This volume, also available as part of the collection "Geomorphology: Critical Concepts in Geography" [set ISBN 0-415-27608-X], constitutes an instant archive of esential benchmark papers and makes available in one place key published material on its area.

"Changing Cold Environments; Implications for Global Climate Change" is a comprehensive overview of the changing nature of the physical attributes of Canada's cold environments and the implications of these changes to cold environments on a global scale. The book places particular emphasis on the broader environmental science and sustainability issues that are of increasing concern to all cold regions if present global climate trends continue. Clearly structured throughout, the book focuses on those elements of Canada's cold environments that will be most affected by global climate change - namely, the tundra, sub-arctic and boreal forest regions of northern Canada, and the high mid-latitude mountains of western Canada. Implications are considered for similar environments around the world resulting in a timely text suitable for second and third year undergraduates in the environmental or earth sciences courses.

Frozen in Time: Permafrost and Engineering Problems is a previously unpublished work by Siemon W. Muller (1900-1970), author of the first English-language book about perennially frozen ground. Professor Muller stopped working on the nearly completed manuscript in the early 1960s, and for reasons unknown set it aside about the time of the First International Conference on Permafrost in 1963. It remained 'frozen' for several decades, until it was eventually discovered in his files.Upon careful reading, the manuscript was found to offer an advanced and unusually comprehensive treatment of permafrost science and associated engineering problems. Editors French and Nelson guided this landmark manuscript through the last phase of revision, provided context through an interpretive introduction, and finally brought it to the publication stage. Intended as a comprehensive revision and update of the 1947 edition of Muller's classic ""Permafrost or Permanently Frozen Ground and Related Engineering Problems"", this book reads like a 'how-to' manual for engineering personnel working in pioneering or primitive circumstances.Like its predecessor, the book reviews the large Russian-language body of literature devoted to permafrost, but also covers work published in English during the intervening years. It addresses topics such as basic scientific knowledge about perennially frozen ground and the engineering problems associated with it, the geography of permafrost, related elements of landscape science and ecology, periglacial geomorphology, and the physics of frozen ground. This book serves as a valuable historical document, and will also be useful for those seeking basic knowledge about permafrost and approximate methods for coping with associated engineering problems.

Low temperatures, wind-chill, snow, sea ice, and permafrost have been primary characteristics of Canada's northern and alpine environments during the past two million years. The evolution of Canada's cultural landscapes, the processes of settlement of rural areas, and the present interaction of Canadian industrial society with its biophysical environment are all deeply influenced, directly or indirectly, by the frigidity of the greater part of the country. The phenomenon of global warming, if it occurs, will lessen this coldness, but its impact on temperature extremes, sea ice regimes, vegetation, snow distribution, permafrost, glaciers, lakes, rivers, and mountain hazards are all the subject of intensive research -- the highlights of which are reviewed in Canada's Cold Environments.

Low temperatures, wind-chill, snow, sea ice, and permafrost have been primary characteristics of Canada's northern and alpine environments during the past two million years. The evolution of Canada's cultural landscapes, the processes of settlement of rural areas, and the present interaction of Canadian industrial society with its biophysical environment are all deeply influenced, directly or indirectly, by the frigidity of the greater part of the country. The phenomenon of global warming, if it occurs, will lessen this coldness, but its impact on temperature extremes, sea ice regimes, vegetation, snow distribution, permafrost, glaciers, lakes, rivers, and mountain hazards are all the subject of intensive research -- the highlights of which are reviewed in Canada's Cold Environments. Eleven of Canada's leading geographers, geologists, and ecologists provide an authoritative yet readable scientific statement about the physical nature of Canada's coldness. They focus on the distinctive attributes of Canada's cold environments, their temporal and spatial variability, and the constraints that coldness places on human activity. The book is aimed at environmental scientists at all levels who need informed overviews of the substantive findings on a range of cold-related topics.