Unraveling Jupiter's Enigmatic Ionosphere: Evidence of Magnetically-Controlled Wind-Driven Dynamics

This study investigates the non-solar trends and variability in Jupiter's sub-auroral ionosphere from Pioneer, Voyager, Galileo, and Juno radio occultation electron density profiles. We show that these data are correlated with magnetic field geometry via primarily westward and equatorward thermospheric neutral winds driving field-aligned plasma transport. This process separates Jupiter's ionosphere into variable vertical plasma drift regions, which organize most of the observed spatial and local time variability in electron density data. However, the ionospheric structure appears to be more variable when wind-driven transport is weak, shaped by additional drivers that need further investigation. Nonetheless, Jupiter's sub-auroral ionosphere appears to primarily be a closed system with remarkably stable vertical structure over (Formula presented.) 6 decades.