The Effects of Solar Variability on Earth's Climate: A Workshop

National Academy Of Sciences, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The NRC will form an ad hoc committee to organize and conduct a public workshop to examine our state of knowledge regarding the Earth's climate response to solar variability. This workshop will assist NSF and NASA in assessing potential avenues for future research. The committee will hold meetings to develop the agenda for the workshop and define topics for invited presentations and discussions. Ultimately, the NRC committee will prepare a workshop report that will summarize the event, without specific findings or recommendations. The specific topics for inclusion at the workshop will be developed through discussions among NASA, NSF, and NRC. However, the topics might include the following: - What is the evidence of the impact of solar variability on climate, particularly in the lower atmosphere, over decadal time scales? - What can we learn of climate responses to solar variability using paleo climate records? - Are there any significant climate impacts of solar variability on regional scales? - What are the research directions, additional observations and/or model improvements necessary to improve our understanding and forecast ability regarding solar variability and climate, particularly over the solar cycle time scale? This workshop will contribute to deteriming future research in global climate change, one of today's most critical science policy issues. A more in-depth understanding of the complexity of the Earth's response to solar radiative forcing and the recurring variability of the solar cycle will provide insights into the Sun-Earth system as a whole.