With this week’s find of the Endurance, polar explorer Ernest Shackleton’s very long-lost ship that sank in 1915, ice is on our mind. The location of the wreck, close to 10,000 deep, is one of the iciest on the planet. And because of the cold waters, the wreck is in almost pristine condition.
Ice is a wonder – it influences our lives, most notably as an air conditioner for our planet. Ice cools our food and makes drinks refreshing in the hot summer. It is a great resource for winter recreation, and writers and photographers find it an inspiration for their works.
As we wait for spring to spring in Wisconsin, we share some great reads about wonderful ice!
Brave New Arctic: The Untold Story of the Melting North by Mark C. Serreze. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2018.
The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption by Dahr Jamail. New York: The New Press, 2019.
Fishing on Ice: A Complete Guide to Gear, Fish and Fun by Noel Vick. Champaign, Illimois.: Human Kinetics, 1999.
Gimaamaa-Akiiminaan Gimiigwechiwendaamin: Thankful for Our Mother Earth: Spearing through the Ice Activity Booklet by Dylan Jennings. Odanah, Wisconsin.: Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, [2016].
Ice: Portraits of Vanishing Glaciers by James Balog. New York: Rizzoli, 2012.
Ice! The Amazing History of the Ice Business by Laurence Pringle. Honesdale, Penn.: Calkins Creek, 2012.
The Melting World: A Journey Across America’s Vanishing Glaciers by Christopher White. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2014.
One Frozen Lake by Deborah Jo Larson. St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2012. Vanishing Ice: Glaciers, Ice Sheets and Rising Seas by Vivien Gornitz. New York: Columbia University Press, 2019.
Anyone in Wisconsin can borrow our books. Send your request to askwater@aqua.wisc.edu.
| Photo: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust |