Most people are familiar with the conventional ice age that has occurred on our planet. However, today we're going to talk about the Little Ice Age. While not a global phenomenon, it was a period of low glaciation marked by glacial expansion in the modern era. It occurred between the 13th and 19th centuries, particularly in France. France was one of the countries most affected by this type of temperature drop. This cold climate brought some negative consequences and forced humans to adapt to new environmental conditions.
Therefore, we are going to dedicate this article to tell you everything you need to know about the little ice age and the importance it had.
Little ice age
This refers to a period of cold climate that occurred in Europe and North America from 1300 to the 1850s. It corresponds to a time when both minimum and average temperatures were lower than normal . In Europe, this phenomenon was accompanied by crop failures, famines, and natural disasters. It not only caused an increase in precipitation in the form of snow but also reduced crop yields. It's important to remember that the technology available during this period was not the same as it is today. Currently, we have many more tools to mitigate the negative conditions we face during these climatic events.
The exact beginning of the Little Ice Age is rather vague. It's difficult to pinpoint when the climate truly began to change and take hold. We're talking about climate as a compilation of all the data obtained over time in a region. For example, if we collect all the variables, such as temperature, amount of solar radiation, wind patterns, and so on, and add them up over time, we have a climate. These characteristics fluctuate from year to year and are not always stable. When we say that a climate is of a certain type, it's because most of the time it corresponds to values ​​of variables that fit that type.
However, temperatures are not always stable and vary from year to year . Therefore, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact beginning of the Little Ice Age. Given the difficulty in estimating these cold periods, the boundaries of the Little Ice Age vary among the studies available.
Studies on the Little Ice Age
Studies by the Laboratory of Glaciology and Geophysics of the Environment of the University of Grenoble and of the Laboratory of Glaciology and Geophysics of the Environment of the Federal Polytechnic School of Zurich, suggest that the glacial extensions are due to a significant increase in precipitation, but to a significant drop in temperatures.
During these years, the advance of the glaciers was mainly due to an increase of more than 25% in snowfall during the coldest season. Snowfall is normal in many places during winter. However, in this case, snowfall increased to such an extent that it occurred in regions where it had not previously snowed.
Since the end of the Little Ice Age, the retreat of the glaciers has been almost continuous. All glaciers have lost about a third of their total volume and the average thickness decreased by 30 centimeters per year during this period.
Causes
Let's look at the possible causes of the Little Ice Age. There is no scientific consensus on the dates and causes of this glacial period. The main causes may have been a decrease in the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface . This reduced intensity of sunlight led to a cooling of the entire surface and a change in atmospheric dynamics. As a result, snowfall became more frequent.
Others explain that the Little Ice Age phenomenon is due to volcanic eruptions that have slightly darkened the atmosphere. In these cases, we are talking about something similar to the previous explanation but with a different cause. It's not that less solar radiation is coming directly from the sun, but rather that the darkening of the atmosphere causes a reduction in the solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface. Some scientists who support this theory claim that between 1275 and 1300, when the Little Ice Age began, four volcanic eruptions within a fifty-year period would be responsible for this phenomenon, since they all occurred during that time.
Volcanic dust reflects solar radiation in a sustainable way and reduces the total heat received by the earth's surface. The US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has developed a climate model to test the effects of repeated volcanic eruptions, over a period of fifty years. The cumulative effects of these volcanic eruptions on the climate approve of all the effects of repeated volcanic eruptions. All of these cumulative effects would give birth to the Little Ice Age. Refrigeration, sea ice expansion, changes in water circulation, and decreased heat transport to the Atlantic coast are more likely scenarios for the Little Ice Age.
Ice Age periods
However, it must be taken into account that the intensity of the small ice age is not comparable with other long and intense periods that our planet has had at the level of glaciation. The causes of the climatic phenomenon are not well known but after this event that when multicellular organisms have appeared. This means that at an evolutionary level, the ice age that took place on our planet 750 million years ago could be positive.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the little ice age and its characteristics.