How the Sun Influences Planetary Climate

Astronomers have known for centuries that the Sun operates in 11-year cycles, periods of intense or less intense activity, in which variable amounts of radiations, solar flares and sunspots are produced. Now, physicists also know that these variations only change the amount of energy that our planet receives by as little as 0.1 percent. So the main question was if these small changes had the ability to considerably influence the global climate, and the answer is yes. A new study used weather data collected over a century and three complex computer models to come to this conclusion, Space reports.

National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) experts led a team of international scientists in the new investigation. The effort determined that the total amount of energy coming in from the Sun had most influence on two seemingly unrelated regions of the Earth – the tropical Pacific Ocean and the stratosphere. The latter is a segment of the atmosphere running from about six miles (ten kilometers) to 31 miles (50 kilometers) above the surface of the planet.

The experts also determined that some of the chemicals found in these two areas were subjected directly to the influence of the Sun, and that increased solar emissions could cause the heating of the ocean's surface temperature, different cloud and rainfall patterns, as well as intensifications in wind strength. All these factors eventually lead to a different global climate, the team reveals. All of this mostly happens in periods of solar maximums, when the Sun is more likely to emit dangerous solar flares.

“The sun, the stratosphere, and the oceans are connected in ways that can influence events such as winter rainfall in North America. Understanding the role of the solar cycle can provide added insight as scientists work toward predicting regional weather patterns for the next couple of decades,” NCAR expert Gerald Meehl, also the lead author of a new study accompanying the finds, published in the August 28th issue of the respected journal Science, says of the research results.