Solar Radiation, Weather Patterns, and Questions About Fukushima

I remember learning at a very young age (yes i know i actually learned something in school besides reading and math) that solar radiation changes weather patterns due to the fact that the earth naturally disperses radiation to the poles through storms. Ok, that was a long breath i know. Lets take a look at some information regarding this phenomena before going any further...

Ask a scientist

Q:
How does solar radiation affect weather?

Jared Peterson, Grade 8
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
A:
Acted on by the combined effects of the earth's motions and energy from the sun, our planet's formless and invisible envelope of air reacts by producing an infinite variety of weather.

Solar radiation hitting the earth, a sphere which is tilted on its axis, puts into effect differential heating of the earth's surface. This affects weather and climate all across the globe. For example, the tropics along the equator get a lot more heat than at the poles. The air at the equator is heated. This air becomes less dense and rises. This rising air creates low pressure at the equator. The rising air cools and as it cools water vapor condenses with increasing altitude. This creates the high rainfall that we get at the Intertropical Convergence Zone in the tropics. This is just one example of how solar radiation affects weather in one specific area of the earth.

Solar radiation also is what drives atmospheric circulation or the winds across the globe. We all know that heat rises, right? Well, the excess heat in the tropics rises. Then this rising air is circulated around the globe due to the Coriolus force, or the force of the rotation of the earth.
The earth then gets major wind belts along it's surface which in turn affect weather all over the world.

We hope this is helpful. You can read more about weather at education.arm.gov...

So we can see that the solar radiation or background radiation here on Earth massively affects our climate and weather patterns.

The air at the equator is heated. This air becomes less dense and rises. This rising air creates low pressure at the equator. The rising air cools and as it cools water vapor condenses with increasing altitude. This creates the high rainfall that we get at the Intertropical Convergence Zone in the tropics.

So all the snow in the atmosphere is that due to condensation happening in the equator, or possibly somewhere else?? This is interesting because the weather in south Florida is more wet then is usually is this time of year. Now i'm not saying that its a big deal it is tropical here in Florida and the weather patterns are always different so lets not make that a DD scenario.

Solar radiation also is what drives atmospheric circulation or the winds across the globe. We all know that heat rises, right? Well, the excess heat in the tropics rises. Then this rising air is circulated around the globe due to the Coriolus force, or the force of the rotation of the earth. The earth then gets major wind belts along it's surface which in turn affect weather all over the world.

So if solar radiation drives atmospheric circulation across the globe and affects weather patterns globally this leads me into 2 distinct positions on 2 specific topics.

Topic 1, Fukushima. Hypothetically speaking could the radiation coming out of Fukushima be affecting weather patterns in what would obviously be a much smaller percentage then the sun, but none the less still affecting them? Example, causing snowstorms and cold weather across the country? Now im not a meteorologist so i cant fully break down it down im simply just asking a question here because i have no idea.

Topic 2, global warming. In this instance we can see that global warming is largely due to the sun and solar cycles correct? How does this affect the global warming paradigm and man and naturally made cycles of warmth and cool?

Natonal Snow and Ice Data

Clouds are made of tiny water droplets or ice crystals that have condensed onto tiny pieces of sea salt, dust, smoke, or other particles in the air. Clouds have two major effects on weather and climate. Clouds reflect sunlight, which can keep surface temperatures cool. However, they also trap heat close to the Earth's surface, which keeps temperatures warmer. Which one of these processes wins out depends on how thick the clouds are, and a number of other factors, including cloud type and thickness, the magnitude of the solar radiation, and the albedo of the underlying surface.

NOAA Space Weather Scales

The NOAA Space Weather Scales were introduced as a way to communicate to the general public the current and future space weather conditions and their possible effects on people and systems. Many of the SWPC products describe the space environment, but few have described the effects that can be experienced as the result of environmental disturbances. These scales will be useful to users of our products and those who are interested in space weather effects. The scales describe the environmental disturbances for three event types: geomagnetic storms, solar radiation storms, and radio blackouts. The scales have numbered levels, analogous to hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes that convey severity. They list possible effects at each level. They also show how often such events happen, and give a measure of the intensity of the physical causes.

UPI Science News

LONDON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Recent nasty winters in the United States and northern Europe may be partly caused by changes in ultraviolet radiation from the sun, researchers say.

Is ultraviolet radiation from the sun the only factor we have affecting our weather patterns or are we affecting them with nuclear radiation?

Do you know that ca. 80% of the released Radioactivity in Japan
ended in the Pacific Ocean?

From the 20% the majority accumulated on Soil
and only a small Percentage gone into the Atmosphere!

Mostly Xenon but also Iodine,
both are gone through their natural Decay!

I think i saw a Study regarding Chernobyl and the Ionosphere
but can't find it that quick,
when i find her i will link it here!

Regards

reply to post by Human0815


Thanks human, but short term radiation is still radiation and if it only lasts a small amount it still causes the atmosphere around it to heat up and create weather patterns correct?

How much radiation does it take to affect a weather pattern? Solar radiation must have short life cycles if the suns cycles affect it so dramatically right? I have to check that out..

reply to post by onequestion


You should read this article published by Nexus Magazine in 2009. It talks about the Earth's Magnetic Field weakening as the cause of the increase in solar radiation entering in the magnetosphere and influencing Earth climate change.

Not that the sun is hotter, but that the shield that protects the Earth's system from increasing levels of radiation is weakening.

If you add this data to you current model, you might be onto something here.

Source
www.nexusmagazine.com...

Here are some quotes:

Our Planet's Magnetic Field

The magnetosphere is a bubble of magnetism that surrounds the Earth and protects us from solar wind. Fortunately, our planet's magnetic field diverts most particles into a circular path around the Earth. Like weather patterns found on Earth, solar wind patterns can change rapidly.

Luckily, our planet's magnetosphere quickly responds to the threat and absorbs the impact, wiggling and jiggling in the process. Geophysicists call this reaction a geomagnetic storm, but because of how it disrupts the Earth's magnetic field it could also be called electromagnetic pollution. This is when we see the Aurora Borealis in our night skies.

But strange things are happening in both outer and inner space. The Earth's magnetic field has been weakening. This decrease actually began 2,000 years ago, but the rate of decrease suddenly became much more rapid 500 years ago. However, in the last 20 years or so, the magnetic field has become erratic....

Now, NASA's five THEMIS spacecraft have discovered a breach in the Earth's magnetic field that is 10 times larger than anything previously thought to exist. When this happens, solar wind can flow in through the opening to "load up" the magnetosphere for powerful geomagnetic storms. Exploring the mystery is a key goal of the THEMIS mission, launched in February 2007.

"At first I didn't believe it," said THEMIS project scientist David Sibeck of the Goddard Space Flight Center. "This finding fundamentally alters our understanding of the solar wind–magnetosphere interaction."

Earth's Magnetic Field Changes Climate

The Earth's climate has been significantly affected by the planet's magnetic field, according to a Danish study published in January 2009 which could challenge the notion that human emissions are responsible for global warming.

"Our results show a strong correlation between the strength of the Earth's magnetic field and the amount of precipitation in the tropics," one of the two Danish geophysicists behind the study, Mads Faurschou Knudsen of the geology department at Aarhus University in Denmark, told Videnskab journal.

The results of the study (also published in the US scientific journal Geology) lend support to a controversial theory published a decade ago by Danish astrophysicist Henrik Svensmark, who claimed that the climate is highly influenced by galactic cosmic ray (GCR) particles penetrating the Earth's atmosphere.

Cosmic Rays Slam the Earth

An international team of researchers has discovered a puzzling surplus of high-energy electrons bombarding Earth from space. The source of these cosmic rays is unknown, but it must be close to the solar system and could be made of dark matter. The
results were reported in the 20 November 2008 issue of the journal Nature.

"This is a big discovery," said co-author John Wefel of Louisiana State University. "It's the first time we've seen a discrete source of accelerated cosmic rays standing out from the general galactic background." To study the most powerful and interesting cosmic rays, Wefel and colleagues spent the last eight years flying a series of balloons through the stratosphere over Antarctica. Their NASA-funded cosmic ray detector found a significant surplus of high-energy electrons.

"The source of these exotic electrons must be relatively close to the solar system—no more than a kiloparsec away," said co-author Jim Adams of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

Galactic cosmic rays are subatomic particles accelerated to almost light- speed by distant supernovae explosions and other violent events. They swarm through the Milky Way, forming a haze of highenergy particles that enter the solar system from all
directions.

Interesting models out there, I have no idea what is the actual cause, but I thought this data would help you with your research.

God Bless,

reply to post by ElohimJD


There is evidence in history for a weakening and depleting atmosphere.

Larger dinosaurs and plants and animals, rainforest in antartica.

Obviously something is happening that we are not privy too, but what is it? What happened to Mars?

Waiting for someone to come in and educate me.

aka debunk.

reply to post by onequestion

Thanks human, but short term radiation is still radiation

No.
You are talking about two very different types of radiation. The solar radiation which drives climate is electromagnetic radiation (light, and more specifically, infrared). Infrared radiation heats the atmosphere.

The radiation released at Fukushima is not electromagentic radiation, it is nuclear radiation, particle radiation. Now, in high concentrations radioactive materials can produce quite a bit of heat, that's because a chain reaction occurs which accelerates the natural decay process. That is afterall how a nuclear reactor produces electricity, a controlled chain reaction. However, once those radioactive particles are out floating around in the air and water, they revert to their normal rate of decay, one that produces very little heat. Stand next to a pile of radium and you won't feel anything but it sure will kill you if you stand there long enough.


So no, the radioactive material released at Fukushima does not affect the climate.

reply to post by Phage


Ok, thanks.

Now how about "climate change", would this mean that climate change is more of an affect of the sun, and wouldnt that suggest that we have less influence over the climate then we think?

This would be due to the fact that the influence of the sun is far more powerful then materials claimed to be causing climate change right?

reply to post by onequestion

Now how about "climate change", would this mean that climate change is more of an affect of the sun, and wouldnt that suggest that we have less influence over the climate then we think?

Climate is indeed driven by the Sun. But the energy output by the Sun has not changed by any significant amount. We are not getting more energy from the Sun so the warming must be from something else. Rising CO2 levels and feedbacks associated with them fit the bill.

reply to post by Phage

Air pollution occurs when the air contains gases, dust, fumes or odor in harmful amounts—aerosols are a subset of air pollution that refers to the tiny particles suspended everywhere in our atmosphere. These particles can be both solid and liquid and are collectively referred to as ‘atmospheric aerosol particles’ [1]. Most are produced by natural processes such as erupting volcanoes, and some are from human industrial and agricultural activities (see Figure 1). Those particles in the lowest layer of the atmosphere, where our weather occurs, usually stay relatively close to the source of emissions and remain in the atmosphere only a few days to a week before they fall to the ground or are rained out; those higher up in the atmosphere travel farther and may linger in the atmosphere for a few years. Light-colored aerosol particles can reflect incoming energy from the sun (heat) in cloud-free air and dark particles can absorb it. Aerosols can modify how much energy clouds reflect and they can change atmospheric circulation patterns—in short, aerosols can modify our climate [2]. Several climate engineering (so-called ‘geoengineering’) strategies for reducing global warming propose using atmospheric aerosol particles to reflect the sun’s energy away from Earth. Because aerosol particles do not stay in the atmosphere for very long—and global warming gases stay in the atmosphere for decades to centuries—accumulated heat-trapping gases will overpower any temporary cooling due to short-lived aerosol particles.

www.ucsusa.org...

So these particulates that could last for a few years in the atmosphere and with daily 'lingering contrails' wouldn't a 'short term effect' be more of a permanent I mean 'as long as society still operates'? This could be masking the effects of the extent of 'climate change'.

reply to post by Gibraltarego

There isn't a lot of particulate matter in contrails (mostly water vapor along with other exhaust gasses) but the effects the cirrus clouds they can produce is of some concern.
It is currently thought that they don't have much of an effect on climate but if they do it would be a warming effect.