Vikings' North American Settlements Threatened by Rising Seas and Cascading Crises.

A new study suggests that the Vikings may have abandoned their successful settlement in Greenland due to a rise in sea levels caused by climate change. The researchers used a computer model based on geological and climate records to calculate that sea levels would have risen by up to 3 meters during the four centuries of Norse occupation of the eastern settlement. The loss of habitable land would have been compounded by a trend from warmer temperatures toward cooler, drier temperatures in Europe that ultimately led to what is known as the Little Ice Age, which began around 1250 AD.