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Books on : Outdoors & Nature : Ecosystems : Arctic
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Published to coincide with the International Polar Year, Vanishing World is an unprecedented visual record of life in the Arctic. Five years in the making, this book is both a celebration of the wildlife that inhabits this harsh and unforgiving climate and a cautionary tale of global warming. Rising temperatures have put areas such as the Artic at risk and the livelihoods of the animals that live there are increasingly threatened.
Set against a dramatic landscape of ice floes and ragged mountains, readers will see the polar bears, foxes, seals, walruses, and reindeers who now struggle to live in this vulnerable climate. Images of a polar bear mother as she takes her newborns out for their first hunt, a seal pup only hours old, the spectacle of the polar night, and the majesty of the glaciers and pack ice are a reminder of what is at risk.
Mireille de la Lezs stunning photographs are accompanied by text that explains the precarious nature of life in this dramatic climate. No one who sees the images of this vanishing world will be unmoved.
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This book was written out of Gretel Ehrlich’s love for winter–for remote and cold places, for the ways winter frees our imagination and invigorates our feet, mind, and soul–and also out of the fear that our “democracy of gratification” has irreparably altered the climate.
Over the course of a year, Ehrlich experiences firsthand the myriad expressions of cold, giving us marvelous histories of wind, water, snow, and ice, of ocean currents and weather cycles. From Tierra del Fuego in the south to Spitsbergen, east of Greenland, at the very top of the world, she explores how our very consciousness is animated and enlivened by the archaic rhythms and erupting oscillations of weather. We share Ehrlich’s experience of the thrills of cold, but also her questions: What will happen to us if we are “deseasoned”? If winter ends, will we survive?
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-- Nature
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The Winter Wilderness Companion is a unique and inspirational guide to outdoor skills from authors named to Outside magazine's exclusive list of 12 Twentieth Century Heroes for a New Millennium. This revised edition unlocks the winter wilderness in all its invigorating beauty. It includes step-by-step instructions for making and using snowshoes, toboggans, tents, and clothing.
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Arctic Tale accompanies a new Paramount Vantage motion picture from the producers of March of the Penguins, the 2005 Academy Award winner and highest-grossing natural history film of all time. The film, narrated by Queen Latifah, follows the dual drama of Seela and Nanu, a walrus calf and polar bear cub, as they embark on their astonishing journey from infancy to maturity amidst the stark beauty of the Arctic landscape. Protected by mothers who will stop at nothing to ensure their safe passage to adulthood, both cubs romp in their cold playground as ever-present threats of starvation, predators, and a harsh homeland are overcome in an unrelenting life-and-death struggle to survive.
Each year in the unforgiving, frozen wilderness the two giants of the North Pole—the walrus and the polar bear–begin the cycle anew, of birth and death; of love and life; and of self-sacrifice and great danger.
Adapted and deeply expanded from a sweeping screenplay, Arctic Tale features 150 stunning, full-color National Geographic photographs and stirring text that tell the heartwarming tale of motherhood, community, the circle of life, and the rapidly changing environment that is home to these splendid animals. Both the book and film call awareness to the global warming crisis through emotional connection to the characters.
A foreword by directors Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson and a special "Making the Film" chapter at the end of the book reveal amazing behind-the-scenes battles against cold, ice, and walrus mothers, and add insight and understanding to the riveting story.
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Lured form a career in medicine by the magic of the North nearly 20 years ago, Dr. Wayne Lynch returns every year to the arctic--the temptress that altered the course of his life. A world-acclaimed author and wildlife photographer, Lynch has compiled a book unlike any other on this distant region.
In A is for Arctic, he presents an intimate and entertaining look at the charismatic creatures that flourish in this wild polar world. Experience the sights and sounds of seabird cliffs teeming with screaming kittiwakes and colorful auks, and marvel at the majesty of such northern mammals as the polar bear, fox, walrus, seal and whale. They have all adapted to a landscape still touched by the timeless flow of glaciers. Wonderfully illustrated with photographs that capture the delicate and complex nature of this region, A is for Arctic will change forever the way you view the North.
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The polar regions can be hostile to life but are sometimes surprisingly productive. The Biology of Polar Habitats gives a readable overview of polar habitats, from ice caps to tundra and open ocean. It describes their physical characteristics, the communities of microorganisms, plants, and animals inhabiting them, and their interactions with the global environment. It reviews the origins of the habitats and their subsequent colonization and population dynamics, and considers the future changes that may result from global warming, stratospheric ozone depletion, and human activities. The book is unusual in that it describes and compares the two polar regions, rather than focusing on one. The author's expertise lies in both the Arctic and Antarctica, and his experience encompasses marine and terrestrial ecology. This is the most authoritative and up-to-date book currently available on polar biology. The text provides an excellent introduction for anyone intending to work in research or management in the polar regions. It is also ideal for students in undergraduate and post-graduate courses in biology, ecology, microbial ecology, geography, and conservation.
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Following the discovery of large petroleum reserves in northern Alaska, the US Department of Energy implemented an integrated field and modeling study to help define potential impacts of energy-related disturbances on tundra ecosystems. This volume presents major findings from this study. A broad range of basic and applied research topics are examined, ranging from ecosystem physiology and biogeochemistry to landscape models that quantify the impact of road-building on tundra hydrology and ecosystem structure. It is an important resource for researchers and students interested in arctic ecology, as well as for environmental managers concerned with practical issues of disturbances.
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Sierra Club Pathstone Editions introduce inspirational works by visionary authors who offer explorations into the vast and varied splendors of the natural world in both its physical and spiritual dimensions. These exquisite writings lead us into an extended appreciation of our ways of being in this world and for what John Muir called the "newness of life."
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Disturbance is no new feature in the Arctic environment. The factors that create the Arctic habitat include marked climatic oscillations, physical disturbance and fluctuations in herbivore populations. The combination of environmental stress and disturbance due to habitat instability and the possibility of periods of intense grazing impose a particularly testing blend of adverse conditions for plant survival. The physical nature of the terrain, with constant soil movement through cryoperturbation and solifluction contributes to the fragility of Arctic habitats. To this scenario must be added disturbance by man, in the quest for natural resources or merely as a result of tourism. The Arctic landscape is undoubtedly one that is frequently repaired by natural succession, but whether or not this built-in resilience is adequate to restore degraded ecosystems after human intervention is an unanswered problem that forms the subject matter of this volume.
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In spite of the harsh conditions that characterize the Arctic, it is a surprisingly fragile ecosystem. The exploration for oil in the Arctic over the past 30 years has had profound effects on the plants and animals that inhabit this frozen clime. The Natural History of an Arctic Oil Field synthesizes decades of research on these myriad impacts. Specialists with years of field experience have contributed to this volume to create the first widely available synopsis of the ecology and wildlife biology of animals and plants living in close association with an actively producing oil field.
* First widely available synthesis of arctic oil field ecology and wildlife biology
* Concise yet readable treatment of a diverse polar ecosystem
* Useful for land managers, policy makers as well as ecologists, and population biologists
* Chapters authored by recognized authorities and contributions are peer-reviewed for accuracy and scientific rigor
* Illustrations attractively designed to enhance comprehension
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There is an increasing interest of biotechnologists in the potential of cold-adapted organisms, since they play a major role in the processes of nutrient turnover and primary biomass production in cold ecosystems. Essential advantages of the application of such organisms are the rapid microbial metabolism at low temperatures, the low activation energy for enzymatic substrate hydrolysis and the low thermostability of enzymes from cold-adapted organisms. Benefits can also be deduced from the frost hardiness and frost resistance of cold-adapted plants and animals.
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Issues currently affecting the Arctic's environment are highlighted in this important review. After providing a background on the soils and periglacial processes of the Arctic, and the role of microbial and plant communities in ecosystem function, subsequent chapters consider the relationship between individual Arctic species and their environment, particularly in the context of climate and ecosystems. The book concludes with chapters concentrating on man's impacts on the Arctic environment.
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The harsh ice-bound landscape that is Antarctica has been the subject of constant fascination and study since humans first set foot on this frozen continent in 1821. This tome is a cross between a popular science book and a picture book. Mike Lucas's lucid prose is informative and concise, but the bulk of the volume is devoted to color illustrations. More than 50 photographers, including the author, contributed to the project. There are some breathtaking studies of the white wilderness and its inhabitants by Gerald Cubitt, Ken Findlay, and Roger Mear; Bruce Herrod's portrait of a scientist with a frozen beard sends chills down the spine.
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