Conjecture about a hurricane system in the Jovian atmosphere

Abstract

Kuiper (1972) had suggested that the Great Red Spot (GRS) of Jupiter is a giant hurricane. We present further arguments in support of this idea and propose that it may also apply to the smaller vortices such as the white and brown ovals (barges). Our estimates indicate that the spin-down time-constants for these Jovian vortices are significantly shorter than the observed lifetimes. Thus, the motions must be sustained through the continued release of internal energy. In analogy with the CISK mechanism for the terrestrial hurricane, transport of water vapor, which is observed on Jupiter, may provide the latent energy to fuel the motions. The energy the planet emits must be transported upwards; therefore its troposphere should be convectively unstable. In such an atmosphere, the proposed solar driven meridional circulation is multicellular, of the Ferrel-Thomson type. If the energy transport from the planetary interior is accelerated by the upward motions in the circulation, eastward zonal jets develop such as observed in the equatorial region. But if the upward flow of energy is impeded by the prevailing downward motions in the meridional circulation (which occur, for example, near 20‡ latitude), we propose that the convective instability is amplified. The conditions then are more favorable for the development of hurricanes which may appear in the form of the GRS and the white and brown ovals. The GRS with its large size and long life time (indicating that it is very deep) is unique, and we suggest that it may have been induced by meteor impact.