Comments on: Sunspot update August 2019: Even fewer sunspots

By: Phill O

Phill O — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 12:49:39 +0000

The sun spots observed may have gone unnoticed during the monitoring during the Maunder and Dalton minima, IMHO. This gives about 3 full months of no sun spot activity, something not seen in recent recorded history.

Yes, we are in a period of solar discovery.

The paper in the link base things on C14 data which, itself is not totaly accurate as the C14 data depends on CO2 concentrations, which, many will argue, vary.
https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/scientists-look-at-and-compare-two-past-grand-minimums/

The no warming since 2005 data goes in opposition to the claim that Europe and eastern Canada have seen an unprecedented rise in temperatures.
https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/no-warming-in-u-s-since-2005/

The recession rate of the Athabasca glacier has slowed since the early 1900s. I was looking at the Birdwood glacier last week and noted greater snow coverage than 10 years ago. This indicates its recession also has slowed and might be reversing. Since 2010, I have observed snows later in the year (like late September) where no snows remained from the past winter. For example, last week I was crossing a snow slope which was not there 20 years ago, but has been there the last two or three years.

The skies for Alberta autumns has gone to crap for astronomy over the last 10 years. Similar observations are made for SW New Mexico, where summer skies have clouded over. This summer has seen a drop in temperatures for SW NM and Alberta. In fact, this was the coldest summer for Alberta since I have been here (1973).

Let us not confuse weather with climate. One cold summer would be weather. When the weather patterns change over decades, this is climate. Right now, from this observers view, climate has cooled over the past 10-20 years.

The underlying reasons for the link between solar activity and climate needs extensive work; and we may be at a point where this can be done.

By: mpthompson

mpthompson — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 06:20:19 +0000

Thanks, I just watched the video you linked. I remember watching a movie about the astrophysicist Henrik Svensmark and his similar theories that came out around the same time that video was made. It’s disappointing that physicists theories tend to be dismissed because they aren’t “climate scientists”. To a layman’s eyes, their evidence seems very compelling.

It will be interesting to see if this current minimum will provide more evidence that there are larger forces in play that just CO2 when it comes to our climate.

By: Robert Zimmerman

Robert Zimmerman — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 03:36:02 +0000

In reply to mpthompson. mpthompson: Your memory is mostly correct. Watch the video at the end of this BtB post: Al Gore and the silencing of debate. It describes in great detail the entire subject.

By: mpthompson

mpthompson — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 02:55:04 +0000

I seem to recall that an active Sun as measured by sunspot activity protects much of the Solar System from Galactic Cosmic Radiation (GCR) — that when the Sun becomes inactive, the charged particles can more readily penetrate deeper into the Solar System. Furthermore, I believe some scientist have associated increased GCR exposure with heavier cloud formation on Earth (and perhaps other planets) which could have a significant impact on Earth’s climate.

Given we are seeing such low sunspot activity for the first time in modern times, are we able to measure the impact on GCR and whether the theories that tie Earth climate to sunspot activity via GCR strength have any merit?