Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Preface xi
4. Part one. The World of Ice: Past and Present
5. Chapter 1. The Ice on Our Planet 3
6. Chapter 2. From Exploration to Scientific Observation 18
7. Chapter 3. Ice through the Ages 37
8. Part Two. Polar Ice: Amazing Archives
9. Chapter 4. Reconstructing the Climates of the Past 53
10. Chapter 5. Glacial Archives 68
11. Chapter 6. The Campaigns 82
12. Chapter 7. Vostok: The Cornucopia 110
13. Chapter 8. Dôme C: 800,000 Years and the Revolution of the Rhythm of Glaciations 122
14. Chapter 9. Rapid Climatic Variations 130
15. Chapter 10. The Last 10,000 Years: An Almost Stable Climate 149
16. Part Three. The White Planet Tomorrow
17. Chapter 11. The Climate and Greenhouse Gases 159
18. Chapter 12. Have Humans Already Changed the Climate? 173
19. Chapter 13. What Will the Climate Be in the Future? 201
20. Chapter 14. A Warming with Multiple Consequences 218
21. Chapter 15. What We Must Do 227
22. Part Four. The Poles and the Planet
23. Chapter 16. The Crucial Place of Research 247
24. Chapter 17. Humans and the Rise of Pollution 261
25. Conclusion: The Anthropocene Era 272
26. Notes 277
27. Selected Bibliography 289
28. Index 291