On the response of the European climate to solar/geomagnetic long-term activity

Abstract

The response of the European climate to long-term solar/geomagnetic activity is investigated using surface-air temperature and solar/geomagnetic indices. A set of 21 time series of air temperatures measured at European stations between 1900 and 2006, and 4 European and 14 Romanian stations with 150-year-long records, were used. Strong and coherent solar signals were found at Schwabe and Hale solar-cycle timescales, with peak-to-trough amplitudes of several degrees, and 0.6 ˚C to 0.8 ˚C, respectively. Interdecadal and centennial trends as defined by 11-year and 22-year running averages, respectively, of the annual mean time series differ significantly from corresponding trends in solar/geomagnetic activity, which indicates the presence of temperature variations at a 40-year timescale that are possibly related to the internal dynamics of the atmospheric system. The data show similar temporal behaviors at all of the stations analyzed, with amplitude differences that can be understood in terms of large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns that are influenced by the solar/geomagnetic forcing at the corresponding timescales, although with local intensity differences.

Keywords

• European surface air temperature, climate variability, solar and geomagnetic activity, solar-terrestrial interaction