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GCSE Geography · key term
A dark patch visible on the Sun's surface. Changes in sunspot numbers indicate changes in solar activity.
Used by OCR
Specification 2.1b · Paper 1, Paper 3
Revise: Natural and Human CausesSunspots are dark patches on the Sun's surface. Their numbers rise and fall in a cycle lasting about 11 years. They are indicators of solar activity: periods with more sunspots generally have slightly higher total solar energy output.
Treat sunspots as indicators of solar activity, not as spots which directly heat Earth. Solar variations cannot explain the recent sustained warming trend.
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