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Thin Ice
"One of the best books yet published on climate change . . . The best compact history of the science of global warming I have read."―Bill McKibben, The New York Review of Books The world's premier climatologist, Lonnie Thompson has been risking his career and life on the highest and most remote ice caps along the equator, in search of clues to the history of climate change. His most innovative work has taken place on these mountain glaciers, where he collects ice cores that provide detailed information about climate history, reaching back 750,000 years. To gather significant data Thompson has spent more time in the death zone―the environment above eighteen thousand feet―than any man who has ever lived. Scientist and expert climber Mark Bowen joined Thompson's crew on several expeditions; his exciting and brilliantly detailed narrative takes the reader deep inside retreating glaciers from China, across South America, and to Africa to unravel the mysteries of climate. Most important, we learn what Thompson's hard-won data reveals about global warming, the past, and the earth's probable future.
498 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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107 people want to read
About the author
Mark Bowen
130 books25 followersMark Bowen is an American science writer. He received a Ph.D. in physics from M.I.T..
He is a rock-climber, and a mountain-climber who summited on Mount Kilimanjaro.
He is a rock-climber, and a mountain-climber who summited on Mount Kilimanjaro.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 26, 2020
A very well written account of climate science as studied by tropical glacier coring. Those who disbelieve global warming will have a hard time discounting the well-told adventure story of one of the pioneers in modern climatology and his hard-science discoveries about how atmospheric CO2 drives oceans, atmosphere, and even geology. The author is a credentialed scientist in his own right but serves as the narrator for this larger story of the race to get at the records of the atmosphere as recorded in the quickly disappearing ice fields all over earth.
February 11, 2022
SO there is a ton of great climate change research included in this book but I kept finding myself both distracted and frustrated by the "boys club" antics and frankly, inappropriate behavior of these scientists who were on university and government funded research trips. As someone who works in higher ed, I found myself sighing constantly because I'm just so over inappropriate behavior being glossed over because of the success of scientists' work (cough the scientist who "liked to conduct his field work naked"...).
November 29, 2009
This book is about the work of climatologist Lonni Thompson who drills and interprets ice cores on tropical mountaintops. It is reckoned that Thompson has spent more time above 18,000 ft than any human ever.
The Amazon.com review by Michael Levin is longer and better than I could write. Here it is:
"This is a hard book to categorize because it contains so many valuable treasures. Five major strands are woven together into a highly readable and enjoyable narrative. As a biography, it tells the story of Lonnie Thompson, a contemporary climatologist, his passion for scientific understanding, and his integrity and physical and intellectual courage. Drilling ice cores in Greenland and Antarctica has been a major source of knowledge of the climatic history of our planet, its temperature changes, and the composition of its atmosphere. But Lonnie Thompson realized that ice cores taken from glaciers found on high mountains closer to the equator held valuable secrets of the earth's climatic history not found in polar ice, and that they were essential to our understanding of global climate change both historically, and for modeling and predicting future changes. Furthermore, this valuable historical record is rapidly disappearing. Glaciers, with records of up to 700,000 years, are quickly shrinking. Kilimanjaro's will vanish completely within ten to twenty years. But until recently, there was little understanding, funding, or academic prestige within the scientific establishment for drilling for equatorial ice. Thompson's persistence in obtaining these ice cores, and the contributions they have made to science are the overall theme of the book.
It is to some extent a mountaineering book, but this is a subtheme. Mark Bowen, a scientist, writer and mountaineer, was invited to join Thompson on several high mountain expeditions, and describes these and others as well. Thompson took ice cores from glacial peaks in the Andes of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, from Kilimanjaro, and from the Himalayas, and the mountains north of the Tibetan plateau. The hardships and danger of high altitude mountaineering, and the logistic difficulties of transporting equipment, and bringing back ice samples are vividly detailed. However, Thompson, and the international team of scientists who worked with him over many years never climbed a mountain for the sport of it, but were always motivated by their passion for science.
Third, this is the story of the science of climatic change, and the gradual unfolding of our understanding of it over the past 150 years. The details revealed themselves slowly as more data was obtained from many places in the world, and from many sources, not just ice cores, but sea bed drilling, biological sampling, and others. And as the data emerged, the sophistication of mathematical correlating and modeling also matured. The clarity and detail of our understanding of both the past, and possible future scenarios continues to mature, but scientific consensus at the present leave little room to doubt that global temperature will rise as atmospheric carbon dioxide caused by burning fossil fuels increases, that polar ice will continue to melt, that the ocean level will rise significantly, that extreme weather will increase, and that global patterns of wet and dry regions will shift, although it is not possible to say how they will shift. The explanatory sections of the book are not only clear and easy to follow but reliable because Mark Bowen is both a writer and a trained scientist able to offer a path of clarity and balanced judgement through confusing arguments and claims.
Fourth is the anthropological story of the rise and decline of civilizations in the Andes, in North Africa, in Mesopotamia, and elsewhere. Within the last three decades, as climatologists have published increasingly detailed historical temperature and rainfall data, it has become possible to correlate these with archeological discoveries and cross check the dates. Time after time the story shows the emergence of a city-state which grows in size and prosperity until it hits the limits of sustainable agriculture. Then the climate changes, people starve or migrate, and the nexus of civilization moves elsewhere.
Finally, there is the story of the interaction of science and politics, and what happens when the findings of science conflict with what is convenient for political or industrial leaders to have us believe. This theme is presented in a factual rather than polemic or accusatory style. But the ability of the oil industry to create controversy where there should be none by hiring their own "research" and creating confusion by focusing on minor disagreements and ignoring overall consensus is unsettling."
The Amazon.com review by Michael Levin is longer and better than I could write. Here it is:
"This is a hard book to categorize because it contains so many valuable treasures. Five major strands are woven together into a highly readable and enjoyable narrative. As a biography, it tells the story of Lonnie Thompson, a contemporary climatologist, his passion for scientific understanding, and his integrity and physical and intellectual courage. Drilling ice cores in Greenland and Antarctica has been a major source of knowledge of the climatic history of our planet, its temperature changes, and the composition of its atmosphere. But Lonnie Thompson realized that ice cores taken from glaciers found on high mountains closer to the equator held valuable secrets of the earth's climatic history not found in polar ice, and that they were essential to our understanding of global climate change both historically, and for modeling and predicting future changes. Furthermore, this valuable historical record is rapidly disappearing. Glaciers, with records of up to 700,000 years, are quickly shrinking. Kilimanjaro's will vanish completely within ten to twenty years. But until recently, there was little understanding, funding, or academic prestige within the scientific establishment for drilling for equatorial ice. Thompson's persistence in obtaining these ice cores, and the contributions they have made to science are the overall theme of the book.
It is to some extent a mountaineering book, but this is a subtheme. Mark Bowen, a scientist, writer and mountaineer, was invited to join Thompson on several high mountain expeditions, and describes these and others as well. Thompson took ice cores from glacial peaks in the Andes of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, from Kilimanjaro, and from the Himalayas, and the mountains north of the Tibetan plateau. The hardships and danger of high altitude mountaineering, and the logistic difficulties of transporting equipment, and bringing back ice samples are vividly detailed. However, Thompson, and the international team of scientists who worked with him over many years never climbed a mountain for the sport of it, but were always motivated by their passion for science.
Third, this is the story of the science of climatic change, and the gradual unfolding of our understanding of it over the past 150 years. The details revealed themselves slowly as more data was obtained from many places in the world, and from many sources, not just ice cores, but sea bed drilling, biological sampling, and others. And as the data emerged, the sophistication of mathematical correlating and modeling also matured. The clarity and detail of our understanding of both the past, and possible future scenarios continues to mature, but scientific consensus at the present leave little room to doubt that global temperature will rise as atmospheric carbon dioxide caused by burning fossil fuels increases, that polar ice will continue to melt, that the ocean level will rise significantly, that extreme weather will increase, and that global patterns of wet and dry regions will shift, although it is not possible to say how they will shift. The explanatory sections of the book are not only clear and easy to follow but reliable because Mark Bowen is both a writer and a trained scientist able to offer a path of clarity and balanced judgement through confusing arguments and claims.
Fourth is the anthropological story of the rise and decline of civilizations in the Andes, in North Africa, in Mesopotamia, and elsewhere. Within the last three decades, as climatologists have published increasingly detailed historical temperature and rainfall data, it has become possible to correlate these with archeological discoveries and cross check the dates. Time after time the story shows the emergence of a city-state which grows in size and prosperity until it hits the limits of sustainable agriculture. Then the climate changes, people starve or migrate, and the nexus of civilization moves elsewhere.
Finally, there is the story of the interaction of science and politics, and what happens when the findings of science conflict with what is convenient for political or industrial leaders to have us believe. This theme is presented in a factual rather than polemic or accusatory style. But the ability of the oil industry to create controversy where there should be none by hiring their own "research" and creating confusion by focusing on minor disagreements and ignoring overall consensus is unsettling."
March 22, 2008
Mark Bowen is a really good storyteller. In this book loosely based on the life and work of world-renowned tropical glaciologist Lonnie Thompson and his teams, Bowen delivers a good education on the kinds of climate changes that are solidly linked to the decline of civilizations. He intertwines the lessons of the past with the knowledge of the present dangers from human induced Global Warming.
Bowen is a scientist (and mountain climber) himself and uses that perspective to give the readers insights into the cast of characters and their frequently dangerous work.
Bowen is a scientist (and mountain climber) himself and uses that perspective to give the readers insights into the cast of characters and their frequently dangerous work.
April 13, 2007
A monumental book!! This book blends history, adventure, and science. To create a vivid picture of the state of our climate and what is being done about it. Forget Al Gore, this is an amazing history of climate change and the science behind it. After reading this book there will be no doubt in your mind as to the FACT of human caused global warming. And you may just learn a thing or two about ancient civilizations and geography while you are at it...
August 23, 2017
Full disclosure I did NOT finish this book. I really wanted to enjoy it, but just couldn’t quite get myself into it. I kept picking it up, putting it down, picking it back up and trying again and then getting disinterested. I found the climbing, the hurdles required when obtaining the cores and the overall techniques fascinating, but Bowen kept swapping gears. We went from South America to the poles and then jumped into some general background. I found the abrupt changes distracting whereas if the history had been woven into the story a bit more it may have been easier.
Despite those frustrations, the third of the book I did read was highly fascinating and taught me a lot on the techniques and approaches of the scientists in such extreme locations. What’s particularly interesting is the combined athleticism with the scientific achievements the were able to achieve at high altitudes.
I readily admit that had I had less going on in life I might be more willing to sit down and focus, but at least for now, this is a book I’m abandoning that perhaps I will come back to it one day.
Who should read it? Folks passionate about climate change and would like to know a little more about how historical accounts were/are studied.
See all my reviews and more at www.ReadingToDistraction.com or @Read2Distract
Despite those frustrations, the third of the book I did read was highly fascinating and taught me a lot on the techniques and approaches of the scientists in such extreme locations. What’s particularly interesting is the combined athleticism with the scientific achievements the were able to achieve at high altitudes.
I readily admit that had I had less going on in life I might be more willing to sit down and focus, but at least for now, this is a book I’m abandoning that perhaps I will come back to it one day.
Who should read it? Folks passionate about climate change and would like to know a little more about how historical accounts were/are studied.
See all my reviews and more at www.ReadingToDistraction.com or @Read2Distract
January 14, 2024
3.5 stars - I enjoyed the adventure and the science, the writing was fine and I have no quarrel with it, but somehow it was just interminably slow … if the authors intent was to give the reader the experience of the slow and tedious and frustrating process of scientific discovery then, mission accomplished. I really enjoyed the content and the stories more than the experience of reading them.
August 10, 2016
This is a fascinating book about the reality of climate change as revealed by the glaciologists, modelers, and others who study it. Much of my work involves climate change topics so I very much wanted to absolutely absorb the book. I did for the most part, but fear that Dr. Bowen missed in his attempt to create a book that is accessible to all readers--at least that's what I think he was attempting. He writes extremely well but the book does read more like a history book than an adventure, as the cover tries to convince us. The message of the book is extremely sobering--climate change is upon us now and very likely will be more dramatic than the most recent IPCC report indicates. Unfortunately, I think Dr. Bowen could have gotten that point across to a far larger audience if his book had been more tightly edited. I suspect, in fact, that he could have cut the book by 1/3 and told a story equally compelling but accessible to far more people. Still, an important book, no doubt.
April 16, 2010
A mix of travelogue and a reasonably well done exposition to the science of global warming and the manner in which it is studied with the aid of ice cores. The "adventure" portion of the book, which unfortunately comprises the majority of the text, is painfully boring - the author includes endless quotes from the field scientists about every minute, boring detail of their trips. 3.5/4 stars for the science portion, 1 star for about everything else.
March 13, 2016
Excellent, well written, climate and anthropological history, climate science explained, adventure story, a small dash of politics. The sacrifice made by these extraordinary scientist who defied challenges we never appreciate when hear their stories. The science and the risks facing humanity expressed with clarity. "no snow in Africa" is one of the great quotes of all time.
July 30, 2016
B+: Lonnie Thompson’s equatorial glacier work. Very informative, thorough biography of an amazing geologist/explorer, marred somewhat by the occasional hectoring tone and political slant. Still, very worthwhile -- I learned quite a lot about the history of climatology.
Not mentioned in the book is Dr. Thompson's regrettable failure to archive his data.
Not mentioned in the book is Dr. Thompson's regrettable failure to archive his data.
January 22, 2008
A phenomenal read for those interested in the science of climate change. Well written, exciting in places, sometimes rather technical, but still able to explain the details well-enough for the well-informed lay-reader.
Read
January 12, 2010A magnificent blend of biography, mountaineering travelogue, climate science history, and current observation. The loss of the Earth's tropical mountain glaciers is one of the most visceral examples of global warming.
July 9, 2007
Great Read.
January 20, 2009
Fascinating reading at times, but at times made difficult reading.
April 9, 2009
It's what I am all about
February 17, 2010
A wonderful story and informative book on glaciers and climate change.
February 9, 2013
this is a slow dense read, and i am still plowing my way through, but so far i like the stories behind the science. i will edit this when i finish...
January 12, 2016
I could write that this book is boring to the core because I cannot resist the pun. It is nerd nirvana to read about these hands-on scientists and their co-workers.
September 14, 2008
What a great introduction to the history (and politics) of global warming. A big recommend, here.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews