Scientific Research Is Unreliable, Unreliable Scientists Report

[HoreTore]

Greenland does seem to have been nice for cattle and sheep. Evidence so far has only found barley. How widespread such production was is not clear though, only that it was pretty much gone by mid 13th century and I guess it could have been much earlier if we go by Northern Iceland (gone by early 12th century)

The medieval viking farms of Greenland were conveniently located........at the site of present-day farms on Greenland.

Yeah, that disproved global warming alright.

And we're as confident as we can be on the locations. Greenland is arctic, and things rarely disappear from arctic soil.

[Xiahou]

The medieval viking farms of Greenland were conveniently located........at the site of present-day farms on Greenland.

Yeah, that disproved global warming alright.

And we're as confident as we can be on the locations. Greenland is arctic, and things rarely disappear from arctic soil.

Really?

[HoreTore]

Really?

I had a closer look at the site you provided Xiahou. This report was interesting. I'll just quote a single sentence to ram my point in this thread home:

The climate and vegetation in Greenland during Norse times were much the same as today

[Sigurd]

I had a closer look at the site you provided Xiahou. This report was interesting. I'll just quote a single sentence to ram my point in this thread home:

I have been thinking about the barley ears they found on Greenland. It is well known that you can't grow grains on Greenland, they won't produce mature grains.
So they found a few burnt ears at the bottom of a dung heap. Conclusion was that it had to be the remains of something growing there as nobody would export full ears.
Haven't seen in any report a judgement of the maturity of these barley ears. where they harvested as full barley or merely failed crops?

[CBR]

Haven't seen in any report a judgement of the maturity of these barley ears. where they harvested as full barley or merely failed crops?

The kernels were charred and about 2 mm wide or so. An Icelandic dung had similar sized kernels and it looks like that is good enough for their conclusion of a "complete Scandinavian agro-pastoral package"

[HoreTore]

The kernels were charred and about 2 mm wide or so. An Icelandic dung had similar sized kernels and it looks like that is good enough for their conclusion of a "complete Scandinavian agro-pastoral package"

That paper only refers to use of grain as animal fodder, however.

[Sigurd]

Forget about your wheat fields Tore, prepare to ingest the godly diet of sheep like the rest of us in the real world. The Chinese are forcing you to become a west lander or at least live under the same weather conditions as us. Cretaceous - here we come.

[CBR]

That paper only refers to use of grain as animal fodder, however.

No, it says maybe and perhaps. In the conclusion they write that most likely the animals had grazed on harvested fields.

[CBR]

Yeah, that disproved global warming alright.

Just because Greenland had a bit milder climate back then does obviously not disprove AGW.

[HoreTore]

Just because Greenland had a bit milder climate back then does obviously not disprove AGW.

Of course not, especially since Greenland's warm period is considered a local rather than a regional(not to mention global) event(as in, it was hotter than other places in the North Atlantic), and warm climate close to the arctic circle is mostly driven by ocean currents anyway.

Still doesn't stop denialists from using it as the "ultimate proof of green lobby cryptocommunists hell-bent on world domination", though. Just goes to show the level of "intelligence" present in the denialist camp, I guess...

[Sigurd]

The medieval viking farms of Greenland were conveniently located........at the site of present-day farms on Greenland.

It is quite a difference between managing grain crops and sheep fodder. I believe Greenland can't sustain any type of grain today as it couldn't after the 1300s. Not using this in any way to disprove global warming. Right should be right.
Greenland's artic summers aren't long enough for grain to mature and be harvested.

[HoreTore]

It is quite a difference between managing grain crops and sheep fodder. I believe Greenland can't sustain any type of grain today as it couldn't after the 1300s. Not using this in any way to disprove global warming. Right should be right.
Greenland's artic summers aren't long enough for grain to mature and be harvested.

Greenland's summers are about the same length as the summers in Northern Norway, another area not known to be packed with grain farms. Of course, all the grain grown in Northern Norway is used for animal fodder, as the quality is quite inferior. But then again, nearly all the grain grown in Norway is used for fodder as opposed to human consumption. With Greenland's climate being a little worse combined with fertile areas being much rarer, it makes absolutely no commercial sense whatsoever to grow grain on Greenland today. It doesn't in Northern Norway(really, almost all of Norway) either, but our tendency to throw billions at anyone seen driving a tractor makes it a bit more viable.

But back in the viking days, it wasn't about producing a viable and profitable product; it was simply about getting something you would otherwise not have. If those conditions were present today as well, I'd bet we'd see a grain patch or two on Greenland. Remember, the grain grown was only a supplement to a diet based on other types of food and intended for an extremely tiny population.