Tuesday, December 13, 2016

"As long ago as the 10th century, astute observers noted that Britain’s coastlines were fringed with trees, visible only at low tide"

Aeon:
Traditionally, the ‘drowned forests’ were regarded as evidence of Noah’s flood.

...

The area, now called Doggerland, was gradually submerged as the last Ice Age came to an end, and the melting glaciers raised sea levels. Only around 5,500 BCE did Britain finally become an island. The rediscovery of the great plain that formerly connected it to mainland Europe is one of the most remarkable scientific stories of the past decade, yet there is a sense in which it should not come as a surprise at all. Doggerland addresses one of our oldest preoccupations; for we have always told stories about lost civilisations, hidden beneath the waves.
Relatedly: "An expert committee convened by the World Meteorological Organization has established a new world record significant wave height of a massive 19 meters (62.3 feet!) measured by a buoy in the North Atlantic."