Solar energy destabilizes European climate

The amount of unstable light from the Sun shining on Earth could partly explain Europe's climate changes over the past 1,000 years, including cold winters of the 16th and 18th centuries.

Recently, Earth scientists have discovered a decrease in sunlight associated with a drop in temperature in the North Atlantic region, making Europe's climate more harsh.

According to research in Nature Geoscience, when the Sun produces the least energy, a high-pressure system can form in the atmosphere of the North Atlantic. This high pressure system prevents wind from warming West West from blowing from west to east, while allowing cold air from the North to flow into Europe.

The painting "Thames Frost Fair" ("Frost Fair on the River Thames") 1683 - 1684 by Thomas Wyke.(Photo: discovery.com)

"We think this effect can contribute to explaining the harshly famous winters across Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries, vividly described in many works of art, including those Famous paintings of Frost's London fair on the Thames, these harsh winters have also led to widespread crop failures and starvation, which is corroborated by wheat price records during this period. , study author Paola Moffa-Sanchez of Cardiff University said in a press conference.

The study analyzes the interaction between sunlight, the sea and the climate, using fossil data, sunspot records and computer simulations. The chemicals collected in the fossils of marine microbes provide scientists with information about the ocean's temperature and salinity over the past millennium.

Sunspot records provide clues to the sun's activity, because the smaller the number of sunspots, the lower the solar energy. The data was collected and included in a computer model, simulating changes in European climate brought by the Sun.

The results of this study reinforce previous studies on the interaction between solar energy and climate.