Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

The number and location of Jupiter’s circumpolar cyclones explained by vorticity dynamics

Nature Geoscience volume 14, pages 559–563 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

The Juno mission observed that both poles of Jupiter have polar cyclones that are surrounded by a ring of circumpolar cyclones (CPCs). The north pole holds eight CPCs and the south pole possesses five, with both circumpolar rings positioned along latitude ~84° N/S. Here we explain the location, stability and number of the Jovian CPCs by establishing the primary forces that act on them, which develop because of vorticity gradients in the background of a cyclone. In the meridional direction, the background vorticity varies owing to the planetary sphericity and the presence of the polar cyclone. In the zonal direction, the vorticity varies by the presence of adjacent cyclones in the ring. Our analysis successfully predicts the latitude and number of circumpolar cyclones for both poles, according to the size and spin of the respective polar cyclone. Moreover, the analysis successfully predicts that Jupiter can hold circumpolar cyclones, whereas Saturn currently cannot. The match between the theory and observations implies that vortices in the polar regions of the giant planets are largely governed by barotropic dynamics, and that the movement of other vortices at high latitudes is also driven by interaction with the background vorticity.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Observations of the PCs and CPCs of Jupiter and Saturn.
Fig. 2: Generalized β-drift schematic.
Fig. 3: An illustration of the balance holding a CPC around the PC.
Fig. 4: Latitudes of equilibrium in the gas giants.
Fig. 5: Zonal stability of CPCs.

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

No data sets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Code availability

The MATLAB codes used for calculating and plotting the figures in this paper are available on request from N.G.

References

  1. Bolton, S. J. et al. Jupiter’s interior and deep atmosphere: The initial pole-to-pole passes with the Juno spacecraft. Science 356, 821–825 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Orton, G. S. et al. The first close-up images of Jupiter’s polar regions: results from the Juno mission JunoCam instrument. Geophys. Res. Lett. 44, 4599–4606 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Adriani, A. et al. Clusters of cyclones encircling Jupiter’s poles. Nature 555, 216–219 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Tabataba-Vakili, F. et al. Long-term tracking of circumpolar cyclones on Jupiter from polar observations with JunoCam. Icarus 335, 113405 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Adriani, A. et al. Two-year observations of the Jupiter polar regions by JIRAM on board Juno. J. Geophys. Res. Planets 125, e2019JE006098 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Grassi, D. et al. First estimate of wind fields in the Jupiter polar regions from JIRAM-Juno images. J. Geophys. Res. Planets 123, 1511–1524 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Fine, K., Cass, A., Flynn, W. & Driscoll, C. Relaxation of 2D turbulence to vortex crystals. Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 3277 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Schecter, D., Dubin, D., Fine, K. & Driscoll, C. Vortex crystals from 2D Euler flow: experiment and simulation. Phys. Fluids 11, 905–914 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Showman, A. P., Ingersoll, A. P., Achterberg, R. & Kaspi, Y. in Saturn in the 21st Century (eds Baines, K. H. et al.) 295–366 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2018).

  10. Kaspi, Y. et al. Comparison of the deep atmospheric dynamics of Jupiter and Saturn in light of the Juno and Cassini gravity measurements. Space Sci. Rev. 216, 84 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Galanti, E. et al. Saturn’s deep atmospheric flows revealed by the Cassini Grand Finale gravity measurements. Geophys. Res. Lett. 46, 616–624 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Baines, K. H. et al. Saturn’s north polar cyclone and hexagon at depth revealed by Cassini/VIMS. Planet. Space Sci. 57, 1671–1681 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Li, C., Ingersoll, A. P., Klipfel, A. P. & Brettle, H. Modeling the stability of polygonal patterns of vortices at the poles of Jupiter as revealed by the Juno spacecraft. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 117, 24082–24087 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Yadav, R. K., Heimpel, M. & Bloxham, J. Deep convection-driven vortex formation on Jupiter and Saturn. Sci. Adv. 6, eabb9298 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Yadav, R. K. & Bloxham, J. Deep rotating convection generates the polar hexagon on Saturn. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 117, 13991–13996 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Garcia, F., Chambers, F. R. & Watts, A. L. Deep model simulation of polar vortices in gas giant atmospheres. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 499, 4698–4715 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Afanasyev, Y. & Zhang, Y. Cyclonic circulation of Saturn’s atmosphere due to tilted convection. Nat. Geosci. 11, 164–167 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Afanasyev, Y. & Huang, Y.-C. Poleward translation of vortices due to deep thermal convection on a rotating planet. Geophys. Astrophys. Fluid Dyn. 114, 821–834 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Aubert, O., Le Bars, M., Le Gal, P. & Marcus, P. S. The universal aspect ratio of vortices in rotating stratified flows: experiments and observations. J. Comp. Phys. 706, 34–45 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Lemasquerier, D., Facchini, G., Favier, B. & Le Bars, M. Remote determination of the shape of Jupiter’s vortices from laboratory experiments. Nat. Phys. 16, 695–700 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Rossby, C. On displacements and intensity changes of atmospheric vortices. J. Mar. Res. 7, 71 (1948).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Adem, J. A series solution for the barotropic vorticity equation and its application in the study of atmospheric vortices. Tellus 8, 364–372 (1956).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Smith, R. K., Ulrich, W. & Dietachmayer, G. A numerical study of tropical cyclone motion using a barotropic model. I: the role of vortex asymmetries. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 116, 337–362 (1990).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Shapiro, L. J. Hurricane vortex motion and evolution in a three-layer model. J. Atmos. Sci. 49, 140–154 (1992).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Smith, R. B. A hurricane beta-drift law. J. Atmos. Sci. 50, 3213–3215 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Franklin, J. L., Feuer, S. E., Kaplan, J. & Aberson, S. D. Tropical cyclone motion and surrounding flow relationships: searching for beta gyres in Omega dropwindsonde datasets. Mon. Weath. Rev. 124, 64–84 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Chan, J. C. The physics of tropical cyclone motion. Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 37, 99–128 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. O’Neill, M. E., Emanuel, K. A. & Flierl, G. R. Polar vortex formation in giant-planet atmospheres due to moist convection. Nat. Geosci. 8, 523–526 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. O’Neill, M. E., Emanuel, K. A. & Flierl, G. R. Weak jets and strong cyclones: shallow-water modeling of giant planet polar caps. J. Atmos. Sci. 73, 1841–1855 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Scott, R. Polar accumulation of cyclonic vorticity. Geophys. Astrophys. Fluid Dyn. 105, 409–420 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Brueshaber, S. R., Sayanagi, K. M. & Dowling, T. E. Dynamical regimes of giant planet polar vortices. Icarus 323, 46–61 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Zhao, H., Wu, L. & Zhou, W. Observational relationship of climatologic beta drift with large-scale environmental flows. Geophys. Res. Lett. 36, L1880 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  33. Rivière, G., Arbogast, P., Lapeyre, G. & Maynard, K. A. A potential vorticity perspective on the motion of a mid-latitude winter storm. Geophys. Res. Lett. 39, L1280 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Fiorino, M. & Elsberry, R. L. Some aspects of vortex structure related to tropical cyclone motion. J. Atmos. Sci. 46, 975–990 (1989).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Sutyrin, G. G. & Flierl, G. R. Intense vortex motion on the beta plane: development of the beta gyres. J. Atmos. Sci. 51, 773–790 (1994).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Vallis, G. K. Atmospheric and Oceanic Fluid Dynamics (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2017).

  37. Sayanagi, K. M., Blalock, J. J., Dyudina, U. A., Ewald, S. P. & Ingersoll, A. P. Cassini ISS observation of Saturn’s north polar vortex and comparison to the south polar vortex. Icarus 285, 68–82 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank K. Duer and E. Galanti for insightful conversations. This research was supported by the Minerva Foundation with funding from the Federal German Ministry for Education and Research, the Israeli Space Agency and the Helen Kimmel Center for Planetary Science at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel

    Nimrod Gavriel & Yohai Kaspi

Authors
  1. Nimrod Gavriel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yohai Kaspi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

N.G. designed the study, performed the calculations and wrote the paper together with Y.K.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nimrod Gavriel.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Peer review information Primary Handling Editor: Stefan Lachowycz. Nature Geoscience thanks Yakov Afanasyev and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Extended data

Extended Data Fig. 1 Measurements of the Jovian PC velocity profiles.

The velocity profiles from Extended Data Fig. 3a, overlaid on Fig. 6 from Grassi et al., 20186 (adapted with permission), showing the observed velocities around the north (a) and south (b) poles of Jupiter. The idealized velocity profiles are calculated using the Jovian values for R and V (Methods). The green curves (vPC) represent the velocity profiles used for the analyses in this study.

Extended Data Fig. 2 Measurements of the Saturnian PC velocity profiles.

Two velocity profiles from Extended Data Fig. 3a, overlaid on Fig. 8 from Baines et al., 200912 (adapted with permission), showing the observed velocities around the north (solid) and south (dashed) poles of Saturn. Error bars are calculated as standard deviations12. The idealized velocity profiles are calculated using the Saturnian values for R and V (Methods). The green curves (vPC) represent the velocity profiles used for the analyses in this study.

Extended Data Fig. 3 Idealized profiles of velocity, vorticity, and vorticity gradient.

a, The vortex velocity profile according to the suggested piece-wise function (green solid curve) from equation (6) compared with two other ideal vortex profiles6,23 (for the Grassi curve6, γ = 1.5 is taken). b, The vorticity calculated for the same profiles as a. c, Vorticity gradient (in log scale), calculated for the same three profiles. In addition, the minus of the β profiles are shown for the northern and southern poles of Saturn and Jupiter. The 4 curves for − β differentiate as the vorticity gradient is normalized according to each polar cyclone, and as the length is scaled by the radius of maximum velocity for the respective PC. The points where the vorticity gradient curves cross the − β curves represent equilibrium. Here, 0 in the r/R axis represents the pole.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gavriel, N., Kaspi, Y. The number and location of Jupiter’s circumpolar cyclones explained by vorticity dynamics. Nat. Geosci. 14, 559–563 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00781-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00781-6

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing