Solar Influences on Climate

Abstract

[1] Understanding the influence of solar variability on the Earth's climate requires knowledge of solar variability, solar-terrestrial interactions, and the mechanisms determining the response of the Earth's climate system. We provide a summary of our current understanding in each of these three areas. Observations and mechanisms for the Sun's variability are described, including solar irradiance variations on both decadal and centennial time scales and their relation to galactic cosmic rays. Corresponding observations of variations of the Earth's climate on associated time scales are described, including variations in ozone, temperatures, winds, clouds, precipitation, and regional modes of variability such as the monsoons and the North Atlantic Oscillation. A discussion of the available solar and climate proxies is provided. Mechanisms proposed to explain these climate observations are described, including the effects of variations in solar irradiance and of charged particles. Finally, the contributions of solar variations to recent observations of global climate change are discussed.

Solar forcing as an important trigger for West Greenland sea-ice variability over the last millennium

“…A strong negative correlation between sea-ice variability and solar forcing is observed along the eastern and southwestern coast of Greenland and in the Arctic Ocean, indicating that in this model solar variability is critical for simulating changes in local sea-ice production. A small change in incoming shortwave radiation, and associated ice-albedo effects, resulted in a large response of local ice formation, according to 'bottom-up' (solar heating of the sea surface) mechanisms (Gray et al, 2010;Hunke et al, 2010).…”

“…Several studies indicate that multidecadal-to centennial-scale climate change during the last millennium was dominated by solar variability (Shindell et al, 1999;Rind, 2002;Gray et al, 2010). Solar activity has been shown to influence key components of the climate system, such as temperature, winds, precipitation, ocean circulation and iceberg transport (e.g.…”

Biogeochemical processes controlling oxygen and carbon isotopes of diatom silica in Late Glacial to Holocene lacustrine rhythmites

“…However, regionally, dry La Niña years and wet El Niño years are not completely uncommon, which indicates that the relationship between SSTs in the tropical Pacific and precipitation anomalies in the central Andes is not straightforward (Garreaud et al 2003). For instance, analysis of observed data from the '11-year Schwabe cycles' shows a reduction of precipitation around the Equator corresponding to anomalously cold SSTs analogous to the pattern that occurs during La Niña years, with lagged El Niño-like conditions a couple of years later (Gray et al, 2010;Meehl et al, 2008Meehl et al, , 2009. However, there is a significant relationship between Andean Altiplano precipitation and the zonal winds modulated by decadal and multidecadal variations in solar activity (Theissen et al, 2008).…”

“…In addition, high altitude tropical regions are very sensitive to relatively small changes in radiative forcing. Thus, solar activity has also exerted a strong influence at different temporal scales, playing a key role at century-scale tropical climate variability during the Late Holocene modulating both precipitation and temperature (Gray et al, 2010;Polissar et al, 2006). …”

Ciencia Para No Científicos: Lo Que Einstein Desconocía Sobre El Cambio Climático

“…Así, la comparación entre las condiciones climáticas de Marte y la Tierra, al igual que el estudio de las manchas solares como fenómenos que influyen tanto en el ciclo solar, el clima de la Tierra, como en la probabilidad de vida (Gray et al 2010), son estudiados por la línea de investigación ASTROBIOLOGÍA; el seguimiento al ciclo de vida de las mariposas, por constituirse en bioindicadores de calidad ambiental y organismos sensibles al cambio climático (Andrade, 1998), es estudiado por la línea de investigación BIOFILIA, en la cual se ha realizado un seguimiento al ciclo de vida de la mariposa "Leptophobia aripa" y actualmente se enfoca en el diseño y construcción del mariposario automatizado para la cría de especies como Dannaus plexipus (monarca). Este subproyecto es orientado por el programa Ondas de Colciencias, en la línea de Robótica y automatización y en él se viene estudiando, a su vez la manera de garantizar la siembra de la planta hospedera Asclepia, por medio de cultivos in vitro.…”