A brief overview of solar cycle variability effects on climate

Abstract

Among interesting areas of scientific research is the study of the relationship between solar cycle variability and climate change. For centuries now, speculations on the influence of variations in the sunlight intensity on climate have been on going. It is without exaggeration to state that generally the earth has gotten warmer over the past centuries. Over the years, studies have shown that there is a very strong correlation between earth’s surface temperature and sunlight intensity variability. Some scholars argue that the main effect on the weather is not a change in the luminosity of the Sun during the period of maximum activity, but an increase in the flow of charged particles (solar wind). These act on the Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere. This action plays a role of the trigger that starts the processes, the energy of which is contained in the Earth’s atmosphere. The periodicity of these processes (hurricanes, floods, epidemics) often correlates with the period of solar activity. Nevertheless, it is quite possible that there may be the processes with a much longer period (hundreds and thousands of years). Some researchers suggest, that the observed increase in the Earth’s temperature is part of this long-term process. Thus, this piece of work compares these two views in an attempt to check the effects of solar cycle variability on climate.