ABSTRACT

The Routledge Handbook of the Polar Regions is an authoritative guide to the Arctic and the Antarctic through an exploration of key areas of research in the physical and natural sciences and the social sciences and humanities. It presents 38 new and original contributions from leading figures and voices in polar research, policy and practice, as well as work from emerging scholars.

This handbook aims to approach and understand the Polar Regions as places that are at the forefront of global conversations about some of the most pressing contemporary issues and research questions of our age. The volume provides a discussion of the similarities and differences between the two regions to help deepen understanding and knowledge. Major themes and issues are integrated in the comprehensive introduction chapter by the editors, who are top researchers in their respective fields. The contributions show how polar researchers engage with contemporary debates and use interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches to address new developments as well as map out exciting trajectories for future work in the Arctic and the Antarctic.

The handbook provides an easy access to key items of scholarly literature and material otherwise inaccessible or scattered throughout a variety of specialist journals and books. A unique one-stop research resource for researchers and policymakers with an interest in the Arctic and Antarctic, it is also a comprehensive reference work for graduate and advanced undergraduate students.

chapter |16 pages

Introduction

Locating the Polar Regions

part I|117 pages

Circumpolar worlds

chapter 1|15 pages

Exploring and mapping the Arctic

Histories of discovery and knowledge

chapter 2|11 pages

Exploring and mapping the Antarctic

Histories of discovery and knowledge

chapter 7|17 pages

Circumpolar health and well-being

chapter 8|9 pages

Education in the Arctic

Trends, challenges, and possibilities

part II|128 pages

Polar environments

chapter 18|14 pages

Permafrost dynamics

part III|169 pages

Polar politics and resource futures

chapter 21|9 pages

The Polar Regions and the law of the sea

Current controversies

chapter 22|10 pages

The Arctic Council

An intergovernmental forum facing constraints and utilizing opportunities

chapter 23|15 pages

National Antarctic programmes

The politics-science interface

chapter 27|14 pages

Polar tourism

Status, trends, futures

chapter 28|9 pages

Consulting Arctic energy

From political hearings to roundtable events

chapter 30|12 pages

Northern fisheries

chapter 31|13 pages

The future of Antarctica

Minerals, bioprospecting, and fisheries

part IV|75 pages

Polar scientific frontiers

chapter 38|16 pages

Back to the future

Detecting past Arctic environmental change and investing in future observations