Introducing the term: Astronomical Harmonic Resonances (AHR). To see the figures cited below, go to the original article (here). A familiar topic to long-time Talkshop visitors, e.g. here.
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The mechanism and even the existence of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) have remained under debate among climate researchers, and the same applies to general temperature oscillations of a 60- to 90-year period, writes Antero Oilia, Ph.D. @ Climate Change Dispatch.
The recently published study of Ollila and Timonen has found that these oscillations are real and they are related to 60- and 88-year periodicities originating from the planetary and solar activity oscillations.
These oscillations can be observed in the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), the Pacific Multidecadal Oscillation (PMO), and actually in the global surface temperature (GST). The similarities between the GST, AMO, PMO, and AHR (Astronomical Harmonic Resonances) are obvious in Fig. 1.
The oscillations are not limited only to temperatures.
Researchers have studied oscillations of day lengths, magnetic field magnitudes, sunspot lengths, auroral records, cosmogenic isotopes like 14C and 10Be, Indian moons intensities, sediments of NE Pacific, 14C of tree-rings, and sea carbonates.
The oscillations periods of these studies vary from 60 to 90 years. The most common and prominent periodicity is 88 years and is called the Gleissberg cycle. Named after Wolfgang Gleissberg, who discovered in 1958 that solar cycles weaken and strengthen over about 80 years.
The sun has been suggested to be the origin of an 88-year oscillation since this period can be connected to the repetitive occurrence of the basic Schwabe cycle of 11 years. This solar cycle length varies typically from 10 to 14 years, which explains why the Gleissberg cycle length varies around 88 years.
The other main periodicity of the research studies is around 60 years. The researchers normally suggest no origin for this periodicity.
Ermakov, Scafetta, and Ollila have analyzed that the orbital periods of Jupiter and Saturn can create temperature variations of 60 years by moving the solar system barycenter, which causes variations in the cosmic dust amount entering the atmosphere. The temperature effect happens through cloudiness variations.
The authors have studied how well the variations of astronomical harmonic resonances (AHR) could explain the 60-year temperature variations, which are based on instrumental records and on the tree-ring data of the supra-long Scots pine tree-ring record for northern Finnish Lapland (subsequently called the Finnish timberline pine chronology (FTPC)), stretching to the year 5634 BC.
The strong feature of the FTPC tree-sing signal is the one-year accuracy of the tree-ring method and therefore it is the most effective form of proxy information on the past climate.
The radial growth of (tree-ring width) is regulated by the average summer temperature in cool areas and precipitation in arid areas. The minimum factor for pine growth in Lapland (the northern part of Finland) is temperature.
The FTPC tree-ring series is the longest tree-type series in the world. The explanation is that so-called pine subfossils once sank into the oxygen-free swamps and the bottom mud of lakes for millennia.
The FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) analysis was carried for finding out the main periods for the FTPC signal, the AHR signal, and the Ljungqvist temperature proxy data, Fig. 2.
These analyses show that the well-known Gleissberg cycle of 80 to 90 years is the dominating cycle caused by the sun’s activity changes but the observed 60-year cycle can be connected to the dominant frequency of the AHR signal.
The authors have combined the AHR signal and the Gleissberg signal. These signals had a common maximum in 1941 which explains the warm period of the 1930s.
These two oscillations may also be in opposite phases or close maximum or minimum phases. In Fig. 3 the combined signal of 60- and the 88-year signal is the blue break line curve and the red curve is the FTPC signal.
The maximum combined temperature effect of AMO and Gleissberg oscillations was in 2020, and now their impact is slowly descending. In addition to these oscillations’ impacts, the Sun’s activity seems to also decrease.
Full article here.
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Study: Two main temperature periodicities related to planetary and solar activity oscillations (2022)
Abstract
The mechanism and even the existence of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) have remained under debate among climate researchers, and the same applies to general temperature oscillations of a 60–90-year period. The objective of this study is to show that these temperature oscillations are real and not artifacts and that these oscillations have different external cosmic origins. The authors have studied how well the variations of astronomical harmonic resonances (AHR) could explain the 60-year temperature variations, which are based on instrumental records and on the tree-ring data of the supra-long Scots pine tree-ring record for northern Finnish Lapland (subsequently called the Finnish timberline pine chronology [FTPC]), stretching to the year 5634 BC. Powerful volcanic eruptions have significant temperature-decreasing impacts, and they are the major disturbances to eliminate in analysis. The similarities between the temperatures of the tree-ring trend and the AHR trend are easy to observe even by the naked eye. The statistical analysis shows that these two signals are statistically related. The analyses also show that the well-known Gleissberg cycle of 88 years is the dominating cycle caused by the Suns’ activity changes but the observed 60-year cycle can be connected to the AHR cyclicity.
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From the author’s website:
Climate change 5: Cosmic theory (slide show)







The Gleissberg cycle is often discussed in these types of study, but its origins aren’t clear. Even its existence has sometimes been disputed.
Quoting from this 2003 study:
Persistence of the Gleissberg 88-year solar cycle over the last ∼12,000 years: Evidence from cosmogenic isotopes
Alexei N. Peristykh, Paul E. Damon
First published: 03 January 2003
Attempts have been made to explain 20th century global warming exclusively by the component of irradiance variation associated with the Gleissberg cycle. These attempts fail, because they require unacceptably great solar forcing and are incompatible with the paleoclimatic records.
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2002JA009390
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A recent paper on the topic…
Frequency Modulation as a Cause of Additional Branches of the Gleissberg Cycle in Solar Activity (2022)
– N. G. Ptitsyna & I. M. Demina
…says:
Of the solar-activity cycles with a period exceeding 22 years, the secular cycle, known as the Gleissberg cycle, attracts the most attention from researchers.
. . .
It was found that the Gleissberg cycle consists of three distinguished branches with average periods of 60, 88, and 140 years. The nature of the amplitude variation of all three branches is identical, which indicates that they are part of one quasi-periodic process. The analysis showed that the 88-year cycle is the main cycle. Its source is the solar dynamo.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0016793222010169
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One problem there is the lack of a definition of ‘the solar dynamo’. How do stars acquire such supposed dynamos, and how are they thought to work?
The existence of these various cycles and the other longer terms movements make a mockery of the idea of a 30 year climate reference period. Any reference period should encompass at least 2 peaks and troughs of every cycle. That suggests we should be looking at 200-300 years at least. And it’s very unlikely the cycles are “years” but follow time-scales relevant to various solar and extra-solar bodies and movements. We have therefore overlapping cycles of multiple different (and possibly changing in human years) cycles. Add in changes in obliquity and the idea we can know what the climate “should” be is absurd. We have no idea.
[…] From Tallbloke’s Talkshop […]
The Role of Space Weather and Cosmic Ray Effects in Climate Change (2009)
Last Updated on Mon, 02 Jan 2023 | Earth Climate
Lev I. Dorman – Head of Cosmic Ray and Space Weather Center with Emilio Segre Observatory
https://www.climate-policy-watcher.org/earth-climate/the-role-of-space-weather-and-cosmic-ray-effects-in-climate-change.html
Various references to dust effects at all levels up to galactic. See also slides 32 and 33 here: https://www.climatexam.com/cosmic-theory-caws (from the blog post author’s website)
FIGURE 23 Possible paths of solar modulated CR influence on different processes in the atmosphere leading to the formation of clouds and their influence on climate.
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The thing with cosmic ray theories is that the cosmic ray counts at Earth are inversely correlated with the sunspot numbers. So it turns into a discussion about how sunspot numbers relate to Earth’s climate, and it’s hard to find any correlation between individual sunspot cycles and climate in the data.
[…] Study: How Planetary And Solar Oscillations Affect Earth’s Temperature Cycles […]
Second link from top does not work.
Have also tried to find one thread from the past re ‘Z axis’, but to no avail. ???
oldmanK – link fixed, thanks.
Try this search – site:tallbloke.wordpress.com ‘Z axis’
This was posted by Tallbloke in 2009:
From the post:

oldbrew: Tks, not the link I was after (it was on gyros) but the link you gave is extremely interesting.
Leads also to this: https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/are-we-quaking/#comment-1817
The weather-planetary connection appears to have been sensed by many; there is some informative groundwork covered. Still have to look into properly.
Reblogged this on Climate Collections.
Reblogged this on Calculus of Decay .
Jupiter and Saturn cycles do not order the AMO. The long term mean AMO frequency is 55 years, because every other warm AMO phase is during a centennial solar minimum.