Description
The Little Ice Age (PEG) is a period in the Earth's climatic history spanning from the mid-16th century (the end of the Medieval Warm Period) to the mid-19th century (i.e. from about 1300 to 1850), when there was a sharp drop in the Earth's average temperature. During this period, there was an advancement of glaciers all over the world, including the Alps, where they reached their most advanced positions in historical times. At the end of the Little Ice Age, a phase of intense retreat began for the glaciers in the Alps, which continues to the present day.
Il Ghiacciaio La Mare con le evidenti morene della Piccola Età Glaciale (Foto R. Seppi)
A number of possible causes for the drop in temperature that gave rise to the PEG have been identified, such as decreased solar activity, increased volcanic activity and changes in the circulation of ocean currents.
The limits of the glaciers and their deposits were traced using terrain surveys, historical data and cartography, and remote sensing based on orthophotos and multi-temporal LiDAR data.
The results obtained, in addition to being the first complete and homogeneous cartographic data of the Little Ice Age on the entire Trentino territory, will enter as an information layer in the Hazard Maps, in accordance with art. 10 L.P. 1 July 2011, no. 9.
Reference bibliography
Carturan L., Baroni C., Carton A., Cazorzi F., Dalla Fontana G., Delpero C., Salvatore M. C., Seppi R., and Zanoner T. (2014)Reconstructing fluctuations of La Mare Glacier (Eastern Italian Alps) in the Late Holocene: new evidence for a Little Ice Age maximum around 1600 AD. Geografiska Annaler. Series A. Physical Geography (ISSN:1468-0459), 96.