A World Atlas of submarine glacial landforms gets published
Atlas of Submarine Glacial Landforms: Modern, Quaternary and Ancient is the new title for this volume on the sea beds which have been and still are affected by ice action. This work is published by the prestigious Geological Society of London and edited by an international scientific team formed by professor Miquel Canals, head of the Consolidated Research Group on Marine Geosciences (GRC) of the University of Barcelona, Julian A. Dowdeswell and Evelyn K. Dowdeswell (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom), Martin Jakobsson (Stockholm University, Sweden), Brian J. Todd (Geological Survey, Canada) and Kelly A. Hogan (British Antarctic Survey, United Kingdom).
Atlas of Submarine Glacial Landforms: Modern, Quaternary and Ancient is the new title for this volume on the sea beds which have been and still are affected by ice action. This work is published by the prestigious Geological Society of London and edited by an international scientific team formed by professor Miquel Canals, head of the Consolidated Research Group on Marine Geosciences (GRC) of the University of Barcelona, Julian A. Dowdeswell and Evelyn K. Dowdeswell (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom), Martin Jakobsson (Stockholm University, Sweden), Brian J. Todd (Geological Survey, Canada) and Kelly A. Hogan (British Antarctic Survey, United Kingdom).
When ice shapes the planet's ocean floor
This atlas, which covers all the planetʼs geography, is the most ambitious scientific publication in the study field of glacial sea beds and it shows the extraordinary way in which ice acts as a natural landform sculptor. The new volume, which is available online, has more than 180 contributions by international experts, based on the most advanced technologies of the studies of marine sea beds and subsoils, in particular the high-resolution multibeam bathymetry and 2D and 3D seismic reflection, apart from remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).
“The study of marine sea beds, especially glacial sea beds, experimented an authentic revolution, mostly since the mid-nineties, with the emergence of the Global Positioning System (GPS), quality multibeam bathymetry systems, and other technological advances” says Miquel Canals, professor at the Department of Earth and Ocean Dynamics of the Faculty of Earth Sciences of the University of Barcelona.
Extreme habitats threatened by human action
The new volume, lists its chapters according to the different kind of landforms and depositional systems -from the Fjords and continental platforms to the great oceanic depths-, both for northern and southern hemispheres, with a wide range of maps and color images that show a big variety of glacial reliefs.
This publication is regarded as a document of reference to have a better knowledge of the Earthʼs glacial regions, extreme conditioned habitats which are also affected -as seen in recent researches- by global warming, direct physical impact, pollution and natural risks (tsunamis, landslides and others). The companies BP, ENI, Konsberg and Det Norkse have sponsored this atlas, focusing on the last two barriers of our planet: marine sea beds and Polar Regions.
Professor Miquel Canals has a distinguished academic and research career as expert on marine geosciences, impact of the climate change on the marine environment and applied marine research (submarine cartography, marine sea beds stability and geological risks, among others). Canals is also the only Spanish researcher -and one out of the three in Europe- appointed as editor member of the scientific journal Progress in Oceanography, one of the specialized publications with more impact in this field of knowledge.
Canals, who chaired the Promotion Committee for the bachelor degree on Marine Sciences at the University of Barcelona, pioneer in Catalonia, has participated in the creation of Cambio climático en el medio marino español: impactos, vulnerabilidad y adaptación, a report published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (2016), within the third program of the National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (PNACC). Miquel Canals is also member of the jury of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards in the category of Climate Change, a prestigious award which this year has honored the climatologists Syukuro Manave (Princeton University, USA) and James Hansen (Columbia University, USA).
Images: Julian A. Dowdeswell