Exploring Greenland [electronic resource] : Cold War Science and Technology on Ice /
Doel, Ronald E.editor.
Harper, Kristine C.editor.
Heymann, Matthias.editor.
Using newly declassified documents, this book explores why U.S. military leaders after World War II sought to monitor the far north and understand the physical environment of Greenland, a crucial territory of Denmark. It reveals a fascinating yet little-known realm of Cold War intrigue and a delicate diplomatic duet between a smaller state and a superpower amid a time of intense global pressures. Written by scholars in Denmark and the United States, this book explores many compelling topics. What led to the creation of the U.S. Thule Air Base in Greenland, one of the world’s largest, and why did the U.S. build a nuclear-powered city under Greenland’s ice cap? How did Danish concern about sovereignty shape scientific research programs in Greenland? Also explored here: why did Denmark’s most famous scientist, Inge Lehmann, became involved in research in Greenland, and what international reverberations resulted from the crash of a U.S. B-52 bomber carrying four nuclear weapons near Thule in January 1968?
Description based upon print version of record.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
.Introduction Exploring Greenland’s Secrets: Science, Technology, Diplomacy, and Cold War Planning in Global Contexts Ronald E. Doel, Kristine C. Harper, Matthias Heymann -- .Part One Arctic Challenges in the Cold War -- .Chapter 1 Defending the North American Continent: Why the Physical Environmental Sciences Mattered in Cold War Greenland Ronald E. Doel -- .Chapter 2 Small state preoccupations: science and technology in the pursuit of modernization, security, and sovereignty in Greenland Kristian Hvidtfelt Nielsen -- .Part Two Controlling Hostile Environments: Geophysical Research in Greenland -- .Chapter 3 Searching for Control: Weather Stations and Data in the Early Cold War Matthias Heymann -- .Chapter 4 Security and the nation: Glaciology in Early Cold War Greenland Janet Martin-Nielsen -- .Chapter 5 Failed Geologies: Danish and American Agendas for the Geological Investigation of Greenland, 1946-1960 Christopher Jacob Ries -- .Chapter 6 Battling the Aurora Borealis: The Transnational Coproduction of Ionospheric Research in Early Cold War Greenland Henrik Knudsen -- .Chapter 7 Danish Seismic Research in Relation to American Nuclear Detection Efforts Anne Lif Lund Jacobsen -- .Part ThreeUsing newly declassified documents, this book explores why U.S. military leaders after World War II sought to monitor the far north and understand the physical environment of Greenland, a crucial territory of Denmark. It reveals a fascinating yet little-known realm of Cold War intrigue and a delicate diplomatic duet between a smaller state and a superpower amid a time of intense global pressures. Written by scholars in Denmark and the United States, this book explores many compelling topics. What led to the creation of the U.S. Thule Air Base in Greenland, one of the world’s largest, and why did the U.S. build a nuclear-powered city under Greenland’s ice cap? How did Danish concern about sovereignty shape scientific research programs in Greenland? Also explored here: why did Denmark’s most famous scientist, Inge Lehmann, became involved in research in Greenland, and what international reverberations resulted from the crash of a U.S. B-52 bomber carrying four nuclear weapons near Thule in January 1968?
History, Modern.
United States—History.
History.
Historical geology.
Modern History.
US History.
History of Science.
Historical Geology.