Solar Cycle Driven by More than Sunspots; Sun Also Bombards Earth with High-Speed Streams of Wind

University Corporation for Atmospheric Research ^ | September 17, 2009 | Sarah Gibson, Janet Kozyra, Giuliana de Toma, Barbara Emory, Terry Onsager, and Barbara Thompson

[decimon]

BOULDER—Challenging conventional wisdom, new research finds that the number of sunspots provides an incomplete measure of changes in the Sun's impact on Earth over the course of the 11-year solar cycle. The study, led by scientists at the High Altitude Observatory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Michigan, finds that Earth was bombarded last year with high levels of solar energy at a time when the Sun was in an unusually quiet phase and sunspots had virtually disappeared.

"The Sun continues to surprise us," says NCAR scientist Sarah Gibson, the lead author. "The solar wind can hit Earth like a fire hose even when there are virtually no sunspots."

The study, also written by scientists at NOAA and NASA, is being published today in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. It was funded by NASA and by the National Science Foundation, NCAR's sponsor.

Scientists for centuries have used sunspots, which are areas of concentrated magnetic fields that appear as dark patches on the solar surface, to determine the approximately 11-year solar cycle. At solar maximum, the number of sunspots peaks. During this time, intense solar flares occur daily and geomagnetic storms frequently buffet Earth, knocking out satellites and disrupting communications networks.

Gibson and her colleagues focused instead on another process by which the Sun discharges energy. The team analyzed high-speed streams within the solar wind that carry turbulent magnetic fields out into the solar system.

[decimon]

No really AGW ping.

[TigersEye]

But it’s carbonated soda that drives the climate!

[Army Air Corps]

And cigarettes, and bovine flatulence!

[The Pack Knight]

Hey, all that energy has to be going somewhere. I’m no physicist, but it seems to me that friction between the solar wind and the earth’s atmosphere might have an impact on the atmosphere’s temperature.

[TigersEye]

And little green apples in Indianapolis.

[Brett66]

Hmmm, I wonder how many of these computer games, oh, I mean “models” have that factored in? Probably zero.

[the anti-liberal]

We know that the vacuum of space is not empty; is it possible that there is “weather” in space, which may effect solar wind?

[HardStarboard]

>>>Hmmm, I wonder how many of these computer games, oh, I mean “models” have that factored in? Probably zero.<<<

Probably zero is right!! Most of the GW advocates are metoriologists. They are the ones that have constructed the flawed computer models. They generally don't understand much of what happens above 80-100K feet.

Upper atmosphere physicists and solar scientists tend to be much more skeptical about man-caused global warming because they know there is "a lot going on out there".

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks decimon.

· join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post new topic · subscribe ·

[steelyourfaith]

Interesting, Thanx !

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[justa-hairyape]

Gibson said that observations this year show that the winds have finally slowed, almost two years after sunspots reached the levels of last cycle's minimum.

Interesting. Some quantification of the lag. Also means this winter should be worse then last.