[meteorite-list] Meteorites Used To Study Solar Activity

From: Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Sep 28 05:41:26 2006
Message-ID: <00d201c6e2e2$3fca32e0$fc714b44_at_ATARIENGINE>

Hi,

    1. A NASA study released in 2003 says solar output is
increasing at 0.05% per decade, or by one part in 20,000
per year since the late 1970's. That's right, INCREASING.
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2003/0313irradiance.html

    2. But Cordis News in Belgium has a story on the study
measuring solar activity by 44Ti levels in meteorites and
quotes an interview with the principal investigator:
http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=26412

    I quote: "The team found 'a model based on the
sunspot number record is consistent with the data on
44Ti activity in meteorites', according to the paper,
published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.
The paper concludes that using Titanium 44 'offers
an excellent test of the solar activity reconstructions
in the past as it is free of not precisely known
terrestrial effects.'

Some researchers believe that it is solar activity
that is responsible for the global warming phenomenon,
not the build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
If the solar activity theory is correct, then the rising
temperatures would be an anomaly, and not
something to be unduly worried about.

Not so, says Dr Usoskin, who spoke to CORDIS
News, citing colleagues from Sodankyl? Geophysical
Observatory who have researched this area. 'There
was quite an agreement between solar activity and
rising temperatures into the 1970s. However, then
solar activity declined, or stayed the same, but the
temperatures on Earth continued to rise. So you
cannot say that it is only a solar effect,' he said."

    So, the study author says solar activity has
DECREASED since the 1970's, or maybe STAYED
THE SAME, but the UPI story says "they" said:

> They said their findings confirm
> that solar activity increased strongly
> during the 20th century. They also find
> the sun has been particularly active
> during the past few decades.

    To me, "particularly active during the past few
decades" says it's INCREASED, or does he mean
"particularly active" to mean less "particularly active"
than it had been before 1970 but still more "particularly
active" than it had been before 1900? Or is he actually
saying anything? So, we can definitely say for sure that
activity increased, decreased, or stayed the same? Right?

    Great.

    The sunspot number record stretches back at least
150 years with partial records for several centuries
previous, so he's saying the data on 44Ti activity in
meteorites matches the solar astronomy records; that's
all. Questions on climate he refers to "colleagues from
Sodankyl? Geophysical Observatory who have
researched this area."


Sterling K. Webb
-------------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Baalke" <baalke_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>
To: "Meteorite Mailing List" <meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 4:14 PM
Subject: [meteorite-list] Meteorites Used To Study Solar Activity


>
> http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060926-015940-3936r
>
> Meteorites used to study solar activity
> UPI
> September 26, 2006
>
> OULU, Finland (UPI) -- A Finnish-led international team has
> used meteorites to investigate the sun's solar activity of past centuries.
>
> Ilya Usoskin at Finland's Sodankyla Geophysical Observatory and
> colleagues compared the amount of Titanium 44 in 19 meteorites that have
> fallen to the Earth the past 240 years. They said their findings confirm
> that solar activity increased strongly during the 20th century. They
> also find the sun has been particularly active during the past few
> decades.
>
> The scientists say studying the sun's activity is one of the oldest
> astrophysical projects, as astronomers began recording the number of
> sunspots to trace the sun's magnetic activity 400 years ago.
>
> The team examined a set of 19 meteorites whose dates of fall are
> precisely known, measuring the amount of radioactive isotope Titanium 44
> in each meteorite. Titanium 44 is produced by the cosmic rays in the
> meteorites while they are outside the Earth's atmosphere. After the
> meteorite has fallen, it stops producing the isotope.
>
> By measuring the Titanium 44 in the meteorites, the scientists
> determined the level of solar activity at the time the meteorite fell.
>
> The study appears in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters.
>
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Received on Thu 28 Sep 2006 05:41:18 AM PDT