Assessing the consequences of recent climate change on World Heritage sites in South Greenland
Abstract In the Arctic region, microbial degradation poses a significant threat to the preservation of archaeological deposits, actively consuming irreplaceable cultural and environmental records. In this study we assess the potential effects of the last 40 years of climate change on organic archaeo...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c45a74408df54b088c951c7b4236a207 2024-09-15T18:02:15+00:00 Assessing the consequences of recent climate change on World Heritage sites in South Greenland Jørgen Hollesen Malte Skov Jepsen Martin Stendel Hans Harmsen 2024-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-60397-9 https://doaj.org/article/c45a74408df54b088c951c7b4236a207 EN eng Nature Portfolio https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-60397-9 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-024-60397-9 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/c45a74408df54b088c951c7b4236a207 Scientific Reports, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2024) Medicine R Science Q article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-60397-9 2024-08-05T17:49:29Z Abstract In the Arctic region, microbial degradation poses a significant threat to the preservation of archaeological deposits, actively consuming irreplaceable cultural and environmental records. In this study we assess the potential effects of the last 40 years of climate change on organic archaeological deposits within the UNESCO World Heritage area Kujataa in South Greenland. We use the dynamic process-oriented model, CoupModel to simulate soil temperatures and soil moisture contents at four archaeological sites in the area. The results show that the organic deposits have experienced a substantial warming the last 40 years, which combined with decreasing soil moisture contents creates a dangerous combination that can accelerate the degradation of organic materials. Currently, there are 583 archaeological sites registered within the area. Our findings highlight that the current climatic conditions are not conducive to organic preservation. The greatest risk of degradation lies within the relatively dry continental inland areas of the study region, where all Norse Viking Age settlements are situated. However, even at the "cold" and "wet" outer coast, the combined effects of rising summer temperatures and declining soil moisture levels may already be exerting a noticeable impact. Article in Journal/Newspaper Climate change Greenland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Scientific Reports 14 1 |
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Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Jørgen Hollesen Malte Skov Jepsen Martin Stendel Hans Harmsen Assessing the consequences of recent climate change on World Heritage sites in South Greenland |
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Medicine R Science Q |
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Abstract In the Arctic region, microbial degradation poses a significant threat to the preservation of archaeological deposits, actively consuming irreplaceable cultural and environmental records. In this study we assess the potential effects of the last 40 years of climate change on organic archaeological deposits within the UNESCO World Heritage area Kujataa in South Greenland. We use the dynamic process-oriented model, CoupModel to simulate soil temperatures and soil moisture contents at four archaeological sites in the area. The results show that the organic deposits have experienced a substantial warming the last 40 years, which combined with decreasing soil moisture contents creates a dangerous combination that can accelerate the degradation of organic materials. Currently, there are 583 archaeological sites registered within the area. Our findings highlight that the current climatic conditions are not conducive to organic preservation. The greatest risk of degradation lies within the relatively dry continental inland areas of the study region, where all Norse Viking Age settlements are situated. However, even at the "cold" and "wet" outer coast, the combined effects of rising summer temperatures and declining soil moisture levels may already be exerting a noticeable impact. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jørgen Hollesen Malte Skov Jepsen Martin Stendel Hans Harmsen |
author_facet |
Jørgen Hollesen Malte Skov Jepsen Martin Stendel Hans Harmsen |
author_sort |
Jørgen Hollesen |
title |
Assessing the consequences of recent climate change on World Heritage sites in South Greenland |
title_short |
Assessing the consequences of recent climate change on World Heritage sites in South Greenland |
title_full |
Assessing the consequences of recent climate change on World Heritage sites in South Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Assessing the consequences of recent climate change on World Heritage sites in South Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Assessing the consequences of recent climate change on World Heritage sites in South Greenland |
title_sort |
assessing the consequences of recent climate change on world heritage sites in south greenland |
publisher |
Nature Portfolio |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-60397-9 https://doaj.org/article/c45a74408df54b088c951c7b4236a207 |
genre |
Climate change Greenland |
genre_facet |
Climate change Greenland |
op_source |
Scientific Reports, Vol 14, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2024) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-60397-9 https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-024-60397-9 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/c45a74408df54b088c951c7b4236a207 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-60397-9 |
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Scientific Reports |
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14 |
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1 |
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1810439715327836160 |