In defence of our realm

Abstract

The year 2010 marks the centenary of Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott setting off on their differently fated expeditions to reach the South Pole. The polar regions still capture the imagination. When I first visited the Arctic in 1990 it was the trip of a lifetime, but I have been back every year since—nowadays more like once every couple of months. Similarly, my first trip to Antarctica last year has only kindled my fervour to go there again (and again). The polar regions have a magnetic hold over me, although I am far from alone in succumbing to this obsession. The poles have long been a symbol for humanity striving towards knowing what is yet unknown, and harnessing its power. The metaphor was most famously used by Mary Shelley in her iconic novel Frankenstein (1818), but in recent times the science of the polar regions has entered human consciousness globally. The alarming instability of the polar climate and resulting vulnerability of the ice‐caps has become the compelling evidence of the greenhouse effect. Both the ice itself and its animal inhabitants have become emblematic of the global challenge to …