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H.E. Coffey, E.H. Erwin (NOAA NGDC)
While the sunspot number maximum of Solar Cycle 23 occurred in April 2000, a secondary maximum was seen during the period Sep 2001-Feb 2002. Interestingly, several solar indices were markedly higher than the April 2000 maximum. These include the daily solar magnetic field index, the daily solar radio flux, and the daily solar Calcium index. In contrast, the recent monthly sunspot number values were lower than in April 2000. Also, the monthly cosmic ray index did not show an unusual decrease (varies inversely) during the secondary maximum. We look at these data along with daily sunspot drawings showing the level of activity during the two maxima, with a view towards explaining why the sunspot number did not follow the behavior of the other solar indices. If indeed there is a disconnection between the sunspot number and other solar indices, this impacts many models using sunspot numbers as a proxy for early solar activity.
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The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: Helen.E.Coffey@noaa.gov
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.