Influence of reference states on Jupiter’s dynamo simulations

Yuan, LongHui; Lin, Yufeng; Jones, Chris

doi:10.26464/epp2021041

Cited by 3 publications

References 38 publications

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Numerical Simulations of Magnetic Effects on Zonal Flows in Giant Planets

Xue,

Lin

2024

JGR Planets

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Jupiter and Saturn exhibit alternating east‐west jet streams. The origin of these zonal flows has been debated for decades. The high‐precision gravity measurements by the Juno mission and the grand finale of the Cassini mission have revealed that the observed zonal flows may extend several thousand kilometres deep and stop around the transition region from molecular to metallic hydrogen, suggesting the magnetic braking effect on zonal flows. In this study, we perform a set of magnetohydrodynamic simulations in a spherical shell with radially variable electrical conductivity to investigate the interaction between magnetic fields and zonal flows. A key feature of our numerical models is that we impose a background dipole magnetic field on the anelastic rotating convection. By varying the strength of the imposed magnetic field and the vigor of convection, we investigate how the magnetic field interacts with the convective motions and the convection‐driven zonal flows. Our simulations reveal that the magnetic field tends to destroy zonal flows in the metallic hydrogen and suppress zonal flows in the molecular envelope, while the magnetic field may enhance the radial convective motions. We extract a quantitative relation between the magnetic field strength and the amplitude of zonal flows at the surface through our simulations, which roughly matches the observed magnetic field and zonal wind speed of Jupiter and Saturn. This discovery provides support from a new perspective for the scenario of deep convection‐driven zonal winds which are confined to the molecular hydrogen layers in giant planets.

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Numerical Simulations of Magnetic Effects on Zonal Flows in Giant Planets

Xue,

Lin

2024

JGR Planets

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Long time variation of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide with temperature and solar radiation in two atmosphere layers troposphere and mesosphere in Beijing

Rashid,

Al-Ubaidi

2023

2nd International Conference on Applied Research and Engineering (Icarae2022)

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A joint investigation of Saturn’s deep zonal flow via its gravitational field and Ohmic dissipation

Yuan,

Kong

2023

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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The Cassini Grand Finale provided a unique opportunity to study Saturn’s deep zonal flow. In this paper, we present a comprehensive deep zonal flow model for Saturn using a joint inversion of observed gravity and zonal flow-induced Ohmic dissipation in the semi-conducting region, under the assumption that the planet’s cloud-level wind is limited to a shallow weather layer. Our model unveils a strong equatorially symmetric zonal flow (O(100) m s−1) and a weaker antisymmetric zonal flow (O(1) m s−1) beneath the cloud-level winds. Furthermore, we show that the maximum depth of the deep zonal flow is around 7800 km, surpassing previous results derived from gravity alone and with the assumption that the rapid cloud-level winds extend deep into the planet’s interior. The meridional profile of the deep zonal flow differs significantly from the cloud-level zonal winds and predicts a strong westward zonal flow in the region with latitude around ± 23○, where the observed cloud-top winds remain eastward. We also demonstrate the zonal flow inside and outside the tangent cylinder exhibits significant differences in speed and scale. Moreover, our findings suggest that the coupling between the deep zonal flow and cloud-level winds varies across latitudes, with the shallow-wind model applicable to polar regions within the tangent cylinder and the deep-wind model more relevant to equatorial regions outside the tangent cylinder. Our findings highlight the importance of accounting for the planet’s deep zonal flow in future studies of Saturn’s atmospheric dynamics.

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Influence of reference states on Jupiter’s dynamo simulations

Cited by 3 publications

References 38 publications

Numerical Simulations of Magnetic Effects on Zonal Flows in Giant Planets

Numerical Simulations of Magnetic Effects on Zonal Flows in Giant Planets

Long time variation of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide with temperature and solar radiation in two atmosphere layers troposphere and mesosphere in Beijing

A joint investigation of Saturn’s deep zonal flow via its gravitational field and Ohmic dissipation

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