Earth Heading For Mini Ice Age Within A Decade

  Quote

What may be the science story of the century is breaking this evening, as heavyweight US solar physicists announce that the Sun appears to be headed into a lengthy spell of low activity, which could mean that the Earth – far from facing a global warming problem – is actually headed into a mini Ice Age.

 

 

Ice skating on the Thames by 2025?

 

The announcement made on 14 June (18:00 UK time) comes from scientists at the US National Solar Observatory (NSO) and US Air Force Research Laboratory. Three different analyses of the Sun's recent behaviour all indicate that a period of unusually low solar activity may be about to begin.

 

The Sun normally follows an 11-year cycle of activity. The current cycle, Cycle 24, is now supposed to be ramping up towards maximum strength. Increased numbers of sunspots and other indications ought to be happening: but in fact results so far are most disappointing. Scientists at the NSO now suspect, based on data showing decades-long trends leading to this point, that Cycle 25 may not happen at all.

 

This could have major implications for the Earth's climate. According to a statement issued by the NSO, announcing the research:

 

An immediate question is whether this slowdown presages a second Maunder Minimum, a 70-year period with virtually no sunspots [which occurred] during 1645-1715.

 

As NASA notes:

 

Early records of sunspots indicate that the Sun went through a period of inactivity in the late 17th century. Very few sunspots were seen on the Sun from about 1645 to 1715. Although the observations were not as extensive as in later years, the Sun was in fact well observed during this time and this lack of sunspots is well documented. This period of solar inactivity also corresponds to a climatic period called the "Little Ice Age" when rivers that are normally ice-free froze and snow fields remained year-round at lower altitudes. There is evidence that the Sun has had similar periods of inactivity in the more distant past.

During the Maunder Minimum and for periods either side of it, many European rivers which are ice-free today – including the Thames – routinely froze over, allowing ice skating and even for armies to march across them in some cases.

 

"This is highly unusual and unexpected," says Dr Frank Hill of the NSO. "But the fact that three completely different views of the Sun point in the same direction is a powerful indicator that the sunspot cycle may be going into hibernation."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/14/ice_age/

Awesome, get your skis out!

Uh, I can't even be bothered to follow cosmic-environmental news anymore.

Monday we're burning. Tuesday we're frozen. I'll just check the weather and decide whether there was something going on after a few years of personal experience.

It'll be just like Orlando, how wonderful!

fucking "global warming" - what a load of shit that was.

may god gave us a 2nd chance for cure global warming

When are we going to put some men on the sun to monitor this sort of thing? The Chinese are surely already planning it

sounds good

I can't deal with year-round winter :(

  On 6/15/2011 at 2:25 PM, AcrossCanyons said:

I can't deal with year-round winter :(

the country will grind to a halt.

Wait what?

Is the global warming fad getting old so now it's a new ice age?

cold>warm

the earth is a self-regulating system, more than that, the solar system is a self-regulating system - all this talk of humans needing to "do something" to combat global warming etc is unecessary. take for example, the fact that we are in the most intensive period of plant growth in recent history right now and "they" think it's likely because of the increased amount of CO2 in the atmosphere - plants consume CO2 as we all know, so the more in the atmosphere, the more plants like it and grow more, which then regulates the CO2 etc etc - obviously it's much more complicated than this, but you see my point. also, the more humans effect climate change, the more natural disatsers occur and the more crops fail etc due to more severe weather patterns and all the rest of it, which then kills lots of humans, which in turn lessens the impact on the climate from human action. and this is all just the earth's regulatory failsafes - i think if things get really fucked up there is probably solar-system-wide another regulatory level which could come into play - ie the sun's fluctuating output and cycles. so relax everybody, it's all OK.

we can't even get tomorrow's weather right, how can anyone take this prediction seriously?

Considering it was 99 degrees here yesterday, I welcome some cool weather.

cool

:sup: :sup: :sup:

I'll believe it when I'm making snow-penises in June.

  On 6/15/2011 at 2:43 PM, BCM said:

the earth is a self-regulating system, more than that, the solar system is a self-regulating system - all this talk of humans needing to "do something" to combat global warming etc is unecessary. take for example, the fact that we are in the most intensive period of plant growth in recent history right now and "they" think it's likely because of the increased amount of CO2 in the atmosphere - plants consume CO2 as we all know, so the more in the atmosphere, the more plants like it and grow more, which then regulates the CO2 etc etc - obviously it's much more complicated than this, but you see my point. also, the more humans effect climate change, the more natural disatsers occur and the more crops fail etc due to more severe weather patterns and all the rest of it, which then kills lots of humans, which in turn lessens the impact on the climate from human action. and this is all just the earth's regulatory failsafes - i think if things get really fucked up there is probably solar-system-wide another regulatory level which could come into play - ie the sun's fluctuating output and cycles. so relax everybody, it's all OK.

these arguments remind me a lot of the equilibrium bullshit that led the US economy into another depression

and wtf does it mean to say "the solar system is a self-regulating system"

about the sensationalist ice age article: it sounds like there isn't much evidence that scenario - and if happens it's basically a bad thing for global warming deniers because you'll have warming during a definite decrease in solar output.

http://www.skepticalscience.com/How-would-Solar-Grand-Minimum-affect-global-warming.html

sigh.

troon to thread.

  On 6/16/2011 at 4:00 AM, DeadlyTowers said:

  On 6/15/2011 at 2:43 PM, BCM said:

the earth is a self-regulating system, more than that, the solar system is a self-regulating system - all this talk of humans needing to "do something" to combat global warming etc is unecessary. take for example, the fact that we are in the most intensive period of plant growth in recent history right now and "they" think it's likely because of the increased amount of CO2 in the atmosphere - plants consume CO2 as we all know, so the more in the atmosphere, the more plants like it and grow more, which then regulates the CO2 etc etc - obviously it's much more complicated than this, but you see my point. also, the more humans effect climate change, the more natural disatsers occur and the more crops fail etc due to more severe weather patterns and all the rest of it, which then kills lots of humans, which in turn lessens the impact on the climate from human action. and this is all just the earth's regulatory failsafes - i think if things get really fucked up there is probably solar-system-wide another regulatory level which could come into play - ie the sun's fluctuating output and cycles. so relax everybody, it's all OK.

 

these arguments remind me a lot of the equilibrium bullshit that led the US economy into another depression

to be fair, what the fuck has the US economy gotta do with the sun?

nothing.

well, in England we've had a really mild, rainy Summer thus far, which i'm glad of.

can't stand hot weather.

so yeah, so much for global warming!

but about the "mini ice age" a'comin? Lol, what a load of rubbish.

what's a mini ice age anyway? i'd be more inclined to believe ancient Mayan prophecy than these scientists.

so much of science is just bullshit theories anyway, based upon minute amounts of data. it's their job.

  On 6/16/2011 at 4:20 AM, sirch said:

well, in England we've had a really mild, rainy Summer thus far, which i'm glad of.

can't stand hot weather.

so yeah, so much for global warming!

 

but about the "mini ice age" a'comin? Lol, what a load of rubbish.

what's a mini ice age anyway? i'd be more inclined to believe ancient Mayan prophecy than these scientists.

so much of science is just bullshit theories anyway, based upon minute amounts of data. it's their job.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Ice_Age

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoNHk_pJlRo&feature=related

"Climate change" is just a clever way to make global warming not sound so urgent or scary. Kind of like how post traumatic stress disorder used to be called "shell shock."

  On 6/16/2011 at 4:37 AM, Mesh Gear Fox said:

can we stop referring to climate change as global warming now?

 

I think it's been made clear several times that the earth's temperatures will further polarise, not just get warmer everywhere. and every time I hear "doesn't feel like it's getting warmer hurr science" it just gives me the shits.

climate change is a fact.

global warming is a theory.

but gravity is also just a theory.