The Little Ice Age
Raymond
consider the havoc that can be caused by the change of temperatures--
either up or down.
During the Little Ice Age, average global temperatures were 1-1.5
degree Celsius (2-3 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler than they are today
Example:
The Little Ice Age
Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Breughel. Breughel captured the long
winters of the Little Ice Age in this 1565 painting.
Click on image for full size (35 Kb)
Caspar Ammann
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/climate/little_ice_age.html
For about five hundred years, from 1250 to 1850, most parts of the
world experienced colder and harsher climates than usual. This time is
called the Little Ice Age. During the Little Ice Age, average global
temperatures were 1-1.5 degree Celsius (2-3 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler
than they are today. The cooler temperatures were caused by a
combination of less solar activity and large volcanic eruptions.
Cooling caused glaciers to advance and stunted tree growth. Livestock
died, harvests failed, and humans suffered from famine and disease.
The Little Ice Age was not a true ice age because it did not get cold
enough for long enough to cause ice sheets to grow larger. The cooling
likely affected areas around the world but we have the most records of
how it changed daily life from Europe. Some of the records and events
that occurred during the Little Ice Age are listed below.
Fur trappers reported that southern Hudson Bay remained frozen for
about 3 weeks longer each spring. Fishermen reported large amounts of
sea ice floating in the North Atlantic. British people saw Eskimos
paddling canoes off the coast of England. Alpine (mountain) glaciers
grew larger. In some cases, the ice engulfed mountain villages.
Winters were longer and growing seasons shorter according to tree ring
data and records of cherry tree flowering.
Wet weather caused disease that affected people, animals and crops
including the bubonic plague (also called the Black Death). This
disease killed more than a third of Europeans. Farms and villages in
Northern Europe were deserted because the farmers couldn't grow crops
in the cooler climate. During the harshest winters, bread had to be
made from the bark of trees because grains would no longer grow.
Limited crops and unhealthy livestock caused famine in areas of
northern and Eastern Europe. Unlike today, there was no way to
transport food around the world to areas where crops had failed and
people were hungry.
THINK......