Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026
06:27
Measurement of Aerosols Optical Thickness of the Atmosphere using the GLOBE Handheld Sun Photometer
Published on: May 29, 2019
An equatorial oscillation in Saturn's middle atmosphere
T Fouchet1, S Guerlet, D F Strobel
1LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, CNRS, Paris 7, Meudon F-92195, France. thierry.fouchet@obspm.fr
Nature
|May 10, 2008
Summary
Saturn
Area of Science:
- Planetary Science
- Atmospheric Science
- Infrared Astronomy
Background:
- Planetary middle atmospheres are complex, influenced by radiation, motion, and waves.
- Understanding these dynamics is crucial for planetary science, but modeling is challenging.
- Equatorial oscillations and superrotation are observed in Earth, Jupiter, Venus, and Titan.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate Saturn's middle atmosphere dynamics using infrared observations.
- To identify wave modes driving atmospheric phenomena on Saturn.
- To compare Saturn's atmospheric oscillations with those on Earth and Jupiter.
Main Methods:
- Infrared observations of Saturn's atmosphere.
- Analysis of temperature profiles and atmospheric oscillations.
- Comparative study with Earth and Jupiter's atmospheric dynamics.
Main Results:
- Saturn exhibits an equatorial oscillation similar to Earth and Jupiter.
- A mid-latitude subsidence potentially linked to Saturn's equatorial motion was observed.
- The latitudinal extent of Saturn's oscillation suggests shared underlying physics with Earth and Jupiter.
Conclusions:
- Saturn's atmospheric oscillation provides new insights into wave-driven dynamics in planetary middle atmospheres.
- Further observations and modeling are needed to precisely determine wave modes, wavelengths, and amplitudes.
- This study advances our understanding of comparative planetology in middle atmosphere dynamics.
Related Concept Videos
01:16Circular Orbits and Critical Velocity for Satellites
The Moon orbits around the Earth. In turn, the Earth (and other planets) orbit the Sun. The space directly above our atmosphere is filled with artificial satellites in orbit. One can examine the circular orbit, the simplest kind of orbit, to understand the relationship between the speed and the period of planets and satellites with respect to their positions and the bodies that they orbit.
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) first suggested that the Earth and all other planets orbit the Sun in...
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) first suggested that the Earth and all other planets orbit the Sun in...
01:04Oscillations about an Equilibrium Position
Stability is an important concept in oscillation. If an equilibrium point is stable, a slight disturbance of an object that is initially at the stable equilibrium point will cause the object to oscillate around that point. For an unstable equilibrium point, if the object is disturbed slightly, it will not return to the equilibrium point. There are three conditions for equilibrium points—stable, unstable, and half-stable. A half-stable equilibrium point is also unstable, but is named so because...
01:07Damped Oscillations
In the real world, oscillations seldom follow true simple harmonic motion. A system that continues its motion indefinitely without losing its amplitude is termed undamped. However, friction of some sort usually dampens the motion, so it fades away or needs more force to continue. For example, a guitar string stops oscillating a few seconds after being plucked. Similarly, one must continually push a swing to keep a child swinging on a playground.
Although friction and other non-conservative...
Although friction and other non-conservative...
01:06Forced Oscillations
When an oscillator is forced with a periodic driving force, the motion may seem chaotic. The motions of such oscillators are known as transients. After the transients die out, the oscillator reaches a steady state, where the motion is periodic, and the displacement is determined.
01:30Oscillations In An LC Circuit
An idealized LC circuit of zero resistance can oscillate without any source of emf by shifting the energy stored in the circuit between the electric and magnetic fields. In such an LC circuit, if the capacitor contains a charge q before the switch is closed, then all the energy of the circuit is initially stored in the electric field of the capacitor. This energy is given by
01:18Variation of Atmospheric Pressure
Change in atmospheric pressure with height is particularly interesting. The decrease in atmospheric pressure with increasing altitude is due to the decreasing gravitational force per unit area as we move away from the surface of the earth.
Assuming the air temperature is constant at a given altitude and that the ideal gas law of thermodynamics describes the atmosphere to a good approximation, one can find the variation of atmospheric pressure with height.
Let p(y) be the atmospheric pressure at...
Assuming the air temperature is constant at a given altitude and that the ideal gas law of thermodynamics describes the atmosphere to a good approximation, one can find the variation of atmospheric pressure with height.
Let p(y) be the atmospheric pressure at...