Describe what the Maunder minimum was, and how it may have ...

[@Brianna17]

Describe what the Maunder minimum was, and how it may have related to the Little Ice Age.
  What will be the ideal response?

Question 2

Why did periods of glacial advance in higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere tend to occur with cooler summers, but not necessarily with cooler winters?
  What will be the ideal response?

[bimper21]

Answer to Question 1

ANSWER: Sunspots occur in cycles, with the number and size reaching a maximum approximately every 11 years. It appears that the 11-year sunspot cycle has not always prevailed. Apparently, between 1645 and 1715, during the period known as the Maunder minimum, there were few, if any, sunspots. It is interesting to note that the minimum occurred during the Little Ice Age (recall that this was a cool spell in the temperature record experienced mainly over Europe). Some scientists suggest that a reduction in the Suns energy output may have played a role in exacerbating this cool spell, although the cooling started many years before the Maunder minimum began.

Answer to Question 2

ANSWER: For snow to fall, the surface air temperature need only be near freezing. In fact, the heaviest snows generally occur when the air temperature is only slightly below freezing. The main factor in keeping the snow on the ground for an entire year is the air temperature in summer. Cooler summers, of course, produce less melting and a greater likelihood that the snow will exist (in certain areas) for a long time. Once the snow stays on the ground it produces even cooler summers by reflecting much of the sunlight that strikes the region.