Evidence of two different types of short term solar modulation of regional surface temperature and cloud

Abstract

Recent work indicates that 27 day variations in cosmic ray flux during 2007 2009 are phase locked to 27 day variations in cloud and surface temperature at Shetland. Here we extend the study to other regions including Central England, US and Australia and to several other annual intervals that exhibit strong 27 day variation in cosmic ray flux and sunspot area. Band pass filtering was used to obtain 27 day components of daily maximum temperature in each region and 27 day components of cloud variation were determined, in Australia only, from solar exposure records. When cosmic ray flux is the dominant influence phase locked variations in surface temperature occur in each of the regions with, however, in phase or anti phase variation in different regions. Similar phase locking of 27 day variation in surface temperature to sunspot area variation occurs when sunspot activity is the dominant influence with indications that changes from in phase to anti phase variation are linked to flipping of sunspot activity from one active longitude to another. The 27 day component of cloud in Australia was phase locked to the 27 day component of temperature in Central England in two of the intervals studied, 1997 and 2005, indicating the global nature of the connection between solar disturbance and the lower atmosphere. It was observed that very large swings in 27 day temperature components are often correlated with 27 day variation in solar activity.