Is there anything natural about the polar?
Abstract Are similarities of temperature, snow and ice cover, and (certain) marine mammals sufficient to warrant both polar regions being considered a single object of study or governance? We argue that their treatment as a unit is an invitation to examine the motivations behind the choice to be pol...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247419000652 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247419000652 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247419000652 2024-03-03T08:37:55+00:00 Is there anything natural about the polar? Dahl, Justiina Roberts, Peder van der Watt, Lize-Marié 2019 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247419000652 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247419000652 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Polar Record volume 55, issue 5, page 326-329 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development journal-article 2019 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247419000652 2024-02-08T08:29:00Z Abstract Are similarities of temperature, snow and ice cover, and (certain) marine mammals sufficient to warrant both polar regions being considered a single object of study or governance? We argue that their treatment as a unit is an invitation to examine the motivations behind the choice to be polar rather than Arctic or Antarctic. For individuals such as James Clerk Ross or Roald Amundsen, logistical requirements and analogous goals facilitated careers spanning both the Arctic and the Antarctic. This trend continued through the 20th century as individual scientists studying phenomena such as glaciers, sea ice, or aurora defined their research as “polar” in nature. Organisations such as the Scott Polar Research Institute and Norwegian Polar Institute could draw on traditions of national exploration in both polar regions, while the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg gained its southern mandate with the importance of the International Geophysical Year. By comparison, neither the Arctic Institute in Copenhagen nor the Argentine Antarctic Institute felt any need to become polar. The creation of polar identity is ultimately a matter of geopolitics, of the value states see in instruments and symbols that speak to polar rather than Arctic or Antarctic interests. In cases such as Finland’s icebreaker industry, a technological capability justified Antarctic interest even without any national research tradition. We conclude by asking whether there is anything more natural about the polar regions than there is about the concept of a “tripolar” world in which the high alpine regions form a natural unit along with the Arctic and Antarctic. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute Arctic Norwegian Polar Institute Polar Record Scott Polar Research Institute Sea ice The Arctic Institute Cambridge University Press Arctic Antarctic The Antarctic Argentine Polar Record 55 5 326 329 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
spellingShingle |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development Dahl, Justiina Roberts, Peder van der Watt, Lize-Marié Is there anything natural about the polar? |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
description |
Abstract Are similarities of temperature, snow and ice cover, and (certain) marine mammals sufficient to warrant both polar regions being considered a single object of study or governance? We argue that their treatment as a unit is an invitation to examine the motivations behind the choice to be polar rather than Arctic or Antarctic. For individuals such as James Clerk Ross or Roald Amundsen, logistical requirements and analogous goals facilitated careers spanning both the Arctic and the Antarctic. This trend continued through the 20th century as individual scientists studying phenomena such as glaciers, sea ice, or aurora defined their research as “polar” in nature. Organisations such as the Scott Polar Research Institute and Norwegian Polar Institute could draw on traditions of national exploration in both polar regions, while the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg gained its southern mandate with the importance of the International Geophysical Year. By comparison, neither the Arctic Institute in Copenhagen nor the Argentine Antarctic Institute felt any need to become polar. The creation of polar identity is ultimately a matter of geopolitics, of the value states see in instruments and symbols that speak to polar rather than Arctic or Antarctic interests. In cases such as Finland’s icebreaker industry, a technological capability justified Antarctic interest even without any national research tradition. We conclude by asking whether there is anything more natural about the polar regions than there is about the concept of a “tripolar” world in which the high alpine regions form a natural unit along with the Arctic and Antarctic. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dahl, Justiina Roberts, Peder van der Watt, Lize-Marié |
author_facet |
Dahl, Justiina Roberts, Peder van der Watt, Lize-Marié |
author_sort |
Dahl, Justiina |
title |
Is there anything natural about the polar? |
title_short |
Is there anything natural about the polar? |
title_full |
Is there anything natural about the polar? |
title_fullStr |
Is there anything natural about the polar? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Is there anything natural about the polar? |
title_sort |
is there anything natural about the polar? |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247419000652 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247419000652 |
geographic |
Arctic Antarctic The Antarctic Argentine |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Antarctic The Antarctic Argentine |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute Arctic Norwegian Polar Institute Polar Record Scott Polar Research Institute Sea ice The Arctic Institute |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute Arctic Norwegian Polar Institute Polar Record Scott Polar Research Institute Sea ice The Arctic Institute |
op_source |
Polar Record volume 55, issue 5, page 326-329 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247419000652 |
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Polar Record |
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55 |
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5 |
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326 |
op_container_end_page |
329 |
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1792502845472243712 |