{"paper":{"title":"Alkali Metallicity, Mineral Clouds, and Deep Atmospheric Variability on Jupiter","license":"http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/","headline":"","cross_cats":["physics.ao-ph"],"primary_cat":"astro-ph.EP","authors_text":"Cheng Li, Jiheng Hu, Quentin Williams, Xi Zhang","submitted_at":"2026-08-06T21:17:54Z","abstract_excerpt":"The bulk elemental abundances of Jupiter provide critical insights into its formation history and interior structure. Recent observations by the Juno Microwave Radiometer (MWR) reveal a deep Jovian atmosphere significantly depleted in electrons, implying an alkali metal (Na, K) abundance of 10^-1 - 10^-5 times solar. This depletion stands in sharp contrast to the supersolar volatile enrichments measured by the Galileo probe. We propose that this apparent depletion arises from mineral cloud-induced processes deep in the atmosphere. We explore two physical mechanisms using thermochemical and mic"},"claims":{"count":0,"items":[],"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"source":{"id":"2608.06600","kind":"arxiv","version":1},"verdict":{"id":null,"model_set":{},"created_at":null,"strongest_claim":"","one_line_summary":"","pipeline_version":null,"weakest_assumption":"","pith_extraction_headline":""},"integrity":{"clean":true,"summary":{"advisory":0,"critical":0,"by_detector":{},"informational":0},"endpoint":"/pith/2608.06600/integrity.json","findings":[],"available":true,"detectors_run":[],"snapshot_sha256":"c28c3603d3b5d939e8dc4c7e95fa8dfce3d595e45f758748cecf8e644a296938"},"references":{"count":0,"sample":[],"resolved_work":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57","internal_anchors":0},"formal_canon":{"evidence_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"author_claims":{"count":0,"strong_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"builder_version":"pith-number-builder-2026-05-17-v1"}