Cosmic Ray Forcing Factor Significant

A lot has been done in terms ofunderstanding the impact of cosmic rays, including a prediction for a harshwinter as a result in a sharp reduction in the Earth’s magnetic field lastyear.  We know that the harsh winter dulyarrived and kicked butt.

This at least provides us with ascale for the forcing impact.  Itplausibly is far greater than any human based inputs.

Thus the shift in input discernedlast year was an excellent predictor of a derivative climate change.  The good news is that the magnetic fieldshould have blown back out with the recent surge in sun spot activity.  So maybe it will be back to good weather nextyear.

Now if we could only figure outhow the heat is getting into the Arctic.

Top Indian space boffin beams down climate shocker

By  Andrew Orlowski

Posted in Environment, 21st January 2011 13:09 GMT

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/01/21/rao_cosmic_ray_climate_forcing/

India's leading space physicist believes cosmicrays affect the Earth's climate far more than previously thought.

U R Rao has analysed 45 years of data and declared that the forcingfrom charged particles is higher than previously thought, at 1.1Wm-2, andhuman-forcing lower than the IPCC "consensus" of 1.6Wm-2.

Raoshould know his muons. He launched India's satellite program in the70s, and became head of the Indian Space Agency in the 1980s; many of his 350published papers are about galactic cosmic rays (GCRs). He makes an unlikelycandidate for a skeptic, having written books on sustainability andimplementing the United Nations' Agenda 21.

The influence of charged particles on climate is controversial, notleast because it's based on observation and physics experiments, ratherthan trick cycling computer modelling. GCRs have beendemonstrated to "seed" cloud formation, and small variations in cloudcover are known to have significant impacts on surface temperature.

The IPCC estimates human forcing via greenhouse gas emissions to be1.6Wm-2, whereas clouds reduce the amount of incoming radiation received by44Wm-2, also reducing the outgoing (longwave) radiation by 31Wm-2.

The quantity of GCRs reaching Earth depends on the solar magnetic fieldand Earth's own magnetosphere, which act as umbrellas shielding the surfacefrom the particles. The strength of this "background drizzle" of GCRsvaries, depending on the Earth's relative position to the galaxy. A majorexperiment called CLOUD ("Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets") usingCERN's original proton particle accelerator, has been designed to study howcharged particles nucleate clouds. It finally cranked into life in 2009.

Full results have yet to be published, but confirm the relationship.Others argue that cosmic ray penetration to surface level is merely a proxy forsolar magnetic activity.

Despite the controversy, supporters point to both short-term andlong-term correlations between cosmic ray activity and climate.

The report was commissioned by Indian environment minister JairamRamesh, who has described the manmade global warming hypothesis as a"religion".

"We’re not denying the contribution of greenhouse gases — we’reonly trying to expand the scientific debate to look at some non-greenhouse gasfactors that may also influence global warming," Ramesh told the Telegraph ofIndia.®