A. Sánchez-Lavega, G.S. Orton, R. Hueso, E. García-Melendo, S. Pérez-Hoyos, A. Simon-Miller, J.F. Rojas, J.M. Gómez, P. Yanamandra-Fisher, L. Fletcher, J. Joels, J. Kemerer, J. Hora, E. Karkoschka, I. De Pater, M.H. Wong, P.S. Marcus, N. Pinilla-Alonso, F. Carvalho, C. Go, D. Parker, M. Salway, M. Valimberti, A. Wesley, Z. Pujic
The atmospheres of the gas giant planets (Jupiter and Saturn) contain jets that dominate the circulation at visible levels. The power source for these jets (solar radiation, internal heat, or both) and their vertical structure below the upper cloud are major open questions in the atmospheric circulation and meteorology of giant planets. Several observations and in situ measurements found intense winds at a depth of 24 bar, and have been interpreted as supporting an internal heat source. This issue remains controversial, in part because of effects from the local meteorology. Here we report observations and modelling of two plumes in Jupiter's atmosphere that erupted at the same latitude as the strongest jet (23° N). The plumes reached a height of 30 km above the surrounding clouds, moved faster than any other feature (169 m s -1), and left in their wake a turbulent planetary-scale disturbance containing red aerosols. On the basis of dynamical modelling, we conclude that the data are consistent only with a wind that extends well below the level where solar radiation is deposited. ©2008 Nature Publishing Group.
Departamento de Física Aplicada I, ETS Ingenieros, Universidad del País Vasco, 48013 Bilbao, Alameda Urquijo s/n, Spain; MS 169-237, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, United States; Esteve Duran Observatory Foundation, 085330 Seva, Spain; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 693, Greenbelt, MD 2077, 8800 Greenbelt Road, United States; Departamento de Física Aplicada I, EUITI, Universidad País Vasco, 48013 Bilbao, Plaza Casilla s/n, Spain; Department of Physics, Clarendon Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PU, Parks Road, United Kingdom; Principia College, Elsah, IL 62028, 1 Maybeck Place, United States; California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91768, 3801 West Temple Street, United States; Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138, 60 Garden Street, United States; University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States; Astronomy Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, United States; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411, United States; Telescopio Nazionale Galileo Galilei (TNG), Roque de Los Muchachos Astronomical Observatory, 38700 Santa Cruz de La Palma, Spain; Centro de Estudos Do Universo (CEU), 17380-000 Brotas, Brazil; Physics Department, University of San Carlos, Nasipit, Talamban, 6000 Cebu City, Philippines; Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO), Coral Gables, FL 33156, 12911 Lerida Street, United States; IceInSpace, Wyoming, NSW 2250, PO Box 9127, Australia; Astronomical Society of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC 3001, GPO Box 1059, Australia; Mathematics and Computer Science, Murrumbateman, NSW 2582, 82 Merryville Drive, Australia; Kingston, QLD 4114, 23 Attunga Street, Australia
