A 'Mini Ice Age' Is Coming—and Soon

Canoeing will probably be out of the question. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)                                          

 By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff:    

 (Newser) – In the words of the Starks, winter is coming—and it's going to be bad. Using a new model to forecast the sun's activity, scientists predict solar activity will fall by 60% in the 2030s to conditions not seen since a "mini ice age" in 1645. For almost two centuries, scientists have known that the sun's activity changes on a 10- to 12-year cycle. Each cycle is slightly different and predicting the sun's activity has proven difficult thanks to a dynamo caused by fluid deep within the sun. However, after reviewing magnetic field activity over three solar cycles, researchers say they've found a second dynamo close to the sun's surface. "They both have a frequency of approximately 11 years, although this frequency is slightly different," researcher Valentina Zharkova explains. The new model based on the pair has allowed for "unprecedentedly accurate predictions," per Science Daily. As if to crush all hope of warmth, Zharkova notes they're 97% accurate...Continue reading...