The Roots of Change: 
Understanding the Magnetic Drivers of Solar Variability

K. D. Leka 
Colorado Research Associates Division,
NorthWest Research Associates

Our Sun varies on timescales from seconds to millennia, and produces
energy fluctuations over as many orders of magnitude.  The source of
solar variability lies in the solar magnetic field, which manifests
itself over a wide range from tiny but ubiquitous "quiet-Sun" bipoles
to Earth-dwarfing, kilo-Gauss wielding active regions.  Subtle variations
in the former may be responsible for solar wind variations, while the
latter are the source of massive energetic events such as solar flares
and Coronal Mass Ejections.  Thus, the appearance and evolution of
various magnetic structures dictate both local plasma conditions and the
global coronal structure.  In this colloquium, I will highlight recent
advances in our understanding of solar magnetic phenomena, with a focus
on issues of basic structure, formation and evolution.  In addition,
I will discuss new measurements being carried out on Haleakala which
appear, for the first time, to directly measure the stored energy
responsible for solar energetic phenomena.  As might be expected,
new investigations beget further confusion; e.g., large discrepancies
are arising concerning sunspot structure into the chromosphere and low
corona, between theoretical expectations and observational results.
I will briefly discuss this and other new mysteries in the context of
our variable star