Maine 6800-Year Peat Bog Core Shows Distinct Solar Correlation – More Frequent New England Flooding Ahead!

I’m a little short on time and so today I will present the translation of the latest write-up at Die kalte Sonne website, which discusses yet another recent study showing yet again that the sun plays a major role on climate.

Solar Activity Shows Precipitation In Maine Over the Last 7000 Years
By Sebastian Lüning and Fritz Vahrenholt

Geoscientist Jonathan Nichols and Yongsong Huang of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, published just days ago  a new study in Geophysical Research Letters, which shows an impressive synchronocity between the development of precipitation and solar activity for the investigated area. The study is based on a 5-meter long sediment core extracted from a peat bog just off the coast of Maine. The layers of the core cover the climate history going back 6800 years. Nichols and Huang reconstructed the precipitation development in the region by using biomarkers and hydrogen isotopes, and then documented pronounced fluctuations where periods of drought alternated with wet periods. Moreover the two scientists discovered that the development of moisture was in sync with solar activity. Wet periods occurred during weak phases of solar activity. Especially the 210-year Suess/de Vries cycle could be seen in the precipitation patterns of the Maine peat bog (this is also discussed on pages 58-59 in “Die kalte Sonne”).

Also storm activity was in sync with this development. This was shown by the analysis of storm sediment layers from some New England lakes. Especially during the moist, inactive solar periods did storms occur with increasing frequency. Because of this, Nichols and Huang assume that the solar climate signal was intensified by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and/or the Arctic Oscillation (AO). More evidence of this is also provided by various European peat bog studies. Because of the reduction in solar activity now projected over the upcoming decades, the authors assume that precipitation over the US Northeast will rise and lead to more frequent flooding.

The study underscores the great importance of solar cycles on our climate – especially their impact on precipitation. Prominent examples of the sun’s impact on precipitation amounts are illustrated by the lake levels of the east African Lake Victoria, as well as the discharge rates from South America’s second largest river, the Parana (see p. 58 and 67 in “Die kalte Sonne”).”