Sci. Total Environ. http://doi.org/fzb4mw (2012)
To adapt to climate change it is helpful to be able to anticipate climate impacts so that proactive measures can be taken to minimize damages. One area that has so far received relatively little attention in this regard is the potential impact of climate change on cultural heritage.
To investigate how climate changes might affect indoor heritage collections, Paul Lankester and Peter Brimblecombe from the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia, UK used building simulations combined with high-resolution climate projections to predict indoor temperature and humidity, and damage arising from changes to the internal climate of historic rooms in England.
They found that damage from mould growth and pests is likely to be enhanced in the future, while humidity-driven dimensional changes to materials such as wood can be expected to decrease. These results should help historic collection managers to prepare for the impact of long-term climate change to better preserve our cultural heritage.
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Brown, A. Preserving our past. Nature Clim Change 2, 147 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1444
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1444
