Global Warming is Caused by Cosmic Rays

Fiction: Global Warming is Caused by Cosmic Rays

The claim: Cosmic rays increase low level clouds. When the sun is strong, cosmic rays decrease which decreases clouds – causing a warmer climate.

Figure 1 (Laut, 2003) shows cosmic ray intensity vs. low cloud anomalies.

Figure 1: Low cloud cover (blue line) versus cosmic ray intensity (red line)

There is NO DEFINITIVE LINK between cosmic rays (red) and low clouds (blue). Quite the opposite is true: since 1991 there has been NO COORELATION.

Figure 2 Solanki & Krivova, 2003) shows cosmic ray intensity vs. global temperature anomaly. Cosmic ray intensity shows NO COORELATION TO CLIMATE since 1985.

Figure 2: Cosmic ray intensity vs. global temperature anomaly

Newer studies reveal that cosmic rays cannot explain the modern day global warming:

Kulmala, et al. (2009): “Our main conclusion is that galactic cosmic rays appear to play a minor role for atmospheric aerosol formation, and so for the connected aerosol-climate effects as well.”

Erlykin, et al. (2009): "The analysis made in the present work, as well as arguments presented in our previous publication ( Sloan and Wolfendale, 2008 ), gives sufficient basis to argue that CR are not the dominant factor in the formation of clouds."

Erlykin, Sloan, & Wolfendale (2009): " We deduce that the maximum recent increase in the mean surface temperature of the Earth which can be ascribed to this activity is < 14% of the observed global warming."

Pierce & Le Page (2007): "Observations from satellites and model simulations do not support the cosmic ray hypothesis as a major role in low cloud coverage and climate change."

Peter Laut, Professor (emeritus) of physics at The Technical University of Denmark and former scientific advisor on climate change for The Danish Energy Agency has a very good history of the cosmic ray hypothesis, its failures, and its strange following which can be read here.

Peter Sinclair's Climate Crock of the Week: Solar Schmolar Watch this video that illustrates why the sun cannot be causing the current global warming.

• Introduction
• The Scientific Consensus
• Determining the Climate Record
• Impact of Greenhouse Gases
• Climate Change: The Smoking Gun for Humans
• Natural Causes of Climate Change
• Global Cooling?
• Climate Models & Accuracy
• Modern Day Climate Change
• Impacts of Climate Change
• The Global Warming Denial Machine
• Global Warming Misinformation
• Reasons for the Misinformation
• How to Talk to a Conservative about Climate Change
• Summary of Key Points
• Suggested Reading

Last updated: 11/29/09