 |
|
Link between sunspots, rain helps predict disease in east Africa
August 08, 2007The research, conducted by paleoclimatologist Curt Stager of Paul Smith's College in Paul Smiths, N.Y. and colleagues, can be used by public health officials to increase measures against insect-borne diseases long before epidemics begin. The results are published online in the August 7 issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research.
The scientists showed that unusually heavy rainfalls in East Africa over the past century preceded peak sunspot activity by about one year.
"The hope is that people on the ground will use this research to predict heavy rainfall events," Stager said. "Those events lead to erosion, flooding and disease. With the help of these findings, we can now say when especially rainy seasons are likely to occur, several years in advance."
"These results are an important step in applying paleoclimate analyses to predicting future environmental conditions and their impacts on society," said Dave Verardo, director of the National Science Foundation's paleoclimate program, which funded the research. "It's especially important in a region [East Africa] perennially on the knife-edge of sustainability."
Sunspots indicate an increase in the sun's energy output, and peak on an 11-year cycle. The next peak is expected in 2011-12. If the pattern holds, rainfall would peak the year before.
Because mosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects thrive in wet conditions, heavy rains may herald outbreaks of diseases such as Rift Valley Fever.
The research relied on rainfall data going back a century. Historical records of water levels at lakes Victoria, Tanganyika, and Naivasha also demonstrated the link.
Stager demonstrated that while the link between sunspots and rainfall seemed to grow weaker from 1927 to 1968, the cyclic pattern held true throughout the 20th Century. Previous statistical analysis discounted the link for a variety of reasons, including the influence of climatic disturbances not associated with sunspots.
The researchers, who represent five institutions from the United States and Great Britain, offered several reasons why sunspot peaks may affect rainfall. The increased solar energy associated with sunspots, they suggest, heats both land and sea, forcing moist air to rise and triggering precipitation. It may also induce El Niño events, which increase rainfall in East Africa.
While sunspot peaks augur extraordinarily wet rainy seasons, heavy rains are possible at other times as well, Stager acknowledged. But most of the rainiest times, he said, are consistently coupled with the predictable rhythms of sunspot peaks.
"When you think of climate troubles in Africa, it's usually about drought," Stager said. "You don't often think of the opposite situation.
"Too much rain can create just as many problems."
National Science Foundation
"These results are an important step in applying paleoclimate analyses to predicting future environmental conditions and their impacts on society," said Dave Verardo, director of the National Science Foundation's paleoclimate program, which funded the research. "It's especially important in a region [East Africa] perennially on the knife-edge of sustainability."
Sunspots indicate an increase in the sun's energy output, and peak on an 11-year cycle. The next peak is expected in 2011-12. If the pattern holds, rainfall would peak the year before.
Because mosquitoes and other disease-carrying insects thrive in wet conditions, heavy rains may herald outbreaks of diseases such as Rift Valley Fever.
The research relied on rainfall data going back a century. Historical records of water levels at lakes Victoria, Tanganyika, and Naivasha also demonstrated the link.
Stager demonstrated that while the link between sunspots and rainfall seemed to grow weaker from 1927 to 1968, the cyclic pattern held true throughout the 20th Century. Previous statistical analysis discounted the link for a variety of reasons, including the influence of climatic disturbances not associated with sunspots.
The researchers, who represent five institutions from the United States and Great Britain, offered several reasons why sunspot peaks may affect rainfall. The increased solar energy associated with sunspots, they suggest, heats both land and sea, forcing moist air to rise and triggering precipitation. It may also induce El Niño events, which increase rainfall in East Africa.
While sunspot peaks augur extraordinarily wet rainy seasons, heavy rains are possible at other times as well, Stager acknowledged. But most of the rainiest times, he said, are consistently coupled with the predictable rhythms of sunspot peaks.
"When you think of climate troubles in Africa, it's usually about drought," Stager said. "You don't often think of the opposite situation.
"Too much rain can create just as many problems."
National Science Foundation
Sunspots Current Events and Sunspots News RSSA Lightning Strike in Africa Helps Take the Pulse of the Sun
Sunspots, which rotate around the sun's surface, tell us a great deal about our own planet. Scientists rely on them, for instance, to measure the sun's rotation or to prepare long-range forecasts of the Earth's health.
Solar Cycle Driven by More than Sunspots; Sun Also Bombards Earth with High-Speed Streams of Wind
Challenging conventional wisdom, new research finds that the number of sunspots provides an incomplete measure of changes in the Sun's impact on Earth over the course of the 11-year solar cycle.
First solid evidence for a rocky exoplanet
The longest set of HARPS measurements ever made has firmly established the nature of the smallest and fastest-orbiting exoplanet known, CoRoT-7b, revealing its mass as five times that of Earth's.
Scientists uncover solar cycle, stratosphere and ocean connections
Subtle connections between the 11-year solar cycle, the stratosphere, and the tropical Pacific Ocean work in sync to generate periodic weather patterns that affect much of the globe, according to research appearing this week in the journal Science.
Connections among solar cycle, stratosphere and ocean discovered
Subtle connections between the 11-year-solar cycle, the stratosphere and the tropical Pacific Ocean work in sync to generate periodic weather patterns that affect much of the globe, according to research results appearing this week in the journal Science.
Scientists create first comprehensive computer model of sunspots
In a breakthrough that will help scientists unlock mysteries of the sun and its impacts on Earth, scientists have created the first-ever comprehensive computer model of sunspots.
Scientists pinpoint the 'edge of space'
Where does space begin? Scientists at the University of Calgary have created a new instrument that is able to track the transition between the relatively gentle winds of Earth's atmosphere and the more violent flows of charged particles in space - flows that can reach speeds well over 1000 km/hr. And they have accomplished this in unprecedented detail.
NOAA: Sunspot is harbinger of new solar cycle, increasing risk for electrical systems
A new 11-year cycle of heightened solar activity, bringing with it increased risks for power grids, critical military, civilian and airline communications, GPS signals and even cell phones and ATM transactions, showed signs it was on its way late Thursday when the cycle's first sunspot appeared in the sun's Northern Hemisphere, NOAA scientists said.
Satellite shows regional variation in warming from sun during solar cycle
A NASA satellite designed, built and controlled by the University of Colorado at Boulder is expected to help scientists resolve wide-ranging predictions about the coming solar cycle peak in 2012 and its influence on Earth's warming climate, according to the chief scientist on the project.
Sunspot abundance linked to heavy rains in East Africa
A new study reveals correlations between plentiful sunspots and periods of heavy rain in East Africa. Intense rainfall in the region often leads to flooding and disease outbreaks.
More Sunspots Current Events and Sunspots News Articles
 |
The Enigma of Sunspots: A Story of Discovery and Scientific Revolution by Judit Brody (Author) Sunspots, the strange and elusive dark shapes that periodically sweep across the Sun’s surface, have mystified people for centuries. Given their elusive cyclical nature and the fact that it is both painful and dangerous to observe the Sun directly, it is little wonder that records of sunspots were almost nonexistent in Europe before the seventeenth century. Today such solar emissions are thought to coincide with major effects in global weather patterns. It may be that this powerful phenomena holds a key to our understanding of the nature of the Sun. In The Enigma of Sunspots, Judit Brody tells the fascinating story of our efforts to understand sunspots, beginning with the lives and quarrels of those who first charted their mysterious patterns of behavior. |
 |
Lane Labs - Sunspot Es - Exfoliant For Sun, .5 oz gel by Lane Labs SunSpot ES Gel softens and rejuvenates the skin with a deep-penetrating combination of aloe vera, tea tree oil, salicylic acid and menthol. Sunspot ES contains extra strength Glycoalkaloid Exfoliant that soothes and revitalizes skin. |
 |
Sunspots by W. Clifton Adams (Author) For anyone who has read and enjoyed Aesop's fables or Gibran's "The Prophet," this book is sure to please. The book is a unique blend of fables, poetry, and drawings by the author and photography by Rhae Adams. Like Aesop, Adams tells entertaining stories centered on a central character, Faith Moon. She renders her advice in poetic metaphors to the residents of a fictional small town. But it is much more, as each character struggles to find the best way to live their lives. |
 |
AttitudeLine Organic Target Treatment Sunspot & Blemish Remover by Attitude Line This organic formula dramatically reduces the visible signs of aging, sunspots, and discoloration caused by blemishes, skin abrasions and acne. It has a natural anti-oxidant protection to promote a clear, smooth and even-toned complexion. .19 FL. OZ / 6 ML |
 |
SunSpot ES Gel - 0.5 oz by SunSpot ES SunSpot ES contains an extra strength blend of ingredients, including glycoalkaloids, to soften and exfoliate scaly skin patches, called sun spots. You will feel SunSpot ES begin working almost immediately. In as little as four weeks, you will notice healthy revitalized skin. SunSpot ES is not a wrinkle or fade cream. |
 |
Sunspots And Their Effects by Harlan True Stetson (Author) Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. |
 |
SunSpot ES Gel Glycoalkaloid Cream 14 g by Lane Labs LANE LABS SunSpot ESSun Spot Remover by Lane Labs Sun lovers cheer for SunspotESThe amazing new skin gel! Sun worshippers across the U.S.A. are discovering a remarkable new gel that, when applied to sun- damaged spots on the skin, causes the spots to peel away, revealing fresh, undamaged new skin. The gel, called SunspotES, is not a fade or wrinkle cream. Its not intended for use on acne, or freckles, or run-of-the-mill skin blemishes. This unique, all-natural gel has one use and one use onlyits a powerful exfoliant that sloughs away those rough, raised, scaly patches of sun-damaged skin. If you liked SkinAnsweryoull love SunspotES SkinAnswer users who have tried SunSpot ES rave about it. Theyre seeing dramatic results in as little as 2-4 weeks, and they love it! · 50% more... |
 |
Don't Let Em Stop You by Sunspot Jonz |
 |
X Men X-Force Sunspot Figure with Explosive Power Punch by Toy Biz |
|
Sunspot Bulletin by Sidc % R Van Der Linden |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |