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Tokyo Scientists Find Planet-Scale Hydraulic Jump on Venus

5/14/2026

Summary

Story summary

University of Tokyo team led by Professor Takeshi Imamura discovered a planetary-scale hydraulic jump on Venus.
The jump forms when a fast, shallow Kelvin wave slows, deepens, forcing an updraft that lifts sulfuric-acid vapor to about 31 miles (50 km).
The vapor forms a 3,700-mile (6,000-km) cloud band with a darker trailing edge, a feature that Imamura said current Venus circulation models omit and that will require processing power to incorporate.

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Story summary

University of Tokyo team led by Professor Takeshi Imamura discovered a planetary-scale hydraulic jump on Venus.
The jump forms when a fast, shallow Kelvin wave slows, deepens, forcing an updraft that lifts sulfuric-acid vapor to about 31 miles (50 km).
The vapor forms a 3,700-mile (6,000-km) cloud band with a darker trailing edge, a feature that Imamura said current Venus circulation models omit and that will require processing power to incorporate.