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Carlos (BC)

 

Does the sun directly or indirectly affect earth's meteorology?

 

 

 

 

Hi Carlos.
That is an important current research topic.
Of course the Sun is the main driver in our climate - with no sun  Earth would just be a frozen lump.  The next question is Do changes in the Sun linked with solar activity change weather and climate here on Earth?

There are signs that the sun affects our climate and thus weather. For instance, there have been times in history when the sunspot number was quite low for a long time  and parts of the world were colder than normal as well.
There is some information about that here.
http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20011207iceage.html

There is still debate about  the connection, though - both about exactly how the sun affects Earth's climate and how much.

Terry

Hi Carlos,

I assume by "earth's meteorology" you actually mean the Earth's weather.  The energy that drives weather on the Earth ultimately comes from the Sun.  However, the Sun does not directly drive the large-scale motions of air masses that we associate with weather.  Sunlight passes through the atmosphere and warms the Earth's surface.  The warm surface of the Earth in turn heats the lower part of a layer of the atmosphere called the troposphere.  Because of the way the troposphere is heated, the upper part of the troposphere is cooler than the lower part, close to the Earth's surface.  Warm air rises and cooler air sinks, so the difference in temperature between the lower and upper parts of the troposphere drives convection currents that circulate the air.  There are also convection currents caused by the differences in temperature between the Earth's poles and the equator.  These simple convection patterns are broken up by the Earth's rotation into a series of convection cells in which the air flows east and west, north and south, as well as up and down.  The structure of these convection cells explains why the prevailing winds blow in different directions at different latitudes.  All of the Earth's weather arises because of these convection currents in the troposphere. 

Kris