GRAVITATIONAL TIDES ON JUPITER .3. ATMOSPHERIC RESPONSE AND MEAN FLOWACCELERATION

The gravitational tidal response at the visible cloud level of Jupiter is obtained as a function of static stability in the planetary interi or. It is suggested that confirmation of the presence of static stabil ity in the planetary interior could be achieved by observing tidal fie lds at cloud level. We also calculate the mean flow accelerations indu ced by tidal fields and suggest that, if the interior is even marginal ly statically stable, the tides may provide the momentum source mainta ining the alternating zonal jets observed at the cloud level of the pl anet.