with an orbital tour tailored to maximise observing opportunities. We review the Jupiter science enabled by the JUICE mission, building on the legacy of discoveries from the Galileo, Cassini, and Juno missions, alongside ground- and space-based observatories. We focus on remote sensing of the climate, meteorology, and chemistry of the atmosphere and auroras from the cloud-forming weather layer, through the upper troposphere, into the stratosphere and ionosphere. The Jupiter orbital tour provides a wealth of opportunities for atmospheric and auroral science: global perspectives with its near-equatorial and inclined phases, sampling all phase angles from dayside to nightside, and investigating phenomena evolving on timescales from minutes to months. The remote sensing payload spans far-UV spectroscopy (50-210 nm), visible imaging (340-1080 nm), visible/near-infrared spectroscopy (0.49-5.56 μm), and sub-millimetre sounding (near 530-625 GHz and 1067-1275 GHz). This is coupled to radio, stellar, and solar occultation opportunities to explore the atmosphere at high vertical resolution; and radio and plasma wave measurements of electric discharges in the Jovian atmosphere and auroras. Cross-disciplinary scientific investigations enable JUICE to explore coupling processes in giant planet atmospheres, to show how the atmosphere is connected to (i) the deep circulation and composition of the hydrogen-dominated interior; and (ii) to the currents and charged particle environments of the external magnetosphere. JUICE will provide a comprehensive characterisation of the atmosphere and auroras of this archetypal giant planet.

The North Pacific storm-track activity is suppressed substantially under the excessively strong westerlies to form a distinct minimum in midwinter, which seems inconsistent with linear baroclinic instability theory. This \u201cmidwinter minimum\u201d of the storm-track activity has been intensively investigated for decades as a test case for storm-track dynamics. However, the mechanisms controlling it are yet to be fully unveiled and are still under debate. Here we investigate the detailed seasonal evolution of the climatological density of surface migratory anticyclones over the North Pacific, in comparison with its counterpart for cyclones, based on a Lagrangian tracking algorithm. We demonstrate that the frequency of surface cyclones over the North Pacific maximizes in midwinter, whereas that of anticyclones exhibits a distinct midwinter minimum under the upstream influence, especially from the Japan Sea region. In midwinter, it is only on such a rare occasion that prominent weakening of the East Asian winter monsoon allows a migratory surface anticyclone to form over the Japan Sea, despite the unfavorable climatological-mean conditions due to persistent monsoonal cold-air outbreaks and the excessively strong upper-tropospheric westerlies. The midwinter minimum of the North Pacific anticyclone density suggests that anticyclones are likely the key to understanding the midwinter minimum of the North Pacific storm-track activity as measured by Eulerian eddy statistics.

This chapter reviews the way the six key questions about planetary systems, from their origins to the way they work and their habitability, identified in Chapter 1 (Blanc et al., 2021), can be addressed by means of solar system exploration, and how one can find partial answers to these six questions by flying to the different provinces to the solar system: terrestrial planets, giant planets, small bodies, and up to its interface with the local interstellar medium. It derives from this analysis a synthetic description of the most important space observations to be performed at the different solar system objects by future planetary exploration missions. These \u201cobservation requirements\u201d illustrate the diversity of measurement techniques to be used as well as the diversity of destinations where these observations must be made. They constitute the base for the identification of the future planetary missions we need to fly by 2061, which are described in Chapter 4.

Context. The Juno mission has provided measurements of Jupiter's gravity field with an outstanding level of accuracy, leading to better constraints on the interior of the planet. Improving our knowledge of the internal structure of Jupiter is key to understanding its formation and evolution but is also important in the framework of exoplanet exploration. Aims. In this study, we investigated the differences between the state-of-the-art equations of state and their impact on the properties of interior models. Accounting for uncertainty on the hydrogen and helium equation of state, we assessed the span of the interior features of Jupiter. Methods. We carried out an extensive exploration of the parameter space and studied a wide range of interior models using Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations. To consider the uncertainty on the equation of state, we allowed for modifications of the equation of state in our calculations. Results. Our models harbour a dilute core and indicate that Jupiter's internal entropy is higher than what is usually assumed from the Galileo probe measurements. We obtain solutions with extended dilute cores, but contrary to other recent interior models of Jupiter, we also obtain models with small dilute cores. The dilute cores in such solutions extend to ∼20% of Jupiter's mass, leading to better agreement with formation-evolution models. Conclusions. We conclude that the equations of state used in Jupiter models have a crucial effect on the inferred structure and composition. Further explorations of the behaviour of hydrogen-helium mixtures at the pressure and temperature conditions in Jupiter will help to constrain the interior of the planet, and therefore its origin.

Several different factors influence the seasonal cycle of a planet. This study uses a general circulation model and an energy balance model (EBM) to assess the parameters that govern the seasonal cycle. We define two metrics to describe the seasonal cycle, ϕs, the latitudinal shift of the maximum temperature, and ΔT, the maximum seasonal temperature variation amplitude. We show that alongside the expected dependence on the obliquity and orbital period, where seasonality generally strengthens with an increase in these parameters, the seasonality depends in a nontrivial way on the rotation rate. While the seasonal amplitude decreases as the rotation rate slows down, the latitudinal shift, ϕs, shifts poleward. A similar result occurs in a diffusive EBM with increasing diffusivity. These results suggest that the influence of the rotation rate on the seasonal cycle stems from the effect of the rotation rate on the atmospheric heat transport.

The polar cyclone at Jupiter's south pole and the five cyclones surrounding it oscillate in position and interact. These cyclones, observed since 2016 by NASA's Juno mission, present a unique opportunity to study vortex dynamics and interactions on long time scales. The cyclones' position data, acquired by Juno's JIRAM instrument, is analyzed, showing dominant oscillations with ∼12 month periods and amplitudes of ∼400 km. Here, the mechanism driving these oscillations is revealed by considering vorticity-gradient forces generated by mutual interactions between the cyclones and the latitudinal variation in planetary vorticity. Data-driven estimation of these forces exhibits a high correlation with the measured acceleration of the cyclones. To further test this mechanism, a model is constructed, simulating how cyclones subject to these forces exhibit similar oscillatory motion.

The Juno spacecraft has been collecting data to shed light on the planets origin and characterize its interior structure. The onboard gravity science experiment based on X-band and Ka-band dual-frequency Doppler tracking precisely measured Jupiters zonal gravitational field. Here, we analyze 22 Junos gravity passes to investigate the gravity field. Our analysis provides evidence of new gravity field features, which perturb its otherwise axially symmetric structure with a time-variable component. We show that normal modes of the planet could explain the anomalous signatures present in the Doppler data better than other alternative explanations, such as localized density anomalies and non-axisymmetric components of the static gravity field. We explain Juno data by p-modes having an amplitude spectrum with a peak radial velocity of 1050 cm/s at 9001200 μHz (compatible with ground-based observations) and provide upper bounds on lower frequency f-modes (radial velocity smaller than 1 cm/s). The new Juno results could open the possibility of exploring the interior structure of the gas giants through measurements of the time-variable gravity or with onboard instrumentation devoted to the observation of normal modes, which could drive spacecraft operations of future missions.

Context. While Jupiter's massive gas envelope consists mainly of hydrogen and helium, the key to understanding Jupiter's formation and evolution lies in the distribution of the remaining (heavy) elements. Before the Juno mission, the lack of high-precision gravity harmonics precluded the use of statistical analyses in a robust determination of the heavy-element distribution in Jupiter's envelope. Aims. In this paper, we assemble the most comprehensive and diverse collection of Jupiter interior models to date and use it to study the distribution of heavy elements in the planet's envelope. Methods. We apply a Bayesian statistical approach to our interior model calculations, reproducing the Juno gravitational and atmospheric measurements and constraints from the deep zonal flows. Results. Our results show that the gravity constraints lead to a deep entropy of Jupiter corresponding to a 1 bar temperature that is 515 K higher than traditionally assumed. We also find that uncertainties in the equation of state are crucial when determining the amount of heavy elements in Jupiter's interior. Our models put an upper limit to the inner compact core of Jupiter of 7 MEarth, independently of the structure model (with or without a dilute core) and the equation of state considered. Furthermore, we robustly demonstrate that Jupiter's envelope is inhomogeneous, with a heavy-element enrichment in the interior relative to the outer envelope. This implies that heavy-element enrichment continued through the gas accretion phase, with important implications for the formation of giant planets in our Solar System and beyond.

Storm-track activity over the North Pacific (NP) climatologically exhibits a clear minimum in midwinter, when the westerly jet speed sharply maximizes. This counterintuitive phenomenon, referred to as the “midwinter minimum (MWM),” has been investigated from various perspectives, but the mechanisms are still to be unrevealed. Toward better understanding of this phenomenon, the present study delineates the detailed seasonal evolution of climatological-mean Eulerian statistics and energetics of migratory eddies along the NP storm track over 60 years. As a comprehensive investigation of the mechanisms for the MWM, this study has revealed that the net eddy conversion/generation rate normalized by the eddy total energy, which is independent of eddy amplitude, is indeed reduced in midwinter. The reduction from early winter occurs mainly due to the decreased effectiveness of the baroclinic energy conversion through seasonally weakened temperature fluctuations and the resultant poleward eddy heat flux. The reduced net normalized conversion/generation rate in midwinter is also found to arise in part from the seasonally enhanced kinetic energy conversion from eddies into the strongly diffluent Pacific jet around its exit. The seasonality of the net energy influx also contributes especially to the spring recovery of the net normalized conversion/generation rate. The midwinter reduction in the normalized rates of both the net energy conversion/generation and baroclinic energy conversion was more pronounced in the period before the late 1980s, during which the MWM of the storm-track activity was climatologically more prominent.

Juno microwave radiometer (MWR) observations of Jupiter's midlatitudes reveal a strong correlation between brightness temperature contrasts and zonal winds, confirming that the banded structure extends throughout the troposphere. However, the microwave brightness gradient is observed to change sign with depth: the belts are microwave-bright in the p10 bar range. The transition level (which we call the "jovicline") is evident in the MWR 11.5 cm channel, which samples the 5-14 bar range when using the limb-darkening at all emission angles. The transition is located between 4 and 10 bars, and implies that belts change with depth from being NH3-depleted to NH3-enriched, or from physically warm to physically cool, or more likely a combination of both. The change in character occurs near the statically stable layer associated with water condensation. The implications of the transition are discussed in terms of ammonia redistribution via meridional circulation cells with opposing flows above and below the water condensation layer, and in terms of the "mushball" precipitation model, which predicts steeper vertical ammonia gradients in the belts versus the zones. We show via the moist thermal wind equation that both the temperature and ammonia interpretations can lead to vertical shear on the zonal winds, but the shear is similar to 50x weaker if only NH3 gradients are considered. Conversely, if MWR observations are associated with kinetic temperature gradients then it would produce zonal winds that increase in strength down to the "jovicline", consistent with Galileo probe measurements; then decay slowly at higher pressures.

Jupiters atmosphere has a system of zones and belts punctuated by small and large vortices, the largest being the Great Red Spot. How these features change with depth is unknown, with theories of their structure ranging from shallow meteorological features to surface expressions of deep-seated convection. We present observations of atmospheric vortices using the Juno spacecrafts Microwave Radiometer. We found vortex roots that extend deeper than the altitude at which water is expected to condense, and we identified density inversion layers. Our results constrain the three-dimensional structure of Jupiters vortices and their extension below the clouds.

The observed zonal winds at Jupiter's cloud tops have been shown to be closely linked to the asymmetric part of the planet's measured gravity field. Here, we examine to what extent, and at which latitudes, must the flows at depth resemble those at the cloud level to match the gravity signal. We show, using both the symmetric and asymmetric parts of the measured gravity field, that the observed cloud-level wind profile between 25°S and 25°N must extend unaltered to depths of thousands of kilometers. Poleward, the midlatitude deep jets also contribute to the gravity signal, but might differ somewhat from the cloud-level winds. We analyze the likelihood of this difference and give bounds to its strength. We also find that to match the gravity measurements, the winds must project inward in the direction parallel to Jupiter's spin axis, and decay inward in the radial direction.

The Juno mission observed that both poles of Jupiter have polar cyclones that are surrounded by a ring of circumpolar cyclones (CPCs). The north pole holds eight CPCs and the south pole possesses five, with both circumpolar rings positioned along latitude ~84° N/S. Here we explain the location, stability and number of the Jovian CPCs by establishing the primary forces that act on them, which develop because of vorticity gradients in the background of a cyclone. In the meridional direction, the background vorticity varies owing to the planetary sphericity and the presence of the polar cyclone. In the zonal direction, the vorticity varies by the presence of adjacent cyclones in the ring. Our analysis successfully predicts the latitude and number of circumpolar cyclones for both poles, according to the size and spin of the respective polar cyclone. Moreover, the analysis successfully predicts that Jupiter can hold circumpolar cyclones, whereas Saturn currently cannot. The match between the theory and observations implies that vortices in the polar regions of the giant planets are largely governed by barotropic dynamics, and that the movement of other vortices at high latitudes is also driven by interaction with the background vorticity.

Uranus and Neptune are the archetypes of \u201cice giants\u201d, a class of planets that may be among the most common in the Galaxy. They are the last unexplored planets of the Solar System, yet they hold the keys to understand the atmospheric dynamics and structure of planets with hydrogen atmospheres inside and outside the solar system.

The structure and stability of Jupiter's atmosphere is analyzed using transformed Eulerian mean (TEM) theory. Utilizing the ammonia distribution derived from microwave radiometer measurements of the Juno orbiter, the latitudinal and vertical distribution of the vertical velocity in the interior of Jupiter's atmosphere is inferred. The resulting overturning circulation is then interpreted in the TEM framework to offer speculation of the vertical and meridional temperature distribution. At midlatitudes, the analyzed vertical velocity field shows Ferrel-cell-like patterns associated with each of the jets. A scaling analysis of the TEM overturning circulation equation suggests that in order for the Ferrel-cell-like patterns to be visible in the ammonia distribution, the static stability of Jupiter's weather layer should be on the order of 1 x 10(-2) s(-1). At low latitudes, the ammonia distribution suggests strong upward motion, which is reminiscent of the rising branch of the Hadley cell where the static stability is weaker. Taken together, the analysis suggests that the temperature lapse rate in the midlatitudes is markedly smaller than that in the low latitudes. Because the cloud-top temperature is nearly uniform across all latitudes, the analysis suggests that in the interior of the weather layer, there could exist a temperature gradient between the low- and midlatitude regions.

The nature and structure of the observed east-west flows on Jupiter and Saturn have been a long-standing mystery in planetary science. This mystery has been recently unraveled by the accurate gravity measurements provided by the Juno mission to Jupiter and the Grand Finale of the Cassini mission to Saturn. These two experiments, which coincidentally happened around the same time, allowed the determination of the overall vertical and meridional profiles of the zonal flows on both planets. This paper reviews the topic of zonal jets on the gas giants in light of the new data from these two experiments. The gravity measurements not only allow the depth of the jets to be constrained, yielding the inference that the jets extend to roughly 3000 and 9000 km below the observed clouds on Jupiter and Saturn, respectively, but also provide insights into the mechanisms controlling these zonal flows. Specifically, for both planets this depth corresponds to the depth where electrical conductivity is within an order of magnitude of 1 S m(-1), implying that the magnetic field likely plays a key role in damping the zonal flows. An intrinsic characteristic of any gravity inversion, as discussed here, is that the solutions might not be unique. We analyze the robustness of the solutions and present several independent lines of evidence supporting the results presented here.

Early gravity measurements performed by the Juno spacecraft determined Jupiter's lowdegree gravity harmonics, including the first estimate of the planet's northsouth asymmetric field. The retrieved information was used to infer that the strong zonal winds visible at the cloud tops must extend down a few thousand kilometers, where they are suppressed in the deep interior. The next frontier for the Juno gravity experiment includes, among other goals, the determination of Jupiter's smallscale gravity field with high accuracy, and its relation to atmospheric circulation at shorter length scales. The geometry of the Juno closest approaches to the planet poses a challenge to this task, as they span latitudes between 4∘N and 29∘N over the course of the nominal mission. Since Doppler measurements are the most sensitive to gravity anomalies when the spacecraft is close to the body, observations of Jupiter's gravity field are mostly concentrated in the northern hemisphere, while the traditional spherical harmonic functions are not orthonormal over a latitudinal subdomain. Here we define customized Slepian functions, which are orthogonal in a specific latitude range and are optimized to represent Jupiter's local surface gravity at north latitudes. We show that with the new functions, the shortscale latitudinal variability of the gravity field is resolved with high accuracy between 15∘S and 45∘N latitude. Furthermore, preliminary results show that the estimated values for the Slepian coefficients from the Juno data match the predictions obtained using thermal wind balance to relate the dynamical density anomalies and the winds with an optimized scale height.

The asymmetric gravity field measured by the Juno spacecraft has allowed the estimation of the depth of Jupiter's zonal jets, showing that the winds extend approximately 3,000 km beneath the cloud level. This estimate was based on an analysis using a combination of all measured odd gravity harmonics, J
₃, J
₅, J
₇, and J
₉, but the wind profile's dependence on each of them separately has yet to be investigated. Furthermore, these calculations assumed the meridional profile of the cloud-level wind extends to depth. However, it is possible that the interior jet profile varies somewhat from that of the cloud level. Here we analyze in detail the possible meridional and vertical structure of Jupiter's deep jet streams that can match the gravity measurements. We find that each odd gravity harmonic constrains the flow at a different depth, with J
₃ the most dominant at depths below 3,000 km, J
₅ the most restrictive overall, whereas J
₉ does not add any constraint on the flow if the other odd harmonics are considered. Interior flow profiles constructed from perturbations to the cloud-level winds allow a more extensive range of vertical wind profiles, yet when the meridional profiles differ substantially from the cloud level, the ability to match the gravity data significantly diminishes. Overall, we find that while interior wind profiles that do not resemble the cloud level are possible, they are statistically unlikely. Finally, inspired by the Juno microwave radiometer measurements, assuming the brightness temperature is dominated by the ammonia abundance, we find that depth-dependent flow profiles are still compatible with the gravity measurements.

Global warming projections show an anomalous temperature increase both at the Arctic surface and at lower latitudes in the upper troposphere. The Arctic amplification decreases the meridional temperature gradient, and simultaneously decreases static stability. These changes in the meridional temperature gradient and in the static stability have opposing effects on baroclinicity. The temperature increase at the upper tropospheric lower latitudes tends to increase the meridional temperature gradient and simultaneously increase static stability, which have opposing effects on baroclinicity as well. In this study, a dry idealized general circulation model with a modified Newtonian cooling scheme, which allows any chosen zonally symmetric temperature distribution to be simulated, is used to study the effect of Arctic amplification and lower-latitude upper-level warming on eddy activity. Due to the interplay between the static stability and meridional temperature gradient on atmospheric baroclinicity changes, and their opposing effect on atmospheric baroclinicity, it is found that both the Arctic amplification and lower-latitude upper-level warming could potentially lead to both decreases and increases in eddy activity, depending on the exact prescribed temperature modifications. Therefore, to understand the effect of global warming-like temperature trends on eddy activity, the zonally symmetric global warming temperature projections from state-of-the-art models are simulated. It is found that the eddy kinetic energy changes are dominated by the lower-latitude upper-level warming, which tends to weaken the eddy kinetic energy due to increased static stability. On the other hand, the eddy heat flux changes are dominated by the Arctic amplification, which tends to weaken the eddy heat flux at the lower levels.

The atmospheres of the four giant planets of our Solar System share a common and well-observed characteristic: they each display patterns of planetary banding, with regions of different temperatures, composition, aerosol properties and dynamics separated by strong meridional and vertical gradients in the zonal (i.e., east-west) winds. Remote sensing observations, from both visiting spacecraft and Earth-based astronomical facilities, have revealed the significant variation in environmental conditions from one band to the next. On Jupiter, the reflective white bands of low temperatures, elevated aerosol opacities, and enhancements of quasi-conserved chemical tracers are referred to as 'zones.' Conversely, the darker bands of warmer temperatures, depleted aerosols, and reductions of chemical tracers are known as 'belts.' On Saturn, we define cyclonic belts and anticyclonic zones via their temperature and wind characteristics, although their relation to Saturn's albedo is not as clear as on Jupiter. On distant Uranus and Neptune, the exact relationships between the banded albedo contrasts and the environmental properties is a topic of active study. This review is an attempt to reconcile the observed properties of belts and zones with (i) the meridional overturning inferred from the convergence of eddy angular momentum into the eastward zonal jets at the cloud level on Jupiter and Saturn and the prevalence of moist convective activity in belts; and (ii) the opposing meridional motions inferred from the upper tropospheric temperature structure, which implies decay and dissipation of the zonal jets with altitude above the clouds. These two scenarios suggest meridional circulations in opposing directions, the former suggesting upwelling in belts, the latter suggesting upwelling in zones. Numerical simulations successfully reproduce the former, whereas there is a wealth of observational evidence in support of the latter. This presents an unresolved paradox for our current understanding of the banded structure of giant planet atmospheres, that could be addressed via a multi-tiered vertical structure of "stacked circulation cells," with a natural transition from zonal jet pumping to dissipation as we move from the convectively-unstable mid-troposphere into the stably-stratified upper troposphere.

Uranus and Neptune, and their diverse satellite and ring systems, represent the least explored environments of our Solar System, and yet may provide the archetype for the most common outcome of planetary formation throughout our galaxy. Ice Giants will be the last remaining class of Solar System planet to have a dedicated orbital explorer, and international efforts are under way to realise such an ambitious mission in the coming decades. In 2019, the European Space Agency released a call for scientific themes for its strategic science planning process for the 2030s and 2040s, known as Voyage 2050. We used this opportunity to review our present-day knowledge of the Uranus and Neptune systems, producing a revised and updated set of scientific questions and motivations for their exploration. This review article describes how such a mission could explore their origins, ice- rich interiors, dynamic atmospheres, unique magnetospheres, and myriad icy satellites, to address questions at the heart of modern planetary science. These two worlds are superb examples of how planets with shared origins can exhibit remarkably different evolutionary paths: Neptune as the archetype for Ice Giants, whereas Uranus may be atypical. Exploring Uranus' natural satellites and Neptune's captured moon Triton could reveal how Ocean Worlds form and remain active, redefining the extent of the habitable zone in our Solar System. For these reasons and more, we advocate that an Ice Giant System explorer should become a strategic cornerstone mission within ESA's Voyage 2050 programme, in partnership with international collaborators, and targeting launch opportunities in the early 2030s.

How deep do Saturn's zonal winds penetrate below the cloud level has been a decades-long question, with important implications not only for the atmospheric dynamics but also for the interior density structure, composition, magnetic field, and core mass. The Cassini Grand Finale gravity experiment enables answering this question for the first time, with the premise that the planet's gravity harmonics are affected not only by the rigid body density structure but also by its flow field. Using a wide range of rigid body interior models and an adjoint based optimization for the flow field using thermal wind balance, we calculate the flow structure below the cloud level and its depth. We find that with a wind profile, largely consistent with the observed winds, when extended to a depth of around 8,800 km, all the gravity harmonics measured by Cassini are explained. This solution is in agreement with considerations of angular momentum conservation and is consistent with magnetohydrodynamics constraints.Plain Language Summary Observations show strong east-west flows at the cloud level of Saturn. These winds are strongest at the equatorial regions, reaching up to 400 m/s, about 4 times stronger than tornado strength winds on Earth. Yet until now we had no knowledge on how deep these winds penetrate into the interior of the gas giant. The gravity experiment executed during the Grand Finale stage (May-August 2017) of the NASA Cassini mission helps answering this question. It is well established that any large-scale motion of the fluid would have a signature in the density distribution and therefore in the planet gravity field. If we can estimate the internal structure and shape of the planet, we might be able to decipher the depth of the winds from its signal in the gravity measurements. Moreover, the rigid-body and flow contribution to gravity field are entangled together, therefore it is necessary to use a wide range of rigid-body models in order to define the wind-induced gravity signal. In this work we propose a solution to the problem. We find that the gravity measurements can be explained with a flow pattern, similar to that observed at the cloud level, penetrating to depths of more than 8,000 km into the planet interior. This has important implications not only for the atmospheric dynamics but also for the interior density structure, composition, magnetic field, and core mass.

Jupiter's internal flow structure is still not fully known, but can be now better constrained due to Juno's highprecision measurements. The recently published gravity and magnetic field measurements have led to new information regarding the planet and its internal flows, and future magnetic measurements will help to solve this puzzle. In this study, we propose a new method to better constrain Jupiter's internal flow field using the Juno gravity measurements combined with the expected measurements of magnetic secular variation. Based on a combination of hydrodynamical and magnetic field considerations we show that an optimized vertical profile of the zonal flows that fits both measurements can be obtained. Incorporating the magnetic field effects on the flow better constrains the flow decay profile. This will get us closer to answering the persistent question regarding the depth and nature of the flows on Jupiter.

The depth to which Jupiter's observed east-west jet streams extend has been a long-standing question(1,2). Resolving this puzzle has been a primary goal for the Juno spacecraft(3,4), which has been in orbit around the gas giant since July 2016. Juno's gravitational measurements have revealed that Jupiter's gravitational field is north-south asymmetric(5), which is a signature of the planet's atmospheric and interior flows(6). Here we report that the measured odd gravitational harmonics J(3), J(5), J(7) and J(9) indicate that the observed jet streams, as they appear at the cloud level, extend down to depths of thousands of kilometres beneath the cloud level, probably to the region of magnetic dissipation at a depth of about 3,000 kilometres(7,8). By inverting the measured gravity values into a wind field(9), we calculate the most likely vertical profile of the deep atmospheric and interior flow, and the latitudinal dependence of its depth. Furthermore, the even gravity harmonics J(8) and J(10) resulting from this flow profile also match the measurements, when taking into account the contribution of the interior structure(10). These results indicate that the mass of the dynamical atmosphere is about one per cent of Jupiter's total mass.

Jupiter's atmosphere is rotating differentially, with zones and belts rotating at speeds that differ by up to 100 metres per second. Whether this is also true of the gas giant's interior has been unknown(1,2), limiting our ability to probe the structure and composition of the planet(3,4). The discovery by the Juno spacecraft that Jupiter's gravity field is north-south asymmetric(5) and the determination of its non-zero odd gravitational harmonics J(3), J(5), J(7) and J(9) demonstrates that the observed zonal cloud flow must persist to a depth of about 3,000 kilometres from the cloud tops(6). Here we report an analysis of Jupiter's even gravitational harmonics J(4), J(6), J(8) and J(10) as observed by Juno(5) and compared to the predictions of interior models. We find that the deep interior of the planet rotates nearly as a rigid body, with differential rotation decreasing by at least an order of magnitude compared to the atmosphere. Moreover, we find that the atmospheric zonal flow extends to more than 2,000 kilometres and to less than 3,500 kilometres, making it fully consistent with the constraints obtained independently from the odd gravitational harmonics. This depth corresponds to the point at which the electric conductivity becomes large and magnetic drag should suppress differential rotation(7). Given that electric conductivity is dependent on planetary mass, we expect the outer, differentially rotating region to be at least three times deeper in Saturn and to be shallower in massive giant planets and brown dwarfs.

Hadley cells dominate the meridional circulation of terrestrial atmospheres. The solar system terrestrial atmospheres, Venus, Earth, Mars, and Titan, exhibit a large variety in the strength, width, and seasonality of their Hadley circulation. Despite the Hadley cell being thermally driven, in all planets, the ascending branch does not coincide with the warmest latitude, even in cases with very long seasonality (e.g., Titan) or very small thermal inertia (e.g., Mars). In order to understand the characteristics of the Hadley circulation in cases of extreme planetary characteristics, we show both theoretically, using axisymmetric theory, and numerically, using a set of idealized GCM simulations, that the thermal Rossby number dictates the character of the circulation. Given the possible variation of thermal Rossby number parameters, the rotation rate is found to be the most critical factor controlling the circulation characteristics. The results also explain the location of the Hadley cell ascending branch on Mars and Titan.Plain Language Summary The Hadley circulation is a thermally driven circulation, meaning that air raises at warm latitudes and descends at colder ones. As the solar forcing is seasonal this cell has a seasonal cycle as well, with typically the winter cell being stronger. Previous studies showed that under planetary conditions where the maximum temperature at solstice is at the summer pole, the ascending branch does not necessarily follow the maximum surface temperature; however, slowing down the rotation rate allows the ascending branch to follow the warmest latitude. In this study, we aim to explain this rotation rate dependence and the Hadley circulation on planets that exhibit strong seasonality like Titan and Mars, by using both theoretical arguments based on angular momentum conservation and idealized 3D model simulations. We find that the rotation rate is the main factor controlling the ascending branch of the circulation.

The atmosphere exhibits two distinct types of jets: the thermally driven subtropical jet and the more poleward eddy-driven jet. Depending on location and season, these jets are often merged or separated, and their position, structure, and intensity strongly influence the eddy fields. Here, the authors study the sensitivity of eddies to changes in the jets' amplitudes and positions in an idealized general circulation model. A modified Newtonian relaxation scheme that has a very short relaxation time for the mean state and a long relaxation time for eddies is used. This scheme makes it possible to obtain any zonally symmetric temperature distribution and is used to systematically modify the jets' amplitudes and locations. It is found that eddies are more sensitive to changes in the amplitude of the eddy-driven jet than to changes in the amplitude of the subtropical jet. Furthermore, when the eddy-driven jet is shifted poleward, eddies tend to intensify. These results are tested for robustness in two different reference simulations: one resembling a situation where the subtropical and eddy-driven jets are nearly merged and one when they are separated.

The Juno spacecraft has measured Jupiter's low-order, even gravitational moments, J₂J₈, to an unprecedented precision, providing important constraints on the density profile and core mass of the planet. Here we report on a selection of interior models based on ab initio computer simulations of hydrogen-helium mixtures. We demonstrate that a dilute core, expanded to a significant fraction of the planet's radius, is helpful in reconciling the calculated J_n with Juno's observations. Although model predictions are strongly affected by the chosen equation of state, the prediction of an enrichment of Z in the deep, metallic envelope over that in the shallow, molecular envelope holds. We estimate Jupiter's core to contain a 725 Earth mass of heavy elements. We discuss the current difficulties in reconciling measured J_n with the equations of state and with theory for formation and evolution of the planet.

Deciphering the flow below the cloud-level of Jupiter remains a critical milestone in understanding Jupiter's internal structure and dynamics. The expected high-precision Juno measurements of both the gravity field and the magnetic field might help to reach this goal. Here we propose a method that combines both fields to constrain the depth-dependent flow field inside Jupiter. This method is based on a mean-field electrodynamic balance that relates the flow field to the anomalous magnetic field, and geostrophic balance that relates the flow field to the anomalous gravity field. We find that the flow field has two distinct regions of influence: an upper region in which the flow affects mostly the gravity field and a lower region in which the flow affects mostly the magnetic field. An optimization procedure allows to reach a unified flow structure that is consistent with both the gravity and the magnetic fields.

The nature of the flow below the cloud level on Jupiter and Saturn is still unknown. Relating the flow on these planets to perturbations in their density field is key to the analysis of the gravity measurements expected from both the Juno (Jupiter) and Cassini (Saturn) spacecrafts during 2016-2018. Both missions will provide latitude-dependent gravity fields, which in principle could be inverted to calculate the vertical structure of the observed cloud-level zonal flow on these planets. Theories to date connecting the gravity field and the flow structure have been limited to potential theories under a barotropic assumption, or estimates based on thermal wind balance that allow baroclinic wind structures to be analysed, but have made simplifying assumptions that neglected several physical effects. These include the effects of the deviations from spherical symmetry, the centrifugal force due to density perturbations and self-gravitational effects of the density perturbations. Recent studies attempted to include some of these neglected terms, but lacked an overall approach that is able to include all effects in a self-consistent manner. The present study introduces such a self-consistent perturbation approach to the thermal wind balance that incorporates all physical effects, and applies it to several example wind structures, both barotropic and baroclinic. The contribution of each term is analysed, and the results are compared in the barotropic limit with those of potential theory. It is found that the dominant balance involves the original simplified thermal wind approach. This balance produces a good order-of-magnitude estimate of the gravitational moments, and is able, therefore, to address the order one question of how deep the flows are given measurements of gravitational moments. The additional terms are significantly smaller yet can affect the gravitational moments to some degree. However, none of these terms is dominant so any approximation attempting to improve over the simplified thermal wind approach needs to include all other terms.

The sole in situ measurement of a giant planet atmosphere comes from the Galileo probe, which plunged through Jupiter's weather layer at 6.5°N and measured a remarkably stable atmospheric temperature profile. Horizontal winds were observed to substantially increase from 1 to 3 bars, in a region of relatively low static stability. We show that this high-shear region indicates the best possibility of zero potential vorticity and resulting slantwise convection and suggest that the fluid here could potentially be adiabatic. We generalize an expression to determine lapse rates along constant angular momentum surfaces for deep atmospheres at any latitude.

The upcoming Juno spacecraft measurements have the potential of improving our knowledge of Jupiter's gravity field. The analysis of the Juno Doppler data will provide a very accurate reconstruction of spatial gravity variations, but these measurements will be very accurate only over a limited latitudinal range. In order to deduce the full gravity field of Jupiter, additional information needs to be incorporated into the analysis, especially regarding the Jovian flow structure and its depth, which can influence the measured gravity field. In this study we propose a new iterative method for the estimation of the Jupiter gravity field, using a simulated Juno trajectory, a trajectory estimation model, and an adjoint-based inverse model for the flow dynamics. We test this method both for zonal harmonics only and with a full gravity field including tesseral harmonics. The results show that this method can fit some of the gravitational harmonics better to the "measured" harmonics, mainly because of the added information from the dynamical model, which includes the flow structure. Thus, it is suggested that the method presented here has the potential of improving the accuracy of the expected gravity harmonics estimated from the Juno and Cassini radio science experiments.

The Cassini measurements of Saturn's gravity field during its Grand Finale might shed light on a long-standing question regarding the flow on Saturn. While the cloud-level winds are well known, little is known about whether these winds are confined to the outer layers of the planet or penetrate deep into the interior. An additional complexity is added by the uncertainty in the exact rotation period of Saturn, a key factor in determining the cloud-level winds, with an effect on the north-south symmetric part of the winds. Using Saturn's cloud-level winds we relate the flow to the gravity harmonics. We give a prediction for the odd harmonics as a function of the flow depth, identifying three ranges of depths. Since the odd harmonics depend solely on the flow, and are not influenced by Saturn's shape and static density distribution, any measured value of the odd harmonics by Cassini can be used to uniquely determine the depth of the flow. We also discuss the flow-induced even harmonics ΔJ₂ ΔJ₄⋯ ,ΔJ₁₂ that are affected by Saturn's rotation period. While the high-degree even harmonics might also be used to determine the flow depth, the lower-degree even harmonics serve as uncertainties for analysis of the planet's interior structure and composition. Thus, the gravity harmonics measured during the Cassini Grand Finale may be used to get a first-order estimate of the flow structure and to better constrain the planet's density structure and composition.

The Atlantic and Pacific storm tracks in the Northern Hemisphere are characterized by a downstream poleward deflection, which has important consequences for the distribution of heat, wind, and precipitation in the midlatitudes. In this study, the spatial structure of the storm tracks is examined by tracking transient cyclones in an idealized GCM with a localized ocean heat flux. The localized atmospheric response is decomposed in terms of a time- and zonal-mean background flow, a stationary wave, and a transient eddy field. The Lagrangian tracks are used to construct cyclone composites and perform a spatially varying PV budget. Three distinct mechanisms that contribute to the poleward tilt emerge: transient nonlinear advection, latent heat release, and stationary advection. The downstream evolution of the PV composites shows the different role played by the stationary wave in each region. In the region where the tilt is maximized, all three mechanisms contribute to the poleward propagation of the low-level PV anomaly associated with the cyclone. Upstream of that region, the stationary wave is opposing the former two, and the poleward tendency is therefore reduced. Finally, through repeated experiments with enhanced strength of the heating source, it is shown that the poleward deflection of the storms enhances when the amplitude of the stationary wave increases.

Observations of the flow on Jupiter exists essentially only for the cloud-level, which is dominated by strong east-west jet-streams. These have been suggested to result from dynamics in a superficial thin weather-layer, or alternatively be a manifestation of deep interior cylindrical flows. However, it is possible that the observed wind is indeed superficial, yet there exists a completely decoupled deep flow. To date, all models linking the wind, via the induced density anomalies, to the gravity field, to be measured by Juno, consider only flow that is a projection of the observed cloud-level wind. Here we explore the possibility of complex wind dynamics that include both the shallow weather-layer wind, and a deep flow that is decoupled from the flow above it. The upper flow is based on the observed cloud-level flow and is set to decay with depth. The deep flow is constructed to produce cylindrical structures with variable width and magnitude, thus allowing for a wide range of possible scenarios for the unknown deep flow. The combined flow is then related to the density anomalies and gravitational moments via a dynamical model. An adjoint inverse model is used for optimizing the parameters controlling the setup of the deep and surface-bound flows, so that these flows can be reconstructed given a gravity field. We show that the model can be used for examination of various scenarios, including cases in which the deep flow is dominating over the surface wind, and discuss the uncertainties associated with the model solution. The flexibility of the adjoint method allows for a wide range of dynamical setups, so that when new observations and physical understanding will arise, these constraints could be easily implemented and used to better decipher Jupiter flow dynamics. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The poleward propagation of midlatitude storms is studied using a potential vorticity (PV) tendency analysis of cyclone-tracking composites, in an idealized zonally symmetric moist GCM. A detailed PV budget reveals the important role of the upper-level PV and diabatic heating associated with latent heat release. During the growth stage, the classic picture of baroclinic instability emerges, with an upper-level PV to the west of a low-level PV associated with the cyclone. This configuration not only promotes intensification, but also a poleward tendency that results from the nonlinear advection of the low-level anomaly by the upper-level PV. The separate contributions of the upper- and lower-level PV as well as the surface temperature anomaly are analyzed using a piecewise PV inversion, which shows the importance of the upper-level PV anomaly in advecting the cyclone poleward. The PV analysis also emphasizes the crucial role played by latent heat release in the poleward motion of the cyclone. The latent heat release tends to maximize on the northeastern side of cyclones, where the warm and moist air ascends. A positive PV tendency results at lower levels, propagating the anomaly eastward and poleward. It is also shown here that stronger cyclones have stronger latent heat release and poleward advection, hence, larger poleward propagation. Time development of the cyclone composites shows that the poleward propagation increases during the growth stage of the cyclone, as both processes intensify. However, during the decay stage, the vertical alignment of the upper and lower PV anomalies implies that these processes no longer contribute to a poleward tendency.

During 2016-17, the Juno and Cassini spacecraft will both perform close eccentric orbits of Jupiter and Saturn, respectively, obtaining high-precision gravity measurements for these planets. These data will be used to estimate the depth of the observed surface flows on these planets. All models to date, relating the winds to the gravity field, have been in the forward direction, thus only allowing the calculation of the gravity field from given wind models. However, there is a need to do the inverse problem since the new observations will be of the gravity field. Here, an inverse dynamical model is developed to relate the expected measurable gravity field, to perturbations of the density and wind fields, and therefore to the observed cloud-level winds. In order to invert the gravity field into the 3D circulation, an adjoint model is constructed for the dynamical model, thus allowing backward integration. This tool is used for the examination of various scenarios, simulating cases in which the depth of the wind depends on latitude. We show that it is possible to use the gravity measurements to derive the depth of the winds, both on Jupiter and Saturn, also taking into account measurement errors. Calculating the solution uncertainties, we show that the wind depth can be determined more precisely in the low-to-mid-latitudes. In addition, the gravitational moments are found to be particularly sensitive to flows at the equatorial intermediate depths. Therefore, we expect that if deep winds exist on these planets they will have a measurable signature by Juno and Cassini.

Geostrophic turbulence theory predicted already a few decades ago an inverse energy cascade in the barotropic mode, yet there has been limited evidence for it in the ocean. In this study, the latitudinal behavior of the oceanic barotropic energy balance and macroturbulent scales is studied using the ECCO2 (Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean) state estimate, which synthesizes satellite data and in situ measurements with a high-resolution general circulation model containing realistic bathymetry and wind forcing. It is found that inverse energy cascade occurs at high latitudes, as eddy-eddy interactions spread the conversion of eddy kinetic energy from the baroclinic to the barotropic mode, both upscale and downscale. At these latitudes, the conversion scale of baroclinic eddy kinetic energy and the energy-containing scale follow the most unstable and Rhines scales, respectively. Even though an inverse energy cascade occurs at high latitudes, the energy spectrum follows a steeper slope than the -5/3 slope. Different than classic arguments, the Rossby deformation radius does not follow the baroclinic conversion and most unstable scales.

Observations suggest that Earth's early atmospheric mass differed from the present day. The effects of a different atmospheric mass on radiative forcing have been investigated in climate models of variable sophistication, but a mechanistic understanding of the thermodynamic component of the effect of atmospheric mass on early climate is missing. Using a 3-D idealized global circulation model (GCM), we systematically examine the thermodynamic effect of atmospheric mass on near-surface temperature. We find that higher atmospheric mass tends to increase the near-surface temperature mostly due to an increase in the heat capacity of the atmosphere, which decreases the net radiative cooling effect in the lower layers of the atmosphere. Additionally, the vertical advection of heat by eddies decreases with increasing atmospheric mass, resulting in further near-surface warming. As both net radiative cooling and vertical eddy heat fluxes are extratropical phenomena, higher atmospheric mass tends to flatten the meridional temperature gradient.

The effect of eddy-eddy interactions on zonal and meridional macroturbulent scales is investigated over a wide range of eddy scales, using high-resolution idealized GCM simulations with and without eddy-eddy interactions. The wide range of eddy scales is achieved through systematic variation of the planetary rotation rate and thus multiple-jet planets. It is found that not only are eddy-eddy interactions not essential for the formation of jets, but the existence of eddy-eddy interactions decreases the number of eddy-driven jets in the atmosphere. The eddy-eddy interactions have little effect on the jet scale, which in both types of simulations coincides with the Rhines scale through all latitudes. The decrease in the number of jets in the presence of eddy-eddy interactions occurs because of the narrowing of the latitudinal region where zonal jets appear. This narrowing occurs because eddy-eddy interactions are mostly important at latitudes poleward of where the Rhines scale is equal to the Rossby deformation radius. Thus, once eddy-eddy interactions are removed, the conversion from baroclinic to barotropic eddy kinetic energy increases, and eddy-mean flow interactions intrude into these latitudes and maintain additional jets there. The eddy-eddy interactions are found to increase the energy-containing zonal scale so it coincides with the jets' scale and thus make the flow more isotropic. While the conversion scale coincides with the most unstable scale, the Rossby deformation radius does not provide a good indication to these scales in both types of simulations.

The latitudinal width of atmospheric eddy-driven jets and scales of macroturbulence are examined latitude by latitude over a wide range of rotation rates using a high-resolution idealized GCM. It is found that for each latitude, through all rotation rates, the jet spacing scales with the Rhines scale. These simulations show the presence of a "supercriticality latitude" within the baroclinic zone, where poleward (equatorward) of this latitude, the Rhines scale is larger (smaller) than the Rossby deformation radius. Poleward of this latitude, a classic geostrophic turbulence picture appears with a - spectral slope of inverse cascade from the deformation radius up to the Rhines scale. A shallower slope than the -3 slope of enstrophy cascade is found from the deformation radius down to the viscosity scale as a result of the broad input of baroclinic eddy kinetic energy. At these latitudes, eddy-eddy interactions transfer barotropic eddy kinetic energy from the input scales of baroclinic eddy kinetic energy up to the jet scale and down to smaller scales. For the Earth case, this latitude is outside the baroclinic zone and therefore an inverse cascade does not appear. Equatorward of the supercriticality latitude, the - slope of inverse cascade vanishes, eddy-mean flow interactions play an important role in the balance, and the spectrum follows a -3 slope from the Rhines scale down to smaller scales, similar to what is observed on Earth. Moreover, the length scale of the energy-containing zonal wavenumber is equal to (larger than) the jet scale poleward (equatorward) of the supercriticality latitude.

Poleward migration of eddy-driven jets is found to occur in the extratropics when the subtropical and eddy-driven jets are clearly separated, as achieved by simulations at high-rotation rates. The poleward migration of these eddy-driven baroclinic jets over time is consistent with variation of eddy momentum flux convergence and baroclinicity across the width of the jet. We demonstrate this using a high-resolution idealized GCM where we systematically examine the eddy-driven jets over a wide range of rotation rates (up to 16 times the rotation rate of Earth). At the flanks of the jets, the poleward migration is caused by a poleward bias in baroclinicity across the width of the jet, estimated through measures such as Eady growth rate and supercriticality. The poleward biased baroclinicity is due to the meridional variation of the Coriolis parameter, which causes a poleward bias of the eddy momentum flux convergence. At the core of the jets, the poleward biased eddy momentum flux convergence relative to the mean jet deflects over time the baroclinicity and the jets poleward. As the rotation rate is increased, and more (narrower) jets emerge the migration rate becomes smaller due to less eddy momentum flux convergence over the narrower baroclinic zones. We find a linear relation between the migration rate of the jets and the net eddy momentum flux convergence across the jets. This poleward migration might be related to the slow poleward propagation of temporal anomalies of zonal winds observed in the upper troposphere.

NASA's Juno spacecraft will make microwave and gravity measurements of Jupiter. These can reveal information about the composition of Jupiter's atmosphere and about the temperature and density structure below the visible clouds, which is in balance with the structure of the zonal winds. Here we show that there exist strong physical constraints on the structure of the off-equatorial deep zonal winds, and that these imply dynamical constraints on the thermal and gravitational signals Juno will measure. The constraints derive from the facts that Jupiter is rapidly rotating, has nearly inviscid flow, and has strong intrinsic heat fluxes emanating from the deep interior. Because of the strong intrinsic heat fluxes, Jupiter's interior is convecting, but the rapid rotation and weak viscosity constrain the convective motions away from the equator to occur primarily along cylinders parallel to the planet's spin axis. As a consequence, convection is expected to approximately homogenize entropy along the spin axis, thereby adjusting the interior to a convectively and inertially nearly neutral state. In this state, entropy gradients perpendicular to the spin axis are constant but generally not zero on cylinders concentric with the spin axis. Additionally, thermal wind balance relates entropy gradients perpendicular to the spin axis to the zonal wind shear between the observed cloud-level winds and winds in the deep interior (pressures of order 10⁶bar), which must be much weaker because otherwise the Ohmic energy dissipation produced by the interaction of the zonal winds with the planetary magnetic field would exceed the planetary luminosity. Combining these physical constraints with thermal and electrical properties of the atmosphere, we obtain that zonal winds away from the equator likely extend deeply into Jupiter (to a depth between about 0.84R_J and 0.94R_J with Jupiter radius R_J) but have strengths similar to cloud level winds only within the outer few percent of Jupiter's radius. Meridional equator-to-pole temperature contrasts in thermal wind balance with the zonal winds increase with depth and reach ∼1-2K at 50bar; they would reach O(10K) if the winds were shallowly confined, as has been proposed previously. Such temperature contrasts will be detectable by Juno's microwave instrument and are expected to be much larger than those associated with variations in water vapor abundance. The associated gravitational signals of the zonal winds will also be detectable by Juno, but they will be more difficult to distinguish from those implied by other flow models with deep zonal flows. The combination of Juno's gravity and microwave instruments should be able to distinguish deep flows (detectable gravitational signals) from shallow flows (detectable thermal signals), providing strong constraints on the penetration depth of substantial zonal winds.

A variety of observations provide evidence for vigorous motion in the atmospheres of brown dwarfs and directly imaged giant planets. Motivated by these observations, we examine the dynamical regime of the circulation in the atmospheres and interiors of these objects. Brown dwarfs rotate rapidly, and for plausible wind speeds, the flow at large scales will be rotationally dominated. We present three-dimensional, global, numerical simulations of convection in the interior, which demonstrate that at large scales, the convection aligns in the direction parallel to the rotation axis. Convection occurs more efficiently at high latitudes than low latitudes, leading to systematic equator-to-pole temperature differences that may reach ∼1 K near the top of the convection zone. The interaction of convection with the overlying, stably stratified atmosphere will generate a wealth of atmospheric waves, and we argue that, as in the stratospheres of planets in the solar system, the interaction of these waves with the mean flow will cause a significant atmospheric circulation at regional to global scales. At large scales, this should consist of stratified turbulence (possibly organizing into coherent structures such as vortices and jets) and an accompanying overturning circulation. We present an approximate analytic theory of this circulation, which predicts characteristic horizontal temperature variations of several to ∼50 K, horizontal wind speeds of ∼10-300 m s^-1, and vertical velocities that advect air over a scale height in ∼10⁵-10⁶ s. This vertical mixing may help to explain the chemical disequilibrium observed on some brown dwarfs. Moreover, the implied large-scale organization of temperature perturbations and vertical velocities suggests that near the L/T transition, patchy clouds can form near the photosphere, helping to explain recent observations of brown-dwarf variability in the near-IR.

The observed cloud-level atmospheric circulation on the outer planets of the Solar System is dominated by strong east-west jet streams. The depth of these winds is a crucial unknown in constraining their overall dynamics, energetics and internal structures. There are two approaches to explaining the existence of these strong winds. The first suggests that the jets are driven by shallow atmospheric processes near the surface, whereas the second suggests that the atmospheric dynamics extend deeply into the planetary interiors. Here we report that on Uranus and Neptune the depth of the atmospheric dynamics can be revealed by the planets' respective gravity fields. We show that the measured fourth-order gravity harmonic, J 4, constrains the dynamics to the outermost 0.15 per cent of the total mass of Uranus and the outermost 0.2 per cent of the total mass of Neptune. This provides a stronger limit to the depth of the dynamical atmosphere than previously suggested, and shows that the dynamics are confined to a thin weather layer no more than about 1, 000 kilometres deep on both planets.

Three dimensional studies of convection in deep spherical shells have been used to test the hypothesis that the strong jet streams on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune result from convection throughout the molecular envelopes. Due to computational limitations, these simulations must be performed at parameter settings far from jovian values and generally adopt heat fluxes 5-10 orders of magnitude larger than the planetary values. Several numerical investigations have identified trends for how the mean jet speed varies with heat flux and viscosity in these models, but no previous theories have been advanced to explain these trends. Here, we show using simple arguments that if convective release of potential energy pumps the jets and viscosity damps them, the mean jet speeds split into two regimes. When the convection is weakly nonlinear, the equilibrated jet speeds should scale approximately with Fly. where F is the convective heat flux and v is the viscosity. When the convection is strongly nonlinear, the jet speeds are faster and should scale approximately as (F/v)(1/2). We demonstrate how this regime shift can naturally result from a shift in the behavior of the jet-pumping efficiency with heat flux and viscosity. Moreover, both Boussinesq and anelastic simulations hint at the existence of a third regime where, at sufficiently high heat fluxes or sufficiently small viscosities, the jet speed becomes independent of the viscosity. We show based on mixing-length estimates that if such a regime exists, mean jet speeds should scale as heat flux to the 1/4 power. Our scalings provide a good match to the mean jet speeds obtained in previous Boussinesq and anelastic, three-dimensional simulations of convection within giant planets over a broad range of parameters. When extrapolated to the real heat fluxes, these scalings suggest that the mass-weighted jet speeds in the molecular envelopes of the giant planets are much weaker-by an order of magnitude or more-than the speeds measured at cloud level. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

In winter, northeastern North America and northeastern Asia are both colder than other regions at similar latitudes. This has been attributed to the effects of stationary weather systems set by elevated terrain (orography)(1), and to a lack of maritime influences from the prevailing westerly winds(2). However, the differences in extent and orography between the two continents suggest that further mechanisms are involved. Here we show that this anomalous winter cold can result in part from westward radiation of large-scale atmospheric waves-nearly stationary Rossby waves-generated by heating of the atmosphere over warm ocean waters. We demonstrate this mechanism using simulations with an idealized general circulation model(3-5), with which we show that the extent of the cold region is controlled by properties of Rossby waves, such as their group velocity and its dependence on the planetary rotation rate. Our results show that warm ocean waters contribute to the contrast in mid-latitude winter temperatures between eastern and western continental boundaries not only by warming western boundaries, but also by cooling eastern boundaries.

The giant gas planets have hot convective interiors, and therefore a common assumption is that these deep atmospheres are close to a barotropic state. Here we show using a new anelastic general circulation model that baroclinic vorticity contributions are not negligible, and drive the system away from an isentropic and therefore barotropic state. The motion is still aligned with the direction of the axis of rotation as in a barotropic rotating fluid, but the wind structure has a vertical shear with stronger winds in the atmosphere than in the interior. This shear is associated with baroclinic compressibility effects. Most previous convection models of giant planets have used the Boussinesq approximation, which assumes the density is constant in depth; however, Jupiter's actual density varies by four orders of magnitude through its deep molecular envelope. We therefore developed a new general circulation model (based on the MITgcm) that is anelastic and thereby incorporates this density variation. The model's geometry is a full 3D sphere down to a small inner core. It is nonhydrostatic, uses an equation of state suitable for hydrogen-helium mixtures (SCVH), and is driven by an internal heating profile. We demonstrate the effect of compressibility by comparing anelastic and Boussinesq cases. The simulations develop a mean state that is geostrophic and hydrostatic including the often neglected, but significant, vertical Coriolis contribution. This leads to modification of the standard thermal wind relation for a deep compressible atmosphere. The interior flow organizes in large cyclonically rotating columnar eddies parallel to the rotation axis, which drive upgradient angular momentum eddy fluxes, generating the observed equatorial superrotation. Heat fluxes align with the axis of rotation, and provide a mechanism for the transport of heat poleward, which can cause the observed flat meridional emission. We address the issue of over-forcing which is common in such convection models and analyze the dependence of our results on this; showing that the vertical wind structure is not very sensitive to the Rayleigh number. We also study the effect of rotation, showing how the transition from a rapidly to a slowly rotating system affects the dynamics.

In this paper it is proposed that baroclinic instability of even a weak shear may play an important role in the generation and stability of the strong zonal jets observed in the atmospheres of the giant planets. The atmosphere is modeled as a two-layer structure, where the upper layer is a standard quasigeostrophic layer on a beta plane and the lower layer is parameterized to represent a deep interior convective columnar structure using a negative beta plane as in Ingersoll and Pollard. Linear stability theory predicts that the high wave-number perturbations will be the dominant unstable modes for a small vertical wind shear like that inferred from observations. Here a nonlinear analytical model is developed that is truncated to one growing mode that exhibits a multiple jet meridional structure, driven by the nonlinear interaction between the eddies. In the weakly supercritical limit, this model agrees with previous weakly nonlinear theory, but it can be explored beyond this limit allowing the multiple jet-induced zonal flow to be stronger than the eddy field. Calculations with a fully nonlinear pseudospectral model produce stable meridional multijet structures when beginning from a random potential vorticity perturbation field. The instability removes energy-from the background weak baroclinic shear and generates turbulent eddies that undergo an inverse energy cascade and form multijet zonal winds. The jets are the dominant feature in the instantaneous upper-layer flow. with the eddies being relatively weak. The jets scale with the Rhines length, but are strong enough to violate the barotropic stability criterion. It is shown that the basic physical mechanism for the generation and stability of the jets in the full numerical model is similar to that of the truncated model.