H. Wanner et al., WINTERTIME EUROPEAN CIRCULATION PATTERNS DURING THE LATE MAUNDER MINIMUM COOLING PERIOD (1675-1704), Theoretical and applied climatology, 51(3), 1995, pp. 167-175
The North Atlantic and Western Europe regions comprise a key area to s
tudy climate variations in the form of cold relapses which may be a po
ssible manifestation of reduced ocean circulation. By using multi-prox
y data of the late Maunder Minimum period, temperature and precipitati
on distribution during winter was studied in connection with atmospher
ic circulation, with the goal of obtaining an insight into the feedbac
ks between ocean, sea ice and temperature. The study shows that the La
te Maunder Minimum was a relatively cool and dry period with low ocean
temperatures and a large sea ice extent, although Alpine glaciers did
not grow during this time. A comparison of the winter weather types o
f the three decades from 1675 to 1704 with the recent 30 year period (
1961-1990) shows that the late Maunder Minimum was characterized by st
rong sea level pressure reversals with high pressure centres over Nort
hern or Northwestern Europe and large outbreaks of northeasterly cold
continental air.