Sun's Activity May Have Influenced Natural Climate Change During Last Ice Age

It turns out the sun's activity may just influence natural climate change. For the first time, scientists have reconstructed the solar activity at the end of the last ice age, around 10,000 to 10,000 years ago, learning a bit more about the climate of that time.

During the end of the last glacial maximum, Sweden was covered in a thick ice sheet that stretched all the way down to northern Germany. This was a time when sea levels were more than 100 meters lower than they are today, since most of the water was frozen in extensive ice caps. Learning a bit more about this past climate and what caused the shift from an ice age to a warmer world can tell scientists a bit more about the climate of today.

In this case, the researchers analyzed trace elements in ice cores in Greenland and cave formations from China. This revealed that the sun's variation influences the climate in a similar way regardless of whether the climate is extreme, or as it is today.

"The study shows an unexpected link between solar activity and climate change," said Raimund Muscheler, co-author of the new study, in a news release. "It shows both that changes in solar activity are nothing new and that solar activity influences the climate, especially on a regional level. Understanding these processes helps us to better forecast the climate in certain regions."

The researchers found that reduced solar activity could lead to colder winters in Northern Europe. Yet this same process could also lead to warmer winters in Greenland, with greater snowfall and more storms.

"The study also shows that the various solar processes need to be included in climate models in order to better predict future global and regional climate change," said Muscheler.

The findings are published in the journal Nature Geoscience.