Antarctica: Global Science from a Frozen Continent

Brought together for the first time: an international group of leading Antarctic scientists and 50 years of pioneering research.

Antarctica

Global Science from a Frozen Continent

Edited by David Walton British Antarctic Survey

Hardback / ISBN: 978-1-107-00392-7 / 342pp / £35.00

Published: April 4th, 2013

'This is the book if you want to understand the significance of Antarctica for the future of Planet Earth' Sir John Lawton CBE FRS, last chair of the Royal Commission on Environment Pollution

Antarctica in the twenty-first century is now recognised as a key part of the global jigsaw, a driver for the models of our likely future climate and a continuing test bed for the success of international political collaboration and cooperation. Its future matters to everyone.

The general growth in interest and importance for Antarctic science means that there is now a need to explain much more clearly what we know about Antarctica, how its position, its history and its special qualities contribute to our understanding of global problems and what the future might hold.

This landmark book brings together for the first time the world's leading Antarctic scientists who show why Antarctic science has bearing on global problems, allowing the reader to understand how even remote changes in the Antarctic such as the break-up of the ice shelf can have real impacts on everyday life. Dramatically illustrated throughout, the book presents some of the key evidence for climate change over a range of different periods in an understandable format and it brings together vital, co-operative research to provide unique information on key global issues.

Table of Contents

Introduction David Walton

1. Discovering the unknown continent David Walton

2. The continental jigsaw Brian Storey

3. Ice with everything Valerie Masson-Delmotte

4. Climate of extremes John Cassano

5. Stormy and icy seas Eberhard Fahrbach

6. Life in a cold environment Peter Convey, Angelika Brandt and Steve Nicol

7. Space research from Antarctica Louis Lanzerotti and Alan Weatherwax

8. Living and working in the cold Lou Sanson

9. Scientists together on the ice Colin Summerhayes

10. Managing the frozen commons Olav Orheim

11. Antarctica and global change Alan Rodger

About the editor

Professor David Walton began work in 1967 with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). He is now an Emeritus Fellow at BAS, publishing papers and books on many aspects of Antarctica. Professor Walton represented the international Antarctic scientific community at Antarctic Treaty Meetings for 14 years and was awarded the first SCAR medal for International Scientific Coordination. He was also awarded a Polar Medal by the Queen. The author of more than 100 scientific papers and more than 250 reviews, popular articles and reports, he has also written and edited several books and has been the editor in chief of the International journal Antarctic Science for the last 25 years.

About Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Dedicated to excellence, its purpose is to further the University's objective of advancing knowledge, education, learning, and research. Its extensive peer-reviewed publishing lists comprise 45,000 titles covering academic research, professional development, over 300 research journals, school-level education, English language teaching and bible publishing. Playing a leading role in today's international market place, Cambridge University Press has over 50 offices around the globe, and it distributes its products to nearly every country in the world.