Sea-level rise in Southwest Greenland as a contributor to Viking abandonment

Journal Article · Mon Apr 17 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2209615120· OSTI ID:1972987

Borreggine, Marisa ^[1]; Latychev, Konstantin ^[1]; Coulson, Sophie Leanne ^[2]; Powell, Evelyn M. ^[3]; Mitrovica, Jerry X. ^[1]; Milne, Glenn A. ^[4]; Alley, Richard B. ^[5]

---

1. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)
2. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States); Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
3. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States); Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)
4. Univ. of Ottawa, ON (Canada)
5. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)

The first records of Greenland Vikings date to 985 CE. Archaeological evidence yields insight into how Vikings lived, yet drivers of their disappearance in the 15th century remain enigmatic. Research suggests a combination of environmental and socioeconomic factors, and the climatic shift from the Medieval Warm Period (~900 to 1250 CE) to the Little Ice Age (~1250 to 1900 CE) may have forced them to abandon Greenland. Glacial geomorphology and paleoclimate research suggest that the Southern Greenland Ice Sheet readvanced during Viking occupation, peaking in the Little Ice Age. Counterintuitively, the readvance caused sea-level rise near the ice margin due to increased gravitational attraction toward the ice sheet and crustal subsidence. We estimate ice growth in Southwestern Greenland using geomorphological indicators and lake core data from previous literature. We calculate the effect of ice growth on regional sea level by applying our ice history to a geophysical model of sea level with a resolution of ~1 km across Southwestern Greenland and compare the results to archaeological evidence. The results indicate that sea level rose up to ~3.3 m outside the glaciation zone during Viking settlement, producing shoreline retreat of hundreds of meters. Sea-level rise was progressive and encompassed the entire Eastern Settlement. Moreover, pervasive flooding would have forced abandonment of many coastal sites. These processes likely contributed to the suite of vulnerabilities that led to Viking abandonment of Greenland. Sea-level change thus represents an integral, missing element of the Viking story.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Heising-Simons Foundation; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
• Grant/Contract Number: 89233218CNA000001
• OSTI ID: 1972987
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-22-29976
• Journal Information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 17 Vol. 120; ISSN 0027-8424
• Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Norse
archaeology
glacial isostatic adjustment
sea-level change