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Tiny Solar Activity Changes Affect Earth's Climate
Space.com ^ | 1/17/13 | Charles Q. Choi

Posted on 01/17/2013 8:14:36 AM PST by NormsRevenge

Even small changes in solar activity can impact Earth's climate in significant and surprisingly complex ways, researchers say.

The sun is a constant star when compared with many others in the galaxy. Some stars pulsate dramatically, varying wildly in size and brightness and even exploding. In comparison, the sun varies in the amount of light it emits by only 0.1 percent over the course of a relatively stable 11-year-long pattern known as the solar cycle.

Still, "the light reaching the top of the Earth's atmosphere provides about 2,500 times as much energy as the total of all other sources combined," solar physicist Greg Kopp at the University of Colorado told SPACE.com. As such, even 0.1 percent of the amount of light the sun emits exceeds all other energy sources the Earth's atmosphere sees combined, such as the radioactivity naturally emitted from Earth's core, Kopp explained.

...

Sun's role in Earth's climate

Many of the ways the scientists proposed these fluctuations in solar activity could influence Earth were complicated in nature. For instance, solar energetic particles and cosmic rays could reduce ozone levels in the stratosphere. This in turn alters the behavior of the atmosphere below it, perhaps even pushing storms on the surface off course. ..

...

When the ozone is removed, "the stratosphere there becomes cooler, increasing the temperature contrast between the tropics and the polar region. The contrast in temperatures in the stratosphere and the upper troposphere leads to instabilities in the atmospheric flow west to east. The instabilities make for eddies or irregular motions."

These eddies feed the strength of jet streams, ultimately altering flows in the upper troposphere, the layer of atmosphere closest to Earth's surface. ..

(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Chit/Chat; Science; Society
KEYWORDS: changes; climate; solaractivity; tiny
Blasphemy in the Church of Global Varming.. Man is to blame, yaknow.. we all know that.:-}
1 posted on 01/17/2013 8:14:41 AM PST by NormsRevenge
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To: NormsRevenge
Hum-mm, and I always thought climate change was due to Hydrological Alterations over the last 100 years...
2 posted on 01/17/2013 8:22:39 AM PST by Dixie Yooper (Ephesians 6:11)
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To: NormsRevenge

My first thought was “so they have itty bitty solar SUV’s?”

;-)


3 posted on 01/17/2013 8:22:51 AM PST by green pastures (Cynicism-- it's not just for breakfast anymore...)
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To: NormsRevenge

“Blasphemy in the Church of Global Varming.. Man is to blame, yaknow.. we all know that.:-}”

Good post. As I wrote in Sept 2011:

“...These liberals try to portray themselves as though they exude scientific methodology. The truth is their methods don’t even rise to the level of specious because they are so completely moronic. That’s why they have to polarize, demonize and foment anger. That way the hatred of their indoctrinated droids will overcome intellect.
Therein lies the reality.

Liberals do not believe in science because it doesn’t lend itself to their big government tax schemes. Perhaps if we gave these scoundrels time they would devise a “scientific” reason for why AMERICANS are CAUSING 85% of all sun spots. Then they can tax the sun spots, which of course AMERICA will pay.

Eliminate the sun spots - you then eliminate the solar storms.

Has their leading genius Gore found a way to stop the North & South poles of the sun from inverting this year? It is a scientific fact that this occurs about every 11 years and tends to cause unusually active solar storms. It will be hard to find a way to make a trading scheme in Chicago for Solar Flare credits.”

Why LIBERALS don’t believe in Science - or Journalism
by Scott Ryan
http://www.tableofwisdom.com/2011/09/why-liberals-dont-believe-in-science-or.html


4 posted on 01/17/2013 8:23:28 AM PST by publius321
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To: NormsRevenge

Wow! If you make the fire bigger the pot boils faster?

Fire bad!


5 posted on 01/17/2013 8:23:56 AM PST by null and void (Gun confiscation enables tyranny. Don't enable Tyranny)
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To: NormsRevenge

“Even small changes in solar activity can impact Earth’s climate in significant and surprisingly complex ways, Soon to be ostracized blaspheming global warming deniers and heretics say.”

Fixed it.


6 posted on 01/17/2013 8:25:15 AM PST by Darksheare (Try my coffee, first one's free.....)
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To: NormsRevenge
Send ALgore to investigate (don’t forget the shades).
7 posted on 01/17/2013 8:25:41 AM PST by Happy Rain ("Banning guns over Adam Lanza would be like banning speech over Bill Maher.")
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To: NormsRevenge

Save the Earth! Extinguish the Sun!.....No, wait....


8 posted on 01/17/2013 8:28:01 AM PST by Vor Lady
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To: NormsRevenge

I was reading along thinking, Oh Boy, finally a truthful bit of news from the Scientists- YAY! Then I continued on to see, DRAT, these dingbats blame Man for most of the global climate change. CO-2 emissions, Greenhouse effect, whatever - this is all a byproduct of the warming, not the cause. China is having record cold, while the eastern half of the US is pretty warm and dry for winter time, but not so out in western US. So, obviously, none of this is “GLOBAL” — just when I thought I could send something to my Lib daughter living in New Zealand, CRIKEY! Thank goodness I read it all ;o)


9 posted on 01/17/2013 8:37:19 AM PST by Sioux-san
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To: Vor Lady

Algore; “What’s that bright light in the sky?”
Scientist; “It’s the Sun, Mr. Gore”
Algore; “Well, why is it turned on in the daytime? Turn it off! It’s wasting energy.”


10 posted on 01/17/2013 8:44:06 AM PST by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra ( Ya can't pick up a turd by the clean end!)
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To: NormsRevenge

Let me get this straight, our learned highly educated PhDs have now determined that changes in the giant nuclear fusion furnace at the center of our solar system affect the temperature on Earth.

Wow, what will they discover next?


11 posted on 01/17/2013 8:50:44 AM PST by SampleMan (Feral Humans are the refuse of socialism.)
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To: NormsRevenge
"Although the sun is the main source of heat for Earth, the researchers note that solar variability may have more of a regional effect than a global one. As such, solar variability is not the cause of the global warming seen in recent times."

How does a "may" turn into an "is not"?

12 posted on 01/17/2013 9:10:30 AM PST by JustSayNoToNannies ("The Lord has removed His judgments against you" - Zep. 3:15)
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To: Sioux-san
We have seen this before, in unrelated articles by latter day "scientists.". He spends his entire article on the subject of how the sun's variations overwhelm all other energy sources put together, how the sun has affected climate in the past, and is "the 800 pound gorilla" in climate research; but then in the very last paragraph, with no lead in or rational reason, he does a 180, and blandly asserts that manmade global warming is still the biggest problem.

This is unmistakeable evidence of pressure to conform to the conventional wisdom. He recites it almost automatically, as if it were a chant to fend off demons, and so it is. Funding institutions have these wretched academic creatures by the short hairs, and they all know full well where their meal ticket comes from.

13 posted on 01/17/2013 9:19:30 AM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: NormsRevenge
Let's do a little thought-experiement: "What would the global temperature be if there were no sun?"

Anyone?

Buehler?

14 posted on 01/17/2013 9:20:18 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (TYRANNY: When the people fear the politicians. LIBERTY: When the politicians fear the people.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Oooh Ooooh I know, pick me.
Al Gore says the earth ‘has a fever’ and the core is ‘millions of degrees’ (C or F?). If it has a fever it will have to go under a blanket of CO2 and overheat and be even warmer than now, perhaps a half million degrees.


15 posted on 01/17/2013 9:37:37 AM PST by posterchild
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Probably just a little above the boiling point of nitrogen. Internal heat sources (radioactive decay as well as volcanic heat) would likely be enough to keep nitrogen from freezing out. That would provide some measure of insulation, like a blanket surrounding the planet. But we’d all be a bit chilly without artificial heat sources.


16 posted on 01/17/2013 9:37:42 AM PST by chimera
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To: NormsRevenge
In comparison, the sun varies in the amount of light it emits by only 0.1 percent over the course of a relatively stable 11-year-long pattern known as the solar cycle.

The correct way to state this is that visible light from the sun varies by only 0.1 percent. Other wavelengths of light, such as ultraviolet, have been found to vary by around 10 %.

Dear progressive morons,

There are numerous processes going on in the universe that are just too complex for any progressive to ever comprehend.

17 posted on 01/17/2013 12:19:41 PM PST by justa-hairyape
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To: Dr. Bogus Pachysandra

LOL! Eggsactly.


18 posted on 01/17/2013 2:55:52 PM PST by Vor Lady
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To: NormsRevenge

AlGore sitting somewhere counting his money and laughing his a$$ off at his stupid dupes.


19 posted on 01/17/2013 3:04:17 PM PST by The Cajun (Sarah Palin, Mark Levin......Nuff said.)
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To: Vor Lady

” Eggsactly.”

Abdo-lutely!


20 posted on 01/17/2013 3:29:42 PM PST by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra ( Ya can't pick up a turd by the clean end!)
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