A supersolar oxygen abundance supported by hydrodynamic modelling of Jupiter’s atmosphere
Jupiter's oxygen content is inextricably tied to its formation history and the evolution of the early Solar System. Recent one-dimensional thermochemical modelling of CO showed that the planet's bulk water content could be subsolar, in stark contrast to the water enrichment determined near the equator using the Juno spacecraft. Here we use a hydrodynamic model to study Jupiter's atmospheric dynamics at and below the water cloud level with simplified thermochemistry to show the effect of hydrodynamics on the abundance of disequilibrium species CO, PH<sub>3</sub> and GeH<sub>4</sub> in the troposphere. If PH<sub>3</sub> and GeH<sub>4</sub> provide only an upper limit for the oxygen abundance (≤5 times solar), our results suggest an oxygen enrichment range of 2.5-5 times solar using updated CO thermochemistry. Using the conventional CO chemical timescale, we further reveal a correlation between moist convection and the CO abundance at the water cloud level. If such a correlation is found observationally, it would favour the formation of Jupiter near the snow line, which harbours a supersolar oxygen abundance.
Authors
- N. J. Chanover (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9984-4670)
- G. L. Bjoraker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9679-4153)
- Ali Hyder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3350-4243)
- Cheng Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8280-3119)
Institutions
- New Mexico State University (US)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Astronomy
- Published
- 2024-11-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02420-7
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Astro and Planetary Science
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.66
Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- University of Texas at Austin
- Nuclear Safety and Security Commission
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin