Two new pieces of research profile the climate history of the island of Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean. An article by Dagomar Degroot outlines how changes in the amount of local sea ice alternately facilitated or hindered conflict between Dutch and English whalers in the area, demonstrating how climate change played out on a local scale. Wesley Farnsworth’s recent dissertation provides a detailed overview of glaciation on the island during the Holocene, suggesting in particular that the Little Ice Age brought about quite dramatic advances for glaciers on the island. Read more in Dr. Degroot’s article here, or Dr. Farnsworth’s dissertation here.
Climate History Network