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Leamon RJ, McIntosh SW, Marsh DR. Termination of Solar Cycles and Correlated Tropospheric Variability. EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE (HOBOKEN, N.J.) 2021; 8:e2020EA001223. [PMID: 33869669 PMCID: PMC8047923 DOI: 10.1029/2020ea001223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Revised: 02/01/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
The Sun provides the energy required to sustain life on Earth and drive our planet's atmospheric circulation. However, establishing a solid physical connection between solar and tropospheric variability has posed a considerable challenge. The canon of solar variability is derived from the 400 years of observations that demonstrates the waxing and waning number of sunspots over an 11(-ish) year period. Recent research has demonstrated the significance of the underlying 22 years magnetic polarity cycle in establishing the shorter sunspot cycle. Integral to the manifestation of the latter is the spatiotemporal overlapping and migration of oppositely polarized magnetic bands. We demonstrate the impact of "terminators"-the end of Hale magnetic cycles-on the Sun's radiative output and particulate shielding of our atmosphere through the rapid global reconfiguration of solar magnetism. Using direct observation and proxies of solar activity going back some six decades we can, with high statistical significance, demonstrate a correlation between the occurrence of terminators and the largest swings of Earth's oceanic indices: the transition from El Niño to La Niña states of the central Pacific. This empirical relationship is a potential source of increased predictive skill for the understanding of El Niño climate variations, a high-stakes societal imperative given that El Niño impacts lives, property, and economic activity around the globe. A forecast of the Sun's global behavior places the next solar cycle termination in mid-2020; should a major oceanic swing follow, then the challenge becomes: when does correlation become causation and how does the process work?
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J. Leamon
- Goddard Planetary Heliophysics InstituteUniversity of Maryland‐Baltimore CountyBaltimoreMDUSA
- NASA Goddard Space Flight CenterCode 672GreenbeltMDUSA
| | - Scott W. McIntosh
- National Center for Atmospheric ResearchHigh Altitude ObservatoryBoulderCOUSA
| | - Daniel R. Marsh
- National Center for Atmospheric ResearchHigh Altitude ObservatoryBoulderCOUSA
- Faculty of Engineering and Physical SciencesUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
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Dikpati M, McIntosh SW, Chatterjee S, Banerjee D, Yellin-Bergovoy R, Srivastava A. Triggering The Birth of New Cycle's Sunspots by Solar Tsunami. Sci Rep 2019; 9:2035. [PMID: 30765712 PMCID: PMC6376131 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-37939-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2018] [Accepted: 12/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
When will a new cycle’s sunspots appear? We demonstrate a novel physical mechanism, namely, that a “solar tsunami” occurring in the Sun’s interior shear-fluid layer can trigger new cycle’s magnetic flux emergence at high latitudes, a few weeks after the cessation of old cycle’s flux emergence near the equator. This tsunami is excited at the equator when magnetic dams, created by the oppositely-directed old cycle’s toroidal field in North and South hemispheres, break due to mutual annihilation of toroidal flux there. The fluid supported by these dams rushes to the equator; the surplus of fluid cannot be contained there, so it reflects back towards high latitudes, causing a tsunami. This tsunami propagates poleward at a speed of ~300 m/s until it encounters the new cycle’s spot-producing toroidal fields in mid-latitudes, where it perturbs the fields, triggering their surface-eruption in the form of new cycle spots. A new sunspot cycle is preceded for several years by other forms of high-latitude magnetic activity, such as coronal bright points and ephemeral regions, until the tsunami causes the birth of new cycle’s spots. The next tsunami is due by 2020, portending the start of intense ‘space weather’ that can adversely impact the Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mausumi Dikpati
- High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, 3080 Center Green, Boulder, CO, 80301, USA.
| | - Scott W McIntosh
- High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, 3080 Center Green, Boulder, CO, 80301, USA
| | | | - Dipankar Banerjee
- Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Koramangala, Bangalore, 560034, India
| | | | - Abhishek Srivastava
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, 221005, India
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Jenkins JM, Long DM, van Driel-Gesztelyi L, Carlyle J. Understanding the Role of Mass-Unloading in a Filament Eruption. SOLAR PHYSICS 2018; 293:7. [PMID: 31997837 PMCID: PMC6956881 DOI: 10.1007/s11207-017-1224-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2017] [Accepted: 12/07/2017] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED We describe a partial filament eruption on 11 December 2011 that demonstrates that the inclusion of mass is an important next step for understanding solar eruptions. Observations from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory-Behind (STEREO-B) and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft were used to remove line-of-sight projection effects in filament motion and correlate the effect of plasma dynamics with the evolution of the filament height. Flux cancellation and nearby flux emergence are shown to have played a role in increasing the height of the filament prior to eruption. The two viewpoints allow the quantitative estimation of a large mass-unloading, the subsequent radial expansion, and the eruption of the filament to be investigated. A 1.8 to 4.1 lower-limit ratio between gravitational and magnetic-tension forces was found. We therefore conclude that following the loss-of-equilibrium of the flux-rope, the radial expansion of the flux-rope was restrained by the filamentary material until 70% of the mass had evacuated the structure through mass-unloading. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL The online version of this article (10.1007/s11207-017-1224-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorised users.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. M. Jenkins
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT UK
| | - D. M. Long
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT UK
| | - L. van Driel-Gesztelyi
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT UK
- LESIA-Observatoire de Paris, CNRS, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Univ. Paris-Diderot, 92195 Meudon Cedex, France
- Konkoly Observatory of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - J. Carlyle
- European Space Agency, ESTEC, Noordwijk, Netherlands
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Lowder C, Qiu J, Leamon R. Coronal Holes and Open Magnetic Flux over Cycles 23 and 24. SOLAR PHYSICS 2016; 292:18. [PMID: 32355367 PMCID: PMC7175679 DOI: 10.1007/s11207-016-1041-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2016] [Accepted: 12/09/2016] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
As the observational signature of the footprints of solar magnetic field lines open into the heliosphere, coronal holes provide a critical measure of the structure and evolution of these lines. Using a combination of Solar and Heliospheric Observatory/Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SOHO/EIT), Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (SDO/AIA), and Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory/Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (STEREO/EUVI A/B) extreme ultraviolet (EUV) observations spanning 1996 - 2015 (nearly two solar cycles), coronal holes are automatically detected and characterized. Coronal hole area distributions show distinct behavior in latitude, defining the domain of polar and low-latitude coronal holes. The northern and southern polar regions show a clear asymmetry, with a lag between hemispheres in the appearance and disappearance of polar coronal holes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris Lowder
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE UK
- Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 USA
| | - Jiong Qiu
- Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 USA
| | - Robert Leamon
- Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 USA
- Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
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McIntosh SW, Leamon RJ, Krista LD, Title AM, Hudson HS, Riley P, Harder JW, Kopp G, Snow M, Woods TN, Kasper JC, Stevens ML, Ulrich RK. The solar magnetic activity band interaction and instabilities that shape quasi-periodic variability. Nat Commun 2015; 6:6491. [PMID: 25849045 PMCID: PMC4396379 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2014] [Accepted: 02/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Solar magnetism displays a host of variational timescales of which the enigmatic 11-year sunspot cycle is most prominent. Recent work has demonstrated that the sunspot cycle can be explained in terms of the intra- and extra-hemispheric interaction between the overlapping activity bands of the 22-year magnetic polarity cycle. Those activity bands appear to be driven by the rotation of the Sun's deep interior. Here we deduce that activity band interaction can qualitatively explain the ‘Gnevyshev Gap'—a well-established feature of flare and sunspot occurrence. Strong quasi-annual variability in the number of flares, coronal mass ejections, the radiative and particulate environment of the heliosphere is also observed. We infer that this secondary variability is driven by surges of magnetism from the activity bands. Understanding the formation, interaction and instability of these activity bands will considerably improve forecast capability in space weather and solar activity over a range of timescales. The origins of the Sun's periodic activity, such as sunspot cycles, are poorly understood. McIntosh et al. posit that the rotational forcing of the activity bands comprising the 22-year magnetic cycle undergoes shorter-term variations, driving magnetic flux surges that impact solar output on those timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott W McIntosh
- High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, PO Box 3000, Boulder, Colorado 80307, USA
| | - Robert J Leamon
- Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717, USA
| | - Larisza D Krista
- Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80205, USA
| | - Alan M Title
- Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, 3251 Hanover Street, Building 252, Palo Alto, Colorado 94304, USA
| | - Hugh S Hudson
- Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Pete Riley
- Predictive Science Inc., 9990 Mesa Rim Road, Suite 170, San Diego, California 92121, USA
| | - Jerald W Harder
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, 1234 Innovation Drive, Boulder, Colorado 80303, USA
| | - Greg Kopp
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, 1234 Innovation Drive, Boulder, Colorado 80303, USA
| | - Martin Snow
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, 1234 Innovation Drive, Boulder, Colorado 80303, USA
| | - Thomas N Woods
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, 1234 Innovation Drive, Boulder, Colorado 80303, USA
| | - Justin C Kasper
- 1] Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA [2] Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | - Michael L Stevens
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Roger K Ulrich
- Division of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Los Angeles, Colorado 90095, USA
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