Road Salt Damage to Historical Milestones Indicates Adaptation of Winter Roads to Future Climate Change May Damage Arctic Cultural Heritage

• Published in: Climate
• Main Authors: Antonson, Hans, Buckland, Philip I., Blomqvist, Göran
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Umeå universitet, Miljöarkeologiska laboratoriet 2021
• Subjects: cultural heritage; climate change; corrosion; degradation; adaptation; planning processes; Climate Research; Klimatforskning; Human Geography; Kulturgeografi; History and Archaeology; Historia och arkeologi; Arctic; Climate change; Global warming; sami
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-188590; https://doi.org/10.3390/cli9100149

There is no doubt that anthropogenic global warming is accelerating damage to cultural heritage. Adaptation measures are required to reduce the loss of sites, monuments and remains. However, little research has been directed towards understanding potential impacts of climate adaptation measures in other governmental sectors on cultural heritage. We provide a case study demonstrating that winter road salt, used to reduce ice related accidents, damages historical iron milestones. As the climate warms, road salt use will move north into areas where sites have been protected by contiguous winter snow cover. This will expose Artic/sub-Arctic cultural heritage, including Viking graves and Sami sites, to a new anthropogenic source of damage. Research and planning should therefore include the evaluation of secondary impacts when choosing climate adaptation strategies. Kulturmiljöer och landskap i ett förändrat klimat. Klimatanpassning av Trafikverkets verksamheter för en robust planering för ökad miljömålsuppfyllelse