little ice age
The cold period from about AD 1450 to the end of the 19th C, about 1oC colder than the early 20th C, brought about by reduced solar output with low sunspot activity (the Spörer and Maunder minima) and elevated volcanic activity, the latter causing global dimming.
This definition is abridged from A – Z of tree terms: A companion to British arboriculture.
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