Open AccessAtmospheric forces drive development of superrotation
Author(s) -
Wendel JoAnna
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1002/2014eo360017
Subject(s) - planet , venus , equator , astrobiology , titan (rocket family) , atmosphere (unit) , planetary surface , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , physics , geology , astronomy , meteorology , latitude
Planetary scientists are still puzzling over how superrotation—when a planet's atmosphere rotates faster than its surface—develops on a small or slowly rotating planet like Venus or Titan. Researchers have previously suggested that a certain kind of atmospheric eddy activity is required to retain the momentum surplus over the equator of a planet, where superrotation develops, but have not yet identified this underlying mechanism.