Saturn's giant storm and global radiant energy

Abstract

AbstractWe analyze the relationship between Saturn's radiant energies and the 2010 giant storm with the Cassini observations. The storm increased the emitted power in a wide latitudinal band (20–55°N) with a maximum change of 9.2 ± 0.1% around 45°N from 2010 to 2011. Such a regional change caused the global‐average emitted power to increase by ~2.0 ± 0.2%. Saturn's giant storm occurs quasiperiodically (i.e., period approximately one Saturnian year), so it is possible that giant storms continuously modify the emitted power if the storm modification has a lifetime close to one Saturnian year. The hemispheric‐average emitted power in the southern hemisphere, which was mainly affected by the seasonal change, decreased by 8.5 ± 0.3% from 2004 to 2013. Our estimates also imply that the 2010 giant storm significantly modified the absorbed solar power of Saturn. The significant temporal variations of radiant powers should be considered in reexamining the value of Saturn's internal heat flux.