Skerrylike Mirages and the Discovery of Greenland
Applied Optics, Vol. 39, Issue 21, pp. 3612-3619 (2000)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/AO.39.003612
Acrobat PDF (741 KB)
Abstract
The Norse discovery of Greenland is associated with the sighting of low barren islands called Gunnbjörn’s Skerries, which have never been satisfactorily identified. Here the historical references that connect the skerries to Greenland are reviewed. A mirage of the Greenland coast, arising specifically from optical ducting under a sharp temperature inversion, is used to explain the vision of skerries seen by the Norse mariners. Images from both ducting and uniform inversions are calculated. Under the assumption of a clean Rayleigh atmosphere, sufficient visibility remains to see the skerry image at a distance of 220 km. There is significant circumstantial evidence to indicate that the Norse were familiar with the skerrylike mirage and that they used it to discover new lands.
© 2000 Optical Society of America
[Optical Society of America ]
OCIS Codes
(000.2850) General : History and philosophy
(010.0010) Atmospheric and oceanic optics : Atmospheric and oceanic optics
(010.4030) Atmospheric and oceanic optics : Mirages and refraction
Citation
Waldemar H. Lehn, "Skerrylike Mirages and the Discovery of Greenland," Appl. Opt. 39, 3612-3619 (2000)
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/ao/abstract.cfm?URI=ao-39-21-3612
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Citation lists with outbound citation links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article level metrics are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription
Related Journal Articles 
Related Conference Papers
- Application of Resonance Enhanced Multi-Photon Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry for the on-line characterization of diesel generator air toxics emissions
- Application of Jet REMPI and LIBS to Air Toxic Monitoring
- Laser sounder approach for measuring atmospheric CO2 from orbit
- Raman-shifted eye-safe aerosol lidar development
- Nonlinear Optical Microscope: A History of Interplay between Technology Developments and Biomedical Sciences
- Nonlinear Optical Microscope: A History of Interplay between Technology Developments and Biomedical Sciences
« Previous Article | Next Article »
OSA is a member of 