News Release

The Biology Of Antarctic Sea Ice Explored In New Volume

Book Announcement

American Geophysical Union

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The 73rd volume of the American Geophysical Union's Antarctic Research Series presents a broad range of articles on sea ice biology and ecology. Titled "Antarctic Sea Ice: Biological Processes, Interactions and Variability" and edited by Michael P. Lizotte and Kevin R. Arrigo, it presents new information about a vast area covering millions of square kilometers that is among the most difficult environments on Earth to study.

Two distinct types of ice, pack ice and land-fast ice, are found around Antarctica, the former constituting more than 90 per cent of the total. The two types differ greatly in the variety of habitats they provide for biological organisms. This 198 page volume is among the first that deals specifically with life forms in antarctic, rather than arctic, sea ice.

Among the subjects covered, some in multiple chapters, are algal biomass in sea ice, nitrogen metabolism, numerical ecosystem modeling studies, and sea ice diatoms as paleoenvironmental indicators. Along with its companion, Antarctic Sea Ice: Physical Processes, Interactions and Variability, this volume is a contribution toward an interdisciplinary study of biological and physical interactions in sea ice.

ISBN 0-87590-901-9 Cost: $31.50 (AGU members), $45.00 (non-members) Special price for combined purchase of Volumes 73 (Biological Processes) and 74 (Physical Processes): $80.50 (AGU members), $115.00 (non-members) Available from the American Geophysical Union by phone: 800-966-2481 (from outside the U.S.A., +1-202-462-6900), or from the AGU web site: www.agu.org.

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