11 June 2014
Has The Solar Cycle Peaked? NASA Says Probably.
Posted by Dan Satterfield
From NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center
The 11 year solar cycle has apparently peaked, but it has been one of the weakest solar maxes of the modern era. The cycle is actually 22 years because at the end of 11 years, the sun’s magnetic field flips, and then flips again 11 years later.
NASA has a video out today that explains more, and it’s important to note that some of the biggest solar storms can occur as the cycle begins to fade, so fans of the Aurora have nothing to cry about.
Oh, and if you have any thought that this has anything significant to do with the warming of the planet, see the image below.
From IPCC
Dan Satterfield has worked as an on air meteorologist for 32 years in Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama. Forecasting weather is Dan's job, but all of Earth Science is his passion. This journal is where Dan writes about things he has too little time for on air. Dan blogs about peer-reviewed Earth science for Junior High level audiences and up.
Hi, Dan,
I lurk here, and find your blog interesting.
My question is on the last chart – can you tell me it’s source? And why is Ozone shown separately to Greenhouse Gases – perhaps they wanted to show its cooling component?
Because Ozone in the Troposphere is a greenhouse gas causing warming, whereas the loss of Ozone in the stratosphere has some cooling effect.