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R. Morales-Juberias, T.E. Dowling (CPL - Univ. of Louisville)
We show that the dynamics of vortices in the neighborhood of 60\circN on Jupiter provide a means of indirectly determining both the local vertical structure of the atmosphere and the strength of the vortices themselves, even though they are too small (diameters < 5000 km) for cloud tracking to reveal their internal circulations. This complements previous studies of vortices like the Great Red Spot and White Ovals, which reside at lower latitudes and are big enough to reveal their internal circulations. We combine high-resolution observations of the dynamical behavior of the 60\circN spots with forward modeling using the EPIC atmospheric model. The model reproduces the observed drift rates of the spots only when the zonal winds increase slightly with depth below the cloud tops, with a vertical shear that is less than that measured by the Galileo Probe Doppler Wind Experiment at 7\circN. This supports the idea that Jupiter's vertical shear may vary significantly with latitude. The model reproduces the observed morphology of spot mergers only when the vortex tangential velocity is close to the velocity difference of their encompassing alternating jets. We present a non-dimensional comparison of these results with terrestrial Gulf Stream rings that supports the idea that jovian and oceanic vortices are mathematically similar.
\textit{This research was funded by NASA's Planetary Atmospheres and EPSCoR Programs}
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The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: wudmojur@yahoo.es
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #3
© 2004. The American Astronomical Soceity.