"Solar wind, the particle flow from the sun, enhanced by flares and eruptions that eject plasma in our direction, normally impact the Earth's magnetic field that protects us from what might otherwise be lethal radiation levels. The system overloads occasionally releasing of high energy particles along the magnetic field lines into the atmosphere, mostly over the poles, a resulting in the aurora. The lights are evidence of energy being deposited into the atmosphere on a global scale. In the rarefied air at the altitudes where the aurora normally occur, temperature does not have the same meaning it does on the surface of the earth. The speeding up of the air molecules caused by solar particle impacts technically is a temperature rise but not one that would sensed by our skin. However as the energy cascades down towards the surface the effect spreads out and can not help but raise the temperature even minutely of the ocean of air it is impacting.
For many years we have been experiencing large scale activity on the sun and heightened levels of particle and electromagnetic energy impingement on the Earth's atmosphere. Though there is no doubt that human activity is raising the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere, could there also have been a contributing factor from the sun? Now with the sun experiencing the least activity recorded in recent history, could there be a noticeable effect in the rate of warming or possibly even a reversal. Not immediately of course but over a period of months or years and the longer this quite sun persists could the effect become more pronounced?
For the past 1-2 million years, based on sediment analysis of deposits of pollen, river debris and other material laid down by wind and water, it is believed the Earth has experienced major glacial advances about every 100,000 years. The last major glaciation melted about 50,000 years ago. We are due for the beginning of the next cycle. What causes the cycle is not known. Latest theories of global warming have the next glacial cycle being delayed or cancelled. This is based on the trends in temperature rise observed in the past few hundred years. However, it has been hotter than it is currently in the past and glaciers still advanced. Assuming we can extrapolate recent past atmospheric temperature history through the next glacial cycle may not be as secure as we believe. Reducing carbon emissions is the right thing to do. We need to live in harmony with our spaceship Earth. However, the statement "we do not know what we do not know" may never be truer. We do not understand why the Earth plummets into cold periods lasting tens of thousands of years but we know this has happened many times in the past. Could this be as simple as a sustained reduction in solar particle and radiation impingement on the Earth and if so is a gradual cooling and refreezing of the poles as inevitable as a oil tanker hitting the reef hours after making the wrong turn?
Stay tuned.
April 13, 2009"
It is now September 2013, four years later, and the verdict is in on the latest solar cycle. Magnetic field reversal on the sun is considered imminent heralding the beginning of the second half of this solar cycle. The significant point is that we have again experienced a record low sunspot solar maximum as can be seen by the following chart produced using data from NOAA NWS Space Weather Prediction Center.
September 28, 2013
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