Past Climate Change Not Linked to Sun's Galactic Position

Testing the link between terrestrial climate change and Galactic spiral structure

Adrian L. Melott, Andrew C. Overholt (University of Kansas), Martin K. Pohl (Iowa State University)

Abstract:

We confront past suggestions of a close link between terrestrial climate change and the Sun's transit of spiral arms in its path through the Milky Way galaxy. These links produced concrete fits, deriving the unknown spiral pattern speed from terrestrial climate correlations. We use new information on spiral structure based on CO data that does not make simplifying assumptions about symmetry and circular rotation. Comparing the times of these transits to changes in the climate of Earth, not only do the claimed correlations disappear, but also we find that they cannot be resurrected for any reasonable pattern speed.

Also covered at Universe Today and Physics arXiv blog.