THE IMPACT OF SOLAR IRRADIANCE ON THE MAUNDER MINIMUM CLIMATE

We estimate an average surface Northern Hemisphere temperature anomaly of around -0.3 degrees C for the Maunder Minimum (1645-1715) using th e average total solar irradiance. As various cooling effects were negl ected this estimate is an upper limit and a deeper anomaly may be foun d. The total solar irradiance is obtained from the solar rotation rate reconstructed using observations of sunspots recorded at the Observat oire de Paris from 1660 to 1719, and is found to be lower than at pres ent by 0.1% to 0.43%.