Probable detection of climatically significant change of the solar constant

It is suggested that the decrease in the solar radius inferred from solar eclipse observations made from 1715 to 1979 reflects a variation of the solar constant that may be of considerable climatic significance. A general, time-averaged relationship between changes in the solar constant and changes in the solar radius is derived based on a model of the contraction and expansion of the convective zone. A preliminary numerical calculation of radius changes due to changes in the mixing length of the solar envelope is presented which indicates that a decrease in solar radius of 0.5 arcsec, as observed in the last 264 years, would correspond to a decrease of 0.7% in the solar constant, a value of large climatic significance. Limitations of the observational method and the numerical approach are pointed out, and required additional theoretical and observational efforts are indicated.