Reconstructing solar irradiance from historical Ca II K observations

Context. Knowledge of solar irradiance variability is critical to Earth’s climate models and understanding the solar influence on Earth’s climate. Direct solar irradiance measurements have only been available since 1978. Reconstructions of past variability typically rely on sunspot data. However, sunspot records provide only indirect information on the facular and network regions, which are decisive contributors to irradiance variability on timescales of the solar cycle and longer. Aims. Our ultimate goal is to reconstruct past solar irradiance variations using historical full-disc Ca I