Grand Solar Minimum

Mowich

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Eagle Creek
Just as was expected and more than abundant.

I wonder if solar minimum precip can pile up alpine ice? Has it happened before? Will it happen again?

Odd that fires are nearly nonexistent so far this year.


No fires around here last year either pete and it was a wet spring and early summer too. There is always a bright side to things and that is one of them.
 
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petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Low Earth Orbit
Beijing wakes up to coldest morning since 1966 - CGTN. The temperature in Beijing dropped to minus 19.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday morning, coldest since 1966 when the mercury plunged to minus 19.3 degrees Celsius on February 24, according to data from an observatory in Beijing's southern suburb.


 
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petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Cold Weather In China Sends Coal, Gas Prices Sky-High​

By Charles Kennedy - Jan 08, 2021, 10:00 AM CST
The coldest winter in China since 1966 has sent coal and gas prices soaring as power demand surges.
Gas prices hit a three-year high, Bloomberg reported, while coal prices ticked up by 4 percent this week. Reuters noted that despite record liquefied natural gas imports, the cold spell caused a supply crunch.
China went on an LNG-buying spree last year amid low prices caused by oversupply. Reuters reported last September that imports of the commodity into China were set to hit record-highs that year, at 65-67 million tons. That would set China on course to become the largest importer of LNG by 2022. Meanwhile, due to the cold weather, LNG prices in some parts of China have doubled since late November, Bloomberg noted.

Despite the power crunch, however, China has not budged on its ban on Australian coal—a major fuel source for its coal-powered plants—which resulted as bilateral relations worsened severely last year.

The row erupted when Australia insisted on an international inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus that first appeared in China, which signaled the start of a trade war that has been affecting more and more Australian industries.

Yet the spat is affecting China as well at a time when it needs all the coal and gas it can import—much of it sourced from Australia, which accounts for as much as 40 percent of Chinese LNG imports. As a result, China has been forced to pay much higher prices for the commodities it needs to go through the cold spell.

According to Wood Mac’s head of coal for Asia Rory Simington, China’s demand for coal jumped 12 percent last December from December 2019, the Australian Financial Review reported. This resulted in a sharp increase in coal prices, prompting Beijing to stop publishing daily prices last month.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
 
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pgs

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 29, 2008
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Maybe if we all gather at Stonehenge and walk in circles chanting all will be right . Worth a try don’t you think ?
 
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Danbones

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Cold Weather In China Sends Coal, Gas Prices Sky-High​

By Charles Kennedy - Jan 08, 2021, 10:00 AM CST
The coldest winter in China since 1966 has sent coal and gas prices soaring as power demand surges.
Gas prices hit a three-year high, Bloomberg reported, while coal prices ticked up by 4 percent this week. Reuters noted that despite record liquefied natural gas imports, the cold spell caused a supply crunch.
China went on an LNG-buying spree last year amid low prices caused by oversupply. Reuters reported last September that imports of the commodity into China were set to hit record-highs that year, at 65-67 million tons. That would set China on course to become the largest importer of LNG by 2022. Meanwhile, due to the cold weather, LNG prices in some parts of China have doubled since late November, Bloomberg noted.

Despite the power crunch, however, China has not budged on its ban on Australian coal—a major fuel source for its coal-powered plants—which resulted as bilateral relations worsened severely last year.

The row erupted when Australia insisted on an international inquiry into the origin of the coronavirus that first appeared in China, which signaled the start of a trade war that has been affecting more and more Australian industries.

Yet the spat is affecting China as well at a time when it needs all the coal and gas it can import—much of it sourced from Australia, which accounts for as much as 40 percent of Chinese LNG imports. As a result, China has been forced to pay much higher prices for the commodities it needs to go through the cold spell.

According to Wood Mac’s head of coal for Asia Rory Simington, China’s demand for coal jumped 12 percent last December from December 2019, the Australian Financial Review reported. This resulted in a sharp increase in coal prices, prompting Beijing to stop publishing daily prices last month.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
They are just biden their time till they van get their hands on the cheap soros owned coal mines in the US.

George Soros is Investing Millions in Coal​

August 19th, 2015

Despite spending millions fighting climate change and funding clean energy, billionaire George Soros now looks to be investing in coal.
According to a report from The Guardian, the Soros Management Fund (SMF) has spent over $2 million buying up shares of Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) and Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) since April. Both companies have been under pressure due to falling coal prices, and have seen their share prices fall more than 90 percent over the past year.

Metallurgical coal prices have fallen to near 11-year lows in 2015, while thermal coal futures recently a touched 12-year low of US$52.85 a tonne amid continued oversupply and weakening demand from India and China.

Just what one could expect from the man that funds the destruction of country after country.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Strong Quake in Indonesia Kills at Least 35, Injures Hundreds​

BY REUTERS
January 14, 2021 Updated: January 15, 2021
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JAKARTA—A 6.2-magnitude earthquake on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island killed at least 35 people and injured hundreds on Friday, with the meteorological agency warning of aftershocks, possibly strong enough to trigger a tsunami.
The powerful quake struck 6 km (3.73 miles) northeast of the town of Majene, at the relatively shallow depth of 10 km, just before 1.30 a.m., sending thousands of frightened residents out of their homes and fleeing for higher ground.
The earthquake and aftershocks caused three landslides, cut electricity, damaged bridges to regional hubs such as the city of Makassar, and damaged more than 60 homes, two hotels and the provincial governor’s office, where at least two people were buried under rubble, authorities said.
“Praise be to God, for now OK, but we just felt another aftershock,” said 26-year-old resident Sukri Efendy.
Darno Majid, chief of the disaster agency in West Sulawesi, told Reuters that 35 people had been killed in Majene, and in the neighbouring district of Mamuju, with more deaths likely to be confirmed as rescue workers fanned out.
indonesia earthquake An injured person is taken care of following an earthquake in Mamuju, West Sulawesi, Indonesia, on Jan. 15, 2020. (Palang Merah Indonesia/via Reuters)

Initial information from the national disaster mitigation agency showed that 637 people had been injured in Majene, and two dozen in Mamuju.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
108,893
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Well well well.

Sunspot Cycle Minima and Pandemics: A case for vigilance at the
present time


N. Chandra Wickramasinghe1,2, Edward J. Steele2,3, M. Wainwright1,2,5, Gensuke
Tokoro2,6, Manju Fernando2 & Jiangwen Qu4

1Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, University of Buckingham, UK;
2Centre for Astrobiology, University of Ruhuna, Matara, Sri Lanka;
3CY O'Connor ERADE Village Foundation, Piara Waters,WA, Australia;
4Department of Infectious 4Disease Control, Tianjin Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, China
5Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN,
UK
6Institute for the Study of Panspermia and Astroeconomics, Gifu, Japan

Abstract

Direct records of sunspots and the solar cycle have been maintained in
astronomical observatories for about 1610AD, while indirect records derived
from 14C analysis of ice cores go back to about 900AD. Minima in the sunspot
cycle present conditions conducive to the entry of viruses and bacteria to the
Earth and also for mutations of already circulating pathogens. Three grand
minima of solar activity on record – the Sporer minimum (1450-1550AD),
Maunder minimum (1650-1700AD) and the Dalton minimum (1800-1830) have
all been marked by a preponderance of pandemics – Small Pox, English Sweats,
Plague and Cholera. The sunspot numbers recorded for the present period
2002-2017 include the deepest sunspot minimum (Cycle 23-24) since records
began, and a trend to declining numbers throughout the cycle. The same period
has seen the resurgence of several pandemics – SARS, MERS, Zika, Ebola,
Influenza A. We consider it prudent to take note of these facts whilst planning
future strategies for pandemic surveillance and control.

Keywords – Sunspot cycle, panspermia, pandemics


1. Introduction
The possibility of linking sunspots with pandemics was first suggested by Hope-
Simpson (1977) who pointed out that many pandemics of influenza in history
occurred close to times of sunspot maxima. Hoyle and Wickramasinghe (1977)
re-examined this proposal using a more extended dataset and concluded that
although the coincidences were not precise, the two sets of data – influenza and
sunspot – were phase-locked such that a causal link was likely. This work was
recently extended by Qu (3) who found a more generalised result, namely that
both certain and possible pandemics fall within +-2 years of sunspot extrema
(maxima and minima).

Maxima in the sunspot cycle are characterised by high daily sunspot numbers,
frequent solar flares, coronal discharges and X-ray emission. High fluxes of X
rays reach the Earth’s upper atmosphere but are almost totally absorbed by the
lower atmosphere. A more important property of a sunspot maximum is that the


2
interplanetary magnetic field near the Earth remains high, being generated and
maintained by the flow of electrons from the sun. As such the Earth would be
effectively shielded from the ingress of charged dust grains as well as galactic
cosmic ray protons.

It is to sunspot minima that we must turn to seek a possible explanation of the
onset of pandemics. Sunspot minima are characterised by a weakening of the
interplanetary magnetic field near the Earth, which allows for the entry of
Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) as well as electrically charged bacteria and viruses
to the Earth. When GCRs collide with the atmosphere they produce a cascade of
secondary particles including neutrons and muons that continue to penetrate the
atmosphere. The cascade continues until the particle energy becomes too low
and GCRs are effectively stopped. This happens at 16-20km. Significant neutron
fluxes do, however, reach ground level and have the potential of causing
mutations in both viruses and cells in general.

More significantly, in our view, during a solar minimum, new viruses, bacteria
and other microscopic biological entities can penetrate the interplanetary
magnetic field barrier and reach the stratosphere. Descent of such particles to
ground level by means of gravitational settling might take months or years
depending on size. The final descent phase through the troposphere would be
mostly controlled by meteorological events. It is also of interest to note that the
first descent of viral-sized particles deposited in the stratosphere will occur at
places where the stratosphere is thinnest; and by this argument populated areas
of China lying eastward of the Himalayan mountain range would present the best
candidates. It is therefore not surprising to find that first strikes of new or
renewed viral diseases are often recorded in China. We should however stress
that not every minimum in the sunspot cycle would be associated with a new
epidemic or new pathogen. Additional conditions need to be fulfilled, most
importantly that the Earth has recently encountered a stream of cometary debris
containing disease-causing dust – e.g. phages, virions, microorganisms.

Hoyle and Wickramasinghe (1977) argued that the recurrent patterns of certain
pandemics throughout history exhibiting long periods of dormancy might be
best understood by extinctions followed by re-introductions, possibly involving a
long period comet. With the theory of cosmically interconnected biology coming
to the fore such a possibility has currently acquired a renewed relevance
 
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petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
108,893
11,177
113
Low Earth Orbit
Well well well.

Sunspot Cycle Minima and Pandemics: A case for vigilance at the
present time


N. Chandra Wickramasinghe1,2, Edward J. Steele2,3, M. Wainwright1,2,5, Gensuke
Tokoro2,6, Manju Fernando2 & Jiangwen Qu4

1Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, University of Buckingham, UK;
2Centre for Astrobiology, University of Ruhuna, Matara, Sri Lanka;
3CY O'Connor ERADE Village Foundation, Piara Waters,WA, Australia;
4Department of Infectious 4Disease Control, Tianjin Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, China
5Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN,
UK
6Institute for the Study of Panspermia and Astroeconomics, Gifu, Japan

Abstract

Direct records of sunspots and the solar cycle have been maintained in
astronomical observatories for about 1610AD, while indirect records derived
from 14C analysis of ice cores go back to about 900AD. Minima in the sunspot
cycle present conditions conducive to the entry of viruses and bacteria to the
Earth and also for mutations of already circulating pathogens. Three grand
minima of solar activity on record – the Sporer minimum (1450-1550AD),
Maunder minimum (1650-1700AD) and the Dalton minimum (1800-1830) have
all been marked by a preponderance of pandemics – Small Pox, English Sweats,
Plague and Cholera. The sunspot numbers recorded for the present period
2002-2017 include the deepest sunspot minimum (Cycle 23-24) since records
began, and a trend to declining numbers throughout the cycle. The same period
has seen the resurgence of several pandemics – SARS, MERS, Zika, Ebola,
Influenza A. We consider it prudent to take note of these facts whilst planning
future strategies for pandemic surveillance and control.

Keywords – Sunspot cycle, panspermia, pandemics


1. Introduction
The possibility of linking sunspots with pandemics was first suggested by Hope-
Simpson (1977) who pointed out that many pandemics of influenza in history
occurred close to times of sunspot maxima. Hoyle and Wickramasinghe (1977)
re-examined this proposal using a more extended dataset and concluded that
although the coincidences were not precise, the two sets of data – influenza and
sunspot – were phase-locked such that a causal link was likely. This work was
recently extended by Qu (3) who found a more generalised result, namely that
both certain and possible pandemics fall within +-2 years of sunspot extrema
(maxima and minima).

Maxima in the sunspot cycle are characterised by high daily sunspot numbers,
frequent solar flares, coronal discharges and X-ray emission. High fluxes of X
rays reach the Earth’s upper atmosphere but are almost totally absorbed by the
lower atmosphere. A more important property of a sunspot maximum is that the


2
interplanetary magnetic field near the Earth remains high, being generated and
maintained by the flow of electrons from the sun. As such the Earth would be
effectively shielded from the ingress of charged dust grains as well as galactic
cosmic ray protons.

It is to sunspot minima that we must turn to seek a possible explanation of the
onset of pandemics. Sunspot minima are characterised by a weakening of the
interplanetary magnetic field near the Earth, which allows for the entry of
Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) as well as electrically charged bacteria and viruses
to the Earth. When GCRs collide with the atmosphere they produce a cascade of
secondary particles including neutrons and muons that continue to penetrate the
atmosphere. The cascade continues until the particle energy becomes too low
and GCRs are effectively stopped. This happens at 16-20km. Significant neutron
fluxes do, however, reach ground level and have the potential of causing
mutations in both viruses and cells in general.

More significantly, in our view, during a solar minimum, new viruses, bacteria
and other microscopic biological entities can penetrate the interplanetary
magnetic field barrier and reach the stratosphere. Descent of such particles to
ground level by means of gravitational settling might take months or years
depending on size. The final descent phase through the troposphere would be
mostly controlled by meteorological events. It is also of interest to note that the
first descent of viral-sized particles deposited in the stratosphere will occur at
places where the stratosphere is thinnest; and by this argument populated areas
of China lying eastward of the Himalayan mountain range would present the best
candidates. It is therefore not surprising to find that first strikes of new or
renewed viral diseases are often recorded in China. We should however stress
that not every minimum in the sunspot cycle would be associated with a new
epidemic or new pathogen. Additional conditions need to be fulfilled, most
importantly that the Earth has recently encountered a stream of cometary debris
containing disease-causing dust – e.g. phages, virions, microorganisms.

Hoyle and Wickramasinghe (1977) argued that the recurrent patterns of certain
pandemics throughout history exhibiting long periods of dormancy might be
best understood by extinctions followed by re-introductions, possibly involving a
long period comet. With the theory of cosmically interconnected biology coming
to the fore such a possibility has currently acquired a renewed relevance
A citation from the 2017 study

Two protracted minima of the sunspot cycle are on record since sunspot data first began to be recorded -the Maunder minimum (1645-1715 CE) and the Dalton minimum (1800-1830 CE). Both these minima have been marked by a preponderance of pandemics of various kinds -Small Pox, English Sweats, Plague and Cholera [5]. In this article we discuss a possible connection between the sunspot cycle and the incidence of pandemic influenza. ...
... We refer here to pandemics of influenza which can be interpreted as the introduction/emergence of a new sub-type of the virus to which the entire human population has no immunity. The possible time-correlation between the viral influenza (type A) pandemics and the Sunspot cycle was explored by Hope-Simpson and Hoyle and Wickramasinghe [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. A causal link between the peaks of confirmed or probable influenza pandemics and peaks of the sunspot cycle appears at first sight to be strong, although later studies by Qu discuss cases where pandemics also occur closer to the troughs of the cycle in a few instances [12]. ...
... High fluxes of neutrons arising from the decay of cosmic ray protons (which are more prevalent during sunspot minima) cause the production of 14C and 10Be which is deposited in ice cores; so the prevalence of these nuclides are used to extrapolate the solar cycle prior to 1600. The Wolf, Spörer and Dalton minima which we have discussed elsewhere are all earlier minima inferred from this nuclide data, but their precision and reliability may be called to question [5]. In any event the Maunder minimum is the best documented, deepest and most prolonged minimum of sunspot activity on record for possibly ~1000 years [14]. ...

Solar Cycle, Maunder Minimum and Pandemic Influenza
 
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Danbones

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 23, 2015
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Not to mention burning witches to stay warm...
;)

Medieval Witch Hunts Influenced by Climate Change​

"1445, in this year was a very strong hail and wind, as never seen before, and it did great damage, [...] and so many women, which it's said to have made the hail and the wind, were burned according to the law."

People were very cross back then I guess.
 
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