Solar magnetic anomaly / Earth atmospheric anomalies / comet ISON

[calm_days]

I want to keep this as simple as possible, i am an amateur here. 

 

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/sun-s-magnetic-field--is-about-to-flip---warns-nasa-131005894.html

 

This is one phenomenon on its own that could have its own topic.  It will affect the Voyager probes, and Pluto, so it will also affect the Earth's atmosphere and weather.  The anomaly is that the Sun's magnetic fields are shifting, but also not in balance.

 

Equally we still continue to deal with the phantom phenomena in the atmospheric layers that handle meteor and comet dust as well as harboring weather systems made of different molecular families.  (http://www.americanwx.com/bb/index.php/topic/38810-the-metallic-vapor-layers/)

 

All atmospheric layers affect eachother as we know.

 

http://www.athena-spu.gr/~upperatmosphere/index.php?title=Water_vapor_production_and_transport

 

Here is relevant information that covers at least some of, for example, why the atmosphere has been exhibiting the collapse/sinking phenomenon, what can be  termed "strange cloud combinations", "hectic sky" gravity wave cloud phenomenon so much more regularly, and, finally, the shift in sunlight behavior such as one would expect from the sunlight shining through layers of water and metallic vapor that are perhaps becoming greater in amount or changing in behavior.

 

(i) Methane Source: Water vapor is produced in the stratosphere by oxidation of methane and is subsequently transported into the mesosphere via eddy transport, thought to be caused by gravity waves, where it is photo-dissociated by Lyman alpha. Methane resides in the atmosphere in altitudes up to 30 km for very long periods. Since it is non-condensable at these temperatures it is injected into the stratosphere following the Hardley circulation as water. Methane molecules rise upwards into the stratosphere through upward transport by winds, where they are broken down by sunlight into hydrogen and carbon compounds. The hydrogen compounds are eventually re-formed into water vapor through oxidation reactions. Thus a predicted effect of the increase of methane in the lower atmosphere is the increase of water vapor in the mesosphere. Two water molecules are formed per methane molecule in the altitude range 40–70 km. This has been linked to an increase in water vapour in the mesosphere by ~50% leading to a mixing ratio maximum in the distribution of water vapour about 6-7 ppm at 60-70 km. Chemical analysis of air in ice bubbles trapped in the polar ice cores shows that since the industrial revolution, CH4 concentrations have more than doubled in the lower atmosphere; this has been linked to an increase in water vapor in the mesosphere, termed the humidification of the mesosphere. Based on the above, it has been suggested that changes in mesospheric water vapor and temperature may be good indicators of changes in CO2 and methane CH4 concentrations on climatic time scales

 

Then there is the comet that will come through during this time when Earth's atmosphere, already mixed up, will have potentially also have been changed by the anomalous solar magnetic shift.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_ISON

 

Earth will pass near the orbit of C/2012 S1 on 14–15 January 2014, well after the comet has passed, when micron-sized dust particles blown by the Sun's radiation may cause a meteor shower or noctilucent clouds.  However, both events are highly improbable. Because Earth just passes near C/2012 S1's orbit, not actually through the tail, the chances that a meteor shower will occur are very slim. In addition, meteor showers from long period comets that make just one pass into the inner solar system are very rare, if ever recorded.

The possibility that small particles left behind on the orbital path—almost one hundred days after the nucleus has passed—could form noctilucent clouds is also slim. A significant amount of dust should enter Earth's atmosphere.

 

 

I admit that as an amateur I do not necessarily feel comfortable making this topic but I feel that it's important to encourage professional space and earth meteorologists to contribute their thoughts.  We have all been nervous to discuss the cloud and sunlight phenomena in spite of seeing it each day over our heads.  Now that there are greater anomalies being described, we here, and everyone possible, need to work together to figure out if this is going to be Okay. 

[NeffsvilleWx]

The sun's polarity flips once every 11 years, how is it anomalous? The comment about the poles being "out of synch" at the moment didn't seem like it was being presented as anomalous, rather, it seems like a statement on the current orientation of the poles.

 

Of course, I'm no expert, just my $0.02.

[calm_days]

Yes, reading about Solar Cycle 24 on wikipedia, the news report is not really telling the whole detail (quadrupole magnetic structure forming)

 

http://hinode.nao.ac.jp/news/120419PressRelease/index_e.shtml

 

Generally speaking, the solar magnetic field has a bipolar configuration; like a bar magnet, for example, the sun's south and north polar regions have a positive and negative polarity structure respectively. However, according to observations by "Hinode," it is assumed that the solar magnetic field will be a quadrupole structure, where both the north and south have positive polarity. Numerical calculations are being performed to understand the structure of the solar magnetic field based on the "Hinode" observation data.

 

Furthermore, signs that the large solar magnetic field has changed to a quadrupole structure were discovered by the current "Hinode" observations. These research results show that the solar dynamo, which is a process generating magnetic fields within the Sun, is bringing about changes seen for the first time since the start of modern-style solar observation. It is believed that the Sun has previously experienced these circumstances during the Maunder Minimum and Dalton Minimum, which are said to have been periods when the Earth's climate was colder. Attention will be paid to future changes.

 

[GaWx]

Yes, reading about Solar Cycle 24 on wikipedia, the news report is not really telling the whole detail (quadrupole magnetic structure forming)

 

http://hinode.nao.ac.jp/news/120419PressRelease/index_e.shtml

 

 Are you aware of the All Things Solar thread that is in the Climate Change forum? There are good opportunities to contribute there regarding the possible significant cooling the current grand min will cause:

 

http://www.americanwx.com/bb/index.php/topic/160-all-things-solar/

[calm_days]

Ok!  I am curious about the discrepancies between the recent news report and the earlier observatory report and it will be good to see what the consensus or lack of consensus is on why there would be a recent article about a magnetic field swap about to happen when the earlier article seems to suggest it's already happened.

[Derecho!]

I admit that as an amateur I do not necessarily feel comfortable making this topic but I feel that it's important to encourage professional space and earth meteorologists to contribute their thoughts.  We have all been nervous to discuss the cloud and sunlight phenomena in spite of seeing it each day over our heads.  Now that there are greater anomalies being described, we here, and everyone possible, need to work together to figure out if this is going to be Okay. 

 

 

One thing to keep in mind is that there has been an infinite amount of pseudoscientific nonsense regarding the supposed effects of comet passages on the Earth for centuries (millions were convinced that gases from Comet Halley would poison the Earth in 1910) so treat anything regarding that with EXTREME skepticism as I'm sure there's a lot of similar nonsens about ISON out there on kook websites and message boards.

[calm_days]

One thing to keep in mind is that there has been an infinite amount of pseudoscientific nonsense regarding the supposed effects of comet passages on the Earth for centuries (millions were convinced that gases from Comet Halley would poison the Earth in 1910) so treat anything regarding that with EXTREME skepticism as I'm sure there's a lot of similar nonsense about ISON out there on kook websites and message boards.

 

Yes, definitely.  I became concerned about ISON due to the wikipedia article description of dust entering the atmosphere. 

 

During a time when the atmospheric layer that handles dust ablation continues to change and seems to be humidifying, it could cause meteorologically relevant effects.  I think it will be Okay but I did want to make this topic due to the number of pro-mets that may not be receiving lots of information about even the mesospheric and tropospheric phenomena. 

There has not been one topic here, that I've seen that asks, "Why are there so many more undulatus clouds over the past few years?" or "Why has the sunlight become so bright, even causing clouds to reflect light as brightly as the sun?", although possibly some posts that I've missed. 

[Cory]

 Are you aware of the All Things Solar thread that is in the Climate Change forum? There are good opportunities to contribute there regarding the possible significant cooling the current grand min will cause:

 

http://www.americanwx.com/bb/index.php/topic/160-all-things-solar/

 

Just be sure to put on a helmet first. 

[calm_days]

it is a good time for a topic update:

 

No news has been released about the solar magnetic anomaly, so it is still that overall there are roughly two conflicting reports, that the magnetic field has already resolved itself, or that the magnetic field is resolving.

 

The passage near the larger amount of dust from the comet tail is in a few days.  The web space i was expecting to mention this phenomena has not (spaceweather.com) but maybe will in a few days.

 

they did show an image of what the comet tail looked like

http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2013/11/29/weird_anim2.gif

 

I am curious because there is probably some level of technology that can radar image something coming up in earth's orbit, so, maybe there is a radar image and people paying attention somewhere have a sense of if the amount is safe or not.