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The story of the scientists who unravel the mysteries of the sea, and the associated science of the glaciers and the atmosphere. Narrative-driven and comparable to "Map Of A Nation" and "The Weather Experiment".
Summary
A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR NATURE, THE CHICAGO REVIEW OF BOOKS, AND BOOKLIST.
How did we come to have a global climate? What role do the complex interactions of ice, ocean, and atmosphere play in sustaining life on Planet Earth? And who are the scientists who figured all these intricate processes out?
Waters of the World is a tour through 150 years of the history of a significant but underappreciated idea: that the Earth has a global climate system made up of interconnected parts, constantly changing on all scales of both time and space. A prerequisite for the discovery of global warming and climate change, this idea was forged by scientists studying water in its myriad forms. This is their story.
Linking the history of the planet with the lives of those who studied it, Sarah Dry follows the remarkable scientists who ascended volcanic peaks to peer through an atmosphere’s worth of water vapour, cored mile-thick ice sheets to uncover the Earth’s ancient climate history, and flew inside storm clouds to understand how small changes in energy can produce both massive storms and the general circulation of the Earth’s atmosphere. Each toiled on his or her own corner of the planetary puzzle. Gradually, their cumulative discoveries coalesced into a unified working theory of our planet’s climate.
We now call this field climate science, and in recent years it has provoked great passions, anxieties, and warnings. But no less than the object of its study, the science of water and climate is — and always has been — evolving. By revealing the complexity of this history, Waters of the World delivers a better understanding of our planet’s climate at a time when we need it the most.
Additional text
‘The stories cover nearly 200 years of history, and along the way, Dry builds a clear and cogent picture of Earth’s climate system from the different disciplinary foundations of her chosen characters. It is unusual for a history book to contribute to the readers’ appreciation and knowledge of both science and history, but Dry has accomplished that … She highlights how the pursuit of knowledge by scientists is often also a personal pursuit of wonder, adventure, beauty, and peace. … I highly recommend it. I think experts and nonscientists will enjoy the read, and both will gain perspective they didn’t have before.’
