Project
Summary
What do rising sea levels, depletion of the ozone
layer, retreating glaciers and Al Gore's comeback have in common? As
global warming becomes more hot button, there's a need to know how much
the sun and space weather affect our climate. My project, overseen by
Dibyendu Nandi, explores the relationship between sunspots, cosmic
rays, Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) and Global temperature.
Reconstructions of cosmic rays and TSI were made by a sunspot proxy
dating back to 1610. Trends of the reconstructions and global
temperature were made and analyzed to discover how much the Sun is
contributing to the recent rise in global temperature.
Final Presentation
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Active region 9169 was the
largest
sunspot group observed for cycle 23
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This
illustration shows a CME blast toward Earth. These storms can disrupt
communications and navigational equipment, damage satellites, and even
cause blackouts
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Exteme
Ultraviolet image from
SOHO that shows a magnetic loop
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