Encyclopedia of the Antarctic

Edited by Beau Riffenburgh

Key Features About the Editor Publication Details/Order Online

The Antarctic is unique- geographically, politically, and scientifically. It is the
most remote, hostile, and dangerous continent, while at the same time the most
pristine. Antarctica is the only one of the Earth's landmasses not directly governed
by one nation, but under the control of a carefully developed Treaty. It is the
only place in which claims of ownership have been set aside, nuclear testing banned,
damage to the environment contained under specific regulations, and international
competition replaced by scientific investigations that link nations in peaceful efforts.
Those investigations have led to some of the most important scientific discoveries of
recent decades, including the seasonal depletion of ozone and the understanding of
global climate change. However, the Antarctic is a place of great interest-not only to
researchers, but to the public, as shown by the growth of tourism, the many education
programs about it, and the recent public fascination with Ernest Shackleton,
Robert Falcon Scott, and other explorers.

The Encyclopedia of the Antarctic contains 495 entries on a wide variety of factors,
issues, and individuals influencing and relating to the Antarctic. Coverage includes
well-established topics, but also areas of recent research or current concern such as
political, legal, environmental, tourism, technological, and philosophical issues.
Entries range from factual, data-driven topics such as biographies, wildlife details,
and statements about national Antarctic programs, to longer, thematic overviews on
major themes, to analytical discussions of issues that are of significant interest both
to researchers and the general public, such as climate change, conservation, geopolitics, biogeography, and pollution.

Composed by over 311 international scholars and experts, this multidisciplinary two-volume set is the first comprehensive, in-depth work on the Antarctic. A perfect
complement to Routledge's award-winning Encyclopedia of the Antarctic, this reference work is an essential resource for information on the Antarctic.

Beau Riffenburgh has served as the Editor of Polar Record, the journal of the Scott
Polar Research Institute (SPRI) and the oldest journal of polar research in the world. He previously served as the head of the Polar History Group at SPRI and lectured in the History Faculty of the University of Cambridge. He has written, edited, or contributed to more than 30 books including the Encyclopedia of the Arctic (Routledge, 2004) and the Literature of Travel and Exploration (Routledge, 2003).

495 A-to-Z entries ranging in length from 500 to 6,000 words
Thematic and alphabetic lists of entries
Cross-references at the end of entries refer the reader to related topics
References and Further Reading section for each entry
110 b/w illustrations including 18 detailed maps
A thorough, analytical index
Seven useful Appendices:
- Chronology of Antarctic exploration
- The Antarctic treaty
- Signatories to the Antarctic treaty
- S.C.A.R. code of conduct for use of animals for scientific purposes in Antarctica
- Protocol on environmental protection to the Antarctic treaty
- Scientific research stations in the Antarctic region, austral winter 2005
- Antarctic academic journals

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