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OPAL
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IN SITU ATMOSPHERIC SAMPLING
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I led a series of HST and Gemini Observatory programs providing imaging context (near-UV, visible, infrared) for Juno's atmospheric science passes. After selection as a Participating Scientist, I collaborated with other team members on studies of Jupiter's spatially/temporally variable composition, cloud features, and dynamics and climate. A particular focus is on the study of Jovian lightning as a tracer of convective activity.
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We conduct observations and simulations of giant planet vortices to understand their origin and evolution, and ultimately the structure of their atmospheric environments. Observables include horizontal wind field measurements at Jupiter (where we achieve high spatial resultion using space telescopes), long-term tracking from cadenced imaging, multispectral mapping to determine the vertical structure of aerosols, compositional and thermal retrievals from infrared and microwave spectra, and even gravitational perturbations from density anomalies. I have participated in studies of anticyclones (high-pressure systems) and cyclones (low-pressure systems prone to convective outbursts) on Jupiter and Saturn, and led programs to conduct the first evolutionary study covering the full lifetime of a dark spot on Neptune from origin to dissipation.
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I work closely with fluid modelers to test interpretations of observational results related to anticyclones from Jupiter's Great Red Spot to the dark spots on Neptune. Current studies with Ramana Sankar and Csaba Palotai are focused on understanding the spatially-variable moist convection in Jupiter's atmosphere on a global basis.
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Thermal infrared and radio wavelength light from Jupiter and Saturn, heat energy that is radiatively escaping from the planet, carries with it information about the 3D spatial distribution of volatile gases ammonia and water, temperature, and cloud material. Microwave maps from the VLA and Juno reveal intricately detailed bright and dark patterns at different wavelengths, modulated by both temperature and the amount of ammonia gas present. Ammonia acts as a tracer of vertical motions, so the brightness patterns trace motions driven by convection, waves, jets, and turbulence. In the 5-micron window within these planets' spectra, high-resolution spectrometers (NASA IRTF, Keck, and JWST) sense variations in volatile and disequlibrium gases, as well as aerosols. The correspondence between microwave and 5-micron maps shows that cloud density and ammonia concentration have highly correlated variability as a result of vertical flows.
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