Book Description
Antarctica is renowned for its extreme cold; yet surprisingly, radar measurements have revealed a vast network of lakes, rivers, and streams several kilometers beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. Sealed from Earth's atmosphere for millions of years, they may provide vital information about microbial evolution, the past climate of the Antarctic, and the formation of ice sheets, among other things. The next stage of exploration requires direct sampling of these aquatic systems. However, if sampling is not done cautiously, the environmental integrity and scientific value of these environments could be compromised. At the request of the National Science Foundation, this National Research Council assesses what is needed to responsibly explore subglacial lakes. Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments concludes that it is time for research on subglacial lakes to begin, and this research should be guided by internationally agreed upon protocols. The book suggests an initial protocol, which includes full characterization of the lakes by remote sensing, and minimum standards for biological and other types of contamination. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

The Entire Earth and Sky: Views on Antarctica
A creative and pleasing journey into the many aspects of Antarctica and those who have touched her. A great read, entertaining with a sense of style that can provoke thought, give you a solid science lesson and then present a fun and witty sense of adventure around this interesting place.Very much recommend this book.

Well done
Well done to the author. Beautiful book. Wonderful to have in your own library or give as a gift. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Best book on Antarctica I've read
I've been fascinated with Antarctica for some time now, and I recently acquired several books on the continent after seeing the Boston Museum of Science Omni Show, "Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure." Of those books, this is clearly the best. It provides information on the geography and topography of Antarctica, a history of South Pole explorations, and information on the wildlife that populates the coasts. The pictures are far superior to any other book I've read. The writing is concise and easy to understand. It is a truly amazing book--the pictures alone are worth the cost.

Awesome.
When I needed reference material on Antarctica for fact-checking my next suspense novel, I turned to this National Geographic classic. I expected the usual fare: extraordinary photography and a few pertinent bits of data. My expectations were exceeded.

The volume is divided into four sections. The first covers the physical geography, a litany of world record extremes. The coldest, driest, highest, windiest, least populated, etc. The next touches on the rich heritage of exploration and discovery there, incredible tales of bravery and hardship like those ofShackleton, Scott, and Mawson. You'll want to read more after this primer. The third section is on wildlife, very little of which is land-based. But the surrounding seas and sky are the most fertile and abundant on the planet. Penguins, seals, squid, krill, albatross, whales, algae, and more. The final section is devoted to Antarctica's environmental peril. Kim Heacox simply states the facts here, avoiding the overstatement and wolf-crying that cause such disservice to the environmental movement.

The biggest surprise was the quality of writing. My previous exposure to National Geographic was cursory perusal at the dentist's office. This one I read from cover to cover. The writing is simply wonderful. It was the mother lode of information for my next book, and will now rest on my coffee table, proudly displayed for years to come. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.

Antarctica - The World Splendors
Kim Heacox shows in his book,Antarctic Value daily way of life in the Southern Antarctica. The writer recounts to us the history of discovery missions sent to this continent,which is characterized by its interestingstyle with avery wonderful and unique photos taken be these missions. Thesephotos interpret the very nature of hard life over there on the Antarctica.All the pictures tell the story of human,animal,sea life in this continentin splendid and exciting manner. In addition, there are sufficient andhelpful remarks about every thing pertinent to Antarctica. of course,theAntarctica enjoys many splendid characteristics in animal and sea life,which make it distinguished and unique in all over the world. There arealso many detailed maps about the Antarctica. It is a minimum- size volumedistinguished in its subject matter and photos, which are represented insimple and easy manner. N. B.: It should be noted that the success of angeographical/travel guide book depends on the sufficient number of photosavailable their quality and uniqueness.in this book we find that there aremany photos covering all life aspects on this continent. The photos are ofhigh quality and exciting shots which attract your attention to theextentthat you would imagine that you would believe that the photosrepresents one book inside this book. In short this book is recommended forany one who likes to discover this ambiguous area and who can not visit it.Iconsider this book as a reference/easy guide for the wonderful southernAntarctica. ... Read more

Product Description
An account of the International Trans-Arctica expedition chronicles the attempts of six adventurers from different nations and backgrounds in their quest to cross the 3,700 miles on foot. Reprint. NYT. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Crossing Antarctica
Great reading if you like to live an extreme adventure from your arm chair.Having been to Antarctica I could relate to some of the experiences.

It's a diary of a long-distance antarctic explorer
When we read about explorers who planned an almost eight-month trip across 3700 miles of Antarctica we think of white-out conditions, super-cold temperatures, monotony and long, grueling hours basically doing the same thing day in, day out.That is exactly what Will Seger documents in this journal he maintained of his 1989-1990 trip across the 7th continent with five other people.

A French, Chinese, Russian, English and Japanese teammate made this quite an interesting international team, although the writer does not go into great details of their personalities.(He later admits that the language barrier kept them from knowing more about each other.) If there is one flaw to this book it's that the other team mates weren't portrayed in great detail.We only get short sketches of the other players.

From an armchair reader, nothing exciting truly happens.The sky is either blue or white.The dogs are either resting or running across ice-packed snow.Conversations are minimal and time alone excruciating.The most depressing event is the death of one of the dogs, but by the time that happens it is expected.And then later a female dog goes into heat and gets pregnant...

This book is still a good read because one thing Seger does well in this book is talk about the human psyche.What does he and his mates think about all these months?What does one do alone in a tent with wet gear around you?How do the dogs handle the "adventure?"How does one spend the time day in, day out in the middle of nowhere?What goes through one's mind?What is the one thing a human misses the most in such a desolate place?And what pieces of equipment should one never leave home without while on such an endeavor?

Yes, it got boring at times.The most exciting entries, besides the first and last day, was his entry from the South Pole.He did not give me a good feeling about the US National Science Foundation and their dictatorial treatment of any and all private expeditions on Antartica.He gave the Soviets and even Chinese government more credit for assisting them across the continent.

His observations on another adenture, Reinhold Messner, seems to be typical of many others who have met that Austrian.Messner is mentioned in several passages because Messner had anther expedition planned in Antartica at almost the same time.Although he was very diplomatic in his descriptions of the man, it's obvious that Messner had his own agenda.

Another negative vibe I got from the book is Segel's feelings toward Adventure Network, the company that originally contracted to assist them in their expedition.Granted, the company was fairly young and inexperienced in 1989, but I still wouldn't want to deal with that company today simply from what I read in this book.Neither Adventure Network nor the National Science Foundation were later mentioned in the epilgoue of this book.

I have great respect for people who complete such adventures.The time, money and personal sacrifices all six teammates undertook is quite admirable.I have no desire to follow them to the South Pole.I am quite happy hiking up 10,000' mountains and forest trails of the South and Northwest.

Don't expect much "Adventure" in this book.However, on a hot summer night this book will refresh your spirit and you'll be thankful you are not at the South Pole.But, for an explorer who made the Arctic regions his mantra, and who later became a great protector of the Poles, this is a good book to read and reflect on one of Earth's last pristine legacies.

Adventure? You bet!
Despite what others might say, this book is about an adventure.Doing the unthinkable and something that no one has done before is by it's very nature an adventure.Others may have you believe that unless something catastrophic happens it is not an adventure, but usually bad things happen from lack of proper planning.Don't discount Steger as a true adventurer simply because he is smart!People who have done a fractional amount of the exploration Will Steger has should appreciate this book.However, if your idea of adventure is sliding a little closer to the fire in your stocking feet while you read about some blokes misfortune via improper planning then read another book.

adventure as boredom
This book is an account of the first crossing by foot of Antarctica by veteran adventurer Will Steger and his team. Steger is no adventurer in the British tradition of SCott, instead his crossing his meticulously plannedand carried out. Very little out of the ordinary occurs. THe lesson in thisbook is that most adventure travel is boring, unless disaster strikes! Evena less than enthralling adventure however, would have been made better by amore gifted writer than STeger. His descriptions are stilted and the diarystyle entries only reinforce the boredom. If you want to know how to planan expedition, read this book. Other wise there are far better adventurestories out there. Read The Last Place on Earth by Roland HUntford orEndurance by Alfred Lansing. ... Read more

Product Description
Describes the discovery and exploration of Antarctica, territorial claims, treaties, tourism, and global scientific cooperation in terms of the future. ... Read more

Product Description
When John Behrendt went to Antarctica in the early 1960s as part of the United States Antarctic Research Program (USARP), the Cold War was at its height and research on the ice sheet was risky. The Antarctic air squadron VX6 had an accident rate eight times that of U.S. Naval aviation in other parts of the world, and graduate students and young scientists like Behrendt received hazard pay for their work.

In John Behrendt's memoir we relive that era of scientific exploration. He describes two seasons on the ice in Operation Deep Freeze, leading field parties, conducting scientific research, and struggling against the elements. Behrendt led an over-snow geophysical-glaciological-geologic-geographic exploration party to the southern Antarctic Peninsula and to a mountain range that was eventually named for him in recognition of his work. Behrendt pioneered in aerogeophysical surveys over the Transantarctic Mountains and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. In his reflections of the period from 1960 to 1962, he notes that time was closer to the eras of Ernest Schackleton (Endurance Voyage, 1914) and Robert F. Scott’s and Roald Amundsen's treks to the South Pole (1911–12) than to the present.

Readers who are fascinated with the twentieth-century frontier of our shrinking planet will relish his adventurous account. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Search for Knowledge in a Bad Place
You don't notice it at first, but the plane on the cover of this book is on ski's, except that the tail ski has been knocked off and the tail of the plane is dragging on the snow. VX6, the Antartctic air squadron had an accident eight times that of the rest of Naval aviation in the rest of the world.

This was the time of the Cold War, it was also the time of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) in which the Vanguard rocket was going to launch the world's first satellite.

This book talks about the authors experiences during (mostly) the 1960-62 time frame. It was different then. Now if you want to see the south pole just go on the net (www.cmdl.noaa.gov/obop/spo/livecamera.html) or do a search on "south pole camera." Quite a number of the authors friends and associates died in Antarctica. It was then, and still is a rather dangerous place.

This is quite a tale of the search for scientific knowledge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A grueling account
Englishmen Ranulph Fiennes and Mike Stroud together made four failed attempts on the North Pole. Their major success was an expedition both inwardly expected to fail - the unsupported (carry everything) crossing of Antarctica.

There had already been an unsupported trip to the South Pole. Indeed, as they were making their crossing, the Scandinavian explorer Erling Kagge - who claimed the first unsupported trip to the North Pole, disputed by his rivals Stroud and Fiennes - was making the first solo unsupported trip to the South Pole.

The crossing of the Antarctic continent, however impractical, was the next logical goal. This account, and another by Fiennes entitled "Mind Over Matter," stress the grinding wear and tear on the human body, the bleak, black thoughts that accompany every labored step, and the life-threatening hazards of weather, crevassed terrain and starvation.

The difference in their stories is entirely point-of-view and personality.

Fiennes, the leader, sounds a practical, matter-of-fact note - his appendices on leadership, equipment, history and topography are nearly as long as his personal account. Stroud, the younger and smaller man, is more volatile and impassioned, resentful of the very notion of leadership in a two-man expedition.

They began the trip unsure that they would even be able to budge their sledges - loaded with 485 pounds of food, fuel and equipment. "It would be so embarrassing if, once in our harnesses, our efforts came to nought and the sledges refused to budge," says Stroud.

After four hours they had moved only a couple of miles on their 1,700 hundred mile journey. And the next day they had their first equipment failure - a thermos that left one of the major respites of their day, hot soup, cold and full of gelatinous fat globs.

On they went. Sails, parachutes inflated by the wind, had been an early bone of contention between them. Stroud was insistent, Fiennes, dubious about their usefulness and the added weight, agreed reluctantly. On their first try both found them terrifying and exhilarating.

Says Stroud, "Compared with the toil of manhauling, to be pulled forward at high speed was a delight so intense that to ignore it, merely because it was difficult and dangerous, was near impossible."

And Fiennes, "After a hectic ten minutes of being dragged over ice ridges, crossing ski tips and being struck in the back by the sledge....I suddenly spotted a blueish shadow some forty feet ahead."

Fiennes threw himself to one side. Stroud, used to seeing his companion fall, started to go around. Going too fast to stop, he plunged into the crevasse. Says Fiennes, "Appalling thoughts crowded my mind: chiefly how I would explain Mike's death to his wife and mother."

But Stroud had landed on a precarious snow bridge. The description of extricating him and his sledge is harrowing. The sledge was permanently but not crucially damaged. On they went.

Black thoughts, with no other outlet, turned on one another. Their chief friction was pacing. Stroud believed Fiennes was going slower than necessary because of brooding over his age (47); Fiennes believed Stroud was wasting energy by going too fast and later attributed hypothermic episodes to this depletion. Both experienced intense anger toward the other, most of which they avoided expressing except in their diaries.

Consuming 5,200 calories a day, they were using 6,000 to 8,000, even 10,000. Slow starvation far outpaced the lessening of weight on the sledges. Because of Stroud's medical record keeping, (ironically described in greater daily detail by Fiennes) chemical changes and physical debilitation were documented with appalling exactitude.

Both were subject to digestion problems, chronic frostbite infections, sores from chafing clothing and harnesses, skin damage from the depleted ozone layer, blindness from white-outs and from the absence of anything to focus on. But starvation was chief among their troubles, leading to muscle loss (even of the heart muscle) as well as every bit of insulating fat.

When Fiennes finally called a halt after Stroud experienced several life-threatening bouts of hypothermia and hypoglycemia they had crossed the continent, although not the ice shelf which intervened between continent and ocean. They had succeeded, raising millions (at a penny per mile) for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, accomplishing major physiological research and being first to cross the continent unsupported. This, despite all the practical, idealistic reasons given, was their reason for going, a reason incomprehensible to most of us.

Both books are well-written, expressive of separate personalities undergoing the same grueling physical and mental hardships. Both acknowledge they could not have made it without the other, for mental reasons as well as physical. Both are riveting accounts of exploration in a place few of us ever wish to go.

There are two sides to every story
Adverturers come in all shapes and sizes - of ego, that is!And this book is an excellent opportunity to see the diversity of people who succeed at extremely challenging outdoor pursuits.I thoroughly enjoyed this account from a relatively modest style of person, who took on and succeeded at a challenge, the difficulty of which left me aching and bleary eyed just thinking about it.

In an era where many traditional sports have taken on some kind of "extreme" variant, this book defines "extreme" in a way that makes other pursuits pale by comparison.I was gripped that it provided an interesting insight into what life is like when you take on the genuinely extreme challenge.

People that merely, say, base jump from a helicopter onto the top of a snow-covered mountain in order to snowboard from apex to base, are amateurs compared to these chaps.They - voluntarily! - walked across the Antarctic continent via the South Pole just because they thought they could.Of course, they did raise a legendary amount of money to benefit research into multiple sclerosis, but that is not central to the story told in this book.

Mike Stroud gives one side of the story, in a manner that reveals his concerns over his own fallibility, whilst at the same time providing a case study in how an apparently ordinary bloke does an extraordinary thing.He is clearly not the ego-on-two-legs-type that many imagine these guys would be - but the writing reeks of someone committed to his views and those views involving a huge amount of thought.So, despite a self-effacing style, he seems unlikely to lack belief in himself - despite acute and moving accounts of his struggles to retain focus on a harrowing and debilitating slog across the most incredibly inhospitable tract of terrain.I liked the fact that he did things well beyond ordinary, despite not being ten-foot-tall-and-bulletproof the way we imagine many of these guys to be!

The other side of the story is told by his trek partner, Ranulph Fiennes (Sir, actually, with a bunch of that English stuff about being a Baronet and all), in his book "Mind over Matter".In many respects of style and personality, he is most things that Mike Stroud is not, so anyone with a picture of the larger-than-life-ego-on-two-legs kind of adventurer might well here some bells ringing when they read this account.

The contradictions between the two accounts are not black and white, but, in the shades of grey, there was enough interest at the time of their publication to put them both into that elite class of public figures - where they were the subject of a newspaper cartoonist's pen.Another thing that I like about Stroud's account is that he highlighted this, rather than papering over it.

Frankly, I liked Fiennes' account of the trip as well, but it was more predictable in a curious sort of way.Possibly the most can be gained from Mike Stroud's book when Fiennes' acount is read also - classic stuff where neither is completely right or wrong, and that is probably less important in any case than gaining a picture of how you are seen by others, or how divergent your image of yourself can be from that harboured by close colleagues.

This book - and Fiennes' - may well give you an appetite for more along the same lines, if you don't have one already!Try reading "The Worst Journey in the World" by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, or "Home of the Blizzard" by Douglas Mawson.

Enduring endurance
A fascinating epic with all the hardships and truths told. An honest account of human mental and physical strengths and weaknessness. At times it unecessarily draws you into the on going ego battle between Stroud andFiennes. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Junior Scholastic, published by Scholastic, Inc. on March 16, 2009. The length of the article is 1696 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Beyond endurance: how British explorer Ernest Shackleton's quest to cross Antarctica by foot turned into an epic struggle for survival.(World History)(Chronology)
Author: Kathy Wilmore
Publication: Junior Scholastic (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 16, 2009
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Volume: 111Issue: 14Page: 13(4)

Article Type: Chronology

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Science and Its Times, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 1416 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.The histories of science, technology, and mathematics merge with the study of humanities and social science in this interdisciplinary reference work. Essays on people, theories, discoveries, and concepts are combined with overviews, bibliographies of primary documents, and chronological elements to offer students a fascinating way to understand the impact of science on the course of human history and how science affects everyday life. Entries represent people and developments throughout the world, from about 2000 B.C. through the end of the twentieth century. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Science and Its Times, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 1465 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.The histories of science, technology, and mathematics merge with the study of humanities and social science in this interdisciplinary reference work. Essays on people, theories, discoveries, and concepts are combined with overviews, bibliographies of primary documents, and chronological elements to offer students a fascinating way to understand the impact of science on the course of human history and how science affects everyday life. Entries represent people and developments throughout the world, from about 2000 B.C. through the end of the twentieth century. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Ebony, published by Johnson Publishing Co. on December 1, 2008. The length of the article is 859 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Journey to the bottom of the Earth: fearless teacher tackles the deadly cold and eternal sunlight of Antarctica.(Shakira Brown )
Author: Adrienne P. Samuels
Publication: Ebony (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2008
Publisher: Johnson Publishing Co.
Volume: 64Issue: 2Page: 42(2)

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more