Sunspots, which rotate around the sun's surface, tell us a great deal about our own planet.



Are these new findings relevant to scientific analyses of man-made global warming? The Christian Science Monitor reports:
For those wondering how the study bears on global warming, Gerald Meehl, lead author on the study, says that it doesn't - at least not directly....

Global warming is a long-term trend, Dr. Meehl says in a phone conversation. By contrast, this study attempts to explain the processes behind a periodic occurrence. But, he says, a model finally able to reproduce a complex phenomenon observed in the real world does suggest that our climate models - the same ones we use to predict what will happen to global climate as we ratchet up co2 concentrations - are improving. And that will, inevitably, have an affect on the climate discussion.
A recent paper in Eos considers the evidence that we could be in for an extended period with few sunspots:
Why is a lack of sunspot activity interesting? During the period from 1645 to 1715, the Sun entered a period of low activity now known as the Maunder Minimum, when through several 11- year periods the Sun displayed few if any sunspots. Models of the Sun's irradiance suggest that the solar energy input to the Earth decreased during that time and that this change in solar activity could explain the low temperatures recorded in Europe during the Little Ice Age.
Doesn't the Eos paper suggest that sunspot activity may not just affect weather but climate too?