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Ann. Geophys., 25, 847-853, 2007
www.ann-geophys.net/25/847/2007/
© European Geosciences Union 2007

Variability of Jovian ion winds: an upper limit for enhanced Joule heating

M. B. Lystrup^1,2, S. Miller^1,2, T. Stallard¹, C. G. A. Smith¹, and A. Aylward^1
1Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
²Visiting Astronomer at the Infrared Telescope Facility, which is operated by the University of Hawaii under Cooperative Agreement no. NCC 5-538 with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Science Mission
Directorate, Planetary Astronomy Program

Abstract. It has been proposed that short-timescale fluctuations about the mean electric field can significantly increase the upper atmospheric energy inputs at Jupiter, which may help to explain the high observed thermospheric temperatures. We present data from the first attempt to detect such variations in the Jovian ionosphere. Line-of-sight ionospheric velocity profiles in the Southern Jovian auroral/polar region are shown, derived from the Doppler shifting of H₃⁺ infrared emission spectra. These data were recently obtained from the high-resolution CSHELL spectrometer at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility. We find that there is no variability within this data set on timescales of the order of one minute and spatial scales of 640 km, putting upper limits on the timescales of fluctuations that would be needed to enhance Joule heating.

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Citation: Lystrup, M. B., Miller, S., Stallard, T., Smith, C. G. A., and Aylward, A.: Variability of Jovian ion winds: an upper limit for enhanced Joule heating, Ann. Geophys., 25, 847-853, 2007.   Bibtex   EndNote   Reference Manager