The Irving-Scholander legacy in polar physiology

Abstract

The pioneer arctic and cold environment studies of Laurence Irving and Per Scholander, undertaken during the middle decades of the 20th century, have had a wide ranging and major influence on the direction and character of experimental research on polar species. Their investigations included comparative studies of metabolism, insulation, and acclimatization of mammals and birds in arctic Alaska and the tropics. Freezing, supercooling, and antifreeze research included fishes, insects, and plants. They examined the special problems of cooling in appendages of mammals and birds and the potential for acclimatization of these structures by repeated cold exposure. Studies of cold exposure in human populations considered possible adaptive reactions. Their research on diving mammals opened a vast new area for studies with attention to asphyxial tolerance and temperature regulation. A lesser-known accomplishment was an innovative approach to recovery of ancient atmospheric gases from polar ice fields, an approach that was stimulated by original investigations of frozen insect larvae and gas permeability through ice.