OR volcanoes, axial tilt and ice packing make it inevitable.

Potential causes of the Little Ice Age have been noted from several key events, possibly working in conjunction with one another or coinciding. One notable explanation is that these anomalies were initially caused by an increase in volcanoes, hence reducing solar activity for the planet. In 1315, Mount Tarawera in what is now New Zealand erupted, but prior to that, another large volcano occurred in 1257, with three smaller ones following within the next 100 years. What proved unique about this succession of volcanoes is that these were known as “stratovolcanoes,” a condition where magma leaves and forms various layers within different eruptions, causing unusually high levels of ash and toxic gases, hence contributing to longer-lingering and changing temperatures (Lorrey et al., 2014).

Additionally, NASA surveillance systems have detected 16 major eruptions followed by cooling events from the beginning of the 1600s, which coincides with the Jamestown settlement period, causing sunspot activity due to orbital forcing and escaping greenhouse gases. Each time a volcano erupts, ash and magma form clouds within the Earth’s atmosphere, blocking out solar radiation and thus causing cooling periods. Because cloud coverage varies depending on the location and size of the eruption, different places on the planet will experience various levels of cooling. Moreover, this cooling effect can have implications for the entire planet, since major cooling within an area of the hydrosphere can affect ocean currents and ultimately lead to increased sea levels and potential coastal flooding. In addition to detrimental effects on the hydrosphere and lithosphere, any volcanic eruption, especially those following in succession, will also influence atmospheric circulation, and cyclical lows within solar radiation will also cause changes within the ocean’s circulation (Ellis et al., 2013).

2.1. Anomalous Winters and Hotter Summers

Concerning early European settlement in Roanoke and Jamestown, extremely harsh winters were recorded by the inhabitants, ultimately leading to food shortages. Mistakenly, early colonizers of the Americas wrongly predicted that the climate in certain latitudes of the New World would be similar to those of Europe. Instead, early settlers found much harsher living conditions once they arrived, with colder winters and hotter summers, and due to the corresponding time period with the Little Ice Age, this only worsened throughout the duration of the two settlements. The colonists’ unpreparedness eventually led to impossible harvesting periods, war with indigenous populations who were also fighting to survive on the same scarce resources, and the ultimate collapse of both settlements. A recent archaeological excavation at the Jamestown site showed that English settlers had even resulted to cannibalism, coinciding with period documents and literature that had denoted the same. Additionally, worsening relations and fighting with local Native populations over food shortages had forced settlers to spend long periods within an enclosed fort, further preventing them from harvesting or hunting game, and exacerbating an already dismal situation (Wolfe, 2020).

2.2. Axial Tilt

NASA scientists have pointed out that during the time of the Jamestown settlement, changes to the planet’s axial tilt and how it orbits around the Sun, i.e., orbital forcing, had occurred, further affecting the situation by causing shorter and much colder summer periods with more precipitation than average (Graeber & Wengrow, 2021). More recent studies have also proven that at the time period of the Jamestown settlement it was one of the coldest periods within a millennium. In the case of the older settlement at Roanoke, NASA researchers uncovered that drought was another major issue during the Little Ice Age. Surveillance systems detected that in the latter settlement’s case, the Roanoke colony had experienced the largest drought period within the last 800 years, with the colonists arriving at the very initial stages of a seven-year drought period. In both situations, however, the combination of unusually cold weather, plus war with neighboring indigenous peoples over already scarce resources, led to severe population decreases. Moreover, the conditions of the Little Ice Age caused parasites and mosquitoes to thrive and develop faster and heartier within the marshy geological conditions present at both settlements, further contributing to illness and death (Cronin et al., 2002).

2.3. Pack Ice Movement

Another theory NASA scientists have been investigating concerns pack ice moving in a southwardly direction within the North Atlantic, as did glaciers around Greenland. From radiocarbon dating samples of dead plant material collected from the bottoms of ice caps that died due to glaciation, scientists have discovered that colder summer temperatures and rapid ice growth occurred rather quickly between 1275-1300, followed by a massive increase in glacial activity from 1455 (Broecker, 2000). It was the first cold period that could have triggered and enhanced the large eruption of the Samalas volcano in 1257, which has also been linked as a contributing factor to the long volcanic winter period experienced by early settlers. Moreover, from 1560-1630 scientists additionally discovered that a worldwide glacial expansion had occurred, known as the “Grindelwald Fluctuation”, which also corresponded with this same time period of early English colonization (Hunt & Elliott, 2006).