Success of sky-polarimetric Viking navigation: revealing the chance Viking sailors could reach Greenland from Norway.

ABSTRACT: According to a famous hypothesis, Viking sailors could navigate along the latitude between Norway and Greenland by means of sky polarization in cloudy weather using a sun compass and sunstone crystals. Using data measured in earlier atmospheric optical and psychophysical experiments, here we determine the success rate of this sky-polarimetric Viking navigation. Simulating 1000 voyages between Norway and Greenland with varying cloudiness at summer solstice and spring equinox, we revealed the chance with which Viking sailors could reach Greenland under the varying weather conditions of a 3-week-long journey as a function of the navigation periodicity Δt if they analysed sky polarization with calcite, cordierite or tourmaline sunstones. Examples of voyage routes are also presented. Our result

SUBMITTER: Szaz D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5936938 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature