ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents a geographical perspective on the nature, functioning and interrelationships of Antarctic environments, together with the past and present patterns of human interaction and management of resources. The principal systems examined include the atmospheric and climatic systems of the Antarctic region, the geological, glacial, periglacial and biological systems of the Antarctic continent, and the physical and biological systems of the Southern Ocean. If the Earth's climate is to be understood, then we need to understand the heat balance over Antarctica and the nature of the ocean-atmosphere sea ice coupling, which determines the heat exchange over the Southern Ocean. The book examines the ways in which these systems interact and influence one another and attempts to place these interactions within a wider schema of the potential changes contingent upon any future global warming.
