Exploring The Last Continent

This multi-disciplinary book will cater to students and those who want to have a more critical look behind the scenes of Antarctic science. This book will take a systems approach to providing insights into Antarctic ecosystems and the geophysical environment. Further, the book will link these insights to a discussion of current issues, such as climate change, bio prospecting, environmental management and Antarctic politics. It will be written and edited by experienced Antarctic researchers and scientists from a wide range of disciplines. Academic references will be included for those who wish to delve deeper into the topics discussed in the book.

"It is only at the end of the world--among the glacial mountains, cleaving icebergs, and frigid waters of Antarctica--where Deb Gardner and Keller Sullivan feel at home. For the few blissful weeks they spend each year studying the habits of emperor and Adaelie penguins, Deb and Keller can escape the frustrations and sorrows of their separate lives and find solace in their work and in each other. But Antarctica, like their fleeting romance, is tenuous, imperiled by the world to the north"--Dust jacket flap.

'Anything you do in the past changes the future. The tiniest little actions have huge consequences. You might tread on an ant now and it might entirely prevent someone from being born in the future.' Rincewind, inept wizard and reluctant hero, has found himself magically stranded on the Discworld's last continent. It's hot. It's dry. There was this thing once called The Wet, which no one believes in any more. Practically everything that's not poisonous is venomous. But it's the best bloody place in the world, all right? And in a few days, it will die. The only thing standing between the last continent and wind-blown doom is Rincewind, and he can't even spell wizard. Still . . . no worries, eh? 'A minor masterpiece. I laughed so much I fell from my armchair' Time Out 'A master storyteller' A. S. Byatt The Last Continent is the sixth book in the Wizards series, but you can read the Discworld novels in any order.

This multidisciplinary book examines Antarctica, from its geological origins as it separated from the Gondwana supercontinent, to Captain James Cook and crew, the first recorded observation by Europeans, to its present as a research outpost protected from energy exploitation, and a climate change bellwether. The first part of the book discusses Antarctica's physical systems over time - the continent's geological evolution, its climate, weather and atmosphere, and its distinctive oceanographic, hydrographic and glaciological features. This section includes chapters on Antarctica's geological history; its cryosphere and hydrological systems; and the Antarctic atmosphere, including the role Antarctica plays in the global atmospheric system. The second part of the volume surveys Antarctica's marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Among the chapter topics in this section are biological diversity of the Subantarctic Islands; aquatic and non-aquatic terrestrial ecosystems; marine ecosystems of the Southern Ocean, birds and mammals, invertebrates and fish of Antarctica. The third part is devoted to the history of human endeavors in Antarctica and the politics behind human activities in the Southern Ocean and on the continent. The contributors delve into historical and social aspects of Antarctic exploration; the governance approach which sets the continent aside for peace and science; tourism; psychological aspects of human endeavours on the Ice; and Antarctic arts. The final part of the book weaves together insights in the physical, social and human sciences to illuminate a discussion of current issues, such as climate change, bio-prospecting, science collaboration, and environmental management. Individual chapters discuss the exploitation of marine living resources; biological prospecting; geological resources; renewable energy; regulatory challenges of commercial exploitation; the causes and impacts of climate change in Antarctica; and the role of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).

Photographs and text profile the geography, wildlife, and landscapes of Antarctica.

Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, highest, driest, and most remote part of the world. It's the world's largest polar dessert. Antarctica is a true wilderness. Author Leilani Raashida Henry, daughter of George W. Gibbs, Jr., the first person of African descent to go to Antarctica, recounts her father's expedition while educating readers on the incredible geography, biodiversity, and history of the continent. Using diary entries from Gibbs' expedition, The Call of Antarctica takes readers on a journey to the rugged Antarctic landscape to learn its history, its present, and the importance of protecting its future.

"I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to." And, as soon as Bill Bryson was old enough, he left. Des Moines couldn't hold him, but it did lure him back. After ten years in England he returned to the land of his youth, and drove almost 14,000 miles in search of a mythical small town called Amalgam, the kind of smiling village where the movies from his youth were set. Instead he drove through a series of horrific burgs, which he renamed Smellville, Fartville, Coleslaw, Coma, and Doldrum. At best his search led him to Anywhere, USA, a lookalike strip of gas stations, motels and hamburger outlets populated by obese and slow-witted hicks with a partiality for synthetic fibres. He discovered a continent that was doubly lost: lost to itself because he found it blighted by greed, pollution, mobile homes and television; lost to him because he had become a foreigner in his own country.