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Two millennia of climate change, wildfires, and caribou hunting in west Greenland

Strunk, Astrid LU orcid ; Krüger, Sascha ; Jensen, Jens Fog ; Olsen, Jesper and Jessen, Catherine LU (2024) In Holocene
Abstract

Changing climatic conditions is a perpetual circumstance for mankind. In this study, we investigate local environmental and climatic changes near Kangerlussuaq, west Greenland. Our reconstruction is based on a lake sediment core and methods include chemical proxies and a palynological analysis. The investigated site is located 15 km from the Aasivissuit Inuit summer hunting ground, which has been in use for caribou hunting for more than 2000 years. The presented climatic reconstruction covers the time from c. 560 CE to present time. We identify three distinct periods of climate regimes: From c. 560–1100 CE conditions were stable, warm and humid, and summer temperatures were 1.5–2°C warmer than today. 1100–1600 was a period of cooler and... (More)

Changing climatic conditions is a perpetual circumstance for mankind. In this study, we investigate local environmental and climatic changes near Kangerlussuaq, west Greenland. Our reconstruction is based on a lake sediment core and methods include chemical proxies and a palynological analysis. The investigated site is located 15 km from the Aasivissuit Inuit summer hunting ground, which has been in use for caribou hunting for more than 2000 years. The presented climatic reconstruction covers the time from c. 560 CE to present time. We identify three distinct periods of climate regimes: From c. 560–1100 CE conditions were stable, warm and humid, and summer temperatures were 1.5–2°C warmer than today. 1100–1600 was a period of cooler and very arid conditions with more sea ice, corresponding to the Neoglacial cooling. In this period, we detect two wildfire events and subsequent temporary caribou abandonment of the area. From 1600 to present we find increasingly warmer conditions with more precipitation and less extensive sea ice cover, gradually approaching today’s climate regime in Kangerlussuaq. We review the existing literature regarding the Aasivissuit summer hunting ground, which was first used concurrently with the detected cooling. Despite climatic deterioration, the hunting ground was regularly in use throughout the Neoglacial and onwards, with peak hunting intensity in the early 1700s. The detected wildfires and reindeer abandonment are interpreted to be localized events at the coring site and did not affect the hunting ground. Our findings highlight the resilience of the Inuit hunters to climatic changes as well as the advantages and limitations of local environmental reconstructions.

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; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
caribou hunting, Inuit cultures, multiproxy reconstruction, paleoenvironment, palynology, West Greenland, wildfires
in
Holocene
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • scopus:85192546832
ISSN
0959-6836
DOI
10.1177/09596836241247301
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b23b66e0-ecd8-4fff-b38d-7cae9961ba5f
date added to LUP
2024-05-29 15:23:08
date last changed
2024-05-29 15:23:57
@article{b23b66e0-ecd8-4fff-b38d-7cae9961ba5f,
  abstract     = {{<p>Changing climatic conditions is a perpetual circumstance for mankind. In this study, we investigate local environmental and climatic changes near Kangerlussuaq, west Greenland. Our reconstruction is based on a lake sediment core and methods include chemical proxies and a palynological analysis. The investigated site is located 15 km from the Aasivissuit Inuit summer hunting ground, which has been in use for caribou hunting for more than 2000 years. The presented climatic reconstruction covers the time from c. 560 CE to present time. We identify three distinct periods of climate regimes: From c. 560–1100 CE conditions were stable, warm and humid, and summer temperatures were 1.5–2°C warmer than today. 1100–1600 was a period of cooler and very arid conditions with more sea ice, corresponding to the Neoglacial cooling. In this period, we detect two wildfire events and subsequent temporary caribou abandonment of the area. From 1600 to present we find increasingly warmer conditions with more precipitation and less extensive sea ice cover, gradually approaching today’s climate regime in Kangerlussuaq. We review the existing literature regarding the Aasivissuit summer hunting ground, which was first used concurrently with the detected cooling. Despite climatic deterioration, the hunting ground was regularly in use throughout the Neoglacial and onwards, with peak hunting intensity in the early 1700s. The detected wildfires and reindeer abandonment are interpreted to be localized events at the coring site and did not affect the hunting ground. Our findings highlight the resilience of the Inuit hunters to climatic changes as well as the advantages and limitations of local environmental reconstructions.</p>}},
  author       = {{Strunk, Astrid and Krüger, Sascha and Jensen, Jens Fog and Olsen, Jesper and Jessen, Catherine}},
  issn         = {{0959-6836}},
  keywords     = {{caribou hunting; Inuit cultures; multiproxy reconstruction; paleoenvironment; palynology; West Greenland; wildfires}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Holocene}},
  title        = {{Two millennia of climate change, wildfires, and caribou hunting in west Greenland}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09596836241247301}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/09596836241247301}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}