the little ice age
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The Little Ice Age. Amber Jimenez, Jeremiah Hinton, Linet Madeja, Marco Messah, Mytet Gumin Dr. Witiw Group #3. Background. “ A time of cooler climate in most parts of the world ”. Colder winters in Europe and North America - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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?