Connotea
CiteULike
del.ico.us
BibSonomyAbstract
Enhanced transport in the polar mesosphere of Jupiter: Evidence from Cassini UVIS helium 584 Å airglow
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA Astrobiology Institute, Pasadena, California, USA
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA
The eddy diffusion profile (K) in the auroral regions of Jupiter is not well determined. However, because of the intense auroral energy input, eddy mixing is expected to be much more effective and may be responsible for the enhancement of heavy hydrocarbon production in the polar region. In this paper, we estimate the increased eddy mixing in the Jovian auroral regions by comparing the Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) observations during the 2000 Jupiter flyby with radiative transfer calculations of the He 584 Å airglow intensity. We derive a range for the eddy diffusion coefficients at the homopause (K h ) in the auroral regions to be at least 8 × 106 cm2 s−1 and possibly greater than 4 × 107 cm2 s−1. By comparison, equatorial K h is on the order of 2 × 106 cm2 s−1.
Received 26 July 2005; accepted 16 September 2005; published 11 February 2006.
Citation: (2006), Enhanced transport in the polar mesosphere of Jupiter: Evidence from Cassini UVIS helium 584 Å airglow, J. Geophys. Res., 111, E02002, doi:10.1029/2005JE002539.
Cited By