The white planet : the evolution and future of our frozen world /

This book is a factual, chronological narrative of Earth's cryosphere, covering the critical role that the ice-covered parts of our planet play in recording climate and how ice records reveal changes in Earth's climate over the last 800,000 years. French authors Jouzel, Lorius, and Raynaud are world leaders in ice-core climate research and have been instrumental in collecting and interpreting these important records. Descriptions in the book are meticulous, but dry, until the last few brief chapters where the authors address the political aspects of climate change, revealing their frustration with the unwillingness of politicians to act when the science shows the need for urgency. Although coverage of the collection and interpretation of polar ice-core records, along with the problems encountered in obtaining them, is complete, the book is a bit of a slog and would have benefited from a more problem-based focus rather than a recitation of the litany of events; this can be confusing due to the nature of how science and field problems move two steps forward and then one step back. The book primarily highlights the contributions of French and other European scientists, giving it a Eurocentric feel, which is somewhat refreshing. Summing Up: Recommended. All general and academic audiences. B. Ransom formerly, University of California, San Diego

The earth's ice-glaciers, ice sheets, ice caps, ice platforms-chronicles the history of its climate. That history is read through the strata of the ice, and the captured bubbles of ancient atmosphere each stratum contains. Glaciologists and climatologists Jouzel, Claude Lorius, and Dominique Raynaud here describe how this evidence was discovered and is being understood by scientists. This book was originally published in 2008 in France (Planete blanche) and has been adapted and revised in Fagan's translation, keeping it up to date. The authors relate their studies of the ice sheets and glaciers, and provide explanations of how the science works, discussing the climate history discovered in the ice, and the warming trends that have been observed therein. More than a third of the book is dedicated to the relationship between ice and global warming. VERDICT Highly recommended for all serious collections on glaciology and climate change and for anyone who wants to know more about the science of discovering ancient climates.-Betty Galbraith, Owen Science & Engineering Lib., Washington State Univ., Pullman (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.