Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The Little Ice Age

A new study indicates that a cool spell that started in the 13th century, sometimes called the Little Ice Age, appears to have been caused by a series of volcanic eruptions and sustained by sea ice.

During the cool spell, which lasted for about 600 years, advancing glaciers destroyed northern European towns and froze the Thames River in London.

It is not known how many people died as a result.

No one can say if or when this will happen again but it is just one more demonstration of how vulnerable our climate is to sudden change. With all the pollution and green house gasses we are pumping out each year and the ever fluctuating solar cycle. We really don't know what sudden event could change every thing we take for granted.

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