The Role of Vortex Shielding on Polar Crystal Formation & Vortex Dynamics on Jupiter
Authors: Carruthers Aaron , Thomson Stephen , Seviour William 
Published: February 2023

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&lt;div class=&quot;textLayer&quot;&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;The Juno mission in 2016 revealed that Jupiter&amp;#8217;s polar regions contain a set&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;of vortices cohabiting in tightly-packed crystal formations. These crystals were&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br role=&quot;presentation&quot; /&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;noted for their remarkable stability, even withstanding the intrusion of a stray&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;cyclone drifting into the arrangement. Wind and infrared measurements of these&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;vortices give estimates of their radial extent and velocity profiles, indicating&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;these vortices are surrounded by an annulus of opposing potential vorticity (pv),&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;commonly referred to as a shield.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br role=&quot;presentation&quot; /&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;However, the underlying mechanisms that lead to the development and main&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;tenance of vortex shielding on planetary vortices are generally poorly under-&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br role=&quot;presentation&quot; /&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;stood.&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;For example, the sensitivities of the shielding process to planetary pa&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;rameters, such as deformation radius, are largely unexplored.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br role=&quot;presentation&quot; /&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;Recent work has shown that, in a shallow water framework, these shields&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;are pertinent to the crystal stability. Particularly, recent modelling efforts have&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br role=&quot;presentation&quot; /&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;placed strict bounds for this shielding in terms of magnitude. Although much&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;work has been devoted to this topic, there are still significant questions remain&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;ing and large gaps in our understanding of these polar vortex crystals.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br role=&quot;presentation&quot; /&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;Here we present a preliminary exploration of the parameter space, using a&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;quasi-geostrophic beta plane model to simulate the drift of Gaussian pv pulses&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br role=&quot;presentation&quot; /&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;in Jupiter-like conditions.&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;These initial results indicate that vortex shielding&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;may have a strong dependence on the deformation radius and the background&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;pv gradient, suggesting a strong dependence on latitude.&lt;/span&gt; &lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;These preliminary&amp;#160;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;results will form the basis of our work modelling Jovian polar crystal formation&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br role=&quot;presentation&quot; /&gt;&lt;span dir=&quot;ltr&quot; role=&quot;presentation&quot;&gt;and vortex shield development in more detailed atmospheric settings.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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