Flow structures of Jupiter's Great Red Spot extracted by using optical flow method

Abstract

The flow structures of Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) are studied based on a high-resolution velocity field extracted from the Galileo 1996 cloud images of the GRS by using the physics-based optical flow method. The mean transverse velocity profile across the anti-cyclonic near-elliptical collar of the GRS is obtained. The flow structures in the relatively quiescent inner region enclosed by the high-speed collar are revealed at a coarse-grained level. The cyclonic source node in the inner region is identified that is directly associated with the observed cyclonic rotation near the center of the GRS, and its significance in the maintenance of the GRS is explored by using a topological constraint.