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Abstract

The Late Maunder Minimum (LMM, 1675(LMM, -1715 denotes the climax of the 'Little Ice Age' in Europe with marked climate variability. Investigations into interannual and interdecadal differences of atmospheric circulation between the LMM and the period 1961-1990 have been performed and undertaken based upon sea level pressure (SLP) difference maps, empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis, and objective classification techniques. Since the SLP during the LMM winter was significantly higher in northeastern Europe but below normal over the central and western Mediterranean, more frequent blocking situations were connected with cold air outbreaks towards central and eastern Europe. Springs were cold and characterized by a southward shift of the mid-latitude storm tracks. Summers in western, central Europe and northern Europe were wetter and slightly cooler than they are today due to a weaker Azores high and a more southerly position of the mean polar front axes. Autumns showed a significantly higher pressure over northern Europe and a lower pressure over continental Europe and the Mediterranean, an indication of an advanced change from summer to winter circulation. It is suggested that the pressure patterns during parts of the LMM might be attributed to the combination of external forcing factors (solar irradiance and volcanic activity) and internal oscillations and couplings in the North Atlantic.

Solar Influence on Global and Regional Climates

“…This is consistent with the circulation perturbation in Fig. 6 and has also been deduced from indirect proxies (Luterbacher et al 2001), including the spatial patterns of changes in recorded harvest dates (Wanner et al 1995). This strongly suggests a link with the incidence of long-lived winter ''blocking'' events in the eastern Atlantic at low solar activity.…”

The influence of solar activity on action centres of atmospheric circulation in North Atlantic

“…Other studies found a negative correlation between the same parameters, however (Kirov and Georgieva, 2002). Studies on Maunder Minimum have indicated a direct relationship between the low solar activity during this period and the negative NAO phase (Wanner et al, 2008;Slonosky et al, 2001;Luterbacher et al, 2001;Xoplaki et al, 2001;Shindell et al, 2001;Langematz et al, van Loon and Meehl (2008) in a study applying the composite mean difference method. These results were confirmed by Roy and Haigh (2010) by means of multiple linear regression applied to time series of 155 years.…”

The year without a summer

“…But in eastern Europe, western Russia and parts of eastern Scandinavia, summer temperatures were normal or slightly warmer than average. Temperature fluctuations in the central and eastern Mediterranean are less certain, owing to a lack of temperature station data for these areas 6,7 .…”