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Arctic archaeological sites threatened by climate change: A regional multi-threat assessment of sites in south-west Greenland |
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| Authors: | R Fenger-Nielsen B Elberling A Kroon A Westergaard-Nielsen H Matthiesen H Harmsen C K Madsen M Stendel J Hollesen |
| Institution: | 1. Environmental Archaeology and Materials Science, The National Museum of Denmark, IC Modewegsvej, Brede, Lyngby, DK-2800 Denmark
Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K Denmark;2. Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K Denmark;3. Environmental Archaeology and Materials Science, The National Museum of Denmark, IC Modewegsvej, Brede, Lyngby, DK-2800 Denmark;4. Greenland National Museum & Archives, Hans Egedesvej 8, Boks 145, 3900, Nuuk, Greenland;5. Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), Lyngbyvej 100, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark |
| Abstract: | Climate change threatens many well-preserved archaeological sites in the Arctic. The paper presents the first Arctic multi-threat assessment focusing on the Nuuk region of Greenland. The results suggest that the majority of the 336 known archaeological sites are already exposed to impacts from microbial degradation, permafrost thaw and vegetation, and that these impacts will increase over the next 80 years. Additional impacts from coastal erosion are only noted at a limited number of sites due to a predominant consolidated and uplifting coast. The applied methods represent an important first step to identify threatened sites and emphasize important data limitations. |
| Keywords: | climate change Arctic Greenland archaeological sites threat assessment remote sensing |