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.
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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.
SEATTLE — Jorge Polanco hit a game-ending single in the 15th inning, and the Seattle Mariners advanced to the American League Championship Series by outlasting the Detroit Tigers for a 3-2 victory Friday night.
At 4 hours, 58 minutes, it was the longest winner-take-all postseason game in baseball history and featured 15 pitchers — eight for the Mariners and seven for the Tigers.
With one out and the bases loaded, Polanco drove in J.P. Crawford with a liner to right off Tommy Kahnle. Crawford hit a leadoff single, Randy Arozarena was hit by a pitch and Julio Rodriguez was intentionally walked before Polanco’s big swing on the 472nd pitch of an epic Game 5 in a tightly contested division series.
The Mariners left 12 runners on base and still advanced to the ALCS for the first time since 2001. Next up is a matchup with the AL East champion Blue Jays, beginning Sunday night in Toronto.
“We never give up,” Polanco said. “We just keep fighting. It doesn’t matter how many innings we play. We just stay ready and wait for the moment. It’s going to come. It was my time.”
Luis Castillo pitched 1⅓ innings for the win in his first major league relief appearance. Logan Gilbert, another member of Seattle’s rotation, worked two scoreless innings in his first relief outing since his college days at Stetson University in 2017.
“It was such a tough night,” Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh said. “Everyone put their other stuff aside and did everything for the team, including Logan and Luis.”
Detroit wasted a stellar performance by Tarik Skubal, who struck out 13 while pitching six innings of one-run ball. The Tigers went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 on base.
“We had an incredible game today that — unfortunately, somebody had to lose, and that somebody was us, and it hurts,” manager A.J. Hinch said.
Kerry Carpenter put Detroit in front when he hit a two-run homer off Gabe Speier in the sixth inning. Carpenter had four hits and walked twice, becoming the first player to reach five times and hit a home run in a winner-take-all postseason game since Babe Ruth in 1926.
The Mariners tied it at 2 on Leo Rivas‘ pinch-hit single off Tyler Holton in the seventh. Rivas celebrated his 28th birthday with his first postseason hit.
“He was up to the task tonight,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said. “It was a huge hit.”
Friday’s win was the Mariners’ first series-clinching victory in extra innings since Game 5 of the 1995 ALDS, a 6-5 victory in 11 innings over the Yankees.
The Associated Press and ESPN Research contributed to this report.
Donald Trump has announced the US will impose an additional 100% tariff on China imports, accusing it of taking an “extraordinarily aggressive position” on trade.
In a post to his Truth Social platform on Friday, the US president said Beijing had sent an “extremely hostile letter to the world” and imposed “large-scale export controls on virtually every product they make”.
Mr Trump, who warned the additional tariffs would start on 1 November, said the US would also impose export controls on all critical software to China.
He wrote: “Based on the fact that China has taken this unprecedented position, and speaking only for the USA, and not other nations who were similarly threatened, starting November 1st, 2025 (or sooner, depending on any further actions or changes taken by China), the United States of America will impose a tariff of 100% on China, over and above any tariff that they are currently paying.
“It is impossible to believe that China would have taken such an action, but they have, and the rest is history. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Image: President Trump says he sees no reason to see President Xi as part of a trip to South Korea. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump said earlier on Friday that there “seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in a scheduled meeting as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea at the end of this month.
He had posted: “I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems no reason to do so.”
The trip was scheduled to include a stop in Malaysia, which is hosting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, a stop in Japan and then the stop to South Korea, where Mr Trump would meet Mr Xi ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Mr Trump added: “There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration.”
The move signalled the biggest rupture in relations in six months between Beijing and Washington – the world’s biggest factory and its biggest consumer.
It also threatens to escalate tensions between the two countries, prompting fears over the stability of the global economy.
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Sky’s Siobhan Robbins explains why Donald Trump didn’t receive the Nobel Peace Prize
Friday was Wall Street’s worst day since April, with the S&P 500 falling 2.7%, owing to fears about US-China relations.
China had restricted the access to rare earths ahead of the meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi.
Under the restrictions, Beijing would require foreign companies to get special approval for shipping the metallic elements abroad.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a first phase of a peace deal brokered by the US president, with a ceasefire taking effect on Friday.
Dr Naim said the ceasefire would not have been possible without President Trump, but insisted he needed to continue to apply pressure to Israel to stick to the agreement.
He added that Hamas would be willing to step aside for a Palestinian body to govern a post-war Gaza, but that they would remain “on the ground” and would not be disarmed.
Dr Naim said in the interview: “Without the personal interference of President Trump in this case, I don’t think that it would have happened to have reached the end of the war.
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“Therefore, yes, we thank President Trump and his personal efforts to interfere and to pressure Israel to bring an end to this massacre and slaughtering.”
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He added: “We believe and we hope that President Trump will continue to interfere personally and to exercise the maximum pressure on [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to fulfil its obligation.
“First, as according to the deal, and second, according to the international law as an occupying power, because I think without this pressure, without this personal interference from President Trump, this will not happen.
“We have already seen Netanyahu speaking to the media, threatening to go to war again if this doesn’t happen, if that doesn’t happen.”
Image: Donald Trump has been thanked for his role in securing a peace deal in Gaza. Pic: AP
Questions remain over the next phases of the peace plan, including who will govern Gaza as Israeli troops gradually pull back and whether Hamas will disarm – as called for in Mr Trump’s ceasefire plan.
Mr Netanyahu has hinted that Israel might renew its offensive if Hamas does not give up its weapons.
However, Dr Naim said Hamas would not completely disarm and that weapons would only be handed over to the Palestinian state, with fighters integrated into the Palestinian National Army.
“No one has the right to deny us the right to resist the occupation of armies,” he said.
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Thousands of Gazans are heading north as Israeli troops pull back.
On future governance, Dr Naim criticised plans for Sir Tony to play any role in overseeing the future of Gaza, saying that Hamas and Palestinians were angered by his role in previous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Dr Naim added: “When it comes to Tony Blair, unfortunately, we Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims and maybe others around the world have bad memories of him.
“We can still remember his role in killing, causing thousands or millions of deaths to innocent civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“We can still remember him very well after destroying Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Under Mr Trump’s plans, Sir Tony would form part of an international supervisory body.
The international body, the Council of Peace or Board of Peace, would govern under plans approved by Mr Netanyahu.