Polar Books Collection

This book is about ice and snow in polar and mountain regions of the world. It covers all parts of the cryosphere (the world of ice): snow, land ice, sea ice, river and lake ice, and frozen ground. It presents information on the trends in ice and snow, the outlook for this century and beyond, and the consequences to ecosystems and human well-being of changes in ice and snow.

But this book is also about sea-level rise and the islands in the South Pacific, and about shrinking glaciers and the great rivers of Asia. It is about the way the Earth’s climate is changing and causing ice and snow to melt – and how melting ice and snow are changing the Earth’s climate.

Global Outlook for Ice and Snow was prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and written by more than 70 scientists from around the world. It brings together the latest findings and the latest thinking on ice and snow and climate change.

Global Outlook for Ice and Snow is an official project of the International Polar Year 2007-2008 and captures the state of knowledge on polar ice and snow at the outset of this ambitious two-year campaign of international research. Global Outlook for Ice and Snow was launched on World Environment Day, 5 June 2007, in cities around the world.

"2007 ASLI's Choice - Honourable Mention - Scientific and Technical Category - for making complex science understandable for the general audience. The clear presentation of material, informative photographs and graphics on recycled paper are a timely contribution to the Polar Year."  Atmospheric Science Librarians International (ASLI)

Free resources to download

Highlights of Global Outlook for Ice and Snow (pdf):  Arabic (30 mb)   Chinese (6 mb)   English (3mb)   French(3 mb)   Norwegian (3 mb)   Russian (3 mb)   Spanish (3 mb)

Power Point Presentation (60 slides) summarizing the findings, with photos, maps and graphics, and including speaker notes:
English (10 mb)  Russian(10 mb)

The Book (English)
Entire book (98 mb) /  1. Highlights (3 mb) / 2. Why are Ice and Snow Important to Us? (5 mb) / 3. Why are Ice and Snow Changing? (4 mb) / 4. Snow (9 mb) / 5.  Ice in the Sea (13 mb) / 6.Ice on the Land (0.5 mb) / 6A. Ice Sheets (5 mb) / 6B. Glaciers and Ice Caps (20 mb) / 6C. Ice and Sea-level Change (6 mb) / 7. Frozen Ground (8 mb) / 8. River and Lake Ice (7 mb) / 9. Policy and Perspectives (1.5 mb)

UNEP Press Release (World Environment Day, June 5 2007) with overview of findings and quotes (pdf): Arabic (156 kb)  Chinese (339 kb)  English (42 kb)  French (43 kb)  Russian (206 kb)  Spanish (50 kb)

From external site

Maps and Graphics designed for the book (high and low resolution, with descriptions and details of sources): www.unep.org/geo/ice_snow/graphics.asp

The entire book, individual chapters, and additional associated resources are freely downloadable at www.unep.org/geo/geo_ice

Authors: Pål Prestrud, James E. Overland, John E. Walsh, Muyin Wang, Roger G. Barry, Richard Armstrong, Terry Callaghan, Jessie Cherry, Shari Gearheard, Anne Nolin, Don Russell, Christoph Zöckler, Sebastian Gerland, Jon Aars, Tom Bracegirdle, Eddy Carmack, Haakon Hop, Grete K. Hovelsrud, Kit Kovacs, Don K. Perovich, Jackie Richter-Menge, Stine Rybråten, Hallvard Strøm, John Turner, Charles R. Bentley, Robert H. Thomas, Isabella Velicogna, Michael Zemp, Wilfried Haeberli, Samjwal Bajracharya, Trevor J. Chinn, Jon Ove Hagen, Christian Huggel, Andreas Kääb, Bjørn P. Kaltenborn, Madhav Karki, Georg Kaser, Vladimir M. Kotloyakov, Christian Lambrechts, Zhongqin Li, Bruce F. Monia, Pradeep Mool, Christian Nellemann, Viktor Novikov, Galina B. Osipova, Andrés Rivera, Basanta Shrestha,  Felix Svoboda, Dmitri G. Tsvetkov, Tandong Yao, John A. Church, Robert Nicholls, John E. Hay, Vivien Gornitz, Vladimir E. Romanovsky, Stephan Gruber, Arne Instanes, Huijun Jin, Sergei S. Marchenko, Sharon L. Smith, Dario Trombotto, Katey M. Walter, Terry D. Prowse, Barrie R. Bonsal, Claude R. Duguay, Dag O. Hessen, Valery S. Vuglinsky, Joan Eamer, Oran Young, Patricia Cochran, Kunda Dixit, Taito Nakalevu, Caleb Pungowiyi

Steering Committee: Pål Prestrud (lead), John Calder, Patricia Cochran, Wilfried Haeberli, Taito Nakalevu, Chris Rapley, Andrés Rivera, Tandong Yao, Oran Young

Production Team: Joan Eamer (editor) Hugo Ahlenius (maps and graphics), Petter Sevaldsen (design), Heather Main (assistant editor), Idunn Eidheim (Norway coordinator), Christian Lambrechts (UNEP coordinator). Editorial and production assistance: Natasha Webster, Lynn Nygaard, Edward Osmond-Jones, Janet Fernandez Skaalvik

Reviewers: Charles R. Bentley, Jerry Brown, Ross Brown, Anny Cazenave, Bernard Francou, Susanne Hansson, Janet Intrieri, Jari Jaapala, Martin O. Jeffries, Peter Knight, Michael Kuhn, Esko Kuusisto, Catherine McMullen, Fritz Nelson, John Pomeroy, David Robinson, Vladimir Ryabinin, David G. Vaughan

Websites

Book Details