I am beginning to get a bit concerned.
Not about warming, or "abrupt change" or athropogenic CO2, but about solar activity, or rather, the lack of confirmed science and the difficulties of prediction.
It seems we are in SC24 and the scientists were finding it hard to predict when it would bottom out.
Now if you believe in Anthropogenic Global warming and that CO2 is a killer, this won't concern you, but if you think there might just be a chance that the sun has something to do with the earths climate maybe you ought to worry a little bit too.
It appears the last solar cycle (SC23) was pretty near average but that SC24 was thought, like Moby Dick, to be going to sound deep and long.
As deep as cycles SC15 and SC17.
However, the duration is somewhat uncertain. It was projected as going to be longer and now some say it will be the shortest ever.
The scientists don't know how to predict this cycle.
It appears they don't actually know for sure when it started or if we have passed the peak or not, nor when it will end.
But it has been well below max.
None the less there has been a past correlation between sunspot activity and climate, if no casual link.
So if that correlation holds good, we are in a cooling period but don't know how long or how severe it will be.
Short and sharp? long and sharp?
A maunder minimum was being projected as a possible outcome.
Wow! uncertainty in forecasting and the different models and prediction methods show the usual uncertainties of prediction but it seems that SC24 is being a bit of a pig to predict. I hope that isn't a portent.
If, as some scientists (Prof. Henrik Svensmark: effects of cosmic rays on cloud formation) theorise, there is a causal link between solar particles and cloud formation and between cloud formation and the POD currents (which have recently changed over and for which some scientists point out a "coincidence" of a possible link between the Pacific Ocean Decadal currents and solar activity) then we could be in for a fairly cold spell, more cold than usual perhaps and maybe not just the 10-20years the AGW camp are allowing as a temporary respite from AGW.
As I have suggested (and others too), we'll look right Charlies shivering away with all our money invested in wind farms and carbon sequestration and cap and trade but with not two pennies to pay toward some heating or food, which will be in short supply; how short dependent on how cold and how much food production has been given over to biodiesel production.
On the other hand, if we get a really cold spell, it will probably cure our over-population problem.
These guys think (Nov 2009) very short:
The Jannsens is an October 2009 paper and the predictions are discussed here:
Now I have to say that fundamentally, despite there being no causal relationship established, I personally suspect (and I only say this to declare my own opinion, I am not reporting fact or other people's opinions) there has to be some kind of link between that great big orange thing in the sky that just happens to always seem to be there when I feel warm and not there when I feel colder.
I've noticed this especially as part of the day night cycles and I tend to suspect some kind of link between warm summers when it is there for longer in each day and colder winters when its not.
I've also noted the effect of clouds on how warm I feel.
So I kind of suspect that if it has this pronounced an influence over day to day weather, maybe, just maybe there is some kind of link between the Sun and climate.
But maybe this sort of thinking is some kind of hang over to pagan religious thing? to Ra and Egypt even?
JMW