Did Quiet Sun Cause Little Ice Age After All?

ScienceNOW ^ | 26 May 2011 | Govert Schilling

[neverdem]

As if all this volcanic activity could have happened without anyone taking note of it? I find this hard to believe. The Europeans were in the process of exploring the rest of the globe or setting up trading outposts.

[texmexis best]

Decrease solar activity was the cause as has been known for decades. Many decades.

[Flightdeck]

Who would believe that the changes in the giant ball of thermonuclear fusion that supplies all of earth’s energy would have anything to do with the climate?

[b4its2late]

Who would believe that the changes in the giant ball of thermonuclear fusion that supplies all of earth’s energy would have anything to do with the climate?

;-)

[rokkitapps]

the sun doesn’t keep us warm! dirty factories, burning oil and cow farts create the heat in the atmosphere. duh.

[hinckley buzzard]

There were plenty of volcanic eruptions in the 1600's, but not many more than in other centuries. I don't think that is the answer.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

Meanwhile, the biggest worry to solar physicists—and to society—is that no one knows what caused the sun’s prolonged quiescence in the first place. As far as anybody knows, a repeat of the Maunder Minimum could start within a few years with the next dip in the number of sunspots.

Exactly. God help us if sunspot activity goes through another inactive period and we experience REAL "climate change." Huge increases in energy bills, significant decreases in farmable land. Starvation, death and perhaps war in Third World countries. And as the article says, we have absolutely no control over it if it starts happening again. Vanity, thy name is Man.

[org.whodat]

I really liked the movie. Wonder what happened to the little fellows nut??? Oh, I missed the real one!

[Night Hides Not]

Bush’s fault.

[lacrew]

We’re just too dumb to understand. The idea that the sun affects our temperature is so primitive.

[Hot Tabasco]

There were plenty of volcanic eruptions in the 1600's, but not many more than in other centuries. I don't think that is the answer.

How about above normal tectonic activity, aka, earthquakes, in shaking up the planet just a teenie little bit, enough to shake it's rotation off by maybe just a degree or two.......

Think that's possible?

[RobinOfKingston]

Meanwhile, the biggest worry to solar physicists—and to society—is that no one knows what caused the sun’s prolonged quiescence in the first place. As far as anybody knows, a repeat of the Maunder Minimum could start within a few years with the next dip in the number of sunspots.

The question begging to be asked is, "Why should that be a worry?" There is absolutely nothing mankind can do to change the sun's activity. ... Except, perhaps, to send money to Algore.

[pallis]

Imagine that, the sun having something to do with climate. It’s amazing.

[MrB]

And increased solar activity would warm the earth - go figure.

[SatinDoll]

Ok, I understand your point about volcanoes. But this mini-Ice Age actually started around 1300 ad. See: The Little Ice Age, by Brian Fagan.

[piytar]

“no one knows what caused the sun’s prolonged quiescence in the first place.”

Some Russian scientists have crunched the numbers about the orbit of Jupiter, the Sun, the center of mass of the solar system, etc., and have come up with some pretty good correlations. (If I have the time, I’ll try to dig up a link.)

The bad news? According to them, we’re in the start of another doozie of a minimum...

[muawiyah]

1645 to 1715, Europe ~ First three years are still part of the 30 Years war and Europeans were very much involved in local stuff. In 1648 the English entertained themselves with the beheading of Charles I. 1660 Charles II ascends, and just a few years later there's the Great London Fire.

Lots of other stuff happened.

Settlement of the Americas was NOT HIGH ON THE AGENDA ~ may well be big in our minds (my ancestors did it ~ fled that pestilential hellhole for the malarial backwaters of the East Coast in fact), but for the most part this was a place the Brits dumped POWs. I presume the Spanish continued with the practice as well.

The slave trade was roaring big time ~ mostly because Europeans and Indians were pretty much NOT immune to malaria. Sickle cell anemia conferred immunity on those with one gene.

Let me tell you how horrid the Americas were in that period ~ you can read 100% of every document written here in Spanish or English areas in a few days ~ there are several libraries with copies of all of it ~ either in microfiche or digital format. I think I've read most of it too.

American settlement efforts rose substantially AFTER the Maunder Minimum, and China began a period of turmoil that's only now settling down.

You could have had massive volcanism and those guys wouldn't have noticed it.

[Bean Counter]

[pepsionice]

Several years ago...on NPR’s Science Friday...they had a global warmer doing his Q&A. So a caller asked....what was the effect of the sun on climate, and the answer was “marginal if any”. I pulled up the NPR site...looked at the guy’s name...did a Google search....and found his entire bio (in particular, his degree). I went to the university site and then looked at what it would take to get a Earth Sciences degree from this university. Amazingly enough....there are no solar science or universal topic classes required...for either the bachelors or master’s degree.

So in effect....the guy likely knows nothing about solar science and just didn’t want to admit that. When any global warmer tells you some fact relating to the sun...ask them to explain solar winds in detail, and sun spots. If they can’t answer either...they don’t know much related to the sun. End of the story.

[Oztrich Boy]

Because it's nonsense. Crazed sex poodle told me so.

Fact is, you burn carbon, you get heat, QED