Search Publications
Atmospheric waves and dynamics beneath Jupiter's clouds from radio wavelength observations
de Pater, Imke; Butler, Bryan; Morales-Juberías, Raúl +3 more
We observed Jupiter at wavelengths near 2 cm with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in February 2015. These frequencies are mostly sensitive to variations in ammonia abundance and probe between ∼ 0.5 - 2.0 bars of pressure in Jupiter's atmosphere; within and below the visible cloud deck which has its base near 0.7 bars. The resultant obser…
On the link between martian total ozone and potential vorticity
Holmes, James A.; Lewis, Stephen R.; Patel, Manish R.
We demonstrate for the first time that total ozone in the martian atmosphere is highly correlated with the dynamical tracer, potential vorticity, under certain conditions. The degree of correlation is investigated using a Mars global circulation model including a photochemical model. Potential vorticity is the quantity of choice to explore the dyn…
A deep search for the release of volcanic gases on Mars using ground-based high-resolution infrared and submillimeter spectroscopy: Sensitive upper limits for OCS and SO2
Villanueva, G. L.; Mumma, M. J.; Tokunaga, A. T. +1 more
Recent volcanic activity has long been considered a distinct possibility that would place major constraints on the evolution of Mars' interior. Volcanic activity would result in the outgassing of sulfur-bearing species. As part of our multi-band search for active release of volcanic gases on Mars, we looked for carbonyl sulfide (OCS) at its combin…
Night side distribution of SO2 content in Venus' upper mesosphere
Montmessin, F.; Bertaux, J. -L.; Fedorova, A. A. +6 more
In this paper we present the first night side distribution of SO2 content in Venus' upper mesosphere (altitudes from 85 to 105 km). The dataset is based on the SPICAV UV stellar occultation experiment which took place onboard ESA's Venus Express (VEX) orbiter in 2006-2014. The UV channel of SPICAV spectrometer detected absorption bands …
Diurnal variation in martian dust devil activity
Lewis, S. R.; Chapman, R. M.; Balme, M. +1 more
We show that the dust devil parameterisation in use in most Mars Global Circulation Models (MGCMs) results in an unexpectedly high level of dust devil activity during morning hours.
Prior expectations of the diurnal variation of Martian dust devils are based mainly upon the observed behaviour of terrestrial dust devils: i.e. that the majority…Impact-generated winds on Mars
Schultz, Peter H.; Quintana, Stephanie N.
Bright and dark wind streaks across Mars record wind patterns related to atmospheric circulation. In some cases these streaks represent erosion of a surface veneer; in others, they indicate sand grains mobilized by strong vortices shed off of positive relief, such as crater rims. While many streaks change length or orientation over time, others no…
Shallow water simulations of Saturn's giant storms at different latitudes
Sánchez-Lavega, A.; García-Melendo, E.
Shallow water simulations are used to present a unified study of three major storms on Saturn (nicknamed as Great White Spots, GWS) at different latitudes, polar (1960), equatorial (1990), and mid-latitude (2010) (Sánchez-Lavega, 2004; Sánchez-Lavega et al., 2011). In our model, the three GWS are initiated by introducing a Gaussian function pulse …
Aerosols optical properties in Titan's detached haze layer before the equinox
West, Robert A.; Seignovert, Benoît; Lavvas, Panayotis +2 more
UV observations with Cassini ISS Narrow Angle Camera of Titan's detached haze is an excellent tool to probe its aerosols content without being affected by the gas or the multiple scattering. Unfortunately, its low extent in altitude requires a high resolution calibration and limits the number of images available in the Cassini dataset. However, we…
The role of strength defects in shaping impact crater planforms
Watters, W. A.; Geiger, L. M.; Fendrock, M. +2 more
High-resolution imagery and digital elevation models (DEMs) were used to measure the planimetric shapes of well-preserved impact craters. These measurements were used to characterize the size-dependent scaling of the departure from circular symmetry, which provides useful insights into the processes of crater growth and modification. For example, …
Temperatures and CH4 mixing ratios near the homopause of the 8 µm north polar hot spot of Jupiter
Orton, G. S.; Kim, Sang Joon; Yung, Yuk L. +4 more
We have derived homopause temperatures of 180-250 K for the 8-µm north-polar hot spot (8NPHS) of Jupiter by fitting CH4 emission models to 3 and 8 µm spectra of the 8NPHS obtained 24 days apart in 2013. From the fits, we find that CH4 mixing ratios at the 8NPHS are consistent with those reported by Kim et al. (201…