Ice Rivers: A Story of Glaciers, Wilderness, and Humanity 9780691229010

A passionate eyewitness account of the mysteries and looming demise of glaciers—and what their fate means for our shared

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Ice Rivers

Ice Rivers A Story of Glaciers, Wilderness, and Humanity

Jem ma Wad ham

Pr i n ceton U n i v e r s i ty P r e s s Pr i n ceton a n d Ox fo r d

Copyright © 2021 by Jemma Wadham Published in the United States, Canada, and the Philippines in 2021 by Princeton University Press 41 William Street Princeton, New Jersey 08540 press.princeton.edu Princeton University Press is committed to the protection of copyright and the intellectual property our authors entrust to us. Copyright promotes the progress and integrity of knowledge. Thank you for supporting free speech and the global exchange of ideas by purchasing an authorized edition of this book. If you wish to reproduce or distribute any part of it in any form, please obtain permission. Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to [email protected] Original edition first published by Penguin Books Ltd, London, in 2021 The moral right of the author has been asserted All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Control Number 2021931801 ISBN 978-0-691-22900-3 ISBN (e-book) 978-0-691-22901-0 Set in 12/14.75 pt Dante MT Std Typeset by Jouve (UK), Milton Keynes Printed on acid-free paper. ∞ Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents Introduction: Icy Beginnings

ix

part ​­one – ​t he smell of the ice 1. Glimpses of an Underworld: The Swiss Alps 2. Bears, Bears Everywhere: Svalbard

3 29

part ​­two – the great ice sheets 3. Plumbing the Depths: Greenland

59

4. Life at the Extremes: Antarctica

86

part ​­three – ​i n the shadow of glaciers 5. Beware of the GLOF!: Patagonia

121

6. White Rivers Running Dry: The Indian Himalaya

146

7. The Last Ice: The Cordillera Blanca

169

Afterword: A Fork in the Path

190

A Glacial Glossary

193

Notes

199

Acknowledgements

219

Picture Credits

221

Leverett Glacier, Greenland • 600 km2 • Land-terminating outlet glacier/polythermal

Shallap and Pastoruri Glaciers, Cordillera Blanca, Peru • 7 km2/