This stunningly beautiful and informative book celebrates the
Arctic, one of the last great wildernesses on the planet; a place
where animals have survived for thousands of years protected only
by fur and feathers. Humans also survive in the Arctic, but only
those who have adjusted to the climate over millennia and who clad
themselves in the skins of the animals they hunt. For the casual
visitor, this is a place where survival for any extended period
requires taking advantage of the best that modern technology can
offer. But the rewards are immense: the Arctic can be harsh, but it
is also stunningly beautiful - days during which the sun glints on
ice, nights illuminated by the ethereal dancing light of the aurora
and with a glimpse of some of the most remarkable animals on the
planet. Many travel to the Arctic to see the animals, the land
mammals, the whales and seals, and the birds. However, the Arctic
also has an absorbing human history. The origins of the Inuit in
North America, and the array of Eurasian northern peoples, from the
Sami of Scandinavia to the Yuppik hunters from Asia's Bering Sea
coast, are still debated, while the discovery, just a year or so
ago, of the second ship of Franklin's doomed expedition to find the
North-West Passage has reopened the arguments over exactly what did
happen to more than 100 Royal Navy seamen. The Arctic provides not
only an understanding of the formation of the Arctic but the
science of snow and ice including the phenomena of aurora and
parhelia, and the way in which the area's wildlife contends with
the chilling harshness of its climate. This fascinating,
magnificent area is now under severe threat. Global warming is
causing the sea ice to shrink, in both area and volume. This allows
easier access to its probable resources and, ironically, this
access merely adds to the threats to the area and its wildlife. Due
to feedback mechanisms, the Arctic warms about twice as fast as the
Earth. The area therefore acts in the way that canaries once acted
in coal mines, giving an early warning of danger: melting sea ice
not only threatens the local wildlife but indicates the threat to
the Earth as a whole. This is a truly remarkable book encompassing
the diverse facets of this magnificent area and its vital
importance as an indicator of the planet's health.
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