South Atlantic anomaly

[Lao Tsu]

1. As the earths core is fluid and changing, with resultant affects on surface polarity and affects on the level of protection from solar winds and charged particles arriving from space; will this be having effects on the earths' weather patterns ?

 

2. As there is a diminution in the height of the protection from solar particles etc, will there be a greater increase in harmful effects from charged particles on populations, human and wildlife species, IE will there be an increase in UV radiation and and other radiation/ particles where the magnetic field is currently weakest, in this area of the South Atlantic as well as other areas similarly affected ?

[Acme]

Lao Tsu, on 17 May 2014 - 1:42 PM, said:

1. As the earths core is fluid and changing, with resultant affects on surface polarity and affects on the level of protection from solar winds and charged particles arriving from space; will this be having effects on the earths' weather patterns ?

Based on some new findings I think yes the weather will be affected by changes in the solar wind.

 

Evidence for solar wind modulation of lightning

C J Scott, R G Harrison, M J Owens, M Lockwood and L Barnard said:

From Abstract:

...

The lightning rate increase is corroborated by an increase in the total number of thunder days observed by UK Met stations, again persisting for around 40 d after the arrival of a high speed solar wind stream. This result appears to contradict earlier studies that found an anti-correlation between sunspot number and thunder days over solar cycle timescales. The increase in lightning rates and thunder days that we observe coincides with an increased flux of SEPs which, while not being detected at ground level, nevertheless penetrate the atmosphere to tropospheric altitudes. This effect could be further amplified by an increase in mean lightning stroke intensity that brings more strokes above the detection threshold of the ATD system. In order to remove any potential seasonal bias the analysis was repeated for daily solar wind triggers occurring during the summer months (June to August). Though this reduced the number of solar wind triggers to 32, the response in both lightning and thunder day data remained statistically significant. This modulation of lightning by regular and predictable solar wind events may be beneficial to medium range forecasting of hazardous weather.

 

2. As there is a diminution in the height of the protection from solar particles etc, will there be a greater increase in harmful effects from charged particles on populations, human and wildlife species, IE will there be an increase in UV radiation and and other radiation/ particles where the magnetic field is currently weakest, in this area of the South Atlantic as well as other areas similarly affected ?

To clarify, the magnetic field protects the atmosphere and the atmosphere protects the surface from charged particles. Also, the magnetic field does not affect UV directly. Earth's biota has survived multiple pole changes and there's no reason to suspect anything different now or in the future. The biggest danger to humans from the solar wind -regardless of the state of the magnetic field- is the damage it can do to our electrical technology. We recently dodged such a bullet by sheer luck.

 

Fierce solar magnetic storm barely missed Earth in 2012

 

According to researchers from UC Berkeley and China, a rapid succession of coronal mass ejections the most intense eruptions on the sun sent a pulse of magnetized plasma barreling into space and through Earths orbit. Had the eruption come nine days earlier, when the ignition spot on the solar surface was aimed at Earth, it would have hit the planet, potentially wreaking havoc with the electrical grid, disabling satellites and GPS, and disrupting our increasingly electronic lives...

[LaurieAG]

Based on some new findings I think yes the weather will be affected by changes in the solar wind.

 

Evidence for solar wind modulation of lightning

 

It looks like lightning isn't the only thing modulated by changes in the solar wind.

 

Summary: The decay of a satellite from low earth orbit is of interest to many people. The drag force that such a

satellite experiences is due to its interaction with the few air molecules that are present at these altitudes. The density

of the atmosphere at LEO heights is controlled by solar X-ray flux and particle precipitation from the magnetosphere

and so varies with the current space weather conditions.

 

http://www.ips.gov.au/Category/Educational/Space%20Weather/Space%20Weather%20Effects/SatelliteOrbitalDecayCalculations.pdf