The astronomical theory and data compared

Abstract

In attempting to compare astronomical theory with historical climate data, a number of issues arise. One issue is whether the relatively small percentage changes that occur in solar intensity are sufficient to cause major changes in global climate. However, this question is complicated by the possibility that large positive feedback forcings (albedo, ocean currents, wind changes, etc.) might be initiated by smaller changes in solar intensity, leading to large climate changes resulting from comparatively small perturbations. In this connection, it has been postulated that there might be nonlinearities in the way that the climate responds to perturbations, and there may be thresholds that cause discontinuous jumps to a new state when crossed.