Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface page
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- 1 The evolution of knowledge about the Arctic and its climate
- 2 Physical characteristics and basic climatic features
- 3 The basic atmospheric heat budget
- 4 The atmospheric circulation
- 5 The surface energy budget
- 6 Precipitation, net precipitation and river discharge
- 7 Arctic ocean–sea ice–climate interactions
- 8 Climate regimes of the arctic
- 9 Modeling the arctic climate system
- 10 Arctic paleoclimates
- 11 Recent climate variability, trends and the future
- References
- List of selected websites
- Index
- Plate Section
1 - The evolution of knowledge about the Arctic and its climate
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface page
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- 1 The evolution of knowledge about the Arctic and its climate
- 2 Physical characteristics and basic climatic features
- 3 The basic atmospheric heat budget
- 4 The atmospheric circulation
- 5 The surface energy budget
- 6 Precipitation, net precipitation and river discharge
- 7 Arctic ocean–sea ice–climate interactions
- 8 Climate regimes of the arctic
- 9 Modeling the arctic climate system
- 10 Arctic paleoclimates
- 11 Recent climate variability, trends and the future
- References
- List of selected websites
- Index
- Plate Section
Summary
Overview
The land of the midnight sun has enchanted humankind for centuries. Rarely does a visitor to this unique and storied region leave without impressions that last a lifetime. Whether it is images of immense glaciers, the shifting pack ice under steel grey skies, or bountiful wildlife grazing treeless, windswept tundra, the Arctic, even today, evokes images of a largely wild and untamed place. For many, the Arctic is as much a feeling as it is a region. Those with even a passing knowledge of the Arctic are familiar with the spirit of adventure – humans against nature – that drove some of the early exploration of the region. But the history of Arctic exploration and discovery is much more than Peary's glorified, albeit doubtful conquest of the pole. The expeditions of Bering, Franklin, Frobisher, Hudson, Nansen, Nares, Sverdrup, Wegener and others variously reflected nationalism, the shifting economic significance of the region, and scientific inquiry. Many of the geographic place names in the Arctic honor these explorers (Figure 1.1). To appreciate our present understanding of the Arctic, we need to step back and review some of this rich history over the past four or five centuries, recognizing, of course, that there have been indigenous populations in the Arctic for many thousands of years.
Historical exploration
In the sixteenth century, the Arctic came to be seen by the nations of northern Europe as a potential route to China.
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- The Arctic Climate System , pp. 1 - 16Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005
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