Amber Jimenez, Jeremiah Hinton, Linet Madeja, Marco Messah, Mytet Gumin

Dr. WitiwGroup #3

The Little Ice Age

Background “A time of cooler climate in most parts of the world”•Colder winters in Europe and North America

•Average global temperatures were about 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit cooler

•No agreement on beginning date of Little Ice Age

•Medieval Warming Period

1. Background2. Causes

1. Sunspots2. Milankovitch cycles3. Volcanic activity4. Thermohaline

3. Impacts1. Agriculture2. People3. Economy4. Environment5. Art & Literature

4. South American Little Ice Age & Ice Vikings5. Recommendation

1. World food supply THEN VS. NOW2. Projections based on trends

Outline of our Presentation

Sun Spots

Dark regions that appear on the surface of the sun

It is dark because the temperature is cooler than its surroundings (3,700 degrees C vs. 5,500 degrees C)

Not really dark…

What is a Sun Spot?

Low Sun Spot count during the Little Ice AgeLow Sun Spots means less heat coming from

the sun, leads to a cooler earth

Relevance to the Little Ice Age

Future Sun Spot Activity

EccentricityShape of earth’s orbit around the

sunAxial Tilt

The inclination of the earth’s axis in relation to the plane of orbit around the sun

PrecessionThe changes in the orbital ellipse

causes changes in the solstices

Milankovitch Cycle

Eccentricity

More Elliptical would mean extreme weathers between seasons

Less Elliptical means a change in seasons (much like ours currently)

Axial Tilt

The tilt determines which area of the earth receives the most amount or the least amount of sunlight

Precession The position of the earth on its elliptical path around the sun

This changes when and how long the seasons last

Thermohaline CirculationDefinition:

The global ocean circulation that is driven by geographic differences in the density of sea water, which are controlled by temperature (thermal) and salinity (haline)

Warm, salty water from the Tropics gets carried through to the North Atlantic

Once there, it begins to

cool, releasing

heat to the atmosphere & warming the North Atlantic

The water becomes

cooler, more dense &

sinks to the deep ocean

Once in the deep ocean, water flows south through the ocean basins, is driven up by wind driven up near the Antartic and rejoins near surface currents to begin the process again.

Past changes in thermohaline circulation have occurred during periods of relatively rapid climate change, such as transitions in and out of glaciations, like the Little Ice Age

Ocean Conveyor Belt

Younger Dryas EventDiscussion that meltwater

floods reduced the salinity and density of the surface ocean in the North Atlantic, causing a reduction in the ocean's thermohaline circulation and climate changes around the world

Eventually, as the meltwater flux subsided, the thermohaline circulation strengthened again and climate recovered

Meltwater floods reduced salinity & density of the surface of the

ocean

Continental Ice

Sheets Melting

Freshwate

r added to

the North

Atlantic

Volcanic InfluenceMount Pinatubo 1991

-Sent fine ash and gases high into the stratosphere

-Aerosol Effect, reflects incoming solar heat back into space, increasing the earth's reflective power (albedos)

-Higher albedos coincide with lower temperatures

Tambora 1815 -produced so much gases and

particles that it lowered earth's temperature enough that it robbed Europe of a summer the following year

High Volcanic Activity

during Little Ice Age

demonstrate a lowering

of temperatures, cooling

off the climate.

Increased prices on wheat and rye

Peaks in prices due largely because of poor harvest

Impact on Agriculture

Fusarium nivale Parasite Devasted crops

Animals had nothing to eat causing a huge decline in livestock

Led to famine and dearth

Famine: a severe shortage of food resulting in starvation and death

Dearth: an insufficient quantity or number 

Impact on Agriculture cont…

Dearth, famine, and poor nutrition killed millions of people Vikings in Greenland; Iceland

St. Anthony's Fire Illness Convulsions, hallucinations, gangrenous rotting of the extremities, and even death

MalariaMala aria ‘bad air’

Became very hostileCattle raids, men enlisted into war etc.

Witchcraft/ Witch huntsScapegoats to blame for their suffering

Impact on the People

Fertile fishing grounds of Newfoundland Banks were thought to have been found by fisherman in the late 1400's

movement of colder waters from the north

English fisherman benefited by the southern movement of herring off of Norway.

Increase in deep-sea fishing helped to build the marine population and strength of the country

The failure of crops in Norway growth of merchant shipping.

Coastal farmers whose crops failed turned to selling their timber and to constructing ships in order to transport the timbers themselves.

Positive impacts on the Economy

Increased grain pricesLower wine productionFarmsteads destroyed

less tax revenues collected due to decreased value of the properties

Cod fishing decreasedScottish fisherman

Sudden end to mining operationsHohe Tauern

mountains of the Austrian Alps

Negative impacts on the Economy

High frequency of stormsLarge hailstormsSand storms due

to severe erosion and high winds

Sea floodingReshaping of

coastal land regions

Impact on Environment

Writers and artists were influenced by the climate change

Impact on Art and Literature

Explorers over the centuries have noted changes to the San Rafael Glacier in South America

Antonio De Vea, Hans Steffan Hoffman, the a BBC report’s data correspond with timeline of the LIA

The retreat and advance of the San Rafael Glacier corresponds with the conditions proposed by the LIA

South America in the LIA

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle famously notes the first appearance of Viking raiders on the shores of Lindisfarne in AD 793

Tax reports indicate that the population of Iceland fell from about 77,500 in 1095, to around 38,000 in the 1780's

Ice Vikings?

World Food Supply Recommendations

Asia plants more than 50% of the

developing world’s wheat

crop

Asia produces & consumes

90% rice grown

50% of the developing

world’s Maize is produced

in Asia, some Eastern/Southern African

parts too

NowInvestment in world

food security, to food safety and food quality, and to sustainability, ensuring they remain available to the public at large

Investment in Irrigation Systems throughout Africa, Latin America

Genetically Modified OrganismsConsiderations

-The availability of varieties of seed with tolerances for extremes of cold or heat, wetness or drought

-Development of a greater variety of crops that focus on virus resistance, quality and tolerance to abiotic stresses.

Developing countries should be invested in (Latin American, African) to increase crop representation and enhancement of crop traits

Total area cultivated with GMO

crops stands at about

44.2 million hectares, up

from 11 million

hectares just three years

ago. About 75% of this

area is in industrialized

countries. Substantial

plantings largely concern four

crops: soybean, maize, cotton and

canola.

About 16% of the total

area planted to these

crops is now under GM varieties, and two traits - insect

resistance and

herbicide tolerance - dominate.

Concerns: public and private sectors

Danger that the scale of the investment may lead to selective concentration on species

“Hard" intellectual property rights over seeds & planting material, the tools of genetic engineering.

Patents on crops

LIA in South America:Historical records of San Rafael glacier advances (North Patagonian Icefield): another

clue to 'Little Ice Age‘ timing in southern Chile?. A. Araneda, F. Torrejon, M. Aguayo, L. Torres, F. Cruces, M. Cisternas, and R. Urrutia (2007) The Holocene 17, 987-998

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3662975.stmhttp://www1.lanic.utexas.edu/project/etext/llilas/vrp/villalba.html

LIA in Greenland/Vikingshttp://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/lia/decline_of_vikings_iceland.htmlLamb, H.H., 1995, Climate, History and the Modern World, Methuen, London.

Resources

the endquestions?