The effects of changing solar activity on climate: contributions from palaeoclimatological studies
Natural climate change currently acts in concert with human-induced changes in the climate system. To disentangle the natural variability in the climate system and the human-induced effects on the global climate, a critical analysis of climate change in the past may offer a better understanding of t...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
EDP Sciences
2012-07-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/swsc/2012009 |
| _version_ | 1798028659815088128 |
|---|---|
| author | Engels Stefan van Geel Bas |
| author_facet | Engels Stefan van Geel Bas |
| author_sort | Engels Stefan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Natural climate change currently acts in concert with human-induced changes in the climate system. To disentangle the natural variability in the climate system and the human-induced effects on the global climate, a critical analysis of climate change in the past may offer a better understanding of the processes that drive the global climate system. In this review paper, we present palaeoclimatological evidence for the past influence of solar variability on Earth’s climate, highlighting the effects of solar forcing on a range of timescales. On a decadal timescale, instrumental measurements as well as historical records show the effects of the 11-year Schwabe cycle on climate. The variation in total solar irradiance that is associated with a Schwabe cycle is only ~1 W m−2 between a solar minimum and a maximum, but winter and spring temperatures on the Northern Hemisphere show a response even to this small-scale variability. There is a large body of evidence from palaeoclimatic reconstructions that shows the influence of solar activity on a centennial to millennial timescale. We highlight a period of low solar activity starting at 2800 years before present when Europe experienced a shift to colder and wetter climate conditions. The spatial pattern of climate change that can be recognized in the palaeoclimatological data is in line with the suggested pattern of climate change as simulated by climate models. Millennial-scale climate oscillations can be recognized in sediment records from the Atlantic Ocean as well as in records of lake-level fluctuations in southeastern France. These oscillations coincide with variation in 14C production as recognized in the atmospheric 14C record (which is a proxy-record for solar activity), suggesting that Earth’s climate is sensitive to changes in solar activity on a millennial timescale as well. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T19:13:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-389544c22aef46dc90785de2c2db9048 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2115-7251 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T19:13:08Z |
| publishDate | 2012-07-01 |
| publisher | EDP Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate |
| spelling | doaj.art-389544c22aef46dc90785de2c2db90482022-12-22T04:07:33ZengEDP SciencesJournal of Space Weather and Space Climate2115-72512012-07-012A0910.1051/swsc/2012009The effects of changing solar activity on climate: contributions from palaeoclimatological studiesEngels Stefanvan Geel BasNatural climate change currently acts in concert with human-induced changes in the climate system. To disentangle the natural variability in the climate system and the human-induced effects on the global climate, a critical analysis of climate change in the past may offer a better understanding of the processes that drive the global climate system. In this review paper, we present palaeoclimatological evidence for the past influence of solar variability on Earth’s climate, highlighting the effects of solar forcing on a range of timescales. On a decadal timescale, instrumental measurements as well as historical records show the effects of the 11-year Schwabe cycle on climate. The variation in total solar irradiance that is associated with a Schwabe cycle is only ~1 W m−2 between a solar minimum and a maximum, but winter and spring temperatures on the Northern Hemisphere show a response even to this small-scale variability. There is a large body of evidence from palaeoclimatic reconstructions that shows the influence of solar activity on a centennial to millennial timescale. We highlight a period of low solar activity starting at 2800 years before present when Europe experienced a shift to colder and wetter climate conditions. The spatial pattern of climate change that can be recognized in the palaeoclimatological data is in line with the suggested pattern of climate change as simulated by climate models. Millennial-scale climate oscillations can be recognized in sediment records from the Atlantic Ocean as well as in records of lake-level fluctuations in southeastern France. These oscillations coincide with variation in 14C production as recognized in the atmospheric 14C record (which is a proxy-record for solar activity), suggesting that Earth’s climate is sensitive to changes in solar activity on a millennial timescale as well.http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/swsc/2012009solar activitysunspotpaleoclimatologyproxies |
| spellingShingle | Engels Stefan van Geel Bas The effects of changing solar activity on climate: contributions from palaeoclimatological studies Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate solar activity sunspot paleoclimatology proxies |
| title | The effects of changing solar activity on climate: contributions from palaeoclimatological studies |
| title_full | The effects of changing solar activity on climate: contributions from palaeoclimatological studies |
| title_fullStr | The effects of changing solar activity on climate: contributions from palaeoclimatological studies |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effects of changing solar activity on climate: contributions from palaeoclimatological studies |
| title_short | The effects of changing solar activity on climate: contributions from palaeoclimatological studies |
| title_sort | effects of changing solar activity on climate contributions from palaeoclimatological studies |
| topic | solar activity sunspot paleoclimatology proxies |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/swsc/2012009 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT engelsstefan theeffectsofchangingsolaractivityonclimatecontributionsfrompalaeoclimatologicalstudies AT vangeelbas theeffectsofchangingsolaractivityonclimatecontributionsfrompalaeoclimatologicalstudies AT engelsstefan effectsofchangingsolaractivityonclimatecontributionsfrompalaeoclimatologicalstudies AT vangeelbas effectsofchangingsolaractivityonclimatecontributionsfrompalaeoclimatologicalstudies |