Geoinformatika 2021; 3-4(79-80) : 99-113
УДК 550.3
NORTH-SOUTH ASYMMETRY OF THE EARTH, MARS AND JUPITER FIGURE
I.I. Rokityansky1, A.V. Tereshyn 1, G.O. Frolov2O.A. Chornaya1
1S.I. Subbotin Institute of Geophysics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine
2Research Institute of Geodesy and Cartography, Kiev, Ukraine
Purpose. The North-South (N—S) asymmetry of the Earth is obvious: at latitudes 75 — 90 degrees, the Arctic Ocean corresponds to the Antarctic continent, at latitudes 50-70 degrees, the dominance of the uplifted continents in the northern hemisphere corresponds to a continuous deepened ocean in the southern hemisphere; hence the difference in climate, air flows, ocean currents. Such confinement of asymmetry to geographical coordinates suggests that the N—S asymmetry of the Earth’s figure is associated with the rotation of the planet, possibly conditioned by it. The purpose of this work was to investigate whether asymmetry similar to the N—S asymmetry of the Earth is observed on other planets.
Design/methodology/approach. An explanation of the N—S asymmetry of rotating bodies was proposed in “Causal or asymmetric mechanics” by N.A. Kozyrev. He postulated the directionality of time associated with it the directionality of spatial rotations and introduced a new physical concept — «time», capable to transfer energy and angular momentum, but not carrying a translational impulse. The latter means that in the rapidly rotating (near-equatorial) parts of the planet, an asymmetric force of one direction appears, and in the slowly (according to linear velocity, the angular velocity can be the same) rotating near-axial parts, the force is directed in the opposite direction; and the sum of the forces equal to zero.
The study of the figure of the planets was carried out by geometric and gravimetric methods. Satellite missions provide high-precision data on the relief and gravitational field on planets. It is most convenient to study the N—S asymmetry by the gravitational potential U (r, φ, λ), represented as an expansion in spherical functions.
Findings. The north-south asymmetry of the Earth and Mars has the opposite sign, although their axial and orbital rotations are close in magnitude and direction. This means that the N—S asymmetry is primarily due to the asymmetric density distribution within the planets, and the possible effects of planetary rotation are less significant. N—S asymmetry of the Earth and Mars has a similar structure: the first odd zonal harmonic J3 of the third degree prevails; higher harmonics are much smaller in amplitude. Analysis of the excess of the “geoid” elevations over the ellipsoid along the meridional profiles shows the presence of intense nonaxisymmetric anomalies, apparently, predominantly mantle occurrence, both on Earth and on Mars. The structure of odd zonal harmonics on Jupiter differs significantly from that of the terrestrial planets: the amplitude of the 7th and 9th harmonics is 2-3 times greater than the amplitude of the 5th and 3rd harmonics, higher degrees have not yet been determined. Kozyrev’s hypothesis about a clear causal relationship of the N—S asymmetry with the speed and direction of rotation of the planets has not been confirmed, but there is no reason to conclude that there are no asymmetric Kozyrev forces. In the planets, there are large-scale density inhomogeneities, introducing N—S asymmetry, apparently exceeding the effects of Kozyrev’s forces. Additional experiments are needed to clarify the magnitude of Kozyrev’s asymmetric forces.
The practical significance and conclusions. The results of the conducted research allow us to assert that the N—S asymmetry of the gravitational fields of the Earth, Mars and Jupiter is significantly different and does not correspond to the predictions of the Kozyrev’s hypothesis on the similar formation of the north-south asymmetry. It is also recommended to determine the coefficient of N—S anisotropy of planets by the excess of the “geoid” heights above the ellipsoid, averaged over longitude. On Mars, the asymmetry turned out to be several times more intense than on Earth, and of the opposite sign. On both planets, significant density inhomogeneities have been identified, which can create a significant contribution to the N—S asymmetry. On Jupiter, there is an asymmetry of atmospheric vortex systems in the northern and southern polar caps, the asymmetry of the gravitational field is not great and, as it is assumed, reflects the dynamics of atmospheric flows down to a depth of 4000 km.
Keywords: figure of planets, asymmetry of planets, gravitational potential, asymmetric mechanics of Kozyrev.