A Pequena Idade do Gelo: evidências históricas e geológicas de mudança climática

Abstract

Currently, basic school teachers are challenged to address climate control factors by means of an essentially interdisciplinary approach. This goes beyond developing an ability to manipulate scientific information from different sources; it requires an understanding of the deep implications of scientific knowledge. This research has gathered evidence about the “Litlle Ice Age”, which occurred between the 16th and 19th centuries, when there was great cooling in the Northern Hemisphere, and other worldwide effects. The database retrieved by the survey is divided as historical, geological, biological, geomorphological and artistic evidence, including knowledge about dating methods of the Quaternary ancient climates. The records help building a systemic understanding of the processes determining Holocene climatic variations. Ice ages can also be related to eustatic (sea level) variations. The results reveal the availability of different paleoclimatic models, thus enhancing the implications of such extreme events for the societies. The models allow to identify some tendencies of climatic change, not perfectly convergent.

Keywords: Paleoclimatology, Quaternary, Climate change, Environment, Geosciences.