Presentations:Topic:Space Weather:Hurricanes


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Title

Hurricanes on Earth and Jupiter

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Faculty Member

Michael Summers

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Abstract

Cyclonic atmospheric motions are common in planetary atmospheres and are a direct consequence of planetary rotation. On Earth these features extend from meter scale dust devils to thousand kilometer scale hurricanes. On Jupiter, such cyclonic features extend to at least one and possibly two orders of magnitude larger in scale. On an extended energy-based Safir-Simpson scale, the Great Red Spot on Jupiter would be a category 40 hurricane with a lifetime of at least several hundred of years. Hurricanes on Earth could in principle be much larger than those observed in the historical record. Gigantic "hypercanes" probably did occur early in Earth’s history and might even be possible again.

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