DOI: 10.1038/ngeo1860
论文题名: Atmospheric dynamics of Saturn's 2010 giant storm
作者: García-Melendo E. ; Hueso R. ; Sánchez-Lavega A. ; Legarreta J. ; Del Río-Gaztelurrutia T. ; Pérez-Hoyos S. ; Sanz-Requena J.F.
刊名: Nature Geoscience
ISSN: 17520894
出版年: 2013
卷: 6, 期: 7 起始页码: 525
结束页码: 529
语种: 英语
Scopus关键词: cloud
; general circulation model
; ground-based measurement
; high pressure
; planetary atmosphere
; Saturn
; spacecraft
; stratosphere
; timescale
; zonal flow
; zonal wind
英文摘要: Saturn's Great White Spots are rare planetary-scale storms that have been observed only six times since 1876. The most recent Great White Spot appeared in December 2010 and has been studied from both ground-based and spacecraft observations. The storm developed into an enormous disturbance extending over 10,000 km at cloud level, emitted intense electrostatic discharges over several months, and caused long-standing localized warming in the high stratosphere of about 60 K. Here we analyse the dynamics of the storm's head using high-resolution imagery obtained by the Cassini spacecraft on 26 February 2011. We find strong winds with speeds up to 160 m s-1 and organized into a divergent open anticyclone where massive cumulus-like cloud clusters interact with the ambient zonal flow to generate a storm front. The cloud clusters evolved over a timescale of hours, with cloud tops reaching 44 km above the undisturbed environment. Simulations using a general circulation model, which includes Saturn's zonal winds, reproduce the observations when a persistent heat source is introduced, causing a high-pressure anomaly. We conclude that the complex phenomenology of a mature Great White Spot represents a natural response of the saturnian atmosphere to severe sustained convection in a sheared background flow. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. Citation statistics:
资源类型: 期刊论文
标识符: http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/106751
Appears in Collections: 气候减缓与适应 科学计划与规划
There are no files associated with this item.
作者单位: Fundació Observatori Esteve Duran, Montseny 46, 08553 Seva, Spain; Institut de Ciències de l'Espai (CSIC-IEEC), Campus UAB, Facultat de Ciències, Torre C5 Parell, 2a pl., E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain; Departamento de Física Aplicada i, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería, Universidad Del País Vasco UPV-EHU, Alameda Urquijo s/n, 48013 Bilbao, Spain; Unidad Asociada Grupo Ciencias Planetarias UPV/EHU-IAA(CSIC), Spain; Departamento de Ingeniería de Sistemas y Automática, EUITI, Universidad País Vasco UPV-EHU, Plaza de la Casilla 3, 48012 Bilbao, Spain; Universidad Europea Miguel de Cervantes, C/Padre Julio Chevalier, 47012 Valladolid, Spain
Recommended Citation:
García-Melendo E.,Hueso R.,Sánchez-Lavega A.,et al. Atmospheric dynamics of Saturn's 2010 giant storm[J]. Nature Geoscience,2013-01-01,6(7)