Jupiter's dominant large-scale weather patterns (dimensions ～10,000 km) are zonal jets and long-lived ovals. The jets have been flowing east and west at constant speeds of up to 180 m s~(-1) for over 100 years. These jets receive energy from small-scale eddies, which pump eastward momentum into the eastward jets and westward momentum into the westward jets. This momentum transfer was predicted by numerical models before it was observed on Jupiter. The large ovals roll between the jets in an anticyclonic direction—clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere— where they regularly assimilate small anticyclonic eddies. But from where the eddies receive their energy has been an open question. Here we argue that the eddies, which ultimately drive both the jets and the ovals, receive their energy from moist convection. This hypothesis is consistent with observations of jovian lightning, which is an indicator of moist convection. It also explains the anticyclonic rotation and poleward drift of the eddies, and suggests patterns of upwelling and downwelling that resemble the patterns of large-scale axisymmetric overturning in the Earth's atmosphere.
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机译：木星的主要大规模天气模式（尺寸约10,000 km）是纬向喷流和长寿命的椭圆形。射流一直以高达180 m s〜（-1）的恒定速度向东和向西流动100多年。这些喷气机从小型涡流接收能量，这些涡旋将向东的动量泵入向东的喷气机，向西的动量泵入向西的喷气机。动量传递是通过数值模型预测的，然后在木星上观测到。大椭圆形在喷流之间沿反气旋方向滚动（北半球为顺时针方向，南半球为逆时针方向），在那里它们定期吸收小的反气旋涡流。但是涡流从何处获得能量一直是一个悬而未决的问题。在这里，我们认为，最终驱动喷流和椭圆形的涡流从湿对流中获得能量。这个假设与木星闪电的观测是一致的，木星闪电是潮湿对流的指示。它还解释了涡旋的反气旋旋转和极向漂移，并提出了类似于地球大气中大规模轴对称倾覆的上升和下降趋势。
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