A summary of the conference –

On April 5-6, 2021, at the Climate Change and Maritime Heritage: Interdisciplinary Perspectives conference, researchers presented the impacts of climate change on submerged archaeological resources through an interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches and provided recommendations for future action (conference programme here).

Many coastal, terrestrial, and submerged archaeological sites are at risk due to climate change. Sea level rise, ocean acidification, increased storm intensity, and erosion threaten to adversely impact the stability, preservation, and conservation of in situ coastal and submerged cultural heritage. There is little understanding of how modern climate change will impact these archaeological sites in the future, resulting in the potential loss of heritage that informs on histories, cultures, and lifeways of people who lived in the past.

Topics discussed at the conference included:
• Impacts of sea level rise on submerged and coastal archaeological sites.
• Impacts of ocean acidification on artifacts and ecofacts.
• Increased storm intensity contributing to the movement and breakage of shipwrecks and cultural materials.
• Changes to environmental factors and the stability of submerged cultural heritage sites.
• In situ conservation and preservation in a changing environment.

To watch both days of the conference, please follow the following links:

Day 1 (Access Passcode: $1Climate)

Day 2 (Access Passcode: 2$Climate)

Many thanks to McKenna Litynski, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, for the permission to post the links here.

(Photo courtesy MMARP)