The Ice at the End of the World: An Epic Journey into Greenland’s Buried Past and Our Perilous Future

Better than fantasy, more cogent than science fiction, and also featuring numerous heroic individuals, journalist John Gertner impressively recounts the history of polar Greenland along with the relentless research efforts to understand climate change from the evidence frozen within the ice of this white island. Starting with the intrepid Greenland explorers of the early 20th century, the exploits and objectives of Nansen, Peary, Rasmussen, Wegener, among others are vitally described. Because polar ice affects the temperature and weather of this world, continuing studies of these frozen regions have been undertaken by various troops of scientists. Melting glaciers will impact oceanic levels, these added volumes threatening low lying coastal regions and islands. Glaciologists have been concerned with the erosion of these ice masses leading scientists to busily study climate disturbances over the millennia. By examining climate change through analyses of ice cores which date back many thousands of years, evidence indicates that abrupt temperature changes have occurred in the past and can repeat in the present. The threat of global warming bodes catastrophic consequences, the technological arsenal of investigative approaches to study this thawing phenomenon is clearly noted in this compelling, timely, and engrossing book.