Viking Exploration: Greenland's Misleading Name

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What did the Vikings find in Greenland?

A vast expanse of snow and ice

A string of verdant meadows with wildflowers (correct)

A desolate and windswept coastline

A barren and forbidding landscape

Where did the Vikings set up camp in Greenland?

In the midst of harsh winds and sparse vegetation

Amidst jagged, imposing cliffs protected from the elements (correct)

Near the vast expanse of snow and ice

In a desolate and windswept coastal area

What did the Vikings establish in Greenland?

A nomadic way of life without any permanent structures

An advanced legal system and economy

A small, unorganized community with no trade connections

A society similar to the one they had left behind in Norway (correct)

What was the population of the Viking settlement at its peak?

5000 Signup and view all the answers

How long did the Viking settlement in Greenland prosper before disappearing?

450 years Signup and view all the answers

What has drawn hundreds of scientists, including McGovern, to Greenland each summer?

The tantalizing mystery of the Viking settlement's disappearance Signup and view all the answers

What did McGovern primarily study to understand the lives and deaths of the Greenland Vikings?

The natural environment disturbances and garbage heaps Signup and view all the answers

What information did the garbage heaps provide about the lives of the Greenland Vikings?

Insight into their diet, clothing, and household items Signup and view all the answers

Why are ice sheets considered a treasure trove for climate scientists?

They absorb various particles from the atmosphere over time Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of analyzing ice-trapped particles by climate scientists?

To study historical atmospheric conditions Signup and view all the answers

What did the analysis of ice samples from Greenland reveal about the temperature when the Vikings first arrived?

Anomalously higher than average for the last 1000 years Signup and view all the answers

What did scientists qualify the period as when the Vikings had vanished?

A mini ice-age overlain on seasonal variations Signup and view all the answers

Where was the segment of ice sheet drilled for analysis located?

Not far from the Viking settlements Signup and view all the answers

What was the width of the 3000-meter-long cylinder of ice extracted for analysis?

$12$ centimeters Signup and view all the answers

What university houses Jim White's light stable isotope lab?

University of Colorado at Boulder Signup and view all the answers

Viking Exploration: Greenland's Misleading Name

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