Perception, history, and science: coherence or disparity in the timing of the Little Ice Age maximum in southeast Iceland?
In Iceland, studies that integrate local perceptions about the landscape with scientific evidence of change have been few. This article presents a case study from southeast Iceland that has two main objectives. Firstly, ethnographic data is used to explore the human dimension of the Little Ice Age t...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247405004687 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247405004687 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247405004687 2024-03-03T08:45:41+00:00 Perception, history, and science: coherence or disparity in the timing of the Little Ice Age maximum in southeast Iceland? Mckinzey, Krista M. Ólafsdóttir, Rannveig Dugmore, Andrew J. 2005 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247405004687 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247405004687 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Polar Record volume 41, issue 4, page 319-334 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development journal-article 2005 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247405004687 2024-02-08T08:37:26Z In Iceland, studies that integrate local perceptions about the landscape with scientific evidence of change have been few. This article presents a case study from southeast Iceland that has two main objectives. Firstly, ethnographic data is used to explore the human dimension of the Little Ice Age through perceptions of landscape and climatic change and to describe the impacts that these changes had on life and livelihood. Secondly, the paper critically assesses the coherence of the scientific record regarding the Little Ice Age glacial maximum with evidence gained from the ethnographic survey and the local historical record. Although climatic deterioration from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries ultimately affected farming viability, it was the interplay of climate with concomitant cultural and socio-economic factors that ensured effective strategies were emplaced to preserve life and livelihood in southeast Iceland. Furthermore, despite different trajectories of perception emanating from either the scientific or the local points of view, data from all sources are strongly coherent and point to a Little Ice Age maximum during the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries. This study also illustrates that sensitive landscapes can ‘store memories’ through the cumulative accumulation of disturbances during periods of climatic variability, eventually reaching a critical threshold and inducing landscape instability, such as occurred during the nineteenth century. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Polar Record Cambridge University Press Polar Record 41 4 319 334 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
spellingShingle |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development Mckinzey, Krista M. Ólafsdóttir, Rannveig Dugmore, Andrew J. Perception, history, and science: coherence or disparity in the timing of the Little Ice Age maximum in southeast Iceland? |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
description |
In Iceland, studies that integrate local perceptions about the landscape with scientific evidence of change have been few. This article presents a case study from southeast Iceland that has two main objectives. Firstly, ethnographic data is used to explore the human dimension of the Little Ice Age through perceptions of landscape and climatic change and to describe the impacts that these changes had on life and livelihood. Secondly, the paper critically assesses the coherence of the scientific record regarding the Little Ice Age glacial maximum with evidence gained from the ethnographic survey and the local historical record. Although climatic deterioration from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries ultimately affected farming viability, it was the interplay of climate with concomitant cultural and socio-economic factors that ensured effective strategies were emplaced to preserve life and livelihood in southeast Iceland. Furthermore, despite different trajectories of perception emanating from either the scientific or the local points of view, data from all sources are strongly coherent and point to a Little Ice Age maximum during the late eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries. This study also illustrates that sensitive landscapes can ‘store memories’ through the cumulative accumulation of disturbances during periods of climatic variability, eventually reaching a critical threshold and inducing landscape instability, such as occurred during the nineteenth century. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mckinzey, Krista M. Ólafsdóttir, Rannveig Dugmore, Andrew J. |
author_facet |
Mckinzey, Krista M. Ólafsdóttir, Rannveig Dugmore, Andrew J. |
author_sort |
Mckinzey, Krista M. |
title |
Perception, history, and science: coherence or disparity in the timing of the Little Ice Age maximum in southeast Iceland? |
title_short |
Perception, history, and science: coherence or disparity in the timing of the Little Ice Age maximum in southeast Iceland? |
title_full |
Perception, history, and science: coherence or disparity in the timing of the Little Ice Age maximum in southeast Iceland? |
title_fullStr |
Perception, history, and science: coherence or disparity in the timing of the Little Ice Age maximum in southeast Iceland? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Perception, history, and science: coherence or disparity in the timing of the Little Ice Age maximum in southeast Iceland? |
title_sort |
perception, history, and science: coherence or disparity in the timing of the little ice age maximum in southeast iceland? |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247405004687 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247405004687 |
genre |
Iceland Polar Record |
genre_facet |
Iceland Polar Record |
op_source |
Polar Record volume 41, issue 4, page 319-334 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247405004687 |
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Polar Record |
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41 |
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4 |
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319 |
op_container_end_page |
334 |
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