Blue Ice

Blue Ice is the new book from award-winning photographer Alex Bernasconi, who is known for his unique approach to wildlife photography. Bernasconi’s breathtaking panoramas reveal how the extreme climate and challenging conditions have shaped the spectacular Antarctic landscape and given birth to the surprisingly diverse and highly adaptable species native to the deceptively barren continent.

The foreword, written by British glaciologist Professor Julian Dowdeswell, Director of the Scott Polar Research Institute, explains the dynamic geography of the continent and it’s many ice masses, and also explores the increasing effects of climate change on Antarctica and it’s inhabitants. Dr. Peter Clarkson’s introduction draws on his personal experiences as a member of the British Antarctic Survey and recounts the history of the discovery of Antarctica and the challenges of working and living in the harshest of environments.

Blue Ice provides a remarkable record of an eco-system at risk and reveals the extraordinary, unexpected beauty of the Antarctic, the most remote and endangered place on Earth.

Alex Bernasconi is an award-winning nature, wildlife, and landscape photographer. Born in 1968 in Milan, he has carved out a multi-faceted career as an outdoorsman, sportsman, adventurer, and traveller. His iconic images have appeared in magazines and books worldwide and he has won many prizes at prestigious international awards, including the International Photography Awards (IPA), the Trierenberg Super Circuit, the PX3 (Paris), the WPO Sony World Photography Awards, Graphis, and the Epson International Pano Awards. Wild Africa, his first photography book, was awarded the Gold Medal at the Independent Publisher Awards in New York in 2011.

Dr. Peter Clarkson MBE is an Emeritus Associate of the Scott Polar Research Institute. He graduated from Durham University in 1967 and joined the British Antarctic Survey as a geologist. He was awarded the Polar Medal in 1976 and received a PhD from Birmingham University in 1977. In 1989 he left the British Antarctic Survey to take up the position of Executive Secretary of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), based in the Scott Polar Research Institute. He has now retired and takes occasional Antarctic refresher courses on cruise ships to the Antarctic Peninsula, where he lectures on a variety of Antarctic subjects.

Prof. Julian Dowdeswell is a British glaciologist and the director of the Scott Polar Research Institute. Having spent two and a half years working directly in the polar regions, he generated a wealth of research which earned him the Polar Medal in 1994 for “outstanding contributions to glacier geophysics”. His research focuses on the dynamics of large ice masses and their response to climate change. Other awards include the Founder’s Medal from the Royal Geographical Society (2008) and the International Arctic Science Committee Medal (2014). He is professor of physical geography at Cambridge University.