We use ground‐based mid‐infrared (8–20 μm) data acquired by three different instruments between 2005 and 2008 to characterize the variability of tropospheric temperature and aerosol opacity during the 2006–2007 Equatorial Zone disturbance. This disturbance is part of a repeating pattern of cloud‐clearing events at Jupiter's equator, observed as a significant brightening at 5 μm (sensing the 2‐ to 7‐bar region) and darkening at visible wavelengths (sensing the ∼0.7‐bar pressure level). The data reveal a brightness temperature increase of ∼3.1 K between 2005 and February 2007 at 8.6‐μm sensing tropospheric aerosol opacity and temperature near 0.6–0.8 bar. At wavelengths sensing tropospheric ammonia and temperatures between 150 and 600 mbar, the brightness temperature remains largely invariant between 2005 and 2008. The tropospheric vertical temperature profile and the tropospheric aerosol opacity were derived from images captured in different filters on four different dates, one for each year. The retrieved aerosol opacity at ∼0.6–0.8 bar shows a decrease at 2–5°S of ∼45% in 2006 and ∼65% in 2007, with respect to 2008. This is consistent with cloud clearing/thinning during the coloration of the Equatorial Zone at visible wavelengths. This brightening at 8.6 μm started in 2005 and preceded the brightening at 5 μm, which started in April 2006. The results also suggest that cloud clearing during the Equatorial Zone disturbances is not simply the result of tropospheric warming, at least at p < 0.7 bar. We propose that cloud clearing occurs due to a decrease in the ammonia gas upwelling at the equator.

中文翻译：

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木星2006–2007年赤道带扰动期间的温度和气溶胶变化特征

我们使用基于地面的中红外（8-20  μ 2005和2008之间由三个不同的仪器获得的米）数据2006-2007赤道区域干扰期间表征对流层温度的变化和气溶胶不透明度。这种干扰是在木星的赤道的云的清除事件的重复图案，观察为显著增亮以5部分 μ米（感测的2-到7-条区域），并在可见光波长变暗（感测〜 0.7巴压力水平）。该数据显示的亮度温度升高〜 3.1ķ2005年和2007年2月间在8.6- μm感测对流层气溶胶的不透明度和温度在0.6–0.8 bar附近。在感测对流层氨的波长和150至600 mbar的温度之间，亮度温度在2005年至2008年之间基本上保持不变。对流层垂直温度曲线和对流层气溶胶不透明性来自于四个不同日期在不同滤镜上捕获的图像，每个图像一个年。相对于2008年，在约0.6-0.8 bar处获得的气溶胶不透明性在2-5°S下在2006年减少了约45％，在2007年减少了约65％。这与在着色过程中云的清除/变薄是一致的。处于可见波长的赤道带。这种增亮在8.6  μ M在2005年开始，前面增亮在5 μ米，开始于2006年4月的结果还表明在赤道区域的干扰，云结算不是简单的对流层变暖的结果，至少在p  <0.7 巴。我们建议清除云是由于赤道上流的氨气减少所致。