Ending in ice
Ending in ice: the revolutionary idea and tragic expedition of Alfred Wegener Roger M. McCoy
Publisher: Oxford ; Oxford University Press, 2006.
ISBN: 0195188578
DDC: 551.092
LCC: QE22
Edition: (cloth : alk. paper)
Summary:
"An old truism holds that a scientific discovery has three stages:
first, people deny it is true; then they deny it is important;
finally, they credit the wrong person. Alfred Wegener's "discovery"
of continental drift went through each stage with unusual drama. In
1912, when he published his theory that the world's continents had
once come together in a single landmass before splitting apart and
drifting to their current positions, the world's geologists denied
and scorned it.
The scientific establishment's rejection of continental drift and
plate tectonic theory is a story told often and well. Yet, there is
an untold side to Wegener's life: he and his famous father-in-law,
Waldimir Koppen (a climatologist whose classification of climates is
still in use), became fascinated with ice ages and conducted four
expeditions in the 1920s to the then-uncharted Greenland icecap to
gather data about climate variations (Greenland ice-core sampling
continues to this day).".
"Ending in Ice is about Wegener's explorations of Greenland, blending
the science of ice ages and Wegener's continental drift measurements
with the story of Wegener's fatal final expedition trying to rescue
starving team members at the central Greenland ice station of
Eismitte in 1930. Arctic exploration books with tragic endings have
become all too common, but this book combines the relevant science -
now more important than ever - with Wegener's fatal adventures in
Greenland."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (p. 185-187) and index.
Scientist and explorer -- Wegener's shocking idea -- The world reacts
to Wegener's idea -- Preparing for Greenland -- Arriving in Greenland
-- Establishing Eismitte -- The fourth trip to Eismitte, September
1930 -- Winter at East Station and West Station, 1930-1931 -- Winter
at Eismitte -- The search for Wegener and Villumsen -- Searching for
reasons -- Remembering Wegener -- Progress after 1960.
Language: eng
Physical Description: ix, 194 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.
Edition Info: (cloth : alk. paper)
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