From Science in the Arctic to Arctic Science: A Transnational Study of Arctic Travel Narratives, 1818-1883

This thesis examines the making and communicating of knowledge about the Arctic from a transnational perspective between 1818 and the First International Polar Year in 1882-83. By examining both well-known and hitherto neglected narratives from Danish, British, and British-Canadian Arctic explorations, I show that changes in ideas about what it meant to be an authoritative observer of Arctic phenomena were linked to tensions in imperial ambitions, national identity, and international collaboration. By framing polar surveying in the broadest sense as the ordering and quantifying of nature through travel, I analyse how abstract notions of the Arctic became tangible in the nineteenth century. I am concerned with the practices of writing the Arctic experience, especially the relationship between science, and the strategies for constructing a trustworthy narrative voice. That is, I investigate the ways in which the identities of the explorers and the organizing bodies shaped the expeditions, and by extension the representation of the ventures, the explorers, and the science they produced. In doing so, I argue that the Arctic played a key role in shaping Western science, and understandings of national and imperial identities, and that travel narratives were a significant resource for communicating this knowledge. This thesis is divided into four chapters that each considers three case studies, roughly organized according to chronology. Drawing on major themes within British and Danish imperial history, Canadian studies, studies in travel writing, history of science, transnational and global history, and environmental studies, I show how perceptions of the Arctic as a field-site for the production of scientific knowledge varied according to time and place throughout the nineteenth century, and how this influenced science in the Arctic. In particular, I show the shift from early scientific practices during Arctic explorations, to a more unified Arctic science as part of the International Polar Year. What emerges is a new and interdisciplinary look at how science was produced in the Arctic, how this information was perceived by both a specialist and general reading audiences, and how this process differed depending on national and cultural contexts at different points in the nineteenth century

A frosty disagreement: John Tyndall, James David Forbes, and the early formation of the X-Club

How do glaciers move? This seemingly straightforward question provided the backdrop for a heated debate between the physicists John Tyndall (1820–1893) and James David Forbes (1809–1868) in the late 1850s and early 1860s. Forbes described the motion of glaciers as that of a viscous fluid. After visiting the Alps, Tyndall proposed an alternative theory that combined fracture and regelation. The glacial controversy ensued. Yet the debate was never simply about whether glaciers moved like honey, or if they moved by continuously breaking and re-attaching. This paper shows that the glacial controversy formed an important prelude to the strategies used by the X-Club in reforming science and establishing cultural authority. There was a central difference in the way Forbes and Tyndall presented their scientific arguments. Tyndall and his allies used the changes in the periodical press as part of their strategy for establishing and maintaining cultural and scientific authority. By contrast, Forbes and his supporters, including the North British physicists, were not as quick to make use of this new medium. This paper, therefore, examines in detail the significance of these two publishing strategies in shaping the nature and results of the glacial controversy

Mellem (post)kolonialitet og videnskab: Hinrich Rinks forskningsnetværk i Grønland og idéen om en international arktisk forskningshub

Etableringen af »International Arktisk Hub« (IAH) i 2018 markerede et markant øjeblik for både forskningen i Arktis og for forholdet mellem Danmark og Grønland. IAH er et nyt og vigtigt forskningscenter og netværk dannet i samarbejde mellem de danske og grønlandske regeringer, og dens etablering giver en rettidig lejlighed til at undersøge forholdet mellem forskningspolitik og geopolitik i den postkoloniale sammenhæng. Omkring 140 år tidligere udgav et andet netværk dedikeret til international forskning i Arktis det første bind af deres tidsskrift, Meddelelser om Grønland. På trods af den store tidsforskel,er der flere centrale ligheder mellem de to projekter. Med et udgangspunkt i dannelsen af Meddelelser om Grønland i 1879 undersøger denne artikel det historiske forhold mellem Arktisforskning og de (post-)koloniale forsøg på at etablere national og territorial kontrol over Grønland. Dette udspilles i en international videnskabelig scene, der har været formet af epistemologisk vold. På denne baggrund undersøger denne artikel, hvordan Arktisforskning både har formet og været påvirket af de historiske spændinger mellem internationalisme og nationalisme i den koloniale og postkoloniale sammenhæng

Chromosome 4q deletion syndrome: Narrowing the cardiovascular critical region to 4q32.2–q34.3

The 4q deletion syndrome is a rare chromosome deletion syndrome with a wide range of clinical phenotypes. There is limited clinical phenotype and molecular correlation for congenital heart defects (CHDs) reported so far for this region primarily because many cases are large deletions, often terminal, and because high‐resolution array has not been reported in the evaluation of this group of patients. CHDs are reported in about 60% of patients with 4q deletion syndrome, occurring in the presence or absence of dHAND deletion, implying the existence of additional genes in 4q whose dosage influences cardiac development. We report an 8‐month‐old patient with a large mid‐muscular to outlet ventricular septal defect (VSD), moderate‐sized secundum‐type atrial septal defect (ASD), thickened, dysplastic pulmonary valve with mild stenosis and moderate pulmonic regurgitation, and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Illumina CytoSNP array analysis disclosed a de novo, heterozygous, interstitial deletion of 11.6 Mb of genomic material from the long arm of chromosome 4, at 4q32.3–q34.3 (Chr4:167236114–178816031; hg18). The deleted region affects 37 RefSeq genes (hg18), including two provisional microRNA stemloops. Three genes in this region, namely TLL1 (Tolloid‐like‐1), HPGD (15‐hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase), and HAND2 (Heart and neural crest derivatives‐expressed protein 2), are known to be involved in cardiac morphogenesis. This report narrows the critical region responsible for CHDs seen in 4q deletion syndrome. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90180/1/34425_ftp.pd