Publication Date:
2008-01-05
Description:
Saturn's poles exhibit an unexpected symmetry in hot, cyclonic polar vortices, despite huge seasonal differences in solar flux. The cores of both vortices are depleted in phosphine gas, probably resulting from subsidence of air into the troposphere. The warm cores are present throughout the upper troposphere and stratosphere at both poles. The thermal structure associated with the marked hexagonal polar jet at 77 degrees N has been observed for the first time. Both the warm cyclonic belt at 79 degrees N and the cold anticyclonic zone at 75 degrees N exhibit the hexagonal structure.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Fletcher, L N -- Irwin, P G J -- Orton, G S -- Teanby, N A -- Achterberg, R K -- Bjoraker, G L -- Read, P L -- Simon-Miller, A A -- Howett, C -- de Kok, R -- Bowles, N -- Calcutt, S B -- Hesman, B -- Flasar, F M -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2008 Jan 4;319(5859):79-81. doi: 10.1126/science.1149514.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Planetary Physics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK. fletcher@atm.ox.ac.uk〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18174438" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
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Chemistry and Pharmacology
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Computer Science
,
Medicine
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Natural Sciences in General
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Physics
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