What Greenland Can Teach Us About The Earth’s Past and Future
About this episode
This episode explores the research happening in Greenland, focusing on its historical significance and current environmental challenges.
Politicians are eyeing Greenland as an important strategic location, perfectly situated between Europe and North America. President Donald Trump has said he remains highly interested in acquiring or controlling Greenland as a national security and economic asset. But for a lot of researchers, Greenland is a beautiful and fragile place that holds important clues to the Earth’s past and future. So what are they learning about the large, icy island? On this episode, we’ll explore some of the research happening in Greenland. We’ll hear about archeologists digging up Viking graves to find out why a settlement disappeared sometime in the 15th century, and talk to an adventurous climate scientist who tracks and follows meltwater that’s flowing from Greenland’s ice sheet into the sea. Also, what are the riches buried under the ice that everybody is interested in? We’ll find out how mining for Greenland’s rare earth metals could affect this ecosystem. We talk with writer and photographer Neil Shea about his travels to Greenland and the intriguing historical mystery he found there — the Viking settlement that thrived and then vanished 500 years later. Shea explains how and why Erik the Red…
More episodes of The Pulse
- 40 Years After Chernobyl: What Caused the Disaster — and How It Changed Nuclear Energy
- So Many Cravings, So Few Rewards: Understanding How Dopamine Works
- Inside the Boom of Urgent Care: How It’s Changing American Medicine
- Why We Need to Talk About Poop
- The Problem with Being Perfect: How Unrealistic Standards Hurt Our Minds and Bodies
- Unearthing the Hidden Stories of Women Scientists
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Pulse podcast page.