Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Antarctic Research Series, Volume 16. This volume of the Antarctic Research Series represents an attempt to compile in one publication the remaining results of the extensive U.S. oversnow traverses in Antarctica between 1957 and 1967. Although this attempt was not completely successful, in that some traverse results still remain to be published, I think that this volume will give the reader a fair sample of the methodology and the great effort that was required to wrest from the huge continent a few fundamental data. From the beginning of 1957, the traverses, though including an assortment of observations, had two principal objectives: measurement of the thickness of the ice and measurement of the annual accumulation of snow. Here the reader will find the old and new methods of approaching both objectives.

Glaciology, now broadly defined as the study of ice in all forms, is often regarded as a some what esoteric subject, though it takes little thought to dispel the notion. The sheer quantity of ice on Earth, together with its past and present effects on geophysical processes and human activity, commands attention, while at the same time ice itself proves to be an ideal material for studying processes and properties that involve almost the entire field of classical physics. With the belated wedding of academic ice physics and glacier study, glaciology is contributing significantly to geophysics and materials science, as is evidenced by continued support for research both in the laboratory and in the field. Some 90 per cent of the world's ice is contained in the Antarctic ice sheet, a glacier of continental proportions about which little was known prior to the International Geophysical Year. Since 1957 the United States, by maintaining through the National Science Foundation a vigorous Antarctic glaciological program, has made an impressive contribution of knowledge which is reflected in part by the papers and references in this volume. By entering heartily into the spirit of international cooperation that has so brightened recent Antarctic endeavors, the U.S. has made a further contribution: to human understanding and to the diffusion of knowledge. This too is reflected here, for more than half of the authors came into the program from foreign countries. Much has been learned, but more remains to be studied, since, as research should, the investigations have raised new questions as fast as old ones were answered. Before efforts are renewed in force, however, there should be some assessment of the broad problems and of the methods available for their solution; in this respect the following collection of papers should be helpful. Glaciology, now broadly defined as the study of ice in all forms, is often regarded as a somewhat esoteric subject, though it takes little thought to dispel the notion. The sheer quantity of ice on Earth, together with its past and present effects on geophysical processes and human activity, commands attention, while at the same time ice itself proves to be an ideal material for studying processes and properties that involve almost the entire field of classical physics. With the belated wedding of academic ice physics and glacier study, glaciology is contributing significantly to geophysics and materials science, as is evidenced by continued support for research both in the laboratory and in the field.

Surveys atmospheric, oceanic and cryospheric processes, present and past conditions, and changes in polar environments.

In the 1990s Richard B. Alley and his colleagues made headlines with the discovery that the last ice age came to an abrupt end over a period of only three years. In The Two-Mile Time Machine, Alley tells the fascinating history of global climate changes as revealed by reading the annual rings of ice from cores drilled in Greenland. He explains that humans have experienced an unusually temperate climate compared to the wild fluctuations that characterized most of prehistory. He warns that our comfortable environment could come to an end in a matter of years and tells us what we need to know in order to understand and perhaps overcome climate changes in the future. In a new preface, the author weighs in on whether our understanding of global climate change has altered in the years since the book was first published, what the latest research tells us, and what he is working on next.

The Arctic is thawing. In summer, cruise ships sail through the once ice-clogged Northwest Passage, lakes form on top of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and polar bears swim farther and farther in search of waning ice floes. At the opposite end of the world, floating Antarctic ice shelves are shrinking. Mountain glaciers are in retreat worldwide, unleashing flash floods and avalanches. We are on thin ice—and with melting permafrost’s potential to let loose still more greenhouse gases, these changes may be just the beginning. Vanishing Ice is a powerful depiction of the dramatic transformation of the cryosphere—the world of ice and snow—and its consequences for the human world. Delving into the major components of the cryosphere, including ice sheets, valley glaciers, permafrost, and floating ice, Vivien Gornitz gives an up-to-date explanation of key current trends in the decline of ice mass. Drawing on a long-term perspective gained by examining changes in the cryosphere and corresponding variations in sea level over millions of years, she demonstrates the link between thawing ice and sea-level rise to point to the social and economic challenges on the horizon. Gornitz highlights the widespread repercussions of ice loss, which will affect countless people far removed from frozen regions, to explain why the big meltdown matters to us all. Written for all readers and students interested in the science of our changing climate, Vanishing Ice is an accessible and lucid warning of the coming thaw.