What did the Viking discoverers of America know of the North Atlantic Environment?

Thomas Haine medieval map of the North Atlantic, and, for Much less is understood about how Vik- orientation, the modern view in Figure 3). ing ships were navigated, however, espe- Department of Earth and Planetary These Icelandic sagas about Erik the Red, his cially in the open ocean where fog and calm Sciences, The John Hopkins University, family and followers (principally Erik the could bring on the dangerous state of Baltimore, USA Red’s Saga and Greenlander’s Saga) explain hafvilla (‘loss of one’s course at sea’; Marcus how Leif Eriksson, Erik the Red’s son, estab- (1955)). One early explorer of Iceland, Floki In discovering and colonizing Iceland, lished a settlement in Vinland in AD1000. Vilgerdarson, sailed with three ravens which Greenland and Atlantic Canada, Norse Although the Norse only stayed a few years, he released periodically. The last bird flew explorers displayed remarkable resilience to unequivocal evidence for their presence in purposefully to the north-west and land was Weather – Weather March 63, 3 2008, Vol. No. the harsh North Atlantic environment 500 North America was discovered at present- spotted there soon after. Magnetic com- years before Columbus reached the New day L’Anse aux Meadows (Newfoundland) passes, sea charts, and record-keeping were World. Given such widespread exploration in 1961. unknown, however. Debate exists over the of the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean and The sagas provide unique insight into sophistication of Norse astronomy and such close exposure to the environment, it details of the Norse activities, the places celestial navigation. The Pole Star was is interesting to speculate about Norse they visited and their contact with the named (Leidarstjarna) and comments on the knowledge of oceanography, meteorology indigenous Indians (the ‘skraelings’, with length of the Vinland day, as well as refer- and climate. Is it possible that they pos- whom they skirmished). There are only ence to cardinal points, exist in the Green- sessed a relatively advanced knowledge of occasional and indirect references to their lander’s Saga. The Norse may also have their environment, albeit without any basic environmental knowledge. The uncontro- known of latitude and its significance for understanding? This article addresses this versial evidence is therefore meagre, but navigation, but the first records of crude question. there are hints that the Norse did indeed sailing directions do not appear until the Leif Eriksson’s arrival in Newfoundland in appreciate many facets of North Atlantic thirteenth century Landnamabok (Book of AD1000 marked the culmination of Viking oceanography, meteorology and climate. In Settlements; Palsson and Edwards (1972)). expansion west from Scandinavia that particular, consider the following pheno- began two centuries before (Figure 1). The mena and what Norse observers may have early eighth- and ninth-century voyages known about them. from the homeland fjords of south-west Norway left permanent Viking settlements Navigation and seamanship in northern France and the British Isles. Set- The Norse pioneers relied on a critical piece tlers arrived in the Faeroe Islands around of technology – the Viking knörr (cargo ship) AD825 and reached Iceland by around – and the knowledge required to operate it. AD870; the oldest archaeological remains Several well-preserved examples of these there lie immediately above the tephra from sailing ships have been excavated and the large AD871 volcanic eruption of the many details of their design and construc- Vatnaoldur fissure in southern Iceland. tion are now known. The vessel shown in These farmers established permanent Figure 4, for example, was built using settlements that survived to the modern designs and methods typical of ninth-cen- era. tury Norwegian shipwrights. She sailed from Colonial occupation of south-west Green- Iceland to Greenland then North America in land began in AD985 when Erik the Red 2000 to retrace the course of the Vinland Thorvaldsson led an expedition of 25 ships explorers a millennium before and now from Iceland to the vast new territory he stands in Reykjanesbaer, south-west Ice- had optimistically named himself. The total land. At the time of the Norse colonization population of the two primary Greenland of Greenland, ships like this one would carry settlements peaked at a few thousand, but up to 70 people as well as livestock and an eventually disappeared in the fifteenth open fire. The ship was rowed and sailed century and European knowledge of their when possible, but could not step her mast existence was lost for many decades. or tack. Steering was accomplished by use Figure 1. Leif Eriksson, Norse discoverer of America. Two important written accounts of oral of the stjornbordi paddle on the right hand Eriksson’s father, Erik the Red Thorvaldsson colonized history describe exploration further west to side (stjornbordi means ‘side on which a ves- Greenland from Iceland in AD985. This statue by what the Norse called Helluland, Markland sel is steered’ and gave rise to the modern Alexander Stirling Calder stands outside the and Vinland (see Figure 2, which shows a words stern and starboard). Hallgrimskirkja church in Reykjavik, Iceland. 60 much riskier proposition and presumably the losses were heavy. Nevertheless, the occasional serendipitous discoveries must

have made the proposition attractive; Bjarni America discoverersof The Viking Herjolfsson apparently sighted Vinland or Markland in AD985, fifteen years before Leif Eriksson arrived there, after being blown off course from Iceland, for example.

Tides Knowing the tidal cycle in water level and current velocity is critical to safe and effec- tive seamanship, and there is no doubt the Norse knew this, too. There are several refer- Weather – March 2008, Vol. 63, No.2008, Vol.3 63, March Weather – ences to the tide in the Sagas. In Erik’s Saga, Thorfinn Karlsefni describes reaching a Vinland river mouth that could only be entered at high water. He called the estuary Hop (Tidal Lake) and caught halibut stranded in trenches there as the tide ebbed. Erik’s Saga also describes Straumsey and Straumfjord, which mean ‘Current Island’ and ‘Current Fjord’, respectively. It is possible that Straumfjord coincides with the Leifsbudir settlement described in the Greenlander’s Saga, that is, the settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows. But, interestingly, the tidal range along the northern Newfound- land peninsula, near L’Anse aux Meadows, is only around 1m and hardly worthy of Figure 2. Medieval map of the North Atlantic drawn in 1570 by Sigurdur Stefannsson. There is, as yet, no special mention in the Sagas. The non-tidal unambiguous identification of the places the Norse called Helluland (‘Stone Slab Land’), Markland (‘Wooded flow through the Strait of Belle Isle, which Land’), and, especially, Vinland (‘Wine Land’). The archaeological evidence from L’Anse aux Meadows, separates the northern Newfoundland Newfoundland, clearly proves the Norse presence in America around AD1000, however. (© The National and peninsula from Labrador, is also weak University Library of Iceland.) (about 6–34cms–1 according to Garrett and Some people assert ‘sunstones’ were dence for widespread use of instruments in Petrie ((1981), (their Figure 15). Remarkably known (perhaps a polaroid mineral, such as navigation is very weak, however. Within large tidal ranges do exist along the Canadi- feldspar, that could be used to locate the sight of land, sailing was relatively straight- an Atlantic coast. In particular, the two sun in fog) and ‘sun compasses’ (also called forward and simply required an excellent greatest tidal ranges in the world are at ‘bearing dials’) or ‘shadow compasses’ may visual memory to identify coastlines from Ungava Bay and the Bay of Fundy where the have been available to steer by. The evi- the sea. Sailing out of sight of land was a ranges often exceed 10m and the associat-

Figure 3. Modern map of the subpolar North Atlantic with Norse place names (italics) included where possible (1250m and 3250m depth contours are shown). It is salutary to see the accuracy of the medieval map (Figure 2), made without sophisticated instruments, despite the obvious distortions. 61 ed currents would easily overwhelm a Vik- ing ship. Some uncertainty therefore still exists about the true locations of Hop, Straumsey and Straumfjord. There is unambiguous evidence from the thirteenth century about the Norse under- standing of tides: an extensive discussion exists in the King’s Mirror (Chapter 6) – a revealing Norwegian document written around AD1250 in the form of a father’s advice to his son (Larson, 1917) – including reference to the fortnightly beat of the tide. The Viking discoverers The Viking of discoverers America

Non-tidal ocean currents There are no direct references to ocean cur- rents, apart from tides, in Erik’s Saga or the Greenlander’s Saga. Nevertheless, various lines of evidence suggest that the Norse were knowledgeable of the gross features of the upper ocean circulation. Sea-ice motion at subtidal frequencies would have been clear to any seasoned observer as explained above. Driftwood in Greenland was also Figure 4. The 80-ton Viking ship Islendingur launched in 1996 to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the Norse Weather – Weather March 63, 3 2008, Vol. No. very valuable and clearly did not originate discovery of North America. (© Hakluyt Society, London.) locally (see Figure 5). The most highly prized species were larch (also called tamarack) were keen observers of it. The two main easily. The Inuit operating in the Nordsetur and spruce from Siberia, northern Scandi- settlements in Greenland – the Western knew these facts, but the Norse did not navia or North America. (Interestingly, Settlement, near modern Nuuk , and the adopt their successful methods and it is Fridtjof Nansen used the presence of Eastern Settlement, centred at Narssarsuaq unclear whether they exploited land-fast ice Siberian driftwood east and west of Green- – were influenced by sea ice in somewhat or not. For both Settlements, trade with the land as strong evidence of a trans-polar different ways. The Eastern Settlement con- Norwegian homelands was obstructed by current in his 1890 address to the Christiania sisted of farms of grazing animals with few heavy ice. Penetration of driftwood may Geographical Society when he first pro- crops grown for human consumption. For also have been blocked by coastal ice, and posed the famous Fram expedition.) Experi- these people, sea ice prevented access to driftwood was the sole source of lumber for ence gained by a Norse sailor travelling from the open sea. Residents of the Western building construction and ship repair in Norway to Iceland and Greenland and then Settlement endured a harsher climate and Greenland. Sea-ice concentration and its on forays to Canada would reinforce a relied more on hunting land and marine prevailing drift must have been closely consistent picture. Drifting in the East game, often travelling long distances across monitored by Norse observers waiting for Greenland, West Greenland and Labrador the rich Nordsetur hunting grounds around ships to return or to put to sea (and is dis- Currents, a Viking ship might make 30 nauti- Disko Bay. For these people, land-fast sea ice cussed in the King’s Mirror). Similarly, the cal miles a day, maybe half or a third of the was present for longer periods each year seal and walrus hunters would be aware of rate under sail (based on four weeks to than at the Eastern Settlement and allowed these factors when stalking their prey. reach Vinland from Greenland; 3200km = important opportunities to hunt and travel Indeed, they may well have glimpsed Baffin 1750 nautical miles). This would have been clearly discernable and awareness of these currents would have been an important factor in route planning and navigation. Moreover, the unambiguous hydrographic character of the subpolar boundary circula- tion must have also helped; typical salinities and temperatures increase by 5psu and 5degC, or more, when crossing the conti- nental shelves, and their associated jets, into deep water. These hydrographic variations are readily apparent to the careful observer by taste and touch and the Norse must have known of them. So, it seems likely that the existence and basic structure of the surface circulation of the western subpolar Atlantic Ocean, and the boundary current system in particular, were known 1000 years ago. Figure 5. There are no natural sources of lumber for construction or ship repair in Greenland, so the Norse colonists relied on trade or driftwood. This woodcut shows floating wood and ship wreckage drifting past dwellings that appear to be partly constructed from whale bones (evidence for this practice exists from Sea ice excavated Greenland Norse farms). The driftwood obviously has a non-local origin, and supports the idea that Sea ice played a critical role in the lives of the Norse were aware of the existence and character of non-tidal ocean currents. the Greenland Norse and it is likely that they From the 1555 work of Olaus (Magnus, 1996). 62 Island across Davis Strait when far out on clearer skies. Evidently, marine meteorology different parts of the North Atlantic. After all, the ice and returned with stories of Hellu- had a profound and lasting impact on the the NAO is, essentially, a phenomenon that land. world views of these two societies. emerges from statistical treatment of

In one sense, hafgerdingar probably climate time series from widely separated America discoverersof The Viking helped Norse sailors; under superior mirage stations. (Even with the modern pespective, Marine meteorology conditions, viewing distances are no longer this author finds it very hard to estimate the Norse seafarers would have been obsessive- limited by rectilinear paths to the horizon. phase of the NAO from personal observa- ly interested in the weather at sea and the Rather, light from extremely distant objects tion because one’s memories are unreliable Sagas contain abundant references to that are well below the horizon can be and dominated by extreme events!) Pre- storms – presumably, mesoscale polar lows refracted by the temperature inversion to sumably, the Norse were aware of interan- – and their sometimes devastating con- become visible. In some cases, land nual variations in climate, such as winter sequences. Of particular interest is the 300–500km distant may come into sight. temperatures, which are partly associated reference to hafgerdingar (e.g., in the Green- Therefore, it seems possible that the Norse with the NAO (see Figure 7 and the discus- lander’s Saga and in the King’s Mirror), a term would have occasionally seen the Shetland sion below). And perhaps there is fragmen- that has an obscure and controversial mean- Islands from Norwegian mountains, the tary, anecdotal evidence of NAO-related No.2008, Vol.3 63, March Weather – ing. Literally, hafgerdingar (hillingar in Ice- Faeroes from Shetland, Iceland from the environmental changes among the writings landic) means ‘sea hedges’ or ‘sea fences’ Faeroes, the East Greenland ice cap from that do exist: most likely in qualitative obser- and it indicates some gross calamity at sea. Iceland and Baffin Island from West Green- vations of sea ice. But the Norse had no tra- Erik the Red’s emigration from Iceland to land. That is, in their exploration of the sub- dition of scientific record-keeping, empirical Greenland in AD985 began with 25 ships, polar Atlantic they would sometimes, data analysis, or thermometers and it there- but only fourteen managed to reach their literally, have seen the way ahead. fore seems unlikely that they possessed any- destination, apparently due to such a disas- thing close to the modern notion of the ter. Hafgerdingar has been traditionally NAO. translated as a ‘submarine earthquake’ Climate variability: the North although this is a very unlikely explanation. Atlantic Oscillation Climate change Instead, hafgerdingar probably means an The dominant natural mode of variability of The slow demise of the Norse settlements in Arctic (superior) mirage, that is, an optical the North Atlantic climate system is the well- Greenland is well-established, but poorly illusion. The superior mirage occurs in clear, known North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The understood. Many reasons have been pro- anticyclonic conditions when there is a principal effect of the NAO is on the storm posed including successive crop failures strong temperature inversion in the marine track of cyclones that cross the North caused by a large volcanic eruption in the boundary layer. When the vertical in-situ Atlantic Ocean towards Europe. During high Pacific in 1453, disease, genetic deteriora- temperature gradient exceeds about NAO phases the westerly winds tend to be –1 tion, chronic malnutrition, soil erosion, hos- 0.11degC m (increasing upwards) the vari- stronger, causing mild, wet winters in west- tility with, or assimilation into, the Inuit ation of refractive index with air density is ern Europe and cool summers; during low population, loss of economic markets, and strong enough for light rays to bend more phases Western Europe tends to experience piracy (Figure 6). Likely no single factor can strongly than the Earth’s curvature. This colder, drier winters and warmer summers. explain what happened, but climate change effect allows objects below the horizon to The NAO influences many other environ- is an enduring theme and, at the very least, it become visible. In extreme cases, the hori- mental parameters, too, including East appears to have exacerbated an already grim zon appears to loom up and one appears to Greenland sea ice, North Atlantic plankton situation. Failure to adapt to changing con- be sailing on a concave sea with rising edges and fish populations and West Greenland ditions by modifying traditional farming like a saucer. These conditions must have winter temperatures and precipitation. practices in favour of Inuit technology and unnerved Norse sailors and great courage There is no reason to suspect the NAO oper- expertise was another factor (McGovern, would have been needed not to steer away ated in fundamentally different ways 1000 1981). Norse construction of large elaborate from the apparently colossal wall of water years ago, and so its significant impact on stone churches actually increased in the ahead. Actually, temperature inversions the North Atlantic environment presumably thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, for often precede cyclonic storms (Lehn and influenced the Greenland Norse, too. example, at the expense of essential subsis- Schroeder, 2003) so hafgerdingar may well The first unequivocal evidence of the tence activity. Meanwhile the Inuit, who signal deteriorating weather and therefore a NAO’s existence appeared in the writings of survived the changing climate, migrated genuine threat. the eighteenth-century Danish missionary south to explore better territory. The medieval northern European view of to Greenland, Hans Egede Saabye. His diary, Erik the Red and his followers established the world, perpetuated by the Church until published in 1745, clearly points to the anti- their farms in Greenland during the relative- the Renaissance, held that the Earth was flat correlation in the severity of Danish and ly benign Medieval Warm Period (AD600– or saucer-shaped (Sawatzky and Lehn, Greenland winters. There are also interest- 1150). At this time, raising animals in 1976). Greek astronomers and philosophers ing earlier remarks about Greenland climate pastures was possible alongside a few had believed the Earth to be spherical since in the King’s Mirror which clearly reveal an sheltered fjords. Sea-ice conditions were about the fourth century BC, however. A key appreciation for climate as distinct from relatively light and permitted safe access for observation in support of their view was weather. Indeed, Stephenson et al. (2003) commerce and administration. It appears that ships departing from port would sink conclude from the King’s Mirror that: below the horizon. Temperature inversions that for 300 years after the Medieval Warm strong enough to cause superior mirages do ‘’the Norse knew from their observations Period, the climate became colder with not occur in the Mediterranean and so that colder than normal conditions in shorter growing seasons, greater sea ice, would not contradict this evidence. Another Greenland were associated with more more extensive permafrost and advancing reason is the Earth’s circular shadow on the storminess elsewhere – an important aspect glaciers. For example, sea ice crossed the face of the moon during lunar eclipses, of the North Atlantic Oscillation’’. Denmark Strait in 1306, 1319, 1320, 1321, although, good viewing conditions in the Nevertheless, it seems rather far-fetched 1350, 1374 and many times in the 1400s, yet eastern Mediterranean are much more com- to assert that the Norse knew of the non- summer sea ice at the Eastern Settlement mon than in northern Europe because of the local relationships between weather in was probably rare or absent in Erik the Red’s 63 64 Weather – March 2008, Vol. 63, No. 3 The Viking discoverers of America tions (Fricke tions declining temperatures over several genera- shows clearly skeletons Norse of teeth the from evidence isotope Oxygen lumber. lect rhbtd xeiin to expeditions prohibited and Norway, and Iceland from settlements Greenland the off cut ice Encroaching day. nature of climate variability, which is much is which variability, climate of nature true the obscure can Age Ice Little the and Period Warm Medieval the as such discrete events, labelling of notion very the More- over, panels). former (lower the Settlement in Eastern Narssarsuaq at variability interannual recent the and cycle seasonal the both to compared small is change This than when they disappeared 500 years later. warmer degC 0.6±0.4 was temperature age hemispheric-aver- the when Greenland in Anthro- settled Norse and The out. stand clearly pocene Age Ice Little Period, Warm 2000 (Moberg, last years the over anomaly temperature Northern-Hemisphere the of recent reconstruction a shows panel main The story. this in ground. lay frozen permanently in now skeletons are that graves Settlement Eastern ed iue sos lmt dt rlvn to relevant data climate shows 7 Figure et al., et t al et 1995) and some excavat- some and 1995) , 05. h Medieval The 2005). ., anomaly reconstruction over the last 2000 years by Moberg by years 2000 last the over reconstruction anomaly temperature Northern-Hemisphere the shows panel main The Norse. Greenland the to relevant data Climate 7. Figure Red’s farm. (All Narssarsuaq data are from the US National Climatic Data Center.) Data Climatic National US the from are data Narssarsuaq (All farm. Red’s the Erik of site the to next Settlement Eastern former the in is Narssarsuaq Present-day Narssarsuaq. for data precipitation and temperature average monthly 1961–1990 the shows panel hand right lower The (1995)). Hurrell, USA; Boulder, NCAR, Section, Analysis Climate the from (lower; 1940 since Index Oscillation Atlantic North the and (upper) temperatures average DJFM Narssarsuaq show panels hand left lower The out. stand clearly Age Ice Little the and Period Warm Medieval Markland o col- to possibility. In any case, the Norse farmers died out while the Inuit adapted and survived. and adapted Inuit the while out died farmers Norse the case, any In possibility. another is Inuit the with conflict and/or assimilation although factor likely a is change Climate unclear. are reasons the but established, well is century fifteenth the in settlers Norse Greenland the of disappearance The face. pagan a of design Inuit traditional a other the on and (left) face Norse a side one on shows It Settlement. Eastern former the in Greenland, Qaqortoq, in stands sculpture granite This Greenland. of faces The 6. Figure et al., et 2005 (relative to 1961–1990, with confidence limits). The limits). confidence with 1961–1990, to (relative 2005 more complex (Ogilvie and Jónsson, 2001). may equally apply to our own efforts one Lehn WH, Schroeder II. 2003. Hafgergin- Nevertheless, the tendency for increased day. In expanding our knowledge of the gar: A mystery from the King’s Mirror explained. Polar Record 39(210): 211–217. sea ice, the expansion of Greenland glaciers, North Atlantic environment, and learning to changes in precipitation, and the shorter live in it, there is much about the Norse Magnus O. 1996. Description of the America discoverersof The Viking Northern Peoples, Volume 1. Hakluyt growing seasons presumably had a cumula- explorers to inspire us. Society, London, translation by P. Fisher tive detrimental effect on the Greenland and H. Higgens of the 1555 original. Norse. The stress would have been greatest Further reading and Marcus GJ. 1955. Hafvilla: A note on during periods of positive NAO, which is rea- Norse navigation. Speculum 30(4): sonably well correlated with Narssarsuaq acknowledgements 601–605. DJFM temperatures in the figure (coefficient I highly recommend the encyclopaedic McGovern TH. 1981. The Economics of of –0.63). Times of high NAO during the fif- Extinction in Norse Greenland. In: Climate Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga by W. W. and History, Studies in past climates and teenth century would presumably have Fitzhugh and E. I. Ward (Smithsonian Books, their impact on Man, (eds). T.M.L. Wigley, caused cold winter anomalies of 5–6degC . Washington, 2000) and The Vinland Sagas: M.J. Ingram, G. Farmer. Cambridge Univer- A period of successive hard winters like The Norse Discovery of America by M. sity Press: Cambridge, United Kingdom those of the late 1980s and early 1990s, on Magnusson and H. Palsson (Penguin Books, and New York, NY, USA. pp. 404–433. No.2008, Vol.3 63, March Weather – top of the Little Ice Age conditions, would London, 1965) as fascinating and accessible Moberg A, Sonechkin DM, Holmgren K, have caused a serious crisis. Datsenko NM, Karlén W, Lauritzen SE. introductions to the Norse story. I have used 2005. Highly variable Northern A few people in Iceland and Norway were information from these sources freely here. Hemisphere temperatures reconstructed aware of the changing climate, and espe- Figure 2 is from the Map Collection of The from low- and high-resolution proxy data. cially the worse ice conditions in the four- National and University Library of Iceland: Nature 433: 613–617. teenth and fifteenth centuries. The Pope (http://kort.bok.hi.is/index.php). Figure 5 is Ogilvie AEJ, Jónsson T. 2001. ‘Little Ice complained in 1492 that the Bishopric at shown with permission of the Hakluyt Age’ research: A perspective from Iceland. Climatic Change 48: 9–52. Gardar, Eastern Settlement, had not been Society, London (established in 1846), which Palsson H, Edwards P. 1972. The Book of relieved for 80 years due to the ice, for seeks to advance knowledge and education instance. Most Greenland Norse were Settlements; Landnamabok, 159pp. by the publication of scholarly editions of University of Manitoba Press, University of coping with the increased challenges of primary records of voyages, travels and Manitoba Icelandic Studies, Vol. I. their day-to-day survival, however, and were other geographical material (http://www. Sawatzky HL, Lehn WH. 1976. The Arctic probably unaware of how the climate was hakluyt.com/index.htm). All photographs Mirage and the early North Atlantic. slowly changing around them. are by the author. Science 192: 1300–1305. Stephenson DB, Wanner H, Brönnimann S, Luterbacher J. 2003. The Conclusions References History of Scientific Research on the North Atlantic Oscillation, AGU, Geophysical In conclusion, the Greenland Norse knew of Fricke HC, O’Neill JR, Lynnerup N. 1995. Monograph 134: 279pp. tides, ocean currents, sea ice, and weather. Oxygen isotope composition of human They were exposed to decadal and centen- tooth enamel from medieval Greenland: Linking climate and society. Geology 23: Correspondence to: Thomas Haine, nial climate variations, but probably without 869–872. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, realizing it. Their knowledge was at best Garrett C, Petrie B. 1981. Dynamical semi-quantitative and existed in the context aspects of the flow through the Strait of The John Hopkins University, Baltimore, of an epistemology that seems primitive Belle Isle. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 11: 376–393. Maryland 21218–2682, USA. today. Yet, their knowledge was essentially Hurrell JW. 1995. Decadal trends in the Email: [email protected] North Atlantic Oscillation: regional robust and through exploitation of their © Royal Meteorological Society, 2008 technologies they achieved great discover- temperatures and precipitation. Science 269: 676–679. ies in adverse conditions. DOI: 10.1002/wea.150 At the dawn of the third millennium, and Larson LM. 1917. The King’s Mirror: Speculum Regale. Twayne Publishers, Inc.: the fourth International Polar Year, it is NY and The American-Scandinavian sobering to think how these statements Foundation.

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