Space climate is the long-term variation in

solar activity Solar phenomena are natural phenomena which occur within the atmosphere of the Sun. These phenomena take many forms, including solar wind, radio wave flux, solar flares, coronal mass ejections, coronal heating and sunspots. These phenomena are ...

within the

heliosphere The heliosphere is the magnetosphere, astrosphere and outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun. It takes the shape of a vast, bubble-like region of space. In plasma physics terms, it is the cavity formed by the Sun in the surrounding interstell ...

, including the

solar wind The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, called the corona. This plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy between . The composition of the sola ...

, the

Interplanetary magnetic field The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), now more commonly referred to as the heliospheric magnetic field (HMF), is the component of the solar magnetic field that is dragged out from the solar corona by the solar wind flow to fill the Solar Syst ...

(IMF), and their effects in the near-Earth environment, including the magnetosphere of Earth and the

ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an ...

, the upper and lower atmosphere,

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

, and other related systems. The scientific study of space climate is an interdisciplinary field of space physics,

solar physics Solar physics is the branch of astrophysics that specializes in the study of the Sun. It deals with detailed measurements that are possible only for our closest star. It intersects with many disciplines of pure physics, astrophysics, and compu ...

heliophysics Heliophysics (from the prefix " helio", from Attic Greek ''hḗlios'', meaning Sun, and the noun "physics": the science of matter and energy and their interactions) is the physics of the Sun and its connection with the Solar System. NASA define ...

, and

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

. It is thus conceptually related to terrestrial

climatology Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , '' -logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of stud ...

, and its effects on the

atmosphere of Earth The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

are considered in climate science.

Background

Space climatology considers long-term (longer than the latitudinally variable 27-day

solar rotation Solar rotation varies with latitude. The Sun is not a solid body, but is composed of a gaseous plasma. Different latitudes rotate at different periods. The source of this differential rotation is an area of current research in solar astronomy. ...

period, through the 11-year

solar cycle The solar cycle, also known as the solar magnetic activity cycle, sunspot cycle, or Schwabe cycle, is a nearly periodic 11-year change in the Sun's activity measured in terms of variations in the number of observed sunspots on the Sun's surfa ...

and beyond, up to and exceeding millennia) variability of solar indices,

cosmic ray Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our own ...

, heliospheric parameters, and the induced geomagnetic, ionospheric, atmospheric, and climate effects. It studies mechanisms and physical processes responsible for their variability in the past with projections onto future. It is a broader and more general concept than

space weather Space weather is a branch of space physics and aeronomy, or heliophysics, concerned with the time varying conditions within the Solar System, including the solar wind, emphasizing the space surrounding the Earth, including conditions in the ma ...

, to which it is related like the conventional climate and

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...

. In addition to real-time

solar observation Solar observation is the scientific endeavor of studying the Sun and its behavior and relation to the Earth and the remainder of the Solar System. Deliberate solar observation began thousands of years ago. That initial era of direct observation g ...

s, the field of research also covers analysis of historical space climate data. This has included analysis and reconstruction that has allowed solar wind and heliospheric

magnetic field A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...

strengths to be determined from back to 1611. The importance of space climate research has been recognized, in particular, by NASA which launched a special space mission

Deep Space Climate Observatory Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR; formerly known as Triana, unofficially known as GoreSat) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) space weather, space climate, and Earth observation satellite. It was launched by Sp ...

(DSCOVR) dedicated to monitoring of space climate. New results, ideas and discoveries in the field of Space Climate are published in a focused peer-review research ''Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate'' (JSWSC). Since 2013, research awards and medals in space weather and space climate are annually awarded by the European Space Weather Week. Another recent space observatory platform is the

Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) was a NASA-sponsored satellite mission that measured incoming X-ray, ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and total solar radiation. These measurements specifically addressed long-term climat ...

(SORCE). Space climate research has three main aims: # to better understand the long-term solar variability, including also the observed extremes and features of this variability in the

and in the

heliospheric magnetic field The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), now more commonly referred to as the heliospheric magnetic field (HMF), is the component of the solar magnetic field that is dragged out from the solar corona by the solar wind flow to fill the Solar Syst ...

# to better understand the physical relationships between the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

, the heliosphere, and various related proxies (geomagnetic fields, cosmic rays, etc.) # to better understand the long-term effect of solar variability on the near-

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

environment, including the different atmospheric layers, and ultimately on Earth's global climate

History

In the early 2000s, when the concept of space weather became common, a small initiative group, led by the

University of Oulu The University of Oulu ( fi, Oulun yliopisto) is one of the largest universities in Finland, located in the city of Oulu. It was founded on July 8, 1958. The university has around 13,000 students and 2,900 staff. 21 International Master's P ...

in Finland had realized that physical drivers of solar variability and its terrestrial effects can be better understood with a more general and broader view. The concept of ''Space Climate'' had been developed, and the corresponding research community formed, which presently includes a few hundred active members around the world. In particular, a series of International Space Climate Symposia (biennial since 2004) was organized, with the first inaugural symposium being held in Oulu (Finland) in 2004, followed by those in Romania (2006), Finland (2009), India (2011), Finland (2013), Finland (2016), Canada (2019), as well as topical space climate sessions are regularly held at the General Assemblies of the

Committee on Space Research The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) was established on October 3, 1958 by the International Council for Scientific Unions (ICSU). Among COSPAR's objectives are the promotion of scientific research in space on an international level, wi ...

and Earth Science.

References

External links

*
Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate
' (JSWSC) *

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is an office of the U.N. Secretariat that promotes and facilitates peaceful international cooperation in outer space. It works to establish or strengthen the legal and regulatory framew ...

Space and Climate Change
program {{Magnetospherics Space weather Space physics Space science Geophysics Climate Solar System Sun Climatology

Background

History

See also

References

External links