The Late Maunder Minimum (1675–1715) — Climax of the ‘Little Ice Age’ in Europe

Abstract

The Maunder Minimum (MM; 1645–1715) delineates the coldest phase of the so-called ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA; variously assessed as ~AD 1300 to 1900; Holzhauser, 1997; Pfister et al., 1998; Wanner et al., 2000) with marked climatic variability over wide parts of Europe. This period coincides with an enhanced volcanic (Briffa et al., 1998) and a reduced solar activity, as well as a low number of sunspots (Sporer, 1887; Maunder, 1922; Eddy, 1976) and an increase in atmospheric 14C (Stuiver and Braziunas, 1993). Estimates of the total radiative solar output changes for the MM are in the order of 0.2 to 0.4% relative to present levels (Hoyt and Schatten, 1993; Nesmes-Ribes et al., 1993; Lean et al., 1995; Reid, 1997; Lean and Rind, 1998; 1999). Solar activity during the MM was near its lowest levels within the past 8000 years (Lean and Rind, 1999) and the UV (200–300 nm) irradiance was also lower (Lean et al., 1995). This in turn could have had an influence on stratospheric chemistry (ozone) and dynamics (absorption). The reduced solar activity might have resulted in a decrease of the stratospheric ozone content as proposed by Wuebbles et al. (1998). In agreement with this proposal, levels of δ14C and δ10Be cosmogenic isotopes in tree-rings and ice cores were found to be elevated (Eddy, 1976; Stuiver and Braziunas, 1993). However, several authors (i.e. Landsberg, 1980; Cullen, 1980; Xu et al., 2000) believe that a decline in solar activity may not have been the cause of the climate severity during the LMM, since evidence from numerous local histories, especially from east Asia, suggest that sunspots were not rare in the seventeenth century. Mann et al. (1998) have found lower annual Northern Hemisphere (NH) mean surface temperatures with decreases between 0.2° and 0.4°C compared to the reference period of 1902-1980. Jones et al. (1998) report of a decrease of the NH April to September temperatures in the order of around 0.3°–0.6°C compared to the reference period of 1961–1990. However, there is no evidence of an advance of European alpine glaciers. The Great Aletsch and the Lower Grindelwald Glaciers show a series of years with a nearly stable or even a negative mass balance (Wanner et al., 2000).