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Climate Forcing

Erupting Volcano            Setting Sun Image            Solar Insolation Graph

Climate forcing data about factors potentially affecting climate, including volcanic eruptions, solar variability, trace gasses and aerosols, and Milankovitch orbital variations.

Obtaining Data at the World Data Center

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Orbital Variations

Variations in the Earth's orbit around the sun, known as Milankovitch forcing, affect the distribution of solar energy about the globe, resulting in changes in seasonality and climate.

Solar Variability

The output of energy from the sun varies slightly over time, changing the total amount of energy absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere and affecting climate.

Volcanic Aerosols

Volcanic eruptions can inject large amounts of aerosols into the atmosphere, increasing the Earth's albedo, or reflectivity, and cooling the climate.

Tropospheric Aerosols

Tropospheric aerosols can affect formation of clouds, as well as increase Earth's albedo and cool the climate.

Atmospheric Trace Gases

Carbon dioxide, methane, and other trace gases absorb infrared energy, resulting in greenhouse warming of the Earth.

Climate Forcing Research Datasets

Several published collections of various types of climate forcing data are archived at the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology.

Contributing Data

Investigators who wish to contribute their data to our climate forcing archive can find information on contributing below. Data and study description information can be contributed by emailing your data to

Other Data Archives

Additional sources of data and information on climate forcing.