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Planetary science

Stirring up Saturn's poles

Saturn's poles exhibit giant swirling cyclones, whereas Jupiter's poles may not. Simulations of giant planet atmospheres suggest that just the right balance of convective storm energy and poleward drift of cyclones may explain Saturn's vortices.

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Figure 1: Polar circulations on Jupiter and Saturn.

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Correspondence to Leigh N. Fletcher.

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Fletcher, L. Stirring up Saturn's poles. Nature Geosci 8, 503–504 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2471

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