Marine Algae of Greenland. 2022. illus. 202 p. 4to. Hardcover. - English translation of the Danish edition from 2011, with updated nomenclature.

The aim of this book is to inspire and contribute to the general knowledge of Greenland’s seaweeds. It is intended for use by specialists as well as by persons who just consider seaweeds fascinating.

Seaweeds are not just smelly stuff on the beach. Seaweeds have an aesthetics of their own, and great care has been done to show the beauty of seaweeds in the present book, which is illustrated by numerous photos and by line drawings prepared by of Claus Rye Schierbeck.

The long coastline of Greenland is the home of around two hundred species of seaweeds. The Seaweeds of Greenland brings the reader into the world of this ‘blue biomass’ a field that has received much attention in recent years, due to the many possibilities of using seaweeds: for human consumption (the Nordic Kitchen), for animal feed, bioethanol, biodiesel and for medicinal purposes. It is therefore important to be able to attach a name to the different species.

The Seaweeds of Greenland contains descriptions of each species as well as illustrations and keys for identification. The different types of coastal vegetation are described and factors responsible for their development are discussed: the moving ice, the wave action, etc. The book was scientifically up to date when the Danish version was published in 2011 and care has been taken to bring the names of the algae up to 2022 level in the English edition.

Poul Møller Pedersen’s main love was the brown algae, and the chapter on the brown algae takes up around one third of the book, as much as the green algae and red algae combined, these latter being less numerous along the Greenland coasts.

The ecology and reproduction potential of the seaweeds are important parameters for Greenland and Danish decision makers, and the book aims to provide information on these aspects. When known! It is striking that although Greenland seaweeds have been collected and studied for over 200 years, our knowledge of many species is still very incomplete, and numerous research projects are waiting to be addressed, especially on the life cycle of the different species, the ecology of Greenland strains, etc, etc.