The Solar Cycles: A New Physical Model

By Andy May

Dr. Frank Stefani and colleagues from Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden – Rossendorf and the Institute for Numerical Modelling, University of Latvia, have proposed a new physically consistent model of solar variability. It proposes that the known solar cycles, from the eleven-year Schwabe cycle to the 193-year De Vries cycle are related to planetary orbits and the 19.86-year solar oscillation around the solar system barycenter.

The paper, “Rieger, Schwabe, Suess-de Vries: The Sunny Beats of Resonance,” explains the details of the concept. The press release, which is easier to read, explains the implications.

Astronomers and physicists have long been writing about the possible solar tidal effects of the planets, see Scafetta and Bianchini’s review paper here. The planetary orbits must affect the solar plasma in some fashion and the orbital patterns do correlate to proposed solar and climate cycles. While the statistical correlation was good, the underlying physics of why it all worked remained elusive.

Stefani and his colleagues have created a physically consistent model of the 193-year De Vries solar and climate cycle, the longest solar cycle physically modeled to date. There are longer solar cycles, such as the famous ~2450-year Bray cycle and the ~1,000-year Eddy Cycle, that have been observed but not modeled as precisely yet. This is an important start.

Stefani, F., Horstmann, G.M., Klevs, M. et al. Rieger, Schwabe, Suess-de Vries: The Sunny Beats of Resonance. Sol Phys 299, 51 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11207-024-02295-x (link)

4.8 30 votes
Article Rating

Discover more from Watts Up With That?

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

58 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Milo
May 27, 2024 10:40 pm

It’s the gravity!

Now if we only knew what gravity is.

strativarius
Reply to  Milo
May 28, 2024 1:18 am

Down with gravity

bobpjones
Reply to  strativarius
May 28, 2024 4:29 am

I’d do away with it myself!

Milo
Reply to  strativarius
May 28, 2024 11:26 am

The universe sucks!

Reply to  Milo
May 28, 2024 4:07 am

The boson particle, theorized decades ago by Biggs, recently proven to exist by CERN, is responsible for gravity

antigtiff
Reply to  wilpost
May 28, 2024 6:02 am

Boson is responsible for mass – gravity is still curvature of space/time – mass tells space/time how to bend and space/time tells mass how to move

ferdberple
Reply to  antigtiff
May 28, 2024 9:36 am

All energy and mass has a gravitational field. This includes the photon. Otherwise there would be no gravitational lensing.

antigtiff
Reply to  ferdberple
May 28, 2024 9:58 am

Light (photons) follow space/time curvature – a black hole severely curves space/time and light enters a black hole but does not exit a black hole.

ferdberple
Reply to  antigtiff
May 28, 2024 2:58 pm

A photon with a wavelength less than Planck length is indistinguishable from a black hole.

In effect, a high energy photon star is a black hole.

Milo
Reply to  antigtiff
May 28, 2024 11:36 am

Newtonian mechanics worked well enough at some scales. The same is true of curved space-time theory, but it’s getting shopworn and fraying around the edges.

Einstein showed Newton wrong, based upon Maxwell’s work. Now general relativity needs to be amended to accomodate quantum mechanics, or replaced by a theory of quantum gravity.

Milo
Reply to  wilpost
May 29, 2024 7:05 pm

Higgs.

Reply to  Milo
May 28, 2024 12:43 pm

If you really do want to know look up Lew Paxton Price’s “Lights Illusions”. When you discover what gravity is, you learn how everything works. It is the foundation for TOE. It is elegant & fits all known data. You can follow it using algebra & don’t even need higher mathematics to understand how it all fits together. He spent decades making it easy to understand. Except, I get lost with the light part.
Clue: how do electrons have spin with out batteries, IE perpetual motion? It does proceed from Newtonian Physics seamlessly. I love its elegance.

Reply to  Greebo
May 29, 2024 12:38 am

My search returns ‘nothing found’

Reply to  AndyHce
May 29, 2024 5:00 am

My search got a a link to a list of books written by Lew Paxton Price. I didn’t see anything free.

Richard Greene
May 27, 2024 11:54 pm

TOA TSI satellite measurements are available since the late 1970s

Sunspot counts are incompetent proxies that grossly exaggerate tiny changes of TOA TSI and should never be used for scientific conclusions.

Reply to  Richard Greene
May 28, 2024 1:19 am

Again you’re looking at the full EM spectrum. Sunspots by definition have a reduced output in visible wavelengths. However, this doesn’t mean that other wavelengths, for example ultraviolet, aren’t significantly brighter, as the attached photograph shows. There are papers from the early part of this century that suggest mechanisms by which ultraviolet can impact on earth’s climate.

IMG_3602
Reply to  Richard Greene
May 28, 2024 1:19 am

CO2 is an incompetent proxy that grossly exaggerates tiny changes of surface TSI and should never be used for scientific conclusions.

Richard Greene
Reply to  Leo Smith
May 28, 2024 3:10 am

CO2 is an accurate measurement of a climate change variable not a proxy, because CO2 affecta upwelling radiation but not sunlight.

“CO2 molecules absorb infrared light at a few wavelengths, but the most important absorption is light of about 15 microns,” says Kroll. Incoming light from the sun tends to have much shorter wavelengths than this, so CO2 doesn’t stop this sunlight from warming the Earth in the first place

Total solar irradiance (TSI) is a measure of the solar power over all wavelengths per unit area incident on the Earth’s upper atmosphere. It is measured perpendicular to the incoming sunlight.

Your comment is far from clever. And close to dumb.

Reply to  Richard Greene
May 28, 2024 4:16 am

CO2 retained energy role in the atmosphere is about 0.68% in 2023, whereas WV role is about 50 times greater

Reply to  wilpost
May 28, 2024 5:45 am

https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/hunga-tonga-volcanic-eruption
https://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/natural-forces-cause-periodic-global-warming

Retained Energy (Enthalpy) in Atmosphere Equals Global Warming
About 5.5 million EJ/y from the sun enters the top of atmosphere, and almost as much leaves, but about 116,300 EJ, at 16 C atmospheric temperature, stays in the atmosphere as RE, on a continuous basis.
RE in atmosphere is a net effect of the interplay of the sun, atmosphere, earth surface (land and water), and what grows on the surface and in water.
Below calculations are based on three well-known items. I assumed 16 C in 2023 and 14.8 C in 1900, as the temp of the entire atmosphere, which is overstated, but helps simplicity.
The RE ratio would not be much different, if complex analyses were used, such as how the three items vary with altitude and temp. The complex approach would subtract from both REs, leaving the ratio intact. 
This method is suitable to objectively approximate the RE role of CO2. How CO2 performs that role, the A-to-Z process, will keep many academia folks busy for many years.
.
NOTE: This short video shows, CO2 plays no RE role in the world’s driest places, with 423 ppm CO2 and minimal WV ppm, i.e., blaming CO2 for global warming is an unscientific hoax. 
https://youtu.be/QCO7x6W61wc
.
Dry Air and Water Vapor
ha = Cpa x T = 1006 kJ/kg.C x T, where Cpa is specific heat of dry air
hg = (2501 kJ/kg, specific enthalpy of WV at 0 C) + (Cpwv x T = 1.84 kJ/kg x T), where Cpwv is specific heat of WV at constant pressure
.
1) World, enthalpy of moist air, at T = 16 C and H = 0.0025 kg WV/kg dry air (4028 ppm)
h = ha + H.hg = 1.006T + H(2501 + 1.84T) = 1.006 (16) + 0.0025 {2501 + 1.84 (16)} = 22.4 kJ/kg dry air
RE of dry air is 16.1 kJ/kg; RE of WV is 6.3 kJ/kg 
.
2) Tropics, enthalpy of moist air, at T = 27 C and H = 0.017 kg WV/kg dry air (27389 ppm)
h = 1.006 (27) + 0.017 {2501 + 1.84 (16)} = 70.5 kJ/kg dry air 
RE of dry air is 27.2 kJ/kg; RE of WV is 43.3 kJ/kg
https://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-the-Enthalpy-of-Moist-Air#:~:text=The%20equation%20for%20enthalpy%20is,specific%20enthalpy%20of%20water%20vapor.
.
CO2
h = Cp CO2 x K = 0.834 x (16 + 273) = 241 kJ/kg CO2, where Cp CO2 is specific heat 
World, enthalpy of CO2 = {(421 x 44)/(1000000 x 29) = 0.000639 kg CO2/kg dry air} x 241 kJ/kg CO2 289 K = 0.154 kJ/kg dry air.
.
RE In 2023; 16 C; CO2 421 ppm; World WV 4028 ppm; Tropics WV 27389 ppm
World: (16.10 + 6.33 + 0.154) kJ/kg dry air x 1000 J/kJ x 5.148 x 10^18 kg x 10^-18 = 116,263 EJ
Dry air, WV and CO2 played 71.3%, 28% and 0.68% RE roles.
RE ratio of WV/CO2 = 41.1; RE ratio of dry air/CO2 = 104.5
.
Tropics: (27.16 + 43.36 + 0.154) kJ/kg dry air x 1000 J/kJ x 2.049 x 10^18 kg x 10^-18 = 144,804 EJ. 
Dry air, WV and CO2 played 38.4%, 61.4% and 0.22% RE roles.
RE ratio oWV/CO2 = 281.6; RE ratio of dry air to CO2 = 176.4 
The Tropics is a major RE area, almost all of it by WV. At least 35% of the RE is transferred, 24/7/365, to areas north and south of the 37 parallels with energy deficits
.
RE in 1900; 14.8 C; CO2 296 ppm; World VW 3689 ppm
World: (14.89 + 5.79 + 0.108) kJ/kg dry air x 1000 J/kJ x 5.148 x 10^18 kg x 10^-18 = 107,015 EJ
Dry air, WV and CO2 played 71.6%, 27.9% and 0.52% RE roles. RE ratio oWV/CO2 = 53.8
The 2023/1900 RE ratio was 1.086, a 9,248 EJ increase

Reply to  Andy May
May 28, 2024 10:48 am

Yes, an 8.6% RE increase since 1900, or 9248 EJ, of which about (0.154 – 0.108 = 0.046) x 9248 is due to the CO2 increase

Reply to  wilpost
May 28, 2024 11:52 am

Addition
429 EJ increase due to CO2 increase from 291 in 1900 to 421 ppm in 2013 and a temp increase from 14.8 C to 16 C

Reply to  Andy May
May 28, 2024 1:07 pm

CO2 RE in 1900 was (0.108/20.788) x 107,015 EJ = 554 EJ; in 2023 was 0.154/22.584 x 116,263 EJ = 793 EJ, for an increase of 239 EJ 
Ignore the subsequent numbers

Reply to  Andy May
May 28, 2024 3:02 pm

CO2 ppm increase was 423/296 = 42% and RE increase was 793/554 = 43%, from 1900 to 2023

Reply to  Andy May
May 28, 2024 3:21 pm

239 EJ increase due to CO2 increase from 1900 to 2023

Remember, all radiation effects are accounted for by 1) the atmospheric temperature, and 2) the wet-air specific enthalpies, and 3) CO2 specific enthalpy; all three change with temperature and/or pressure.

Reply to  wilpost
May 28, 2024 5:57 pm

All radiation and evaporation and precipitation effects are accounted for

Reply to  wilpost
May 28, 2024 6:46 am

Hmmm….step 1 issue….Enthalpy does NOT equal global warming.

Mostly for newbies since I’m pretty sure Wilpost knows all this…The specific heat of CO2 is not an important factor relative to it’s absorption of IR….compared to the transparency of O2 and N2….Then after absorbing the IR, CO2 molecules transfer their vibrations to the 2500 or so surrounding O2 and N2 molecules and all become the same temperature ( and vice-versa). Water molecules do the same thing. At surface water molecules can be 15000 ppm compared to CO2’s 400 ppm, but by the time one gets to top of Troposphere 12 Km up….CO2 is still 400 ppm and water is down to below 10 ppm. It requires IR line-by line, and altitude layer-by-layer analysis to get the answer.

Doubling of CO2 creates a measley 3.7 W/m^2 according to the formula used by the IPCC ….RF=5.35 x Ln (C/Co) and Ln(2)=.693…W. A. van Wijngaarden and W. Happer get 3 W/m^2 with their calculation, and H. Harde got 4 W/m^2….so the incremental “watts of global warming” caused by doubling of CO2 isn’t in very much in dispute. Just that it will take a couple of hundred years to get there, and the Surface Temperature increase per Watt of warming, λ, is hugely unsettled…..although IPCC picks a number to come up with their RCP scenarios.

Wilpost, you would find Harde’s paper here interesting if you haven’t already read it.
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijas/2017/9251034/

ferdberple
Reply to  DMacKenzie
May 28, 2024 10:03 am

“It requires IR line-by line, and altitude layer-by-layer analysis to get the answer.”
=====

It makes more sense to solve the problem in terms of energy rather than radiation, because of cloud uncertainty.

Reply to  ferdberple
May 28, 2024 11:02 am

I assumed specific heat content values at surface conditions, which vary as elevation increases.

As temps and WV decrease going up, specific heat content values decrease, etc., so RE calculations are needed at each elevation, to get a more accurate value for entropy

However, the RE 2023/1900 ratio likely would be unaffected

RE 2023/1900 ratio for CO2 would be as shown in my answer to Andy May

The advantage of the RE method is, all effects are accounted for, including radiation

ferdberple
Reply to  Richard Greene
May 28, 2024 9:42 am

1/2 the energy arriving from the sun is LW and captured by GHG. 1/2 of this is then radiated out to space, cooling the planet.

Reply to  Richard Greene
May 28, 2024 6:44 am

Time for Greene to highjack yet another comments thread…

ivarsatre@icloud.com
May 28, 2024 3:01 am

Professor (emeritus) Harald Yndestad has several articles on planetary influence on the climate here:
https://www.climateclock.no/category/english/

May 28, 2024 4:13 am

A new article published last week in Nature trashes all theories and models about the Sun’s magnetic field origin:

Vasil, G.M., Lecoanet, D., Augustson, K., Burns, K.J., Oishi, J.S., Brown, B.P., Brummell, N. and Julien, K., 2024. The solar dynamo begins near the surfaceNature629(8013), pp.769-772.

It shows strong evidence that the solar magnetic field originates near the surface of the Sun.

Besides destroying Prof. Leif Svalgaard’s confidence that the solar dynamo model did not allow for long solar activity cycles to exist, it makes it easier for planetary theories of solar activity to be correct, as planetary tidal forces should have a stronger effect near the surface of the Sun.

The press release from CU Boulder:

Solar physicists unlock the key to how sunspots form—and much more

Bob Weber
Reply to  Javier Vinós
May 28, 2024 7:10 am

“Besides destroying Prof. Leif Svalgaard’s confidence that the solar dynamo model did not allow for long solar activity cycles to exist”

Haven’t you conflated those author’s external gravitational dynamo theory with a ‘solar memory’?

The researchers have a lot of work to do before they can fully cast off the dynamo in the deep theory. But Brown is hopeful that the study could become its own dynamo—generating a wave of new research in the field.

The paper you cited didn’t specifically address this issue of a solar memory.

If external forcing influences the solar dynamo producing long-term solar activity cycles, this does not mean the sun itself has retained a memory per se, as according to this theory sunspot cycles are always just responding to outer forcing on longer times scales than individual solar cycles.

When scientists can explain the Solar Modern Maximum from 1935-2004 with planetary theory, or predict the magnitude of the current or next solar cycle with it, I’ll pay attention to it.

Reply to  Bob Weber
May 28, 2024 9:14 am

A solar memory is not required. That was the problem with Leif’s reasoning. He defended planetary effect was too small and the solar dynamo model did not admit a long-term memory so long cycles did not exist.

He was wrong on several accounts. Planetary effect is sufficient according to Stefani et al. 2024. A long-term memory is not required. The solar dynamo model is wrong. Long cycles do exist. It is hard to be wronger than that.

Bob Weber
Reply to  Javier Vinós
May 28, 2024 9:41 am

If he was wrong about planetary theory it just proves it’s hard to be right about everything all the time, as new data or interpretations can emerge disproving old ideas, something you could take to heart as you claim the TSI effect is too small.

Reply to  Bob Weber
May 28, 2024 1:26 pm

Leif also believes the TSI effect to be too small, so we might both be right on that one.

Bob Weber
Reply to  Javier Vinós
May 28, 2024 3:01 pm

we might both be……..are……….wrong is more like it.

When I talk about it I have the proof with data in hand.

My Modern Maximum was computed to understand the effect of the cumulative TSI increase from 1935-2004 compared to 1865-1934, not to be abused and not used analytically as intended as a diagnostic.

May 28, 2024 6:21 am

Centennial solar minima are a product of the synodic cycles of Venus-Earth versus Jupiter-Uranus, on average every 110.3 years (107.9 yrs long term mean). The Jupiter-Saturn cycle cannot explain the centennial solar minimum cycle, and only results in the wrong periods, there is no 193 years in solar variability.
Away from the weaker solar cycles in each centennial solar minimum, the maximum of each sunspot cycle is actually centered at inferior conjunctions of Venus-Earth when in syzygy with Uranus. Rather than the alternating superior and inferior conjunctions of Venus-Earth with Jupiter. That is why the solar cycle length is shorter between the centennial minima, at around 10.4 years, because Venus-Earth return faster to being in line with Uranus as it orbits slower than Jupiter.
The Venus-Earth-Jupiter-Uranus cycle essentially suffers a phase catastrophe every 110.3 years.

THE APPARENT PLANETARY ORDERING OF SUNSPOT CYCLES AND CENTENNIAL SOLAR MINIMA.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YOu7hHVEuaWWLuztj6ThEsJd7Z-765Uz-L68lQbRdbQ/edit

Bob Weber
Reply to  Ulric Lyons
May 28, 2024 8:00 am

“The Venus-Earth-Jupiter-Uranus cycle essentially suffers a phase catastrophe every 110.3 years.”

When was the last and when is the next phase catastrophe via the Venus-Earth-Jupiter-Uranus cycle?

Reply to  Bob Weber
May 29, 2024 10:06 am

They are in one now, the current centennial solar minimum, which will involve solar cycles 24 and 25 only. The next centennial minimum is from around 2095, and looks to be at least as long as the Maunder Minimum.

LT3
May 28, 2024 6:26 am

Earth has a complex magnetic field operating within a much larger magnetic field. Research has shown that stronger magnetic fields impede heat transfer in salt water.

Reduced heat transfer in saltwater by a magnetic field: do oceans have a “geomagnetic brake”?: Geophysical & Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics: Vol 108, No 5 (tandfonline.com)

Bob Weber
May 28, 2024 7:39 am

Here is a paragraph from the article’s paper, talking about their references using SATIRE-S TSI.

For the moment, however, it is tempting to ask whether the identified spring-tide periods do actually show up in the solar data. Whereas, on the first glance, the very 154-day period that was once found by Rieger et al. (1984) does not fit to any of the tidal periods just discussed, other data look more promising. In his spherical harmonic decomposition of the solar magnetic field, Knaack (2005) had identified quasi-periodicities grouped around 300 – 320 days, 220 – 240 days, 170 days, and 100 – 130 days. In their analysis of the total solar irradiance (TSI) during Cycle 23, Gurgenashvili et al. (2021) had seen two significant maxima around 115 days and 180 days. Most interestingly, in Cycle 24 a significant Rieger peak close to 150 days showing up in the VIRGO and SATIRE-S TSI data was accompanied by a strong and clear peak at 195 days in the sunspot area data (their Figure 2). A similar distinction appeared when comparing the sunspot areas in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere (their Figure 3). With view on such ambiguities, it is not completely clear whether the attribution of 185 – 195-day periods to weak cycles and of 155 – 165-day periods to strong cycles (Gurgenashvili et al., 2016) always applies.

SATIRE-S TSI is a poor historical TSI model to use as it’s correlation relationship with sunspot number is skewed forward in time by one or more solar rotations compared to instrumental TSI.

Thus the SATIRE-S TSI in the 100-195 day range after sunspot emergence is likely poorly modeled by Gurgenashvili et al and has probably lead to wrong conclusions, particularly when the results are for periodicities given as numbers of days.

comment image

ferdberple
May 28, 2024 9:14 am

I find it fascinating that gravity always points in the direction that time is running slowest. The greater the time gradient, the stronger the gravitaional field.

This opens up a chicken and egg question. Does gravity determine time or does time determine gravity.

Henry Pool
May 28, 2024 9:14 am

Hi Andy

I have been saying all along for many years that CO2 is a red herring. Again today:
https://breadonthewater.co.za/2024/05/28/no-change-in-temperature-in-south-africa-for-more-than-45-years/
Would be great if you could give me a comment there, if only for the good of Sourh Africa. Please.

Henry Pool
Reply to  Andy May
May 29, 2024 2:23 am

By my calculations on the IR spectrum it is zero really. The energy of the back radiation of CO2 to sun and space is equal to that going back to earth. Pity nobody understands my work. Could you perhaps have a look at it? If you think it is good, how do I get it published?
https://breadonthewater.co.za/2022/12/15/an-evaluation-of-the-greenhouse-effect-by-carbon-dioxide/
My thanks in advance.
PS i was aware of orbital influence of planets, especially those influencing the Gleissberg cycle.

Crispin in Val Quentin
Reply to  Henry Pool
June 6, 2024 7:47 am

Henry

Prof Philip Lloyd determined that there was zero increase in the pan evaporation rate on 12,000 South African farms in the past 100 years. The “more than 45” may be far longer.

ferdberple
May 28, 2024 9:18 am

Due to density, it takes hundreds to thousands of years for radiation to travel from the sun’s core to the surface. Orbital mechanics may well correlate with solar cycle, but these may need to be lagged thousands of years.

ferdberple
May 28, 2024 10:16 am

The N body problem tells us that we cannot reliably predict solar activity or climate using complicated models because we have no math to deal with N>= 3 dimensions for time series problems.

It isn’t that we don’t understand the problem. We simply don’t have the math to solve it. This is a fundamental unsolved problem.

Thus we can solve the ocean tides using orbital mechanics, because Planetary orbits are extremely close to N=2 dimensions.

As well, solar cycles and climate would be predictable using tidal methods if they correlate with orbital mechanics. However, even the IPCC recognizes that current climate models cannot predict only project climate.

Since it can be shown that climate and solar activity cannot be predicted outside of orbital mechanics (N=2), such models need be ignored and look for orbital effects to provide the only possible skillful prediction.

Curious George
Reply to  ferdberple
May 28, 2024 11:46 am

“it can be shown that climate and solar activity cannot be predicted outside of orbital mechanics..” Link, please.

D Sandberg
May 28, 2024 11:27 am

“Stefani and his colleagues have created a physically consistent model of the 193-year De Vries solar and climate cycle, the longest solar cycle physically modeled to date”.

Great, we finally have a number. We know that 30-years of weather does not describe climate but agreeing to a basis for a more appropriate timeframe has stymied the required change. The 1000-year Eddy Cycle always seemed a little too long. Would rounding to 200 years be a problem? I don’t think so. How different is the 1824-2024 “climate”, from the 1624-1824 “climate”, and the 1424-1624 “climate”?

Reply to  Andy May
May 28, 2024 7:39 pm

The Bray cycle cannot seem to make its mind as to whether it is 2300 or 2600 years long. The actual cycle of the four gas giants is 4627 years. All four were in inferior conjunction in 3322 BC and in 1306 AD, with a pair of near analogues 179 years apart either side of the middle of the cycle in 1098 BC and 919 BC:

https://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Solar

If the orbits were circular, there would be a near perfect mirror image sequence of Jovian configurations going back from 1089 BC to 3322 BC as there would be going forwards from 919 BC to 1306 AD. So the cycle does not neatly split into half at 2318 [sic] years.

Peter Bysouth
May 29, 2024 5:51 am

Andy et al,
Some 16 years ago I came across a paper on the Jovian Planet cycle gravitational effect on plasma velocity at the Sun’s equator. I have never been able to find any follow-up. Perhaps there is nothing new under the Sun? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252842547_Does_a_Spin-Orbit_Coupling_Between_the_Sun_and_the_Jovian_Planets_Govern_the_Solar_Cycle