Baffin Island

Field Research and High Arctic Adventure, 1961-67

Table of contents

 

Foreword by the Honourable Peter Adams
Acknowledgements

Introduction: The Context of Geographical Research in Canada’s Arctic in the 1960s
Note on Place Names

Chapter 1. Baffin Island: The Place and the Research
Chapter 2. Reconnaissance 1961: Learning about Airborne Support
Chapter 3. Building the Team and Developing Credibility
Chapter 4. Baffin 1962: Ice Mining on the Barnes Ice Cap
Chapter 5. Expanding Baffin Research and Wider Reconnaissance, 1963
Chapter 6. Initiatives and Growths in Baffin Operations, 1936–1964
Chapter 7. Glaciology in the Rockies Added to Baffin Studies, 1965
Chapter 8. Summit Experiences and East Coast Research, 1966
Chapter 9. Last Year of Baffin Island Activities by the Geographical Branch, 1966–1967
Chapter 10. Career Development of Members of the Field Team
Chapter 11. Assessment of the Scientific Result

Glaciers and Glacier Landforms
Notes
References
Appendix A: Major Publications Influenced by the Baffin Island Expeditions
Appendix B: Table of Abbreviations
Index

Description

A geographer with extensive research experience in the Canadian North, Jack D. Ives takes readers on a remarkable adventure, describing the day-to-day experiences of the field teams in the context of both contemporary Arctic research and bureaucratic decision making. Along the way, his narrative illustrates the role played by the Cold War-era Distant Early Warning Line and other northern infrastructure, the crucial importance of his pioneering aerial photography, the unpredictable nature of planes, helicopters, and radios in Arctic regions, and of course, the vast and breathtaking scenery of the North.

Awards

  • Winner, Silver Medal, Pubwest Design Awards: Historical or Biographical Book 2017

Reviews

 

This book tells the story of expeditions to central Baffin in the years from 1961 to 1967 - and what a great story it is. The events of each year are laid out in an entertaining and informative manner. We learn about the difficult negotiations over financial support back in Ottawa, the exciting (and hair-raising) trips into the field by float plane and helicopter, and the remote field camps with all their charms and challenges. .. Ives has a great knack for recounting his experiences and motivations in an entertaining and engaging manner, and the text is generously illustrated with many fabulous photographs that he took. These serve to bring the wonder and adventure of it all to life. And it really was a great adventure.

—Raymond S. Bradley, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

This book tells the story of expeditions to central Baffin in the years from 1961 to 1967 - and what a great story it is. The events of each year are laid out in an entertaining and informative manner. We learn about the difficult negotiations over financial support back in Ottawa, the exciting (and hair-raising) trips into the field by float plane and helicopter, and the remote field camps with all their charms and challenges . . . Ives has a great knack for recounting his experiences and motivations in an entertaining and engaging manner, and the text is generously illustrated with many fabulous photographs that he took. These serve to bring the wonder and adventure of it all to life. And it really was a great adventure.

—Raymond S. Bradley, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research