| The 125 Year Legacy of the International Polar Year |
|
|
|
bridges vol. 10, June 2006 / Feature Articles
Introduction
Access to the full article is free, but requires you to register. Registration is simple and quick – all we need is your name and a valid e-mail address. We appreciate your interest in bridges. |
The connection between polar regions and societies
around the world is increasingly part of our mainstream culture.
Magazine articles, books, and movies have made common knowledge of
topics such as the epic annual migration of Emperor Penguins, or how
the accelerated melting of glaciers in Greenland and the Antarctic
Peninsula will result in rising sea levels that will eventually impact
the billions of people who live near coastlines. We are becoming more
aware of how the melting of summer sea ice in the Arctic is impacting
the lifestyle of native peoples and the habitats of the seals and polar
bears they hunt. There is increased understanding that pollution from
Europe and North America is entering the food chain in the Arctic. We
hear how melting of permafrost in Polar Regions not only causes roads
to buckle and foundations to collapse, but releases substantial amounts
of methane into the atmosphere, further fueling the greenhouse effect.
