October 23, 2023
I just read Elizabeth Rush’s new book “The Quickening” in which she reports on a research cruise to Thwaites Glacier in 2018/19. Seems the first time the thinning sea ice would let ships get anywhere close was in 2017-2020 so there was some very good data gathered in those years. We are possibly seeing this work and its findings making way into papers now. An excellent book with a great ship board narrative and good telling of the hard work in the Amundsen.
Also, a much needed feminine perspective on scientific field work and the challenges of breaking barriers in the Antarctic.
Rush also delves into the dilemma of wanting a child and rearing it in the era of climate disasters. She tells a good story there and weaves it into the discussions she had with other female scientists, their family lives and how they see the future unfolding. I reviewed her book “Rising” here a few months ago, and as in that book, she writes well and tells a good story.
