Do cosmic rays have any role in our weather?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the potential role of cosmic rays in influencing weather patterns, particularly in relation to electric charge and phenomena such as lightning. Participants explore various hypotheses and research findings regarding the interaction between cosmic rays and atmospheric conditions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question whether cosmic rays have a significant role in weather, suggesting their influence might be negligible when they interact with the atmosphere.
  • One participant proposes a link between high-energy particles and the production of lightning, although they express uncertainty about the validity of this claim.
  • A response cites a professor's assertion that cosmic rays do not play a significant role in temperature variation compared to greenhouse gases, labeling this idea as "patently wrong" without providing evidence for the counterclaim.
  • Another participant references various links and studies that discuss the potential effects of cosmic rays on cloud formation and properties, noting that some studies found no significant correlation between cosmic ray flux and cloud variations.
  • One participant mentions a study suggesting a negative correlation between cloud droplet size and cosmic rays, indicating a possible coupling effect, but the significance of this correlation is debated.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the role of cosmic rays in weather. Multiple competing views are presented, with some arguing for a significant influence and others asserting that the evidence does not support this claim.

Contextual Notes

Some claims rely on specific studies or interpretations of data, which may have limitations or unresolved assumptions. The discussion includes references to various research articles and findings that may not be universally accepted.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those studying atmospheric science, meteorology, or the interactions between cosmic phenomena and Earth's weather systems.

HeNe
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Dose the cosmic rays have any roll in our weather

This question hits me yesterday when I was studying the electric charge and its roll in the weather , so dose the cosmic rays have any roll or its roll is just negligible…. when they hit our atmosphere
 
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HeNe said:
Dose the cosmic rays have any roll in our weather

This question hits me yesterday when I was studying the electric charge and its roll in the weather , so dose the cosmic rays have any roll or its roll is just negligible…. when they hit our atmosphere

I think high energy particles have been linked to the production of lightning, i have no idea is this is right though and i can not find the info again.
 
The "swindle" document claimed that cosmic rays would be very significant. The claim got this response:

Alan Thorpe, professor of meteorology at the University of Reading and Chief Executive of the UK Natural Environment Research Council, commented on the film in New Scientist. He wrote, "First, let's deal with the main thesis: that the presence or absence of cosmic rays in Earth's atmosphere is a better explanation for temperature variation than the concentration of CO2 and other gases. This is not a new assertion and it is patently wrong: there is no credible evidence that cosmic rays play a significant role...Let scepticism reign, but let's not play games with the evidence."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Global_Warming_Swindle
 
Tanja said:

I found this link to use http://www.dsri.dk/~hsv/Noter/solsys99.html".

S Solar constant (at 1 AU) 1360 W/m2
S/4 Top of atmosphere 340 W/m2
S/4 (1 - a ) Earth's albedo a = 0.3 235 W/m2
1% change in Earth's albedo 1 W/m2
Estimated radiative effect of the increase of CO2 since 1750 until present 1.5 W/m2
Doubling of CO2 4 W/m2
Radiative effect of clouds (cooling) 17- 35 W/m2
This is very misleading. The radiative cooling effect of clouds are albedo changes that reflect SW radiation. This cooling is offset by increased LW flux. The 17 - 35 Wm2 is being used out of context in this example. Deliberately it appears to mislead the reader into accepting the authors premise.

http://www.ejournal.unam.mx/atm/vol19-3/ATM19302.pdf" by Ramirez and Mendoza and their conclusions. They assume that GCR flux does influence low cloud cover as postulated by Svensmark et al. Their conclusions were that the radiative forcing from this hypothetical is significant only in some NH continental areas. The contribution in these regions were found to be significant but still amounted to less than 1 W/m2, not the 17-35 W/m2 alleged by the author.

It should actually read:

Net radiative effect of GCR cloud modulation (cooling) < 1 W/m2 effecting < 10% of surface.

Other than the questionable link I found the site to be quite informative.
 
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Looks like we are going to find out what if any effect cosmic rays have on weather.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/23sep_solarwind.htm

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/images/solarwind/bubble.jpg
 
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http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/7373/2008/acp-8-7373-2008.pdf" that explores the connection between cosmic rays and clouds.

– In general, variations in cloud properties (cloud amount, cloud droplet effective radius, cloud optical depth, cloud liquid water path) from MODIS over the Southern Hemisphere subtropical oceans do not show statistically significant correlations with variations in GCR flux associated with Forbush decrease events. This is also the case for 1–5 day lagged correlations.

– Cloud droplet size has a rather large negative correlation with GCR, in agreement with a possible GCR-CCNcloud coupling. In one of the domains studied (off the coast of SW Africa), that correlation was statistically significant.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7352667.stm" where this and other compatible research was introduced.
 
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