Comparative Jovian Aeronomy

ISSI International Team: Comparative Jovian Aeronomy

We propose the formation of an International Team to study the aeronomy of Jupiter. We have three principle aims for this team: (1) to directly study the aeronomy at Jupiter, investigating the energy crisis within the upper atmosphere, the magnetosphere-atmospheric coupling and the extent of variability within the ionosphere; (2) to investigate the aeronomy of Jupiter through comparison with other planets, in particular results from the ongoing Cassini mission at Saturn, recent investigations of Uranus and Neptune, and to use this as a step towards understanding the upper atmospheres of planets around other stars; (3) to plan for upcoming space missions, by assessing the instrumentation and upcoming science requirements for the Cassini and Juno missions, as well as the potential for supporting ground-based observations, and by discussing what future science goals we will have following these mission, in order to provide guidance in the instrumentation selection for the EJSM mission.

We propose to assemble a hand-picked team of experts for Cassini and Voyager observations, Earth-based observations, numerical modeling of both the Jupiter and Saturn upper atmosphere, for tackling the complex cross-disciplinary issues arising from the science questions. The science topics will be discussed in two separate one-week meetings. We anticipate at least three scientific publications to result from this team, one in each of the science topics, but additionally expect longer lasting new collaborations to arise from this International Team, building on the heritage of ISSI Team Galand (number 166) in researching Saturn Aeronomy. We also specifically aim to include a number of new generation scientists.

The Team Leader is Tom Stallard (Leicester)

This web site provides more information about the work of this team and serves as a hub for team members to exchange material

The restricted area of the web site contains presentations from the workshops as well as photos.

This team has now had both its ISSI Team meetings, and has submitted a final report that summarises the work done within those meetings. Further collaboration is, however, continuing to produce both papers and data.This team followed on from the excellent work produced by the Saturn Aeronomy Team