Super-adiabatic Temperature Gradient at Jupiter's Equatorial Zone and Implications for the Water Abundance

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Li, Cheng, Allison, Michael, Atreya, Sushil, Brueshaber, Shawn, Fletcher, Leigh N., Guillot, Tristan, Li, Liming, Lunine, Jonathan, Miguel, Yamila, Orton, Glenn, Steffes, Paul, Waite, J. Hunter, Wong, Michael H., Levin, Steven, Bolton, Scott
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Li, Cheng
Allison, Michael
Atreya, Sushil
Brueshaber, Shawn
Fletcher, Leigh N.
Guillot, Tristan
Li, Liming
Lunine, Jonathan
Miguel, Yamila
Orton, Glenn
Steffes, Paul
Waite, J. Hunter
Wong, Michael H.
Levin, Steven
Bolton, Scott
author_facet Li, Cheng
Allison, Michael
Atreya, Sushil
Brueshaber, Shawn
Fletcher, Leigh N.
Guillot, Tristan
Li, Liming
Lunine, Jonathan
Miguel, Yamila
Orton, Glenn
Steffes, Paul
Waite, J. Hunter
Wong, Michael H.
Levin, Steven
Bolton, Scott
contents The temperature structure of a giant planet was traditionally thought to be an adiabat assuming convective mixing homogenizes entropy. The only in-situ measurement made by the Galileo Probe detected a near-adiabatic temperature structure within one of Jupiter's 5$μ$m hot spots with small but definite local departures from adiabaticity. We analyze Juno's microwave observations near Jupiter's equator (0 ~ 5$^o$N) and find that the equatorial temperature structure is best characterized by a stable super-adiabatic temperature profile rather than an adiabatic one. Water is the only substance with sufficient abundance to alter the atmosphere's mean molecular weight and prevent dynamic instability if a super-adiabatic temperature gradient exists. Thus, from the super-adiabaticity, our results indicate a water concentration (or the oxygen to hydrogen ratio) of about 4.9 times solar with a possible range of 1.5 ~ 8.3 times solar in Jupiter's equatorial region.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_05363
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Super-adiabatic Temperature Gradient at Jupiter's Equatorial Zone and Implications for the Water Abundance
Li, Cheng
Allison, Michael
Atreya, Sushil
Brueshaber, Shawn
Fletcher, Leigh N.
Guillot, Tristan
Li, Liming
Lunine, Jonathan
Miguel, Yamila
Orton, Glenn
Steffes, Paul
Waite, J. Hunter
Wong, Michael H.
Levin, Steven
Bolton, Scott
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
The temperature structure of a giant planet was traditionally thought to be an adiabat assuming convective mixing homogenizes entropy. The only in-situ measurement made by the Galileo Probe detected a near-adiabatic temperature structure within one of Jupiter's 5$μ$m hot spots with small but definite local departures from adiabaticity. We analyze Juno's microwave observations near Jupiter's equator (0 ~ 5$^o$N) and find that the equatorial temperature structure is best characterized by a stable super-adiabatic temperature profile rather than an adiabatic one. Water is the only substance with sufficient abundance to alter the atmosphere's mean molecular weight and prevent dynamic instability if a super-adiabatic temperature gradient exists. Thus, from the super-adiabaticity, our results indicate a water concentration (or the oxygen to hydrogen ratio) of about 4.9 times solar with a possible range of 1.5 ~ 8.3 times solar in Jupiter's equatorial region.
title Super-adiabatic Temperature Gradient at Jupiter's Equatorial Zone and Implications for the Water Abundance
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.05363