Heat And Ice; The Earth Is Getting Hostile
By James Donahue
While world leaders are at last coming to terms with the problem of a heating planet, melting ice caps, extreme climate shifts and the killer storms, a team of solar researchers are now warming that a killer ice age may hit us within the next 15 years.
How can this be?
Professor Valentina Zharkova, a researcher in solar activity, reported her startling findings at a National Astronomy Meeting this year in Wales, Northumbria University. She said a team of European researchers that has been studying the sun’s 11-year cycles, is predicting that the sun’s two magnetic waves were due to cancel each other out in about the year 2030, leading to a drop in sun spots and solar flares.
She called it a rare “double dynamo” that will create what her team is calling a “Maunder minimum.”
Zharkova said this means there will be a dimming of the sun and consequently a cooling of the Earth.
The last time this happened was between 1645 and 1715 when the world experienced what has been called the “Little Ice Age.” What is interesting is that just prior to the cold period, the Earth experienced an unusual period of warming.
No one is daring to predict how this will affect civilization during the cold period or even how severe the cold period will be. The last time the world experienced a Little Ice Age the entire northern hemisphere experienced short growing seasons and extra long and cold winters. Major rivers and lakes froze completely over. Many springs and summers were wet and cold. Crop losses caused a shortage of food and periods of famine. An estimated one-third of the world population perished.
It was during this cold period that the people were inspired to knit custom-made undergarments for warmth, they invented buttons and button-holes. Other innovative things like fireplace hoods and enclosed wood-burning stoves covered with ceramic tile to improve home heating were created.
It was said violin maker Antonio Stradivari produced his famous violins from the wood that grew during this period. The trees grew slowly making the wood a special extra hard consistency that contributed to the tone of the Stradivari-produced violins.
The bottom line to this startling report from Wales is that the underlying problem affecting the warming earth today may be more than carbon emissions. If the solar studies are correct, and the sun is following its regular course of activity, it has been contributing to the warming of the planet. And if they are right, our sun is going into a sleep mode very soon.
Who can imagine what is going to happen to our overpopulated world if the astronomers are correct.
Doug Biesecker, a meteorologist for the Space Weather Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says people should not get too alarmed about the Wales study just yet. He said the research needs further study.
And CNN Brandon Miller, who agrees with Biesecker, noted that the Wales study has not yet been published. "Our ability to forecast the specifics of a solar cycle is incredibly poor. It's worse that forecasting in a hurricane season," he said.
Meteorologists have improved their forecast abilities but the science remains far from an exact science. Predicting tomorrow's weather is sometimes a hit-or-miss proposition, usually depending on which way the wind blows. Projecting weather events 15 years into the future may be implausible, especially if it all hinges on what the sun is going to do.
The general word is not to abandon our efforts to cap carbon emissions and attempt to get a grip on climate change. At this point, a solar cool-down might just be what this planet needs. As long as it isn't too extreme when and if it happens.
By James Donahue
While world leaders are at last coming to terms with the problem of a heating planet, melting ice caps, extreme climate shifts and the killer storms, a team of solar researchers are now warming that a killer ice age may hit us within the next 15 years.
How can this be?
Professor Valentina Zharkova, a researcher in solar activity, reported her startling findings at a National Astronomy Meeting this year in Wales, Northumbria University. She said a team of European researchers that has been studying the sun’s 11-year cycles, is predicting that the sun’s two magnetic waves were due to cancel each other out in about the year 2030, leading to a drop in sun spots and solar flares.
She called it a rare “double dynamo” that will create what her team is calling a “Maunder minimum.”
Zharkova said this means there will be a dimming of the sun and consequently a cooling of the Earth.
The last time this happened was between 1645 and 1715 when the world experienced what has been called the “Little Ice Age.” What is interesting is that just prior to the cold period, the Earth experienced an unusual period of warming.
No one is daring to predict how this will affect civilization during the cold period or even how severe the cold period will be. The last time the world experienced a Little Ice Age the entire northern hemisphere experienced short growing seasons and extra long and cold winters. Major rivers and lakes froze completely over. Many springs and summers were wet and cold. Crop losses caused a shortage of food and periods of famine. An estimated one-third of the world population perished.
It was during this cold period that the people were inspired to knit custom-made undergarments for warmth, they invented buttons and button-holes. Other innovative things like fireplace hoods and enclosed wood-burning stoves covered with ceramic tile to improve home heating were created.
It was said violin maker Antonio Stradivari produced his famous violins from the wood that grew during this period. The trees grew slowly making the wood a special extra hard consistency that contributed to the tone of the Stradivari-produced violins.
The bottom line to this startling report from Wales is that the underlying problem affecting the warming earth today may be more than carbon emissions. If the solar studies are correct, and the sun is following its regular course of activity, it has been contributing to the warming of the planet. And if they are right, our sun is going into a sleep mode very soon.
Who can imagine what is going to happen to our overpopulated world if the astronomers are correct.
Doug Biesecker, a meteorologist for the Space Weather Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says people should not get too alarmed about the Wales study just yet. He said the research needs further study.
And CNN Brandon Miller, who agrees with Biesecker, noted that the Wales study has not yet been published. "Our ability to forecast the specifics of a solar cycle is incredibly poor. It's worse that forecasting in a hurricane season," he said.
Meteorologists have improved their forecast abilities but the science remains far from an exact science. Predicting tomorrow's weather is sometimes a hit-or-miss proposition, usually depending on which way the wind blows. Projecting weather events 15 years into the future may be implausible, especially if it all hinges on what the sun is going to do.
The general word is not to abandon our efforts to cap carbon emissions and attempt to get a grip on climate change. At this point, a solar cool-down might just be what this planet needs. As long as it isn't too extreme when and if it happens.