Jovian Temperature and Cloud Variability during the 2009-2010 Fade of the South Equatorial Belt

Leigh N. Fletcher , G.S. Orton (1) , J.H. Rogers , A.A. Simon-Miller (2) , I. de Pater (3) , M.H. Wong (3) , O. Mousis (4) , P.G.J. Irwin , M. Jacquesson , P.A. Yanamandra-Fisher (1)

1 CALTECH - California Institute of Technology
2 GSFC - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
3 University of California
4 UFC - Université de Franche-Comté

► The 2009-10 whitening of Jupiter's SEB was the first complete SEB life cycle since 1992-1993. ► Upwelling increased the infrared opacity of the SEB several months before the whitening. ► A cool zone-like region formed in Jupiter's convective troposphere before the visible fade began. ► Enhanced ice condensation likely caused the dramatic clouding over of the SEB. ► The revival required sublimation of these ices to reveal the belts typical brown colours.

Mots clés: Jupiter; Atmospheres; composition; structure

Domaines: Planète et Univers [physics]

Leigh N. Fletcher, G.S. Orton, J.H. Rogers, A.A. Simon-Miller, I. de Pater, et al.. Jovian Temperature and Cloud Variability during the 2009-2010 Fade of the South Equatorial Belt. Icarus, 2011, ⟨10.1016/j.icarus.2011.03.007⟩. ⟨hal-00756915⟩