Projects
The projects at the Sun-Climate Center are grouped under two categories: Projects related to the Sun and projects related to the solar influence on climate.
Sun Projects
Solar Activity Reconstructions on Centennial to Millennial Time Scales |
The solar modulation can be reconstructed over centennial to millennial time scales by analyzing radionuclide records measured in tree rings (14C) or ice cores (10Be). Such records show a good qualitative agreement with irradiance, sunspots or other records of solar variability. Ongoing research concentrates on the improvement of radionuclide-based estimates of past solar variability and on establishing a quantitative link between solar modulation and solar irradiance. The figure shows the 14C-based estimate of solar modulation during the last 500 years and the comparison with the sunspot record. More details |
Earth/Climate Projects
Solar Proton Events and their Atmospheric Dynamical Influence |
This NASA's LWS (Living With a Star) Program supported project is focused on the impact of solar protons on the atmosphere. In particular, the effort will be mainly directed towards the influence of solar proton events on atmospheric temperature and wind (dynamics) changes caused by the events. Very large solar proton events have been documented to cause significant stratospheric ozone depletion, however, the impact of such events on atmospheric dynamics is less well known. This research will primarily use the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIME-GCM) and the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM), both developed at NCAR (National Center of Atmospheric Research, Colorado US), to quantify the dynamical changes caused by solar protons. |
Wavelength and Time Dependence of Solar Forcing of Earth’s Atmosphere Ocean System
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This NASA's LWS (Living With a Star) Program supported project takes a new approach to Sun-climate research. The motivation of this research is that the Sun's radiative input to Earth has characteristic temporal variations that depend on wavelength, and different layers of the Earth’s atmosphere-ocean system response to different spectrum of solar output (i.e., UV is the primary forcing for the stratosphere, NIR for troposphere, and VIS for ocean mixed layer). To understand how SSI varies in time and their cross spectrum relations from SORCE, to determine vertical spectral forcing, and to understand the climate response are main goals of this project. |
Solar Influence on Climate - Studies Using a Fully-Coupled General Circulation Model
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There is increasing evidence for a solar influence on climate from proxy data. However, the link between sun and climate is not always straightforward. Regional differences and non-synchronous changes point to shifts in atmospheric circulations patterns and possibly oceanic feedback mechanisms. We study such mechanisms with the Community Climate System Model (CCSM) developed at NCAR (National Center of Atmospheric Research, Colorado US) which is a fully-coupled, atmosphere-ocean general circulation model. |
Last update: April 25, 2006