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<br />THE SUN AND THE WEATHER <br /> <br />Dr. Walter Orr Roberts <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />One of the most challenging scientific problems ever faced by <br />man lies in the field of long- range prediction of the recurrence of sus- <br />tained droughts and periods of abundant rainfall. Related to this is the <br />question of the extent to which man may learn, someday, to control <br />climate. It is today impossible to state with authority whether either <br />of these problems will yield to solution. But strong effort is justified, <br />because there lies in their solution vast potential benefit to all mankind. <br />But let me first explain briefly how we at the High Altitude Observatory <br />became interested in these matters. <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />The central goal of our work has been to understand the in- <br />fluences of the sun on the earth. The sun, of course, is the source of <br />almost all of the energy used by man. Its steady bounty of heat and <br />light is enormous. In less than four days the sun showers the earth <br />with as much energy as there is in all of the stored fuel reserves <br />known, as much as all the oil, coal, and atomic fuel known on the <br />earth. <br /> <br />The sun does more than this, however. It also lights the <br />auroras in polar regions, deflects the earth's magnetism, channels <br />radio signals around the world, and pushes about the winds that con- <br />trol world weather. ' <br /> <br />Some of the sun's emissions, invisible to the eye, vary radi- <br />cally. And with these changes there are interesting earth effects. <br />A major part of our work is devoted to studying sun-earth effects. <br />We a,re motivated, in part, by the realization that if we succeed in <br />this effort, our results may influence the well-being of people all <br />over the world. <br /> <br />One of the great riddles, for example, is droughts. What <br />causes them? Does the sun's variability playa role in their forma- <br />tion? Is there a pattern in their recurrence? Can they be predicted, <br />so that we may take account of this knowledge to conserve our precious <br />water resources? Can we forecast periods of ample rainfall in agricul- <br />tural areas to assist in crop planning - or the paths of severe storms, <br />like hurricanes, to help save lives and property? Is there a chance that <br />man can control world climate or alleviate severe regional droughts? <br /> <br />1 <br />