Global Warming / Rising Temperatures?

Question

We blame our shifting temperatures to global warming. We say that our gases and polutants are causing our planet to become hotter than usual.

I remember from elementary school that our sun is supposed to be in one of the earliest stages and it will grow larger over time, may possibly consume Earth, and eventually will "explode" creating a black hole (once the star dies out) . Has anyone taken this into consideration for our rising heat ?

Answer 1

Global warming is mainly caused by greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities; however, current climatic variations may be affected “around 15% or 20%” by solar activity, according to Manuel Vázquez, a researcher from the Canary Islands’ Astrophysics Institute (IAC) who spoke at the Sun and Climate Change conference, organised as part of the El Escorial summer courses by Madrid's Complutense University.

In the past, the sun was the main external agent affecting climate change on Earth, together with the effects of volcanic explosions and internal factors such as ocean currents. “If man had never started burning fossil fuels, the sun might have been the only agent regulating the climate until the next glaciation. However, back in the 19th century we started an experiment which we are now beginning to suffer the consequences of”, explained the astrophysicist Manuel Vázquez to SINC.

During his conference at the El Escorial summer courses, the researcher pointed out that the possibility of a relationship existing between the sun and climate on Earth is quite “plausible”, since it is the main source of energy of everything that occurs within the Earth's atmosphere, “but empirical tests need to be found that show that such a correlation exists, and over what timescale.” Trying to find a connection over billions of years, where changes in the sun's interior have an effect, is not the same thing as looking for variations over just a few thousand years, “where we think only fluctuations in the magnetic energy of stars can play any type of role” the researcher commented.

Vázquez explained that this type of energy is produced on surface structures of the sun linked to the magnetic field. The most well known are sunspots which have variation cycles of every 11 years and there are others that fluctuate over a longer timescale. The researcher added, “there is evidence to show that after the last glaciation, over the last 10,000 years and before industrial activity commenced, fluctuations in the sun's magnetic energy regulated most of the Earth's climate variations.”

As examples of this correlation, Vázquez said that there is “certain evidence” of a relatively warm period in the Middle Ages, “around about the 11th century” which coincided with a period of high solar activity; on the other hand, in the second half of the 17th century, there was a decrease in solar activity which coincided with a relatively cold period on Earth, “although it appears the effects of the sun might affect certain areas of the planet more than others.”

In any case, based on statistics, “it is necessary to find a mechanism that explains that correlation, which is where the main battlefield of this research lies,” Vázquez acknowledged, because, although over the last 30 years it has been possible to measure the variation in the amount of energy that comes from the sun, with an 11 year cycle differences between maximums and minimums are so small that they would appear to have no direct effect on climate. To explain past variations, scientists believe there must be some type of mechanism that amplifies the solar signal, such as changes in the sun's ultraviolet radiation, in the flow of cosmic rays that reach the Earth or in the average electricity of the Earth's atmosphere.

The IAC astrophysicist explained that the sun's influence in climatic variations over the last few thousand years is clear: “When there is more solar activity, there is more radiation from the sun, and any of the above-mentioned processes will intensify, causing warming.” All these signals are very evident in the upper layers of the atmosphere, as shown by data collected in recent years, “but the major problem is transferring such a clear correlation of solar activity observed in the upper layers of the atmosphere to the lower layers, where we measure climate.”

The role of the sun in the Earth’s climatic variations “is not inconsiderable,” but Vázquez pointed out that over the last 40 years solar activity has not increased, and has in fact remained constant or even diminished, which is why it is difficult to attribute a significant global warming effect to it, “the cause of which needs to be looked for in human activities.”

Answer 2

Of course scientists have considered the Sun in all this.  They measure it constantly. Thing is, solar radiation has been decreasing slightly, while temperatures have been warming.  So, it can't be the cause.  Details:

"Recent oppositely directed trends in solar

climate forcings and the global mean surface

air temperature", Lockwood and Frolich (2007), Proc. R. Soc. A

doi:10.1098/rspa.2007.1880

http://www.pubs.royalsoc.ac.uk/media/pro...

News article at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6290228.st...

Answer 3

All of the earth's heat comes from the sun.  None of it is retained due to rising carbon in the atmosphere, because carbon levels aren't rising.  The sun isn't due to die out any time soon, as stars go it is still quite young.  But when it does eventually it will expand and get hotter.  The earth's warming trend ended in 1998, as did the current round of global warming.  Since then things have cooled somewhat.

Answer 4

of coarse! the sun is going to die out soon...i heard it's going to implode rather than explode...but the carbon dioxide in the air is not letting the heat bounce back up into space.

politicians just use global warming to scare us...they don't tell the whole truth.

hybrid cars are super expensive, not everyone can afford them. and bikes are not always good(some people's work places are too far)

Answer 5

As usual, Bob has given an excellent answer.  Changes in the solar output do not seem to be connected with the rise in temperatures we are seeing.

As for the ultimate fate of the sun, it is not massive enough to become a black hole.  As you stated, it is expected to grow larger and consume the inner planets, first becoming a red giant and then eventually a white dwarf, possibly with a planetary nebula.

Answer 6

A sun can turn into a red giant as a result of a large collision

Answer 7

Yes the sun will be bigger and consume us, but it was also said that it will happen in billions of years. global warming is happening in only decades.

Answer 8

That solar incident is not expected to take place for a few billion more years.

There are other solar effects that may be giving our planet higher temperatures now.  See the film  The Great Global Warming Swindle if you get a chance.

As it is, the measured increases are not as bad as alarmists claim.  See the website:

http://www.stuffintheair.com/FactAboutGl...

...for a good dose of reality on the subject.

Answer 9

hmmm, i am not really fan of Science stuffs but i read them though esp in schools i've been before. I am not sure about it. It may happen. in Science, our Sun is the star and it is the center of our solar system, it can grow and grow larger. but if sun dies out, it may become a large black hole andit  may suck the Earth, not only the Earth, the other planets too. if it happens, then it is true and if the Earth 'explodes', we need a new planet to live on. Global warming is today's problem in Earth news.

Answer 10

there is no true way to tell temps,the earth is constantly changing so it is never the same year to year,so comparisons will always be flawed

Answer 11

Climate cycles more closely follow the Sun's activities than anything else at this point.

No correlation has been found between Climate and industrial CO2.

Answer 12

125,000 years ago the earth was in an geo centric orbit about the sun. For some reason, it change to an elliptical orbit about the sun, which created a cycle of Ice Ages, followed by Global Warming, followed by Ice Ages, repeatedly.

The last Ice Age was 40,000 yrs ago. We are currently in a Global Warming cycle. We are hastening the cycle by creating green house gases (hydro carbons).  

What the effects of our contribution will be, no one knows for sure. There are many theory's. Most likely, we will complete the warming cycle before the cycle would have normally ended and we start the next Ice Age earlier than nature intended.

What is known for sure, is that you can't stop global warming as long as the earth has an elliptical orbit about the sun. Nor can anyone stop Ice Ages from occurring.