Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul
It was not a proper (Global) Ice Age, just a slightly cooler period in the North.
It is believed to have been caused partly by Volcanic activity, changing ocean currents, and possibly lower solar output.
Much like the preceeding warmer period, it was just a slight variation in part of the planet, for a few hundred years, not global.
|
Yes, that indeed seems to be the case. But it shows how non man made events can lead to significant changes on the planet.
---------- Post added at 11:13 ---------- Previous post was at 11:03 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDaddy
Funny I thought they farmed the sheltered sub artic fjords there, same as they did in Iceland
|
You are correct that a small amount of farming takes place now, but it is restricted to 37 animal farms that are concentrated in sheltered southern coastal fjords near Narsaq, Qaqortoq and Nanortalik.
Norse settlers used the clement weather around 985 CE to establish farms, but following the transition to the Little Ice Age, farming became drastically harder, shortening the growing season to a point where crops failed to yield seeds, eventually forcing the Norse colonies to collapse or abandon agriculture for marine hunting.
To answer your point, yes, modern contemporary farming has addressed the cold-weather limitations that currently exist, although modern farmers still face occasional challenges like summer droughts.