Evidence for Tilted Columnar Cells Driving Jupiter's Equatorial Jets

Abstract

In rapidly rotating planets, convection driven by residual heat from planetary formation is predicted to organize into columnar circulations aligned with the rotation axis. Such motions have long been proposed to play a central role in giant-planet dynamics, including the maintenance of Jupiter's equatorial superrotation and adjacent westward jets, but their expected depth makes them difficult to observe directly. We analyze microwave brightness-temperature measurements from the Juno Microwave Radiometer (MWR), using multiple channels that probe atmospheric layers down to approximately 100 bar in Jupiter's equatorial region. The data reveal coherent hemispheric asymmetries and characteristic spatial scales consistent with expectations from rapidly rotating deep convection. Comparisons with deep convection simulations reproduce similar signatures and support the interpretation. Cross-depth correlations further suggest axially extended, tilted convective structures. Together, these results provide observational constraints on the geometry and spacing of Jupiter's deep convective motions and their connection to the planet's large-scale atmospheric circulation.

Authors 8

1. Nimrod Gavriel corresponding

   Weizmann Institute of Science · University of California, Berkeley

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA (nimrod.gavriel@berkeley.edu)

   Weizmann Institute of Science, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rehovot, Israel

2. Keren Duer corresponding Aachen Leiden Observatory SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research

   Leiden University · Leiden Observatory · Space Research Organisation Netherlands

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands

   SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Leiden, the Netherlands

3. Eli Galanti corresponding

   Weizmann Institute of Science

   Affiliation as printed

   Weizmann Institute of Science, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rehovot, Israel

4. Fabiano Oyafuso

   California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

   Affiliation as printed

   NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

5. Cheng Li corresponding

   University of Michigan

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

6. S. Levin corresponding

   California Institute of Technology · Jet Propulsion Laboratory

   Affiliation as printed

   NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

7. Scott J. Bolton

   Southwest Research Institute

   Affiliation as printed

   Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA

8. Yohai Kaspi corresponding

   Weizmann Institute of Science

   Affiliation as printed

   Weizmann Institute of Science, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rehovot, Israel