Are these changes in the climate caused by fewer sunspots?

Russ Steele

According to Henrik Svensmark's theory, cosmic rays impact the formation of clouds on the earth. The cosmic rays come from the cosmos.  However, the solar wind modulates the number of cosmic rays that reach the atmosphere. When the sun is very active, with multiple sun spots, the solar wind is much stronger and deflects some of the cosmic rays.  A quiet sun, with fewer sunspots, results in more cosmic rays reaching the lower atmosphere.

More comic rays = more clouds = a cooler planet.

Solar Cycle 23 was long and drawn out with a slow start to Solar Cycle 24,  as shown in this graphic. You can also see that SC-24 is projected to be much lower in intensity than SC-23. The accumulative result is a weaker solar wind and more cosmic rays reaching the atmosphere.


With fewer sunspots, there should be more cosmic rays and more clouds according to the theory.  The question in my mind, are we seeing any signatures in the climate that indicate more clouds are cooling the planet?

Here are two data plots for your consideration, starting with ten years of average US temperatures.


Here is a plot of sea levels, which as you can see they are declining, indicating the oceans are cooling, however, these changes are lagging behind the decline in the sun spots. Just like it takes while for kettle on the stove to cool once the heat is removed, the oceans should also take some time to adjust to more cloud cover which is blocking the suns heat. 


The question is, are these changes the result of fewer sunspots and more cosmic rays that have created cooling clouds or some other factors. Stay Tuned!