Displayed are two graphs of polar field variations versus time for the first 8 solar cycles (a), and for 4000 tick time units (b). Each of the graphs is of the Plot A type using the Field Mapping model 1p07 run with the Netlogo 4.1.2 code version. Shown most prominently are three colored curves: blue, red, and black. The blue curve displays the amount and sign of the magnetic flux in the northern magnetic pole, namely, the mean field above 60 degrees latitude. The red curve similarly counts the mean field in the Southern polar region. The two polar fields anti-correlate. The black curve marks the Absolute Value Sum of the red and blue curves, so it corresponds to the mean polar flux. It has been displaced downward, so the −60 value corresponds with 0 flux, for increased clarity. The black curve essentially reaches a peak, during a solar cycle minimum, when the polar fields reach their maximum values. Again, a fourth black curve is drawn, with little blips, and placed at the bottom of each plot showing when the actual peak in the polar field occurs. These provide a good indicator of the start of a solar cycle, so one can count solar cycles with these blips. The lower graph shows an extended period of low solar activity interspersed within typical periods of high activity. The extended periods of low activity (e.g. the one near 3000 time units) may be similar to Maunder Minima type phenomena. Examinations of the lengths between field minima, shown by the tick marks in the figure, readily display an inverse correlation with polar field magnitudes. Namely, when the fields are larger, the periods are shorter. This effect was discovered by Waldmeier.
