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- Title
Temporal Variations in Vertical Cloud Structure of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, Its Surroundings and Oval BA From HST/WFC3 Imaging.
- Authors
Anguiano‐Arteaga, Asier; Pérez‐Hoyos, Santiago; Sánchez‐Lavega, Agustín; Sanz‐Requena, José Francisco; Irwin, Patrick G. J.
- Abstract
In this study, we present the evolution of the properties and vertical distribution of the hazes in Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS), its surroundings and Oval BA from 2015 to 2021. To retrieve the main atmospheric parameters, we model the spectral reflectivity of a number of dynamically and/or spectrally interesting regions with a radiative transfer tool that uses an optimal estimator scheme. The spectra of the selected regions are obtained from high‐resolution Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 images that cover the spectral range from 200 to 900 nm. The a priori model atmosphere used to describe the various Jovian regions is taken from Anguiano‐Arteaga et al. (2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JE006996) for each corresponding area. We find that the biggest variations in the GRS occur in the optical thickness of the stratospheric and tropospheric haze layers starting in 2019 and in the mean size of the tropospheric haze particles in 2018. The absorption spectra of both hazes show little variations among the analyzed regions and years, with the stratospheric haze properties seeming compatible with the chromophore proposed by Carlson et al. (2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.03.008). We report a color change of Oval BA from red to white during these years that, according to our models, can be mostly explained in terms of a decrease in the stratospheric haze optical depth. Plain Language Summary: The Great Red Spot of Jupiter (GRS) is the largest and longest‐lived anticyclone in the solar system atmospheres. Despite having been widely studied, the nature of the aerosol(s) giving the spot its characteristic red color is still unknown, as well as the relation of their creation/destruction mechanisms with dynamics. In 2019, the Great Red Spot started a series of interactions with smaller anticyclones that may have changed its vertical cloud structure, which made the region particularly worthy for our analysis. At the same time, the second largest anticyclone in Jupiter, called Oval BA, changed its color from red to white in 2018, something that also happened in the past (but from white to red) and deserved some attention. We used Hubble Space Telescope images to constrain models of the vertical structure and some relevant atmospheric properties of the hazes in the GRS, its surroundings and Oval BA. We found that most of the changes are related to the thickness of the uppermost coloring layer in the atmosphere, being able to reproduce the observed reflectivity and its temporal and spatial variations. The nature of this layer seems to be compatible with compounds resulting from photochemical reactions in the upper atmosphere. Key Points: A model of the visible reflectivity of the Great Red Spot and its surroundings from 2015 to 2021 shows no significant changesOur analysis suggests the presence of two coloring aerosols, the upper one compatible with the chromophore proposed by Carlson et al. (2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2016.03.008)We find that the Oval BA color change between 2016 and 2020 is due to a decrease in the optical thickness of the upper haze
- Subjects
JUPITER (Planet); TROPOSPHERIC aerosols; ATMOSPHERIC models; SOLAR atmosphere; UPPER atmosphere; SPACE telescopes
- Publication
Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets, 2023, Vol 128, Issue 9, p1
- ISSN
2169-9097
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2022JE007427