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All IPCC definitions taken from Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Working Group I Contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Annex I, Glossary, pp. 941-954. Cambridge University Press.

What the science says...

The Greenland ice sheet is at least 400,000 years old and there was no global warming when Europeans settled in Greenland

Greeland is a large area situated east of Canada, between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. About 80% of the island is covered by the Greenland ice sheet. During the 980s, Scandinavian and Icelandic exporers established two or three settlements on the south-west coast of Greenland. Wo what were the conditions in Greeland like 1000 years ago? More precisely, this blog will explore the three following questions:

How old is the Greenland ice sheet?

Is there evidence of global warming at that time?

What factors cause climate change?

The Greenland ice sheet is at least 400,000 years old

Scientists have estimate that the Greenland ice sheet is between 400,000 and 800,00i years old. This means that the island today is unlikely to have been markedly different when Europeans settled there. However, there is evidence that the settled areas were warmer than today, with large birch woodlands providing both timber and fuel. This warmth coincided with the period known as the Medieval Climatic Anomaly, more commonly known as the Medieval Warm Period, which we will discuss below.

So how did Greenland get its name? According to the Icelandic sagas, Erik the Red name it Greenland in an attempt to lure settlers in search of land and the promise of a better life. However, the age of the ice sheet, which is more than 3 kilometres thick in places, indicates that the opportunities to establish communities would have been limited to small areas.

Warming during the Medieval Climatic Anomaly was not global

During the Medieval Climatic Anomaly, some areas, most notably in the North Atlantic, were at least as warm as today, if not warmer. However, other areas were colder, and overall evidence suggests that global temperatures during this period were similar to those at the beginning of middle of the 20th century, and colder than today. This period is explored in more depth here.

So not only was Greeland not green when Europeans settled there, the relatively warm conditions during this period were not a global phenomenon. This contrasts with what we are seeing today, where warming is truly global. The different causes behind the warming then and now, which we look at next, further invalidate any attempt to draw parallels between medieval Greenland and today's conditions.

Updated on 2012-12-20 by Anne-Marie Blackburn.

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What the science says...

The Greenland ice sheet is at least 400,000 years old