TY - JOUR

T1 - Climate change and the loss of organic archaeological deposits in the Arctic

AU - Hollesen, Jørgen

AU - Matthiesen, Henning

AU - Møller, Anders Bjørn

AU - Westergaard-Nielsen, Andreas

AU - Elberling, Bo

N1 - CENPERMOA[2016]

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the global average with overlooked consequences for thepreservation of the rich cultural and environmental records that have been stored for millennia inarchaeological deposits. In this article, we investigate the oxic degradation of different types oforganic archaeological deposits located in different climatic zones in West and South Greenland. Therate of degradation is investigated based on measurements of O2 consumption, CO2 production andheat production at different temperatures and water contents. Overall, there is good consistencybetween the three methods. However, at one site the, O2 consumption is markedly higher than theCO2 production, highlighting the importance of combining several measures when assessing thevulnerability of organic deposits. The archaeological deposits are highly vulnerable to degradationregardless of age, depositional and environmental conditions. Degradation rates of the deposits aremore sensitive to increasing temperatures than natural soils and the process is accompanied by a highmicrobial heat production that correlates significantly with their total carbon content. We conclude thatorganic archaeology in the Arctic is facing a critical challenge that requires international action.

AB - The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the global average with overlooked consequences for thepreservation of the rich cultural and environmental records that have been stored for millennia inarchaeological deposits. In this article, we investigate the oxic degradation of different types oforganic archaeological deposits located in different climatic zones in West and South Greenland. Therate of degradation is investigated based on measurements of O2 consumption, CO2 production andheat production at different temperatures and water contents. Overall, there is good consistencybetween the three methods. However, at one site the, O2 consumption is markedly higher than theCO2 production, highlighting the importance of combining several measures when assessing thevulnerability of organic deposits. The archaeological deposits are highly vulnerable to degradationregardless of age, depositional and environmental conditions. Degradation rates of the deposits aremore sensitive to increasing temperatures than natural soils and the process is accompanied by a highmicrobial heat production that correlates significantly with their total carbon content. We conclude thatorganic archaeology in the Arctic is facing a critical challenge that requires international action.

U2 - 10.1038/srep28690

DO - 10.1038/srep28690

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 27356878

VL - 6

JO - Scientific Reports

JF - Scientific Reports

SN - 2045-2322

M1 - 28690

ER -