Solar Activity Diminishes; Researchers Predict Another Ice Age

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Dr. Kenneth Tapping is worried about the sun. Solar activity comes in regular cycles, but the latest one is refusing to start. Sunspots have all but vanished, and activity is suspiciously quiet. The last time this happened was 400 years ago -- and it signaled a solar event known as a "Maunder Minimum," along with the start of what we now call the "Little Ice Age."

Tapping, a solar researcher and project director for Canada's National Research Council, says it may be happening again. Overseeing a giant radio telescope he calls a "stethoscope for the sun," Tapping says, if the pattern doesn't change quickly, the earth is in for some very chilly weather.

During the Little Ice Age, global temperatures dropped sharply. New York Harbor froze hard enough to allow people to walk from Manhattan to Staten Island, and in Britain, people reported sighting eskimos paddling canoes off the coast. Glaciers in Norway grew up to 100 meters a year, destroying farms and villages.

But will it happen again?

In 2005, Russian astronomer Khabibullo Abdusamatov predicted the sun would soon peak, triggering a rapid decline in world temperatures. Only last month, the view was echoed by Dr. Oleg Sorokhtin, a fellow of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. who advised the world to "stock up on fur coats." Sorokhtin, who calls man's contribution to climate change "a drop in the bucket," predicts the solar minimum to occur by the year 2040, with icy weather lasting till 2100 or beyond.

Observational data seems to support the claims -- or doesn't contradict it, at least. According to data from Britain's Met Office, the earth has cooled very slightly since 1998. The Met Office says global warming "will pick up again shortly." Others aren't so sure.

Researcher Dr. Timothy Patterson, director of the Geoscience Center at Carleton University, shares the concern. Patterson is finding "excellent correlations" between solar fluctuations, a relationship that historically, he says doesn't exist between CO2 and past climate changes. According to Patterson. we shouldn't be surprised by a solar link. "The sun [is] the ultimate source of energy on this planet," he says.

http://www.dailytech.com/Solar+Activity+Di...rticle10630.htm

[GaryC 7]

You are really trying to stir the pot lately Troll. Whats up?

[Saddle Bronc 124]

You are really trying to stir the pot lately Troll. Whats up?

Maybe he's trying to upgrade (VJ) status?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

You are really trying to stir the pot lately Troll. Whats up?

lately????

[Ban Hammer 14,586]

it's junk science, that's that the gw crowd will call this thread.

[GaryC 7]

You are really trying to stir the pot lately Troll. Whats up?

lately????

More so than usual I guess would be more accurate.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

it's junk science, that's that the gw crowd will call this thread.

What do you think it is?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

[GaryC 7]

it's junk science, that's that the gw crowd will call this thread.

Yeah I know. The sun couldn't possibly effect our climate. It just HAS to be our fault regardless of how it changes.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I'm not sure I understand the point of arguing about GW - few of us have the knowledge or experience to accurately assess the material. It basically comes down to what you want to believe.

The truth of course - is something else.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

??

explain.

[IAMX 3,055]

I wish.

Would be nice for things to cool down here. The snowcaps we used to get on the hills every winter entirely vanished 10 years ago and haven't been seen since.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

The climate on this planet is driven by the sun? That giant atom smashing machine? What a shock.

[Ban Hammer 14,586]

it's junk science, that's that the gw crowd will call this thread.

What do you think it is?

you don't think it will upset their global warming applecart?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

it's junk science, that's that the gw crowd will call this thread.

What do you think it is?

you don't think it will upset their global warming applecart?

Not necessarily. They were presented with data, and they responded. When presented with different data, they will just have to adjust their response.

Right?