Solar activity and climate

About: Solar activity and climate is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 50 publications have been published within this topic receiving 2107 citations.

Response of climate to solar forcing recorded in a 6000-yearδ18O time-series of Chinese peat cellulose

Abstract: Previous studies have shown that the oxygen isotope ratio (d18O) of plant cellulose can serve as a sensitive proxy indicator of past climate, but its application has mainly been restricted to tree-rings. Here we present a 6000-year high-resolution d18O record of peat plant cellulose from northeastern China. The d18O variation is interpreted as reflecting changes in regional surface air temperature. The climate events inferred from the isotope data agree well with archaeological and historic evidence. The record shows a striking corre- spondence of climate events to nearly all of the apparent solar activity changes characterized by the atmospheric radiocarbon in tree-rings over the past 6000 years. Spectral analysis of the d 18 O record reveals the periodicities of around 86, 93, 101, 110, 127, 132, 140, 155, 207, 245, 311, 590, 820 and 1046 years, which are similar to those detected in the solar excursions. We consider these observations as further evidence for a close relation- ship between solar activity and climate variations on timescales of decades to centuries. Our results also have implications for distinguishing between natural and anthropogenic contributions to future climate change.

A 600‐year annual 10Be record from the NGRIP ice core, Greenland

Abstract: Understanding the link between the Sun and climate is vital in the current incidence of global climate change, and 10Be in natural archives constitutes an excellent tracer for this purpose. As cosmic rays enter the atmosphere, cosmogenic isotopes like 10Be and 14C are formed. Variations in solar activity modulate the amount of incoming cosmic rays, and thereby cosmogenic isotope production. Atmospherically produced 10Be enters natural archives such as sediments and glaciers by wet and dry deposition within about a year of production. 10Be from natural archives therefore provides information on past solar activity, and because these archives also contain climate information, solar activity and climate can be linked. One remaining question is to what degree 10Be in natural archives reflects production, and to what extent the local and regional environment overprints the production signal. To explore this, 10Be was measured at annual resolution over the last 600 years in a Greenland ice core. Measurement potentials for these samples benefited from the development of a new laboratory method of co-precipitating 10Be with niobium. To diversify geographic location and archive media type, a pioneer study of measuring 10Be with annual resolution in varved lake sediments from Finland was conducted, with samples from the entire 20th century. Pathways of 10Be into lake sediments are more complex than into glacial ice, inferring that contemporary atmospheric conditions may not be recorded. Here, it is shown for the first time that tracing the 11-year solar cycle through lake sediment 10Be variations is possible. Results also show that on an annual basis, 10Be deposition in ice and sediment archives is affected by local environmental conditions. On a slightly longer timescale, however, diverse 10Be records exhibit similar trends and a negative correlation with solar activity. Cyclic variability of 10Be deposition persisted throughout past grand solar minima, when little or no sunspot activity was recorded. 10Be levels indicate that although solar activity has been high during the 20th century, levels are not unprecedented in the investigated 600 years. Aerosol 10Be/7Be values indicate possible influence of stratosphere-troposphere exchange on isotope abundance and the production signal.

Some doubts concerning a link between cosmic ray fluxes and global cloudiness

Abstract: Svensmark and Friis-Christensen (1997, henceforth SFC) showed a strong correlation between cosmic ray flux and ISCCP total cloudiness between 1984 and 1990. They concluded that ionisation by cosmic rays, more prevalent at times of lower solar activity, might explain apparent correlations between solar activity and climate through changes in cloud radiative forcing. We have extended SFC's approach with a study of the different cloud types, restricting our analysis to the period 1985 to 1988 during which the ISCCP calibration is believed to be stable. We find no clear relationship between individual cloud types and cosmic ray flux. Inclusion of data at high latitudes decreases the amplitude of the apparent correlation although ionisation by cosmic rays is greatest at high latitudes. Thin high cloud shows an increase throughout the period such that the combined effect of the changes in cloud types suggests an almost monotonic increase in cloud radiative forcing between 1985 and 1988 which is not related to cosmic ray activity.

Sunshine records from ireland : Cloud factors and possible links to solar activity and cosmic rays

Abstract: The records of sunshine hours obtained since the late 19th century from four stations distributed throughout Ireland were analysed. A gradual decrease in sunshine hours has occurred at all four sites since records began. Increasing cloud factors, resulting from enhanced evaporation rates over the Atlantic as sea surface temperatures have risen, is one possible explanation for the decline in sunshine. A strong negative correlation was confirmed between sunshine factors from ground-based observations and satellite-based cloud factors over Ireland. In addition, it was found that cloud factors over Ireland correlated well with cloud factors over large oceanic areas such as the North Atlantic and mid-high latitudes generally. Thus cloud factors (and similarly sunshine factors) from regions on the boundaries of large oceans which lie in the direction of the prevailing wind could be useful in determining the long-term changes in cloud factors over more extended areas. Knowledge of such long term variability in the Earth's cloud cover is important input information for modelling past climate change. The importance of cosmic rays as a link between solar activity and climate was assessed from a study of the ISCCP-D2 satellite cloud factors and Irish sunshine data. Whilst these results confirmed the strong correlation between total cloud factor and cosmic rays over non-tropical oceans between 1984 and 1991 previously reported, it was found that this correlation did not hold in the subsequent period 1991–1994. Other work has established a link through specifically low cloud. Indirect evidence of cloud formation by cosmic rays from a variation in the sunshine factor following Forbush decreases, and over the sunspot cycle, was mostly negative. Although a dip at seven years past sunspot minimum is evident in the sunshine factor for all four sites and in most seasons, it is of marginal statistical significance. Copyright © 2001 Royal Meteorological Society