CAUSE OF THE ICE AGES AND CLIMATE CHANGES: EVIDENCE FROM GLOBAL TEMPERATURES, SUNSPOTS, SOLAR IRRADIANCE, SOLAR MAGNETISM, COSMIC RAYS, AND 14C AND 10B PRODUCTION RATES

Centuries of observations of the sun have shown that sunspots, solar irradiance, and solar magnetism vary over time, and these phenomena correlate very well with global climate changes on Earth. Quantitative correlations can now be made between sun spot numbers (SSN), total solar irradiance (TSI), solar magnetism, cosmic ray incidence, and production of ¹⁴C and ¹⁰Be in the atmosphere. Ionization in the atmosphere produced by cosmic rays causes increased cloudiness that reflects incoming sunlight and cools the Earth. The amount of cosmic radiation is greatly affected by the sun’s magnetic field, so during times of weak solar magnetic field, more cosmic radiation reaches the Earth, creating more cloudiness and cooling the atmosphere. Clouds account for about 28 Wm⁻² of global cooling, so even small changes in cloud cover can have a significant effect on climate

Each of the Oort, Wolf, Sporer, Maunder, Dalton, and 1880–1915 Solar Minimums of the Little Ice Age were characterized by low sunspot numbers, low total solar irradiance (TSI), decreased solar magnetism, increased cosmic ray intensity, and increased production of radiocarbon and beryllium in the upper atmosphere. When SSNs and TSIs were, low, global temperatures cooled, and production rates of ¹⁴C and ¹⁰Be were high because of increased cosmic radiation.

These data lead to the hypothesis that periodic weakening of the strength of the sun’s magnetic field allows more cosmic radiation to reach the Earth, producing greater ionization and cloud formation in the atmosphere, which reflects solar irradiance and causes global cooling.

This mechanism accounts for the global synchronicity of climate changes, abrupt climate reversals, and climate changes on all time scales. Thus, cloud-generating cosmic rays provide a satisfactory explanation for both long-term and short-term climate changes.