Do Latest Solar Studies Confirm Upcoming Global Cooling?

Guest post by Matti Vooro

I fully support the findings of  Jan –Erik Solheim , Kjell Stordahl and Ole Humlum and their very recent paper called The long sunspot cycle 23 predicts a significant temperature decrease in cycle 24  dated February 2012. The abstract reads:

Relations between the length of a sunspot cycle and the average temperature in the same and the next cycle are calculated for a number of meteorological stations in Norway and in the North Atlantic region. No significant trend is found between the length of a cycle and the average temperature in the same cycle, but a significant negative trend is found between the length of a cycle and the temperature in the next cycle. This provides a tool to predict an average temperature decrease of at least 1.0 ◦C from solar cycle 23 to 24 for the stations and areas analyzed. We find for the Norwegian local stations investigated that 25–56% of the temperature increase the last 150 years may be attributed to the Sun. For 3 North Atlantic stations we get 63–72% solar contribution. This points to the Atlantic currents as reinforcing a solar signal.

Before finding the above paper on WUWT, I had recently done a similar and slightly different analysis.

I took the Annual sunspot numbers for each year since 1900 and noted the solar maximums and solar minimums. I also noted all the years around the solar maximums that had sunspot numbers over say 60-70.  These solar active periods around the solar maximums can last as many as 3-5 years . Then I lagged the data by 9 years. Then I looked at the global temperature anomalies Hadcrut3gl for the all the actual years and noted the associated and lagged sunspot numbers. I then added and noted the El Nino active years using the ONI index.

I discovered that global temperatures were rising during the years around the lagged solar active period around the solar maximum and they were down during the period around the lagged solar minimum. Also there were El Ninos at the beginning or during the lagged active sun or solar active or maximum period.  In another words  the sun really affects the atmosphere not in the same cycle but during the next cycle or about 9 years later . It would appear that the extra solar radiation around solar maximums, heats the surface waters of the major oceans especially the Pacific and Atlantic. The warm water is then transported by the ocean conveyor belt deeper into the ocean waters and down swelled and conveyed around the globe. It reappears as warm upwelling along the South American  west coast [and other upwelling locations] and  ultimately  contributes  to the  warming of the  EL Nino area Pacific waters  and modifies the  PDO spatial patterns  or warming to put more warmer water along the west coast of North America .

Similar event happens in the Atlantic as indicated by the AMO. The longer solar cycles means fewer solar active periods or maximums and less heating 9 years later. A series of short solar cycles in a row will cause more frequent heating and the PDO and AMO will both turn positive or warm simultaneously causing what we now refer to as global warming. The extended global cooling happens when there are series of longer solar cycles with lower maximums.  Co2 seems to have little or negligible effect on these large natural cycles. Natural cycles will always dwarf any minor warming from manmade greenhouse gases.

Thus our long term climate  is all in the cycles of  sun lagged  about 9 [ 9-11]years later in its effect and  interacting with the oceans  which then in turn affect our atmosphere 9-11 year later.

Since we are now in the equivalent lagged year[2012-9=2003] and will next experience the solar effects of the decline of solar cycle #23 [the solar  period of  2000 to 2008 ], we can expect cooler weather for at least 6 years   plus another nine years   after the next  warming effect of  the  solar active period of  cycle #24 [ maximum around  2013  to 2014.] So I see no significant warming for 20 years at least [2030 earliest]. This is what ocean cycles like PDO predict and what the 60 year climate cycle predicts but now we may possibly have one of many hypothesis of how the sun does all this.

The El Nino around 2009-2010 was the effect of the last solar maximum of cycle #23 [around 200-2001].

This brief article was meant to  continue the debate about the exact mechanism of how our sun affects our global climate It does not answer all the questions and may pose others.

Related articles

• Solar Cycle 24 Length and Its Consequences (wattsupwiththat.com)
• Ap Index, Neutrons and Climate (wattsupwiththat.com)
• First Estimate of Solar Cycle 25 Amplitude – may be the smallest in over 300 years (wattsupwiththat.com)
• The quiet sun is getting a lot of attention. What are its effect on us? (fabiusmaximus.wordpress.com)
• New paper suggests sun may be headed for a Maunder minimum (wattsupwiththat.com)