Devon Island, Canadian Arctic. (© Arctica: The Vanishing North by Sebastian Copeland, published by teNeues, www.teneues.com. Photo © 2015 Sebastian Copeland. All rights reserved.)

Photographer and explorer Sebastian Copeland travels to the ends of the Earth for his passions — literally. Through more than 10 years of polar treks, both through the Arctic and Antarctic, he has amassed not only an incredible record as an explorer, but also a stunning collection of images of the animals and environment that make up the globe's poles.

His latest collection of photographs, amassed over that time period, was recently published in the book Arctica: The Vanishing North. The publication is meant to raise awareness for climatic issues, he told weather.com.

“My work is a continuation of an advocacy effort aimed at promoting and calling out the relevance of the polar regions, both in terms of climate terms and geopolitical terms,” he said. “My brand of advocacy, if you will, is to use my tools of communication as a weapon in some respect, aimed at people's heart to raise a sensibility, to reflect an urgent path toward sustainability.”

The British/French national who now lives in Los Angeles said that he views photography as a supplement to the broad data resulting in a scientific consensus on man-made climate change.

“Photography is a great communicator,” Copeland said. “… a picture of a polar bear hanging on a piece of ice, it's symbolic … it has a way of reaching into people's hearts that scientists giving you compelling data and studies cannot somehow.”

In the past, Copeland and his exploration partner Eric McNair-Landry spent 43 days crossing the Greenland ice sheet using skis and kites and without outside support, a 2,300-kilometer crossing depicted in the documentary Across the Ice. In 2011-2012, the pair also “led the first East/West transcontinental crossing of Antarctica by skis and kites via two of its poles, setting three world records over the 4,100 kilometers/82 days expedition,” according to his website. In 2017, he will attempt an unsupported crossing from Canada to the North Pole, which he says could be the last attempt of its kind due to melting ice in the region.

More about Copeland and his work can be seen at SebastianCopeland.com. Copies of the book are available at the publisher's website, teNeues.com.

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