Wanda's PhD project seeks to better understand how coastal communities responded and adapted, or failed to do so, during the climate of the Little Ice Age and especially during crisis years. The focus is on the Norwegian experience of the cold and difficult years between 1740-1743. While large parts of the population struggled with famine and disease, marine resources seem to have provided crucial relief for most all coastal communities, limiting mortality increase compared to inland regions, the research found. Further, the research found that the abundance of fish initiated advancements in marine harvesting and processing techniques and methods. Merchants and fishermen found new incentives to invest in new equipment as good catches, better prices, and new markets secured more profit. Lastly, the research uncovered that this increased focus on trade and more intensive fishing did not lead to marine resources being exported away from the needing coastal communities to promote the interest of merchants seeking profit. The marine resources being available to local coastal communities was most likely due to the advancement and adaptation to the new rich fisheries taking some time, and infrastructure focused on export not yet being fully established.
Wanda will present her research project in the upcoming KLIMER seminar on the 24th of January.