L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 36 L'Italo-Americano Readers warm up to "The Big Thaw" by science writer Eric Scigliano W hen sci- e n c e w r i t e r a n d P u g e t Sound resident Eric Sci- gliano was commissioned to write a book about climate change, he was excited to have the opportunity to travel to Alaska. His research would take him to a remote spot on the west coast where the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers flow into the Bering Sea, which is one of the largest deltas in the world, about the size of Louisiana. " I h a d a l r e a d y v i s i t e d r e m o t e c o r n e r s o f A l a s k a and was looking forward to t h i s n e w a d v e n t u r e , " S c i g l i a n o s a i d r e c e n t l y . " U n f o r t u n a t e l y , n o t l o n g before my trip was sched- uled, I broke my ankle and had to cancel. There was no way I was going to be able to walk on the 'vegetative tram- poline' that makes up that part of the world." D e s p i t e t h e c h a n g e o f plans, Scigliano was able to continue his research, which included interviewing the scientists and students who a r e p a r t o f t h e P o l a r i s P r o j e c t . T h i s s c i e n t i f i c team, based at Woods Hole R e s e a r c h C e n t e r i n Falmouth, Mass., spend time each year on-site in Alaska (before coronavirus halted travel), trying to determine how increased human activi- ty is sending more carbon i n t o t h e a t m o s p h e r e a n d how that might affect the earth's climate. S c i g l i a n o ' s n e w b o o k , The Big Thaw: Ancient C a r b o n , M o d e r n Science, and a Race to Save the World, recently won the 2020 Washington State Book Award for gener- al nonfiction. Published by Braided River, Scigliano's text, along with photos of t h e s t u n n i n g l a n d s c a p e , wildlife and indigenous peo- p l e s o f t h e a r e a t a k e n b y award-winning natural his- t o r y p h o t o g r a p h e r C h r i s Linder, interlace the scien- tific complexities of the story while keeping it focused on its human impact. Scigliano was surprised by the amount of attention the book has garnered. In addition to the Washington State Book Award, it also r e c e i v e d t h r e e n a t i o n a l awards for environmental writing. Calling it a "modest b o o k " a t a b o u t 2 0 , 0 0 0 words, Scigliano said it's one of the shortest books he's ever written. I n T h e B i g T h a w , Scigliano introduces readers to the Woods Hole scientific team who have been study- ing the permafrost and what l i e s b e n e a t h s i n c e 2 0 0 2 . T h i s v a s t s t o r e h o u s e o f ancient carbon, more than four times the amount found in all of the earth's forests, is releasing carbon dioxide and methane as it thaws, which in turn is altering the earth's climate. The Polaris Project scientists and students have braved swarms of mosqui- toes, eluded quicksand, and dealt with extreme tempera- tures to better understand what is going on and what we need to do to preserve the earth's delicate carbon balance. Scigliano has been report- ing on science and the envi- ronment for more than 30 y e a r s . R a i s e d i n t h e M i d w e s t , h e a r r i v e d i n Seattle in the 1970s when it was still a rough-and-tumble i n d u s t r i a l t o w n b e f o r e i t became the darling of the tech industry. He was a sci- ence writer at the University of Washington and a staff writer and editor at several newspapers and magazines. His work has appeared in N a t i o n a l G e o g r a p h i c , Discover, Harper's, and the N e w Y o r k T i m e s , a m o n g other publications. He is the author or co- author of some half-dozen books, including one that explores the relationship b e t w e e n e l e p h a n t s a n d humans, and another that looks at ocean currents and the objects that they carry. His book on artist and sculp- t o r M i c h e l a n g e l o , c a l l e d M i c h e l a n g e l o ' s Mountain, was a finalist for the Washington Book Award in 2005. The topic was a natural for Scigliano because his family comes from that region in Italy. "My grandmother would show me an old black-and- white photo of the Apuan Alps, near Carrara, and say: this is where I am from," he s a i d . " H e r f a t h e r w a s a sculptor and marble carver. These are the kinds of mem- ories that stay with you." A s h e r e s e a r c h e d Michelangelo and his art, Scigliano made several visits to Carrara, spending up to t h r e e m o n t h s a t a t i m e . "Carrara is both an industri- al city and an art town with an unbelievably rich histo- ry," he said. "I was attracted by the sheer spectacle of it a n d a l s o i t s v e r y h u m a n dimension. My cousins still work in the marble industry there and they know every- body in town." S c i g l i a n o r e a l i z e d t h a t p e r m a f r o s t a n d c l i m a t e change might not be every- o n e ' s c u p o f t e a , b u t h e a r g u e s t h e y s h o u l d b e . " P e r m a f r o s t i s n o t g l a m - orous stuff," he said, "but it's important because it covers so much of the world. It's about one-fourth of the land s u r f a c e i n t h e n o r t h e r n hemisphere. The Arctic was long thought to be stable but not anymore. It is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet." Last year, the tempera- t u r e i n N o r t h e r n S i b e r i a b r o k e 1 0 0 d e g r e e s Fahrenheit for the first time. As the soil thaws, it bends and buckles, causing dam- a g e t o h o u s e s a n d r i v e r - banks. The Polaris Project t e a m d i s c o v e r e d t h a t t h e permafrost layer is starting t o r e l e a s e i t s e s t i m a t e d 1,200 to 1,850 billion metric tons of stored carbon into the atmosphere -- roughly twice the amount of carbon already there. Although these statistics are serious, "we wanted the book to make the climate c r i s i s t a n g i b l e a n d a t t h e same time engender a sense of possibilities, not despair," said Helen Cherullo, pub- lisher of Braided River. "It was a daunting task but Eric w a s t h e i d e a l w r i t e r t o describe the scientific com- plexities of this story in clear terms, and weave it together with compelling and hopeful human stories." Inspirational as well as d o w n - t o - e a r t h , T h e B i g Thaw captures the spirit of this amazing wilderness and the dedicated scientists who are racing against the clock t o b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i t s impact on our world. Above: The cover of The Big Thaw (Photo courtesy of Braided River). Below: Natural history photographer Chris Linder battled swarms of insects and extreme temperatures in Alaska to capture stunning images for The Big Thaw (John Schade) RITA CIPALLA SEATTLE ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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