Geomorphic response to the Little Ice Age in Slovakia

Abstract

Geomorphic response to the Little Ice Age (LIA; ca 1250-1890 AD) in Slovakia was marked by the increased occurrence and effectiveness of fluvial, runoff, and some gravitati- onal processes. W e identified four periods of increased frequency of big floods, namely: (1250) 1378-1526 AD, the 1560s-1570s, the 1590s-1620s, and the 1660s-1850s, while the last period shows two stages (the 1660s-1720s and the 1760s-1850s). Three identified periods of disastrous gullying accompanied by muddy floods (the 14th century, the mid-16th century - the 1730s, the 1780s - the mid-19th century) refer to temporal conformity of both fluvial and runoff processes. High frequency of debris flows in the Slovak part of the Tatra Mts. occurred in the period of 1400-1860 AD. Sparse mentions on precipitation-induced particular events of debris flows, land- slides or rockfalls are mostly linked with simultaneous occurrence of floods.