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The influence of solar forcing trends on global mean temperature since 1861

Abstract

IT has been suggested1–5 that solar variability may be a significant contributor to the long-term warming trend that has been observed in global mean surface air temperature since the mid-nineteenth century. Here we consider the role of long-term solar irradiance changes associated with sunspot fluctuations, extending an earlier analysis by Reid4. We find that solar variability is unlikely to have accounted for more than a small fraction of the observed warming.

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Kelly, P., Wigley, T. The influence of solar forcing trends on global mean temperature since 1861. Nature 347, 460–462 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/347460a0

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