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Land of wondrous cold : the race to discover Antarctica and unlock the secrets of its ice / Gillen D'Arcy Wood.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, 2020Description: xiv, 287 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780691172200
  • 069117220X
Subject(s):
Contents:
Introduction. Our glacial earth -- Part one. Beginnings. The race is joined. Interlude: The hollow earth ; Joseph Hooker travels through time. Interlude: The ghost continent ; In the land of fire. Interlude: The American climate warriors -- Part two. Trials. D'Urville battles the pack. Interlude: Ice Station Weddell ; The voyage of the Flying Fish. Interlude: The stormy petrel ; Madame D'Urville's letter ; Ross falls behind -- Part three. Triumph. Seas of grass. Interlude: The Antarctic convergence ; How the Adélie penguin got its name. Interlude: Anthropornis nordenskjoldi ; Wilkes discovers a continent. Interlude: The hurricane coast ; Message in a bottle. Interlude: The magnetic crusaders ; Ross in wonderland ; Homecoming -- Postlude: Last ice.
Summary: "A history of the first race to Antarctica that weaves the great polar discoveries of the nineteenth century with scientific breakthroughs of the modern era. Antarctica, the ice kingdom hosting the South Pole, looms large in the human imagination. The secrets of this vast frozen desert have long tempted explorers, but its brutal climate and glacial shores notoriously resist human intrusion. Land of Wondrous Cold tells a gripping story of the pioneer nineteenth-century voyages, when British, French, and American commanders raced to penetrate Antarctica's glacial rim for unknown lands beyond. These intrepid Victorian explorers-James Ross, Dumont D'Urville, and Charles Wilkes-laid the foundation for our current understanding of Terra Australis Incognita. Today, the white continent poses new challenges, as scientists race to uncover Earth's climate history recorded in the south polar ice and ocean floor, and to monitor the increasing instability of the Antarctic ice cap, which threatens inundation of coastal cities worldwide. Interweaving the breakthrough research of the modern Ocean Drilling Program with the dramatic discovery tales of their Victorian-era forerunners, Gillen D'Arcy Wood describes Antarctica's role in a planetary drama of plate tectonics, climate change, and species evolution stretching back more than thirty million years. An original, multifaceted portrait of the polar continent emerges, illuminating our profound connection to Antarctica in its past, present, and future incarnations. A deep-time history of monumental scale, Land of Wondrous Cold brings the remotest of worlds within close reach-an Antarctica vital to both planetary history and human fortunes"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 919.89 W875 Available 33111009428471
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 919.89 W875 Available 33111009600756
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A gripping history of the polar continent, from the great discoveries of the nineteenth century to modern scientific breakthroughs

Antarctica, the ice kingdom hosting the South Pole, looms large in the human imagination. The secrets of this vast frozen desert have long tempted explorers, but its brutal climate and glacial shores notoriously resist human intrusion. Land of Wondrous Cold tells a gripping story of the pioneering nineteenth-century voyages, when British, French, and American commanders raced to penetrate Antarctica's glacial rim for unknown lands beyond. These intrepid Victorian explorers--James Ross, Dumont D'Urville, and Charles Wilkes--laid the foundation for our current understanding of Terra Australis Incognita.

Today, the white continent poses new challenges, as scientists race to uncover Earth's climate history, which is recorded in the south polar ice and ocean floor, and to monitor the increasing instability of the Antarctic ice cap, which threatens to inundate coastal cities worldwide. Interweaving the breakthrough research of the modern Ocean Drilling Program with the dramatic discovery tales of its Victorian forerunners, Gillen D'Arcy Wood describes Antarctica's role in a planetary drama of plate tectonics, climate change, and species evolution stretching back more than thirty million years. An original, multifaceted portrait of the polar continent emerges, illuminating our profound connection to Antarctica in its past, present, and future incarnations.

A deep-time history of monumental scale, Land of Wondrous Cold brings the remotest of worlds within close reach--an Antarctica vital to both planetary history and human fortunes.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction. Our glacial earth -- Part one. Beginnings. The race is joined. Interlude: The hollow earth ; Joseph Hooker travels through time. Interlude: The ghost continent ; In the land of fire. Interlude: The American climate warriors -- Part two. Trials. D'Urville battles the pack. Interlude: Ice Station Weddell ; The voyage of the Flying Fish. Interlude: The stormy petrel ; Madame D'Urville's letter ; Ross falls behind -- Part three. Triumph. Seas of grass. Interlude: The Antarctic convergence ; How the Adélie penguin got its name. Interlude: Anthropornis nordenskjoldi ; Wilkes discovers a continent. Interlude: The hurricane coast ; Message in a bottle. Interlude: The magnetic crusaders ; Ross in wonderland ; Homecoming -- Postlude: Last ice.

"A history of the first race to Antarctica that weaves the great polar discoveries of the nineteenth century with scientific breakthroughs of the modern era. Antarctica, the ice kingdom hosting the South Pole, looms large in the human imagination. The secrets of this vast frozen desert have long tempted explorers, but its brutal climate and glacial shores notoriously resist human intrusion. Land of Wondrous Cold tells a gripping story of the pioneer nineteenth-century voyages, when British, French, and American commanders raced to penetrate Antarctica's glacial rim for unknown lands beyond. These intrepid Victorian explorers-James Ross, Dumont D'Urville, and Charles Wilkes-laid the foundation for our current understanding of Terra Australis Incognita. Today, the white continent poses new challenges, as scientists race to uncover Earth's climate history recorded in the south polar ice and ocean floor, and to monitor the increasing instability of the Antarctic ice cap, which threatens inundation of coastal cities worldwide. Interweaving the breakthrough research of the modern Ocean Drilling Program with the dramatic discovery tales of their Victorian-era forerunners, Gillen D'Arcy Wood describes Antarctica's role in a planetary drama of plate tectonics, climate change, and species evolution stretching back more than thirty million years. An original, multifaceted portrait of the polar continent emerges, illuminating our profound connection to Antarctica in its past, present, and future incarnations. A deep-time history of monumental scale, Land of Wondrous Cold brings the remotest of worlds within close reach-an Antarctica vital to both planetary history and human fortunes"-- Provided by publisher.

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