Having always been fascinated by these singular landscapes, Sergio Rossi reconstructs some of the episodes that have marked the exploration of these territories, such as the dramatic race between Amundsen and Scott to conquer the South Pole, and Captain Shackleton’s odyssey to save his crew from certain death. But also modern trips including his own to these remote areas, explaining many aspects of the current science and political competition that is underway.
The book leads us on an entertaining overview of all the problems and opportunities that the planet’s most forgotten continent offers to humans. A remote mass of ice upon which our future as a species depends and which we cannot continue to ignore any longer.
Author(s): Sergio Rossi
Series: Springer Praxis Books
Publisher: Springer-Praxis
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 200
Foreword
Contents
List of Figures
1: The Continent at the End of the World
A Very Peculiar Place
As Isolated as It Is Possible to Be
2: A Brief History of an Arduous Discovery
Heroes of the Cold
Shackleton and the Human Spirit
3: Paleoclimate: Looking for the Importance of Antarctica
Hidden Traces in the Ice and in the Ground
Who Was in Antarctica Before Our Time?
Let’s Not Forget the Eocene
4: Survival Lessons: Mars on Earth
Studying Life in Space Without Leaving Earth
Changes in the Imperturbable
5: Perpetually Moving Glaciers: Where Icebergs Emerge
Glaciers, Source of Titans
Glacier Erosion
The Giants of the Sea
The Effects of an Iceberg
Formation of a Single Crystal
6: The Antarctic Ice Floe
White on Blue
The Mechanism of Life Associated with Ice
Ice Comes and Goes
7: Microbes
The Smallest, the Most Important
Water Warming and Microbial Biota
The LOHAFEX Experiment
8: Ice, Algae, Krill
A World That Revolves Around Algae and Zooplankton
The Fundamental Role of krill
9: Life in the Dark: A Diversity Explosion Under the Ice
Surviving in the Depths of Antarctica on Ice Manna
The Surprise of Antarctic Biodiversity
Ice Fish
10: Birds at the End of the World
Penguins: The Bird that Came in from the Cold
Fliers
Consequences of Climate Change and Fisheries
More Palpable Dangers
11: Large Mammals of the White Continent
Why Do Whales Go to Antarctica to Feed?
The Real Role of Whales in the Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles
Recovering from the Catastrophe
Bidding for an Illegal Hunt?
Seals: From Shy Crabeater to Fearsome Leopard
What Happens to Seals in Winter?
12: Climate Change: Not So Isolated
Climate Change in Antarctica
The Antarctic Peninsula: The Most Accelerated Zone
Poles Apart
13: What Happened in Larsen?
A Place on the Peninsula
A Unique Expedition (R/V Polarstern ANT XXVII-3)
14: Organisms and Climate Change
Changes at the Base of the Chain
Benthos, Fish and Stenothermia
Acidification at the Poles
Large Consumers
15: The Ozone Layer and Antarctica
The Hole in the Ozone Layer
The Effects on Fauna and Flora in Antarctica
16: Pollutants in a Pristine Place
Unintentionally Polluting?
Long Time Series at McMurdo
17: The Final Resort
Mining in Antarctica
Pharmaceuticals from the Depths of Antarctica
18: Remote Fishing Grounds
Krill: Savior of Mankind?
The Impoverishment of “White Gold”
19: Ecotourism and Invasive Species
A Seemingly One-Time Problem
The Real Problem: Invasive Species
20: The Antarctic Treaty
Something Unique in the History of Mankind
Who Owns Antarctica?
Some Further Thoughts
21: Antarctic Bases
Scientific Occupation Strategies
China in Antarctica
22: Living on an Ocean-Going Icebreaker
Polarstern, the World’s Largest Polar Oceanographic Vessel
A Day Onboard the Polarstern
Scientists Have Fun
23: The Last Bastion of an Unspoiled Planet
Feeling Isolated
Bouvet, the Gateway to the End of the World
Visions of the Last Bastion
Epilogue
Bibliography
