Can Solar Flares on the Sun be responsible for Global Temperature Patterns on Earth?
Question:
- Amount of solar flares on sun during max years = 150ish
- Amount of solar flares on sun during min years = 20ish
(data: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sun)...
Q1) How how much of a factor do solar flares make up change in the heat of the sun and the strength of heat rays it sends towards the earth?
Q2) Does this variation in the 10-12 year period make up a substantial change variation?
Q3) Can the extra heat sent to earth be responsible for heating the earth more?
My theory = while looking at a 10-12 year global weather patterns, heat variations produced by solar flares may be partly responsible for variations the Earth's average temperature between the years of a 12 year period.
fyi. i am not a scientist, i am a political scientist looking for additonal explinations of global warming
any insight upon this subject would be greatly appreciate
Answer:
Well there was an increased number of sunspots during the ice ages, so it could probably be possible.
I was under the impression that solar flares were only responsible for a very small amount of temperature change.
Over time the sun is expanding, which will cause a very slow heating of the earth.
But I'm a biologist, not a physicist.
Ok where to start, yes, a large enough solar flare could cook of are ozone and then cook us, solar flares do do damage to satellites on a regular bases, also known as solar radiation, as for Q2, No not now are sun is still to young and has a long way to go before that becomes any type of threat, Q3, Yes, in the areas that the ozone is depleted in it could change the temp by 1 to 5 degrees, which dose not sound like much but is a lot, specially since it's in the polar regions that are ozone is the weakest. Good Luck and live well.
It sounds like you have all the information you need without the opinion of AnswersRoom.com. However, yes indeed solar flares and other cosmic anomalies have impacts great and small on our planets processes. You have a sound theory, now the hard part...prove it.
Come on now people – how can you actually say this is a sound theory? Do you know anything about global warming? Does it go in 12 year cycles? No – it doesn’t. Then how on earth could it be explained by fluctuations in the number of solar flares that go in nearly perfect 12 year cycles?
Global warming has been getting steadily worse for over 20 years – which not only does not prove this theory, but it even directly disproves this theory, because according the graph on wikipedia, the solar flares have currently been on their downslope since around 2001-2002. Global warming has gotten WORSE over the last 4 years, while the solar flares have been getting less and less frequent over the last 4 years.
"A dozen (12) of the hottest U.K. summers on record have come in the last 15 years!"
Secondly.
I think the people who came up with global warming, were well aware that weather naturally fluctuates (whatever the reason -- maybe solar flares are responsible for the NATURAL weather fluctuations -- but certainly NOT the UNNATURAL phenomena we call global warming) , and took that into their consideration.
Why may I ask are you trying to come up with additional explanations of global warming? Does the current theory and supporting evidence actually leave a doubt in your mind??
What makes you think it’s NOT the pollution destroying our ozone and then creating a greenhouse effect? Does that somehow seem implausible to you??
If you ask me what sounds implausible is a theory that it’s the solar flares, and it’s really comes and goes every 12 years, despite the fact records show it has steadily been getting worse for over 20 years.
P.S. Like I said -- I’m not discounting the theory that solar flares could effect the climate and could very well be a cause of the natural fluctuation of weather patterns. However -- make the jump from that theory, to saying that it could be responsible for global warming, is preposterous, and not only has not evidence backing it whatsoever -- but the very evidence you sight, directly goes against your global warming theory!
i said ADDITIONAL, not alternate explinations for global warming... (i generally agree with the theory of global warming)
and i messed up by saying global warming, cause my focus is on the 12 year pattern
Thanks
-the ASKER of this question
It sounds to me like you should check out Milankovitch cycles. In addiditon to pollution and the depletion of the ozone there are several factors that affect weather patterns and temperatures on Earth by small amounts.
Some mini ice ages have been shown to have direct relationships to large volcanic eruptions (like Krakatoa)
You have stumbled onto something my friend. The relationship of the sun absoultely cannot be discounted. I was old enoght to remember the scientists all saying we were both due and moving toward a new ice age in the 70s. Sometimes the obvious answers are the toughest.
If you are a poly sci major follow the money...
Consider the money involved in the "climate change theories" and the treaties to save us all.
The Kyoto treaty does nothing but redistribute wealth from the west to the African, South American and other underdeveloped nations. They don't attempt to "curb" global warming gasses they want to charge us for them. Countries who create more CO2 generally are the large wealthy nations and they want us to pay for a certain amount of dischgarge of CO2. Now in an underdeveloped nation they have less industry and less cars = never reaching CO2 levels they are allowed. SO WE CAN JUST BUY CREDITS FROM UNDERDEVELOPED NATIONS! See we aren't supposed to stop polluting we are to buy credits for more pollution.
Nice huh?
According to many disparate sources there are plenty of things we can do.
One scientific answer is we could spread microparticles in the atmosphere via planes to reduce the light reaching the earths surface. Much heat would be reflected into space. These microparticles are so small they stay suspended in the air for decades possibly. Not like we go to our car and it is covered in dust.
Our last mini ice age was caused by a pretty big volcano in the 1300s. It lasted till the 1600s. See your Discovery channel this week.
More Sulpher Dioxide was emitted in Mt St Helens than about any industry in history. You hear much about acid rain anymore that was melting us all through the 80's. Now it is CO2. You know what plant more trees they use CO2. We have more trees in North America than when we landed here 300 years ago! Seriously you would never believe it? You know what happened to the Spotted Owl? It started reproducing in newer trees in forests and we never heard a peep again. Now that they effectively shut down a whole logging industry.
Many scientists disagree about things like whether Tyrannosaurs are predators or scavengers. Why would a big issue like Global Climate be any different?
The suns radiation can kill us or warm us. It has brought about life and it will destroy the earth. When the sun becomes a red giant bye bye Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars in about 10-15 billion years. Considering the dinosaurs ruled millions of years we have a long way to go.
Politics is definitely driving this issue. Science can be used to prop up arguements and dispel them depending on your goals.
I think the science is still being discovered and debated.
The last hundred years we saw the global temp raised about 1 degree and it has been the single greatest century in human kind in terms of discovery in science and development of culture, development of agriculture etc.
I can't wait for the next 100! Use science to answer questions and solve problems not scare people.
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