Solar forcing of the terrestrial atmosphere

The Sun provides the main energy input to the terrestrial atmosphere, and yet the impact of solar variability on long-term changes remains a controversial issue. Direct radiative forcing is the most studied mechanism. Other much weaker mechanisms, however, can have a significant leverage, but the underlying physics is often poorly known. We review the main mechanisms by which solar variability may impact the terrestrial atmosphere on time scales ranging from days to millennia. This includes radiative forcing, but also the effect of interplanetary perturbations and energetic particle fluxes, all of which are eventually driven by the solar magnetic field. (C) 2009 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.