The Mosses of Arctic Alaska; Steere, W.C
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REVIEWS 87 place does the story of the death of Toni Kurz Dr. Fisher is Professor Emeritus of History on the Eiger have in a book about Canada’s at the University of California at Los Angeles, mountains?) author of TheRussian Fur Trade,1550-1770 The photographs are beautiful in this book (University of California Press, 1943), several and it will certainly be appreciated by anyone articles having to do with the settlement and who is interested in the mountains. It is a great exploration of Siberia and northwest America, book to pick up and leaf through, but it could and a guide to the records of the have been so much more. Russian-American Company heldin the Jon W. Jones National Archives of the United States. His years of study have resulted in a publication whichwill require rethinking of many BERING’S VOYAGES WHITHER AND previously held opinions about attitudes of the WHY; RAYMOND H. FISHER;Universiry of Russian government toward exploration and Washington Press; Seattle and London; 1978; 217 settlement on the North American continent. xii pp.. maps,appendices, bibliography, index; It is disappointing that the care which the $17.95. author devoted to his scholarship is not evidenced in the printing of Bering’s Voyages, On June 4, 1741, Captain Vitus Bering in St. for this reviewer’s copy, at least, was marred Peter and Captain Aleksei Chirikov in St. Paul by having pages 180,181, 184 and 185 blank. sailed east from the Kamchatka port of This destroys the usefulness of Appendix I Avatcha. The ships became separated, but by (Bering’s Account of His First Voyage) and the time Chirikov had returned to Kamchatka Appendix I1 (Kirilov’s Memorandum on the in St. Paul and the survivors of Bering’s crew Kamchatka Expedition), and it is hoped that had struggled back to Siberian shores, both in the publisher noted and corrected this flaw in the autumn of 1741, these oflicers of the other copies. Russian Navy and their crews had William S. Hanable accomplished what is traditionally accepted as Chief of the the European discovery of Alaska. Until State of Alaska’s publication of Professor Fisher’s Bering’s Ojice of History Voyages, the two-volume work of F. A. Golder and Archaeology. (Bering’s Voyages,An Account of the Efforts of the Russiansto Determine theRelation of Asia and America, American Geographical Society Research Series No. 1, New York, 1922, THE MOSSES OF ARCTIC ALASKA; reprint Octagon Books, New York, 1%8) has STEERE,W. C.; Bryophytomm Bibliotheca 14, J. been the most authoritative English language Cramer, Postjach 48, 3301 Lehre, West Germany; treatment of the purpose and conduct of the 1978; i-x, 508pp. (DM 150, - ). 1741 voyage. Until recently, the flora of theNorth Golder’s view, shared by many, was that the American arctic was very poorly known. Not 1741 sailing was undertaken to more only was there an imperfect knowledge of the definitively answer the question “are Asia and species that were present but, in particular, America joined?”, the basis for a 1728 Bering little was known of the distribution and expedition, and one which Golder felt had not ecology of these species. Furthermore, most been answered to the satisfaction of the publications are scattered in journal articles, Russian government. many of which are hard to find or have been Fisher’s Bering’sVoyages challenges that little publicized. Books by A. E. Porsild on the position by citing evidence that the separation Canadian Arctic Archipelago, I. L. Wiggins question had been answered by the 1648 and J. H. Thomas on the Alaskan Arctic Slope, voyage of Semen Dezhnev and then examining and the superb flora by E. Hulten on Alaska with thoroughness and detail whether or not and neighbouring Temtories have gone a long the results of Dezhnev’s investigations were way to bring together knowledge on the known to those chartering Bering’s vascular plants but until thepresent book, explorations; and then, in successive chapters, similar treatments have not appeared on the “The Intended Route and Destination”, “The algae, fungi, lichens and bryophytes. Evidence from the Voyage”, “Bering’s The author, William Campbell Steere, is one Proposals”, and“The Second Kamchatka of the best known and respected botanists in Expedition: Plans and Objectives”. A final the world as evidenced by the lengthy article chapter concludes that the purpose of Bering’s on his life and work that H. Crum published in 1728 voyage was to reconnoiter the coast of The Bryologist in 1977(80: 662-694). Steere North America and thatthe purpose of the devoted part of ten field seasons from 1951 to 1741 voyage was to establish Russian 1974 to the study of Alaskan arctic bryophytes sovereignty in northwest America. with research staged from the Arctic Research 88 REVIEWS Laboratory at Barrow. Duties as Head of the ANARCTIC ATLAS: Background Informa- .New York Botanical Garden prevented the tion for Developing Marine Oilspill Coun- complete working-up of the data until after his termeasuresgenco ConsultantsLtd., Calgary, retirement in 1972. and F. F. Slaney and Company Ltd.,Calgary; The book includes an introduction, a Research and Development Division, Environmen- definition of what is meant by Arctic Alaska, a tal EmergencyBmnch, Environmental Protection discussion of thearctic environment, the Service, Ottawa; 1978; 481 pp.; No price listed. phytogeographic and physiographic provinces The purpose of this atlas is, as stated in the inthe area, the floristic elements thatare introduction, to present,under one cover, a present, remarkson how the relative abundance multidisciplinary overview of information of the species was designated, and a gazeteer which has relevance to marine oil spills in the of collecting localities. The bulk of the text, Canadian Arctic and in the Labrador Sea. It however, is devoted to an annotated catalogue was prepared by Fenco Consultants and F.F. in which each species is accompanied by a list Slaney for the Environmental Protection of speciments examined, published reports and Service of the federal government as a project comments on relative abundance, ecology and of the Arctic Marine Oil Spill Program. It is geographic distribution. Whenever possible, indicated that only a limited number of these Steere has added a dot map of the North atlases have been printed thus far, which is American distribution of the species. These perhaps not surprising considering its size. maps, in most cases, have been previously An effort has been made to present infor- published but many have been modified by the mation overthe Canadian Arctic from the addition of further dots, usually of additional Beaufort Sea to the west coast of Greenland, sites from northern Alaska. Informative and south to the Labrador Sea. Hudson Bay is nomenclature notes have been added where not treated. A loose-leaf atlas format stresses pertinent. Keys and illustrations are not map presentation with some explanatory included but, where needed, discussion and/or material inserted. Subjects covered are geology references are given to enable the reader to and petroleum development, meteorology and find this information. oceanography, ice, biology, and social. For The moss flora of Arctic Alaska totals 415 overview presentation the maps are at scale species but may reach 500 with further study. 1: 15,282,000 while more detailed regional This is astonishingly high as the area “has a information is mapped at a scale of substantially larger moss flora, in numbers of 1:2,817,000. species, than most areas of North America of In the section on geology and petroleum comparable sue in much more favorable development, 22 sheets chart the bathymetry climates, and with a greater range of over the area mentioned above. The data for physiographic and floristic zones”. This the smoothed display is largely from Canadian unusual situation is partially due to the fact Hydrographic Service sources though, sur- that much of the area was unglaciated during prisingly, data from the National Office of the Wisconsinan thus allowing the survival of a Landsand Mapping, Hungarian People’s number of species that have disjunct popula- Republic, Budapest, are used in the Foxe tions in Arctic Alaska and in the eastern Basin area. Six pages are devoted to describing United States. It is also due to the close and mapping the shoreline features, and proximity of Asia and the resultant presence of outlining implications of oil impingement upon a number of amphi-Beringian species. them. Seventeen maps show the present extent Strong features of this book are the bringing of oil and gas lease and permit blocks. An together of published information on the overview of geological basins stressing those mosses of northern Alaska plus the incorpora- withhigh potential for petroleum discovery tion of the author’s large personal collections occupies one page. Three pages are devoted to and observations and those of others who have descriptions of well drilling techniques, worked in the area. Also commendable is the offshore structures,and present shipping extent to which the author has sought out and routes. As a section I feel itis donerather incorporatedconstructive criticism from well. Some items, such as permafrost occurr- numerous outstanding bryologists. ence, and sea-bed characteristics are missing. This book is highly recommended. It should After mapping meteorological stations the be in the reference library of all whoare meteorological section charts values of mean seriously working on the flora of the arctic. air temperature and mean total precipitation for the months of January and July. Thirteen Charles D. Bird pages of graphs follow showing monthly values Dept. of Biology of mean daily minimum temperature, mean The Univ. of Calgary daily maximum temperature, monthly extreme Calgary maximum and extreme minimum temperature .