Sun In Quiet Spell
5 May, 2009 11:12 am
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Reduce text sizeClimate Change is a hot topic of late. Global warming appears to be slowing despite increasing CO2 emissions, But could the sun hold the answer?
Since 2007, global warming has slowed, despite increasing levels of CO2. This has lead to a increasing wave of “climate change deniers” launching claims that global warming was not man made, or a result of increasing CO2 levels. Now it appears astronomers have found the key to put their argument to rest.
The Sun is the dimmest and the quietest it has been for nearly 100 years, astronomers have found. There are very few solar flares, and no sun spots. Baffled astronomers are analyzing new images of the sun taken from space. The Sun has previously been recorded to undergo a 11-year cycle of activity. At its peak, its boiling atmosphere spits out flares and planet-sized chunks of super-hot gas. This is followed by a calmer period. However, last year it was expected that a recent quiet spell would have ended. Instead a 50-year year low in solar wind pressure, a 55-year low in radio emissions, and a 100-year low in sunspot activity was recorded.
According to Prof Louise Hara of University College London, it is unclear why this is happening or when the Sun is likely to become more active again. She claimed scientists are still debating predictions for the sun, with some saying the quiet spell is about to end, whilst others believe we will be entering another minimum period of activity.
A quiet sun is not unheard of in history. In the 17th century, one particular quiet spell in solar activity, known as the Maunder Minimum, spanned for 70 years, and led to a mini ice age.
Naturally this “quiet spell” can be held responsible for the recent slowing of global warming, and SHOULD (but no doubt wont) put and end to the climate change denial claims, however hopes that the suns cooling might offset the impact of climate change are far fetched.
“I wish the Sun was coming to our aid but, unfortunately, the data shows that is not the case” claims Prof Mike Lockwood of Southampton University. He was one of the first researchers to show that the Sun’s activity has been gradually decreasing since 1985, yet overall global temperatures have continued to rise.
“If you look carefully at the observations, it’s pretty clear that the underlying level of the Sun peaked at about 1985 and what we are seeing is a continuation of a downward trend (in solar activity) that’s been going on for a couple of decades. If the Sun’s dimming were to have a cooling effect, we’d have seen it by now.”
Evidence from tree trunks and ice cores suggest that the Sun is calming down after an unusually high point in its activity.
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| [1] | Comment by Global Changes
- 28 May, 2009 01:05 pm Just goes to show how many different factors we must take into account. |
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