Our Frozen Planet

Beautiful and moving … Stunning images of our frozen Earth” - New Scientist  We live on a planet where up to a third of the land area is covered by snow and ice during the winter. This frozen world, known as the cryosphere, is captured in all its remarkable beauty by the spectacular photography within this book. Our Frozen Planet is a celebration of these frozen realms, inviting readers to embark upon a stunning photographic journey through the cryosphere.  However, this book also carries a stark warning: although the cryosphere represents a significant component of Planet Earth, it is rapidly declining in response to global warming. The next few generations of humanity will see unprecedented change in ice and snow cover. Now is the time to place on record the magical beauty of such areas.  Experts in their field, authors and photographers Michael Hambrey and Jürg Alean have each studied glaciers for half a century. They have worked in both polar regions, and several of the world’s major mountain ranges. Their work has led them to examine ice and snow on all scales, from the mighty glaciers and ice sheets that still cover ten percent of Earth’s land surface, to frozen puddles and fluffy snow. In this book, they explore how a myriad of snowflakes are transformed into glacier ice, how this then flows under the influence of gravity, and finally disappears through melting. They discuss how glaciers have eroded Earth’s surface to produce some of our most stunning landscapes, and the importance of deposition of debris to the provision of rich soils. They investigate ice in the ocean, on lakes and in rivers, and illustrate the delicate beauty of frost and snow. Finally, they show some of the myriad ways in which plants, animals, and humans interact with the cryosphere. Replete with breathtaking photography ranging from the tiniest icicle to the most mammoth glacier, this book is a vibrant celebration of this fascinating and breathtaking world in which we live. Our Frozen Planet serves as a reminder of what we are at risk of losing, and, in doing so, gives us the courage to tackle the global climate emergency.