The Little Ice Age

By: Kyle PollittSwisseduc.ch

Historic Event

• The Little Ice Age was a period of global climate change. There was a cooling trend from approximately the years 1150 – 1460 and then significant cold weather from about 1460 – 1850. This cold era is known as the Little Ice Age. Scientists still argue about the cause of the Little Ice Age. Some believe that the sun may have been about a quarter percent dimmer during this time. This theory along with the data of the colder temperatures is called the Maunder Minimum and matches the coldest of the spells from 1645 – 1715. Other researchers claim that volcanic eruptions caused climate change by creating a veil of sun-blocking aerosols in the atmosphere. Still others believe the cold weather can be attributed to the ocean currents and storm movements.

openlearn.open.ac.com & the Little Ice Age film

Historic Effect❈ Whatever is the reason for the

Little Ice Age, it had a great impact on society especially in Europe. Farmers, fishermen and those who depended on agriculture were instantly impacted with no crops to sell and livestock dying. Trees and forests were frozen and could not be used for wood. There was social unrest with no food and a lack of work and the Black Plague took the lives of 75 million people. It was discovered that potatoes could survive the extreme cold and sustain life until the potato famine in Ireland claimed 5 million lives when the Irish ate potatoes that were diseased.

uwmc.uwc.edu & the Little Ice Age film

A rts and L iterature

• During an unusually cold year in 1816 also known as “the year without a summer”, many Europeans were unable to enjoy outdoor vacations. Huddled next to a fireplace to keep warm, several writers produced historic works. Mary Shelley was inspired to write Frankenstein and her friend John William Polidori wrote The Vampire. Mary’s husband Percy wrote a poem called Mont Blanc where he referred to the glacier activity of the times. The Little Ice Age may also have inspired Charles Dickens. In the early 1800’s he penned the vision of the “old fashioned” white Christmas.

wordpress.com & geology.um.maine.edu

SourcesThe documentary film Little Ice Agehttp://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/lia/little_ice_age.htmlhttp://www.geology.um.maine.edu/ges121/lectures/11-little-ice-age/little-ice-age.htmlhttp://www.uwmc.uwc.edu/csepa/mhall/IG

S/Plagues/PIA/Images/bruegheldeath.jpghttp://www.swisseduc.ch/glaciers/earth_icy_planet/icons-04/09.jpghttp://openlearn.open.ac.uk/file.php/2805/S250_3_024i.jpghttp://tichaon.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/mary41.jpg