What was the Little Ice Age?

The Little Ice Age was a period of regional cooling, particularly pronounced in the North Atlantic, lasting from the 16th to the 19th centuries or alternatively from about 1300 to 1850. It was not a true globally synchronous ice age, but rather featured independent regional climate changes and modest Northern Hemisphere cooling. Several contributing causes have been proposed, including heightened volcanic activity, solar radiation lows, and changes in ocean circulation.

What we know

• The Little Ice Age is conventionally defined as extending from the 16th to the 19th centuries, though some experts prefer a timeframe from about 1300 to 1850. [1, 2]
• The event was not a true global ice age, but rather a period of regional cooling that was particularly pronounced in the North Atlantic region. [2]
• Proposed causes for the cooling period include cyclical lows in solar radiation, heightened volcanic activity, changes in ocean circulation, and orbital forcing. [2, 4]
• The NASA Earth Observatory noted three particularly cold intervals within the period: beginning about 1650, 1770, and 1850. [2]

Still open

• Sources note whether the period was globally synchronous or composed of largely independent regional climate changes.

Where to go next

• what caused itWhat caused the Little Ice Age?
• how it workedHow did volcanic activity drive global cooling?
• compared withWhat was the Late Antique Little Ice Age?
• whenWhat was the Medieval Warm Period?
• how we knowWhat role did human population decreases play?
• an unexpected connectionHow did ancient population drops affect climate?Massive human population drops from events like the Black Death and Genghis Khan's massacres have been proposed as contributing causes to global cooling.

Sources

• [1]Little Ice Age (Wikidata Q190530) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Little Ice Age · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Late Antique Little Ice Age · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Little Ice Age volcanism · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Ice Age: Collision Course · CC BY-SA 4.0