2. Little Ice Age…Big Chill
The little ice age was a
period in history that
occurred between
1550-1850AD when
the worlds
temperature was
cooler than average.
Three times within
this period have been
indentified as
particularly cold. They
are the years
surrounding
1650, 1770, and 1850.
3. Little Ice Age…Big Chill
Several causes have been explored to explain why this happened:
• Orbital Cycles
• Solar Activity
• Volcanic Activity
• Ocean Conveyor Slowdown
• Decreased Human Populations
• Inherent Variability of Climate
4. Little Ice Age…Big Chill
Evidence for this period is found all over the world. North
Atlantic and Southern African sediments, tree ring data from
Patagonia, New Zealand glacier advances, Antarctic ice cores,
and historical sailing accounts from explorer Hans Steffen are
only a few.
5. Little Ice Age…Big Chill
The effects of the little ice age on human populations were drastic.
• Iceland lost half its population.
• Norse colonies in Greenland vanished.
• One fifth to one third of Estonia and Finland’s people were lost.
In North America rivers
froze and impeded
George Washington's
Continental Army in
1777-1778 and
hundreds died of
hypothermia.
The Little Ice Age effected the entire world population and
changed the course of world history.
6. Sources
• The History Channel Presents:
“Little Ice Age: Big Chill”
• Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
“Little Ice Age”
