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The Vikings are remembered as fierce fighters, but even these mighty warriors were no match for climate change. Scientists recently found that ice sheet growth and sea level rise led to massive coastal flooding that inundated Norse farms and ultimately drove the Vikings out of Greenland in the 15th century.

The Vikings first established a foothold in southern Greenland around A.D. 985 with the arrival of Erik Thorvaldsson, also known as “Erik the Red,” a Norwegian-born explorer who sailed to Greenland after being exiled from Iceland. Other Viking settlers soon followed, forming communities in Eystribyggð (Eastern Settlement) and Vestribyggð (Western Settlement) that thrived for centuries. (At the time of the Vikings’ arrival, Greenland was already inhabited by people of the Dorset Culture, an Indigenous group that preceded the arrival of the Inuit people in the Arctic, according to the University of California Riverside (opens in new tab) ).

Around the 15th century, signs of Norse habitation in the region vanished from the archaeological record. Researchers previously suggested that factors such as climate change and economic shifts likely led the Vikings to abandon Greenland. Now, new findings show that rising seas played a key role, by submerging miles of coastline, according a new study published April 17 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Related: 1,100-year-old ‘ceremonial’ Viking shields were actually used in battle, study suggests

Between the 14th and 19th centuries, Europe and North America experienced a period of significantly cooler temperatures, known as the Little Ice Age. Under these chilly conditions, the Greenland Ice Sheet — a vast blanket of ice covering most of Greenland — would have become even bigger, Marisa Julia Borreggine (opens in new tab) , a doctoral candidate in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University, said when she presented data at an American Geophysical Union annual conference in New Orleans in December 2021.

A digital model showing simulated sea levels in southern Greenland ice (blue to white gradient), with Viking sites (green dots) and areas of flooding (blue). (Image credit: Konstantin Latychev)

As the ice sheet advanced, its increasing heaviness weighed down the substrate underneath, making coastal areas more prone to flooding, Borreggine said. At the same time, the increased gravitational attraction between the expanding ice sheet and large masses of sea ice pushed more seawater over Greenland’s coast. These two processes could have driven widespread flooding along the coastline — “exactly where the Vikings were settled,” Borreggine said. 

The scientists tested their hypothesis by modeling estimated ice growth in southwestern Greenland over the 400-year period of Norse occupation and adding those calculations to a model showing sea level rise during that time. Then, they analyzed maps of known Viking sites to see how their findings lined up with archaeological evidence marking the end of a Viking presence in Greenland. RELATED STORIES—Earliest mention of Odin, ‘king of the gods,’ found in treasure hoard from Denmark

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Their models showed that from about 1000 to 1400, rising seas around Greenland would have flooded Viking settlements by as much as 11 feet (3.3 meters), affecting about 78 square miles (204 square kilometers) of coastal land, Borreggine said. This flooding would have submerged land that the Vikings used for farming and as grazing pastures for their cattle, according to the models.

However, sea level rise was probably not the only reason the Vikings left Greenland. Other types of challenges can cause even long-standing communities to collapse, and a perfect storm of external pressures — such as climate change, social unrest and resource depletion — may have spurred the Vikings to abandon their settlements for good, Borreggine said. 

“A combination of climate and environmental change, the shifting resource landscape, the flux of supply and demand of exclusive products for the foreign market, and interactions with Inuit in the North all could have contributed to this out-migration,” she said. “Likely a combination of these factors led to the Norse migration out of Greenland and further west.”

Editor’s note: Originally published on Dec. 16, 2021, following a presentation at the annual conference of the American Geophysical Union. Updated on April 19, 2023, following the study’s publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

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A Planet with a Death Wish: How HIP 67522 b Is Forcing Its Star to Explode

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A Planet with a Death Wish: How HIP 67522 b Is Forcing Its Star to Explode

Scientists have caught a planet with a death wish, which is an alien world, orbiting very near to its star, and so speedy that it is causing the star to go to its death with bursting explosions. HIP 67522 b is the planet, and it is of the same size as Jupiter with a seven-day orbit around its host star. These orbits are disturbing the magnetic field of the star and causing enormous blasting eruptions to blow back the planet and make it wrinkled. This is the first time that a planet is influencing the host star, as the astronomers reported in a study published on July 2, 2025, in the Journal Nature.

A Planet with a Death Wish: HIP 67522 b’s Fiery Orbit

As per the study by NASA, Ekaterina Ilin, the first author of the study and an astrophysicist at the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, said that the planet was observed to trigger the energetic flares. It has been predicted by the scientists that the waves are setting off explosions that are going to happen.

Magnetic Chaos: Planet Triggering Star’s Explosions

Stars are burning plasma, gigantic balls with charged particles or ions that move on their surface to form strong magnetic fields. Since the magnetic fields cannot cross each other, sometimes these field knots suddenly snap to launch flares of radiation known as solar flares, which are often accompanied by coronal mass ejections, also known as surface plasma.

As many planets have a magnetic field, scientists have long wondered whether the planets, having close orbits near their stars, might disturb these strong magnetic fields and trigger the explosions. For years, scientists have observed whether the planets can influence the magnetic behaviour of their host stars, especially the ones that are close to their orbits.

A New Era of Star-Planet Relationship Studies

A planet with a strong magnetic field orbits around a star which has a delicate magnetic field, then it might be bombarded with solar radiation. These interactions helps int he study of star and planet bond and further the evolution of atmospher and magnetic field.

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Vladimir Putin tells Donald Trump he will not back down from goals in Ukraine, Kremlin says

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Vladimir Putin tells Donald Trump he will not back down from goals in Ukraine, Kremlin says

Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.

The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.

The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.

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Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine

Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.

At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.

The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.

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Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. Pic: Reuters
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters

He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.

Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.

Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.

The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.

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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.

Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.

Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.

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Diogo Jota’s joyous final weeks make his death even more devastating to comprehend

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Diogo Jota's joyous final weeks make his death even more devastating to comprehend

The joy that filled the final weeks of Diogo Jota’s life makes his death even more devastating to comprehend for his family and millions of fans worldwide.

The most illustrious title of his career was won in May, when he paraded through Liverpool with his teammates and the Premier League trophy.

More success came with Portugal as he won the Nations League for a second time alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in June.

And then came the bliss at marrying his childhood love Rute Cardoso, watched by their three children.

Latest: Liverpool players pay tribute to Jota

Just yesterday Jota posted a video from the ceremony on social media alongside the message “a day we will never forget”.

The happiest of days was remembered before the tragedy that killed Jota and his brother Andre Felipe in northwest Spain.

Diogo Jota and wife Rute
Pic: rutecfcardoso14/Instagram
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Diogo Jota and wife Rute. Pic: rutecfcardoso14/Instagram

Brothers – whose careers both developed at their hometown club, Porto – so tragically dying together.

“Football has lost two great men,” Porto president Andre Villas-Boas said, as fans descended on the club’s stadium to mourn.

At Anfield, Liverpool fans are grieving the versatile forward who was so often in the shadow of Mohamed Salah, as he was under Ronaldo at Portugal.

But he knew how to sacrifice stardom to contribute to the squad.

Liverpool's Diogo Jota holds the  Premier League trophy with Wataru Endo and teammates.
PIc: Reuters
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Diogo Jota holds the Premier League trophy with Wataru Endo and teammates. PIc: Reuters

The last of his 65 Liverpool goals was the winner in the Merseyside derby against neighbours Everton in April – helping the club become the record 20-time champions of England.

A Premier League winners’ medal joining those from the FA Cup and League Cup, won by the 28-year-old after he joined the Reds in 2020.

It was Wolverhampton Wanderers who gave Jota a platform to shine in England after he joined from Atletico Madrid.

Promotion was gained to the Premier League in 2018, and they more than just avoided relegation, but secured back-to-back top-seven finishes.

Jota was a reason why.

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Fans react to Jota death

He was also why Wolves could embark on such a memorable European campaign, and scored two hat-tricks in the run-up to the Europa League quarter-finals in 2020.

“The memories he created will never be forgotten,” Wolves said.

For the football world, the loss of such a talent so young will be hard to comprehend.

And so many are reflecting on the fragility of life as football grieves from Liverpool to Portugal – and beyond.

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