An international team of scientists is planning to use the driftwood on Icelandic shores to study global climate change. The study, which is still in the planning stages, will use driftwood which is preserved on the shore, as well as wood that has been used for construction or fences near the locations where it drifted ashore, to shed a light on the past.
Although driftwood has been utilized by Icelanders throughout the centuries, either as a building material or firewood, its potential as a historical source has not yet been tapped by modern scientists. Pétur Halldórsson, the spokesman for the Icelandic Forest Service, which will coordinate the project, told the local newspaper Fréttablaðið that driftwood could tell a rich story about the past.
“Driftwood can be very old and can tell us a lot about the climate. It can even tell us about ocean currents, drift ice and many other things. Studying driftwood can be useful for various fields of study. We can for example use it to verify written records and other historical sources.”
The driftwood found along the shores of Iceland comes from the North coast of Siberia. It takes the trees 4-5 years to reach Iceland, travelling between 400 and 1000 km (250-620 miles) each year.
An international team of scientists is planning to use the driftwood on Icelandic shores to study global climate change. The study, which is still in the planning stages, will use driftwood which is preserved on the shore, as well as wood that has been used for construction or fences near the locations where it drifted ashore, to shed a light on the past.
Although driftwood has been utilized by Icelanders throughout the centuries, either as a building material or firewood, its potential as a historical source has not yet been tapped by modern scientists. Pétur Halldórsson, the spokesman for the Icelandic Forest Service, which will coordinate the project, told the local newspaper Fréttablaðið that driftwood could tell a rich story about the past.
“Driftwood can be very old and can tell us a lot about the climate. It can even tell us about ocean currents, drift ice and many other things. Studying driftwood can be useful for various fields of study. We can for example use it to verify written records and other historical sources.”
The driftwood found along the shores of Iceland comes from the North coast of Siberia. It takes the trees 4-5 years to reach Iceland, travelling between 400 and 1000 km (250-620 miles) each year.
