I have been enthralled by and weeping my eyes out at a mesmerising memoir called by David Vaughan.
The vast sheet of ice covering Antarctica holds the fate of humanity in its hands: if it melted, sea levels would rise nearly 60 metres. And we have a better idea of how likely that is, thanks, in part, to the work of Vaughan, who studied the dynamics of this ice for nearly 40 years until his untimely death last year.
Advertisement
He leaves us the inside story of working in the remotest and most forbidding places on Earth 鈥� such as the Thwaites glacier, often dubbed the doomsday glacier, as it buttresses much of the West Antarctic ice sheet. This glacier was a key focus of Vaughan鈥檚 work because of the dire consequences for Earth鈥檚 coastal cities if it collapses.
Equally profound are his short personal essays, including one about his cancer diagnosis and how he managed to keep 鈥渂uggering on鈥�, despite the odds.
