Icy Greenland and Warm Iceland ~ Aquatic Students' Association

Names of countries are always interesting to study. Some names reveal the geography while some reveal the pioneers who discovered them in the new world. Countries like Greenland and Iceland too have very interesting names. The land of Greenland in covered by about 80% ice sheet while in Iceland you can see lots of greenery. So what caused this very confusing naming. To find out the reason for this naming which has been an internet joke for many years we must go back to the early settlers and when the land was discovered in the medieval age.

The early settlers of Iceland were Vikings. The motherland of Vikings is the region now called Norway, Denmark and Sweden. These men who were also referred to as Norsemen, were strongly rooted in a seafaring culture. They fashioned themselves as warriors, traders and explores.

One such Viking was Naddodd the Viking. He was on a sea journey when he was blown off course and landed in a new land in the year 830 CE. Shortly after he left. After Naddodd left a Viking by the name Gardar the swede followed in his footsteps to this new land and named it after himself as “Gardar’s island”. This was in 860 CE. After Gardar left, a Viking named Flóki Vilgerðarson came to this land to colonize it. However, when he tried to leave this island for his homeland, modern Norway, he was blocked by ice in the sea. Having to stay for much longer than he planned, he lost most of his livestock and his daughter due to the cold. He named this land he saw filled in sorrow and ice as Iceland.

When he finally went home to Norway he spread the word that Iceland was inhospitable. However, two members of his crew started a rumored that this land was filled with lush grass and was so beautiful. Trusting the words of these crew members, people of Norway migrated to Iceland. They found a beautiful grassy land as was their expectation.

The temperature of Iceland is actually warmer than those in similar regions. This warmth is given to the land by the gulf stream that runs near the west side of the island. You can think of the gulf stream as a river in the ocean which carry warm water from the coast of Florida (the gulf stream is a result of the suns gravity, rotation of the earth, climate in the north and south poles and many other factors). The gulf stream warms the water near the coast of Iceland by about 6 C.

The Vikings in Iceland enjoyed the benefits of the gulf stream. They formed their own unique identity in Iceland. The people in Iceland formed an equalitarian society. In 982 CE the Viking Erik the Red was a subject to this society and he was exiled for his crime of murder. Eric the red left Iceland and found a new land further north. He started a settlement in this new region with a fleet of 14 longships. He named this land he found as Greenland to attract more people. You could say that the name Greenland was a medieval marketing scheme.

Back then around the year 985 CE, it is believed that Greenland was actually much warmer. This time period between 900-1300 CE is known as the medieval warm period. The seas were much calmer as the water receded as a byproduct of the warming, and sailing was much easier for these Vikings. However, this warm period lost its effect in Greenland in 1257 CE. In that year a volcano in the Lombok island of Indonesia erupted. This massive eruption had far reaching consequences. The sulfur released from this volcano to the stratosphere reflected solar energy back to the space cooling the earth’s climate. The effect of this disaster lasted for decades, in to the 1320’s. Greenland which was at the edge of the known world cooled further down making the land inhospitable. The Greenland you see today was not the same when it was given its name.

However, as the globe is rewarming people in Greenland are facing a different set of challenges. When glaciers melt they often break. This might cause sudden tide rise in the rivers. they continue to face sudden, harsh winters interspersing with wet springs. The people in Greenland continue to live with these grim realities.

The melting of glaciers also affects Iceland. the cold water from the melting ice flow from the north. This increasingly cold water reduces the effect of the gulf stream and slows it down. With the effect of gulf stream, which the life line of Iceland, slowed down, the climate in Iceland changes vary rapidly. Iceland is going to be much colder and fit its name much better in the near future.

The way the ocean moves and its various quirks are a major factor in regulating the climate. With the rapid change in climate these factors are altered. Even if the effect of the climate change does not reach us in Sri Lanka, these countries are paying for our mistakes with their lives.

Climate change has always happened throughout the history, and with it you can follow the footsteps of the ancient sapiens as they migrated. The changes in the sea levels in various periods facilitated the colonization of new lands by sapiens. Some of these lands still continue to boast their ancient names.