2. When Global Cooling Gripped the World
The Little Ice Age started as early
as 1200 and as late as 1450 AD,
and lasted until 1850 or 1900
Destroyed crops and caused
hunger across the world
Glaciers spread across 20% of the
globe
Part of a long tradition of Earth's
atmosphere swinging between 4
degrees warmer and cooler than
today
3. Possible Causes
.5% drop in Solar
Radiation output
5 major volcanic eruptions
per century caused sulfuric
gasses to cloud atmosphere
Arctic ice melting into the
Thermal hey-line
circulation lowered salinity,
breaking the conveyer and
disrupting wind exchange
4. Effects on History
Made the potato a value
food crop over cereal
grains
May have made the
wood that Stradivari
used to make his violins
The reason Americans
drink 10 times more beer
than wine
5. References
Cutler, Allen. “The little Ice Age: When Global Cooling Gripped the World” Washington
Post, Washington DC
13 August, 1997 WEB 20 September, 2009
The Little Ice Age, History Channel
