Heard Island Two Centuries of Change, and More Coming

About this book

This highly illustrated volume is a compendium of evidence and examples of change on Heard Island, a World Heritage Site near Antarctica and one of the most remote places on Earth. Drawing on records from the past two centuries, as well as his own expeditions to the island in 1997 and 2016, the author provides visual evidence for the changes wrought by climate change, erosion, and environmental policy. Various phenomena not previously observed on Heard Island are documented, such as fluid dynamic instabilities and the destruction of the seawalls of a major lagoon. Based on the past, the author makes predictions about Heard Island for specific years in the future: 2031 (decade), 2051 (tricade), 2121 (century), 3021 (millennium), and 1,002,021 (Ma). The book serves as an important link between the past and future of Heard Island.

Contents

Part 1. Two centuries of change
Section 1. Island
      Chapter 1. Description
      Chapter 2. Images
      Chapter 3. Maps
Section 2. History
      Chapter 4. Events
      Chapter 5. Facilities
      Chapter 6. Debris

Part 2. Rocks
Section 3. Provinces
      Chapter 7. Atlas Cove
      Chapter 8. Laurens Peninsula
      Chapter 9. The Spit
Section 4. Volcano
      Chapter 10. Big Ben
      Chapter 11. Mawson Peak
      Chapter 12. Volcanic features
Section 5. Lithics
      Chapter 13. Outcroppings
      Chapter 14. Till
      Chapter 15. Sediment

Part 3. Water
Section 6. Glaciers
      Chapter 16. Stephenson Glacier
      Chapter 17. AU1141 Glacier
      Chapter 18. Glacial features
Section 7. Streams
      Chapter 19. Inland streams
      Chapter 20. Tidewater streams
Section 8. Lakes
      Chapter 21. Stephenson Lagoon
      Chapter 22. Large lakes
      Chapter 23. Small lakes

Part 4. Ecosystem
Section 9. Biota
      Chapter 24. Plants
      Chapter 25. Invertebrates
      Chapter 26. Birds
      Chapter 27. Mammals
Section 10. Environment
      Chapter 28. Ocean
      Chapter 29. Atmosphere
      Chapter 30. Sky

Part 5. More Coming
Section 11. Dynamics
      Chapter 31. Populations
      Chapter 32. Systems
      Chapter 33. EcoSimulation
Section 12. The Future
      Chapter 34. Research
      Chapter 35. Resources
      Chapter 36. The Future of Heard Island

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Biography

Robert William Schmieder is an American scientist and explorer. Schmieder has had a multidisciplinary career, broadly divided between physics and related physical sciences, and natural science and exploration. In most of his projects, he created and led teams of both professional scientists and volunteers. His work is documented in about 100 technical publications and 10 books. Among his most significant work was the invention of laser spark spectroscopy (now commercialized), the formulation of nanologic (the use of nanoscale devices in computers), and the concept of underwater islands (which led to the designation of the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary).