Solar forcing of regional climate change during the Maunder Minimum

D. T. Shindell, G. A. Schmidt, M. E. Mann, D. Rind, A. Waple

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Abstract

We examine the climate response to solar irradiance changes between the late 17th-century Maunder Minimum and the late 18th century. Global average temperature changes are small (about 0.3° to 0.4°C) in both a climate model and empirical reconstructions. However, regional temperature changes are quite large. In the model, these occur primarily through a forced shift toward the low index state of the Arctic Oscillation/North Atlantic Oscillation as solar irradiance decreases. This leads to colder temperatures over the Northern Hemisphere continents, especially in winter (1° to 2°C), in agreement with historical records and proxy data for surface temperatures.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2149-2152
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume294
Issue number5549
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 7 2001

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General

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