The vertical structure of Jupiter's equatorial zonal wind above the cloud deck, derived using mesoscale gravity waves

Abstract

Data from the Galileo Probe, collected during its descent into Jupiter's atmosphere, is used to obtain a vertical profile of the zonal wind from ~0.5 bar (upper troposphere) to ~0.1 µbar (lower thermosphere) at the probe entry site. This is accomplished by constructing a map of gravity wave Lomb‐Scargle periodograms as a function of altitude. The profile obtained from the map indicates that the wind speed above the visible cloud deck increases with height to ~150 m s‐1 and then levels off at this value over a broad altitude range. The location of the turbopause, as a region of wide wave spectrum, is also identified from the map. In addition, a cross‐equatorial oscillation of a jet, which has previously been linked to the QQO in the stratosphere, is suggested by the profile.