Constraints on the Latitudinal Profile of Jupiter's Deep Jets

Abstract

The observed zonal winds at Jupiter's cloud tops have been shown to be closely linked to the asymmetric part of the planet's measured gravity field. Here, we examine to what extent, and at which latitudes, must the flows at depth resemble those at the cloud level to match the gravity signal. We show, using both the symmetric and asymmetric parts of the measured gravity field, that the observed cloud-level wind profile between 25°S and 25°N must extend unaltered to depths of thousands of kilometers. Poleward, the midlatitude deep jets also contribute to the gravity signal, but might differ somewhat from the cloud-level winds. We analyze the likelihood of this difference and give bounds to its strength. We also find that to match the gravity measurements, the winds must project inward in the direction parallel to Jupiter's spin axis, and decay inward in the radial direction.