Overview

Since The Little Ice Age was published in 1988, interest in climatic history has grown rapidly and research in the area has flourished. A vast amount of new data has become available from sources such as ice cores, speleothems and tree-rings. The picture that we have of past climates and glacier oscillations has extended further into the past and has become more detailed. However, the knowledge of climate change on the decennial and centennial time-scale, to which glacier history can contribute, is scarce and is in demand for attempting to predict future change, especially with regard to global warming. New chapters and material have been included throughout the book, which tend to confirm and elaborate on the earlier conclusions of the first edition. The glacial evidence has been presented in the context of the oceanographic and icecap studies that have provided such exciting results. Little Ice Ages is structured in three parts: The first details the evidence for glacier variations in the last thousand years in different parts of the world and the associated climatic fluctuations, The second brings together the evidence for the timing of glacier variations in the course of the Holocene, The third views the Holocene record in a longer time context, especially as it appears in ice cores and goes on to consider the likely causes of climatic variability on a little ice age time scale and some of its physical, biological and human consequences. It becomes apparent in Little Ice Ages , that the glacier record provides a valuable indication of the nature of climatic fluctuations on the land areas of the globe. The record points to periods of cooling which were more numerous and less continuous than was believed to be the case 20 years ago. There appears to be no single explanation for the variability. Volcanism, solar variability and ocean currents have all played their parts and the possibility of prediction continues to present many problems. Some authorities have thrown doubt on the existence of the Little Ice Age, but Little Ice Ages makes the case for a climatic sequence that can usefully be called the Little Ice Age and which had predecessors occurring at intervals of several centuries throughout much of the last 10, 000 years.

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9780415099486

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`A masterpiece of meticulous research on a huge topic. It is written in a style that will appeal to a wide audience and is illustrated both lavishly and sensibly throughout ... Jean M. Grove is to be heartily congratulated .' - Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers `A synthesis of knowledge of the Little Ice Age has long been needed, and this is the nearest we can expect to a comprehensive review in a single volume ... Illustration and maps are of very high quality. I particularly compliment the author and publishers on the 57 plates, containing several reproductions of 18th and 19th centuries paintings of glaciers with advanced terminus. This is a book to be strongly recommended, and essential for scientists investigating climatic change.' - Polar Record `In her major analysis of evidence from every glacial region of the world, Jean Grove steers her way through this morass with remarkable skill, neither ignoring the inconsistencies nor allowing them to obscure the truth. The most complete and plausible picture yet of the Little Ice Age ... there is barely a word or sentence that cannot be understood by any intelligent reader.' - New Scientist `Three cheers for Jean Grove for producing the definitive synthesis of global glacier expansions between about 1550 and 1850 ... this is a top-notch well-produced book that puts a wealth of information about Little Ice Age glacier fluctuations at hand ... the book must be regarded as definitive on its chosen subject. The Little Ice Age should appeal to a wide audience including historians, geologists, glaciologists, and climatologists.' - Climatic Change 'The book is essential reading for all Quaternary researchers. It ought to be listed as a mandatory textbook for senior undergraduates and Masters students ... this book is a mine of useful information and fascinating facts. Anyone preparing work on the Holocene history of any glaciated area in the world would do no better than to read the relevant parts of this book. It provides a lead-in to much of the important literature and hence is a particularly effective research tool.' - Geological Magazine

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Jean M. Grove

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