Posted on 08/27/2009 11:55:39 AM PDT by decimon
Sun spot frequency has an unexpectedly strong influence on cloud formation and precipitation
Our sun does not radiate evenly. The best known example of radiation fluctuations is the famous 11-year cycle of sun spots. Nobody denies its influence on the natural climate variability, but climate models have, to-date, not been able to satisfactorily reconstruct its impact on climate activity.
Researchers from the USA and from Germany have now, for the first time, successfully simulated, in detail, the complex interaction between solar radiation, atmosphere, and the ocean. As the scientific journal Science reports in its latest issue, Gerald Meehl of the US-National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and his team have been able to calculate how the extremely small variations in radiation brings about a comparatively significant change in the System "Atmosphere-Ocean".
Katja Matthes of the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, and co-author of the study, states: „Taking into consideration the complete radiation spectrum of the sun, the radiation intensity within one sun spot cycle varies by just 0.1 per cent. Complex interplay mechanisms in the stratosphere and the troposphere, however, create measurable changes in the water temperature of the Pacific and in precipitation".
Top Down - Bottom up
In order for such reinforcement to take place many small wheels have to interdigitate. The initial process runs from the top downwards: increased solar radiation leads to more ozone and higher temperatures in the stratosphere. "The ultraviolet radiation share varies much more strongly than the other shares in the spectrum, i.e. by five to eight per cent, and that forms more ozone" explains Katja Matthes. As a result, especially the tropical stratosphere becomes warmer, which in turn leads to changed atmospheric circulation. Thus, the interrelated typical precipitation patterns in the tropics are also displaced.
The second process takes place in the opposite way: the higher solar activity leads to more evaporation in the cloud free areas. With the trade winds the increased amounts of moisture are transported to the equator, where they lead to stronger precipitation, lower water temperatures in the East Pacific and reduced cloud formation, which in turn allows for increased evaporation. Katja Matthes: "It is this positive back coupling that strengthens the process". With this it is possible to explain the respective measurements and observations on the Earth's surface.
Professor Reinhard Huettl, Chairman of the Scientific Executive Board of the GFZ (Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) adds: "The study is important for comprehending the natural climatic variability, which - on different time scales - is significantly influenced by the sun. In order to better understand the anthropogenically induced climate change and to make more reliable future climate scenarios, it is very important to understand the underlying natural climatic variability. This investigation shows again that we still have substantial research needs to understand the climate system". Together with the Alfred Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research and the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum the GFZ is, therefore, organising a conference "Climate in the System Earth" scheduled for 2./3. November 2009 in Berlin.
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Meehl, G.A., J.M. Arblaster, K. Matthes, F. Sassi, and H. van Loon (2009), Amplifying the Pacific climate system response to a small 11 year solar cycle forcing, Science, 325, 1114-1118.
Interdigitate ping.
It sure looks like some government action is going to be needed to stop such foolishness.
The article says that the radiation intensity of the Sun varies by just .1 percent over the sunspot cycle. That small variation has significant effect on Earth.
Could it be that other solar variations have similar effect?
Moral: Don't leave your pot out in the sun.
keep in mind that we do not know nor understand everything about the sun’s interaction with the earth!!!!!
Dec. 11, 2007: NASA’s fleet of THEMIS spacecraft, launched less than 8 months ago, has made three important discoveries about spectacular eruptions of Northern Lights called “substorms” and the source of their power. The discoveries include giant magnetic ropes that connect Earth’s upper atmosphere to the Sun and explosions in the outskirts of Earth’s magnetic field....
Right away the substorm surprised investigators: “The auroras surged westward twice as fast as anyone thought possible, crossing 15 degrees of longitude in less than one minute,” says Angelopoulos. The storm had traversed an entire polar time zone in 60 seconds flat! ....
Even more impressive was the substorm’s power. Angelopoulos estimates the total energy of the two-hour event at five hundred thousand billion (5 x 1014) Joules. That’s approximately equivalent to the energy of a magnitude 5.5 earthquake.
Where does all that energy come from? THEMIS may have found an answer:
“The satellites have found evidence for magnetic ropes connecting Earth’s upper atmosphere directly to the Sun,” says Dave Sibeck, project scientist for the mission at the Goddard Space Flight Center. “We believe that solar wind particles flow in along these ropes, providing energy for geomagnetic storms and auroras.”
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/11dec_themis.htm
...adding more on how little we know:
NASA: Ionosphere not where it should be
UPI) Dec 17, 2008
The U.S. space agency says it has discovered the boundary between the Earth’s upper atmosphere and space has moved to extraordinarily low altitudes...
But the first discovery was that the ionosphere was not where it had been expected to be. During the first months of the satellite’s operations, the transition between the ionosphere and space was found to be at about 260 miles altitude during the nighttime, barely rising above 500 miles during the day. Those altitudes, said NASA, were extraordinarily low compared with the more typical values of 400 miles during the nighttime and 600 miles during the day....
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASA_Ionosphere_not_where_it_should_be_999.html
The problem with most of these articles related to sunlight is that they have so little specific information that their statements are meaningless. When someone states that sunlight varies by 0.1 percent during the solar cycles, I guess we have to assume they are referring to only the light (electromagnetic radiation) that human eyes can perceive. Which is some violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and some red. We cannot see at UV and beyond and at infrared and beyond. Now the problem with using visible light is that sunspots in a basic sense have 2 components. A dark area and a bright area. The higher visible light output is due to the bright area being slightly more intense then the dark area is dark. The problem with that metric is that a large portion of the activity level itself is canceling out and you end up with only a 0.1 percent difference when in actually the percentage change in solar surface activity can be much much greater. Its kind a like using temperature to determine heat content, but hey, what else can you expect on planet ape.
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The fool alarmists keep claiming that everything is understood, and that it is impossible that the Sun is responsible for the bulk of the warming despite such CLEAR historical data such as:
From Lassen linked here which points out that Solar Cycle length is HIGHLY correlated to temperature of Earth, which temperatures can NOT be explained by the CO2 hypothesis.
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