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P. A. Yanamandra-Fisher, A. Braverman, G. S. Orton, B. M. Fisher (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
Striking variability was found to be displayed by Saturn's clouds at 5.2 \mum (Yanamandra-Fisher {\em et al}., 2001). Detection of phosphine (an atmospheric tracer) variability near or below the 2-bar level and possibly at lower pressures provide salient constraints on the dynamical organization of Saturn's atmosphere by constraining the strength of vertical motions at two levels across the disk. We model the 5.2-micron spectra of Saturn by statistical methods, primarily principal component analysis (PCA) technique (Yanamandra-Fisher {\em et al}., 2002). The PCA method identifies the predominent spatial and spectral relationships in the data by identifying internal correlations within the data. It allows a linear representation of the statistical data with a minimal number of independent variables. Our inital goals are: the identification of spectral relationships and determination of the spatial variabilty of phosphine in Saturn's atmosphere.
This research was performed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and was supported by a grant from NASA Planetary Astronomy Program.
1. Yanamandra-Fisher {\em et al}., 2001. {\em Icarus}, 150, 189 - 193. 2. Yanamandra-Fisher {\em et al}., 2002. {\em SPIE}, (in press).
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #3< br> © 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.