Jupiter's Equatorial Plumes and Hot Spots: Spectral Mapping from Gemini/TEXES and Juno/MWR

• Published in: arXiv.org 2020-05
• Main Authors: Fletcher, L N, Orton, G S, Greathouse, T K, Rogers, J H, Zhang, Z, Oyafuso, F A, Eichstädt, G, Melin, H, C Li, Levin, S M, Bolton, S, Janssen, M, H-J Mettig, Grassi, D, Mura, A, Adriani, A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aerosols; Ammonia; Brightness; Depletion; Infrared imagery; Jupiter probes; Mapping; Microwave signatures; Opacity; Plumes
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2004.00072

We present multi-wavelength measurements of the thermal, chemical, and cloud contrasts associated with the visibly dark formations (also known as 5-\(\mu\)m hot spots) and intervening bright plumes on the boundary between Jupiter's Equatorial Zone (EZ) and North Equatorial Belt (NEB). Observations made by the TEXES 5-20 \(\mu\)m spectrometer at the Gemini North Telescope in March 2017 reveal the upper-tropospheric properties of 12 hot spots, which are directly compared to measurements by Juno using the Microwave Radiometer (MWR), JIRAM at 5 \(\mu\)m, and JunoCam visible images. MWR and thermal-infrared spectroscopic results are consistent near 0.7 bar. Mid-infrared-derived aerosol opacity is consistent with that inferred from visible-albedo and 5-\(\mu\)m opacity maps. Aerosol contrasts, the defining characteristics of the cloudy plumes and aerosol-depleted hot spots, are not a good proxy for microwave brightness. The hot spots are neither uniformly warmer nor ammonia-depleted compared to their surroundings at \(p10\) bars, suggesting that the hot-spot/plume wave is a relatively shallow feature.