Reconstructing the temporal and spatial climate development on a seasonal basis during the last few centuries, including the ‘Little Ice Age’, may help us better understand modern-day interplay between natural and anthropogenic climate variability.
Cold summers or wet winters?
The conventional view of the climate development during the last millennium has been that it followed a sequence of a Medieval Warm Period, a cool ‘Little Ice Age’ and a warming during the later part of the 19th century and in particular during the late 20th/early 21st centuries. However, recent research has challenged this rather simple sequence of climate development. Up to the present, it has been considered most likely that the ‘Little Ice Age’ glacial expansion in western Scandinavia was due to lower summer temperatures.
Conclusion
The authors conclude, on the other hand, that the main cause of the early 18th century glacial advance in western Scandinavia most likely was mild and humid winters associated with increased precipitation and high snowfall on the glaciers.
Reference:
Nesje, Atle; Dahl, Svein Olaf; Thun, Terje; Nordli, Øyvind (2007): The ‘Little Ice Age’ glacial expansion in western Scandinavia – summer temperature or winter precipitation? Climate Dynamics, in press.
The ‘Little Ice Age’ glacial expansion in western Scandinavia – summer temperature or winter precipitation?
A group of scientists led by Atle Nesje at the Bjerknes Centre has shown in an article in press in Climate Dynamics that the main cause of the early 18th century glacial advance in western Scandinavia was probably mild and humid winters associated with increased precipitation and high snowfall on the glaciers rather than cold summers as previously suggested.
Body