Surprise Discovery In Earth's Upper Atmosphere

elyons sends word out of UCLA of a completely unexpected discovery in the physics of the Sun-Earth interaction — a previously unknown basic mode of energy transfer from the solar wind to the Earth's magnetosphere. "'It's like something else is heating the atmosphere besides the sun. This discovery is like finding it got hotter when the sun went down,' said Larry Lyons, UCLA professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences. 'We all have thought for our entire careers — I learned it as a graduate student — that this energy transfer rate is primarily controlled by the direction of the interplanetary magnetic field. The closer to southward-pointing the magnetic field is, the stronger the energy transfer rate is, and the stronger the magnetic field is in that direction. [It turns out that] if it is both southward and big, the energy transfer rate is even bigger.'" The researchers have two papers on the discovery coming out in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

Comments

anti-solar prejuices, prior neglect

[harvey the nerd]

Sounds like another shoe drops in the solar - terrestial interactions with regard to global warming and climate change. Why wasn't this found 20 years ago? Because IPCC and NASA haven't been diligently working a major term, the many solar-terrestial interactions, in the general energy equation? Because they are happy worshipping simplistic false models that say "Send academia, modelers and autocrats more money"?

Re:anti-solar prejuices, prior neglect

[OeLeWaPpErKe]

It's obvious that there are very serious conflicts of intrest in GW and AGW research.

The primary sponsor of all (A)GW research is the IPCC.

The only reason the IPCC gets money is (A)GW.

Every kid can tell you what is bound to happen next. Obviously the IPCC has been caught several times making propaganda by spreading lies it's own scientists don't agree with (most famous the hokey stick graph). This "somehow" keeps happening, and even today you can find that graph in IPCC materials.

How much do we bet that next month "IPCC scientists find that GW is even worse than thought today" ?

Hummer Humbug

[Anonymous Coward]

Hello, hello, hello. After how much time some REAL Science - and not GreenPeace fictions about Hummers warming the Earth. Not that I think anyone has any sane reason to own or operate such a behemoth. All this "Global Warming" is 100% B.S. run by politicos for their own unlisted agendas.

Re:Or

[sumdumass]

The science is on his side as long as it's settled and no new discoveries are made. Obviously this isn't happening as his own statements indicates he wished.

The pseudoscience in a lot of cases is clear science questioning the calculations being pushed by the global warming alarmist. Your just too biased to see that and use pseudoscience as an escape. In fact, the pseudoscience is has been claiming an interaction between the warmth of the atmosphere and solar evens since the 1990's. This discovery just shows how inadequacy our understanding was and how dismissive people like you are.