The book, edited by ICM scientists, reveals the similarities and differences of the polar areas and exposes the alterations they are undergoing due to global change.
Antarctica and the Arctic are as attractive as remote and inhospitable. Numerous expeditions have travelled there looking for natural resources or in order to open up new shipping and trade routes. They have also been visited for their great scientific interest, as they play a key role in regulating the Earth's climate and are considered an ideal "laboratory" for the study of global pollutants.
The book Observando los polos (CSIC-Catarata) offers a multidisciplinary view of the scientific knowledge on both regions at the same time as it describes the history and current situation of polar research in Spain. More than 50 specialists from the interdisciplinary thematic platform POLARCSIC, including the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM) scientists Vanessa Balagué, Clara Cardelús and Magda Vila, the book’s editors, have participated in its preparation.
The text, which is accompanied by a spectacular collection of images, addresses issues such as the geological evolution of the poles, their terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, the past, present and future climate of both places, the pressing problems of pollution suffered by these territories and the role that pioneers such as Josefina Castellví have played in their research.
"With this publication we aim to make new generations aware of the importance and vulnerability of the polar regions, and to raise the need for research especially focused on understanding and evaluating their role in the uncertain future of our planet", state Clara, Vanessa and Magda.
Polar similarities and differences
This tour through two of the most remote places on Earth reveals their similarities and differences. "Both are covered in snow or ice, have no light during the six months of winter, and are home to fauna and flora that have managed to adapt to extreme conditions, but the two poles are different. The Arctic is an ocean surrounded by land, while Antarctica is a continent surrounded by sea", explains the book.
The ocean surrounding Antarctica, on the other hand, comprises masses of water that circulate clockwise and isolate the continent. This phenomenon makes the region colder than the Arctic, which does not show this isolation, as it has a strong connection with the surrounding lands thanks to the multitude of natural waterways.
Sentinels of global pollution
Polar regions are particularly susceptible to the harmful effects of pollutants generated thousands of kilometres away. "The isolated nature of these areas allows them to act as a kind of 'blank canvas' for studying the presence and global dynamics of pollutants that are able to reach them”, details the book.
"Polar ecosystems offer a simplified scenario compared to other more anthropised regions of the planet. Therefore, much of the knowledge we have about the behaviour of some pollutants at a global level has been confirmed and validated through polar research".
Josefina Castellví: a pioneer in Antarctica
The beginnings of Spanish polar exploration have a woman's name: the oceanographer and ICM researcher Josefina Castellví. She, along with another ICM researcher, Marta Estrada, and the journalist Charo Nogueira, were the first three Spanish women touch Antarctic soil, where the two scientists carried out research projects as members of an Argentinean expedition in 1984.
Later, Castellví was part of the CSIC team that made possible the establishment of the Spanish Antarctic Base (BAE) Juan Carlos I, located on Livingston Island, which was inaugurated in January 1988. The researcher was in charge of the base from 1989 to 1994. She thus became the first woman to be in charge of an Antarctic base.