Re: Arctic sea ice

don@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Don Klipstein) wrote in
news:slrngc6mdf.bsa.don@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

In article <Xns9B11E1539AF77meadowmuffin@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, Kris Krieger
wrote:
don@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Don Klipstein) wrote in
news:slrngc4790.asv.don@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx:
[snip]

Who is to be afraid to know that Greenland's WSW coast from about
28-30%
of the way from Qaanaaq/Thule down to the southern tip is non-icebound
well-inland? And there are a few notable towns there on the southern
half of Greenland's west coast, with dual names including names that
surely appear "Nordic" to me!

THe Vikings had settlements there for a few hundred years. When the
climate cooled and the fjords became ice-bound, they couldn't get out
and supply ships couldn't get in (this was coupled with political
problem in the homeland, whcih also reduced supply shipments). The
settlements eventually collapsed. But before the fjords became
icebound, thre were grassy areas and low shrubbery, which were used for
the grazing of sheep and some cattle, and IIRC they also grew and
harvested hay to feed the livestock through the Winter.

THere is a good treatment of the topic in _Collapse_ by Jared Diamond.

There are now photos of grassy and even flowery land where Viking
ruins
are:

http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/greenland/

The coastal waters along the west coast of Greenland have been far
from
icebound the past 2 months according to the Canadian Ice Service, and
are currently not.

http://ice-glaces.ec.gc.ca/App/WsvPageDsp.cfm?ID=1&Lang=eng

- Don Klipstein (don@xxxxxxxxx)


True enough.
Cycles do occur but there is also such a thing as exacerbating an existing
situation. IOW, the question is not whetehr global warming is *all*
anthropogenic, the question is, To what extent do human activities turn a
natural cycle that could be handled (by both the plant and humans) into
something that cannot.

So, yes, Vikings did have settlements in Greenland for a few hundred
years, until the planetary cycle made teh seas and fjords too icy to
permit travel and imports by ship; and yes, Greenland's ice is currently
retreating. But as above, IMO, although poeple do argue taht the planet
has had thousands of warming-cooling cycles, the important question is to
what extent are humans turning anatural cycle into a potential disaster.

.

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