Paper finds El Niño acts as mediator of the solar influence on climate — Published in Paleoceanography
Study 'finds another mechanism by which tiny changes in solar activity can cause greatly amplified effects upon the climate via the El Niño Southern Oscillation [ENSO]. According to the authors, the 'east-west sea surface temperature gradient along the equator responds almost linearly to solar irradiance forcing [tiny changes in solar activity of 0.2 - 0.5%], with a short lag of about a decade'
‘Overall, the sea surface temperature response is of the magnitude required, and is persistent enough, to induce important climatic perturbations worldwide. The results suggest that ENSO may plausibly have acted as a mediator between the Sun and the Earth’s climate.’ In addition, the authors show that solar activity was at the highest levels of the past 10,000 years during the 20th century