The present study confirms that the auroras of the nightside oval population consist of two main types, namely storm and substorm aurora. Storm-type aurora, which is relatively infrequent, results from bombardment of the upper ionosphere by fast particle streams generated in the solar wind by cataclysmic solar events related to coronal mass ejections. The associated turbulent plasma that is injected into the magnetosphere produces great magnetic storms of world-wide dimensions that may last for days. In contrast, substorm aurora is a frequent (almost daily) occurrence that lasts for an hour or two around geomagnetic midnight. It is generated by the impulsive release of stored magnetospheric energy from the substorm onset region in the Earth's magnetotail and is associated with localised negative magnetic bays in the H (horizontal)-component of the Earth's magnetic field in the vicinity of the auroral oval.

In 1946 P.V. Glob published a gazetteer of Eskimo settlement sites in northeast Greenland, and this remains the most comprehensive list to date. Between 1990 and 1994, four expeditions visited a variety of locations between 72 and 75°N and recorded a significant number of new sites. In addition, some of the sites recorded by Glob were revisited, and revisions to his descriptions have been found to be necessary. This article draws attention to the limited archaeological survey work of recent years in the northeast fjords, and reviews the nomenclature used by previous authorities in describing the sites and structures of the region, in particular the so-called ‘mosaics’ or ‘children's playthings.’ It then goes on to offer revisions of some of Glob's descriptions (using Glob's numerical system), and concludes by listing and briefly describing the features of the sites recently discovered.

Since the Antarctic Treaty came into operation, Antarctic affairs have been characterised by international cooperation. The major issues of potential conflict, namely sovereignty, military activity, and mining, have now been largely removed. As a result, the remaining disagreements between parties have been resolved through consultation and negotiation. No dispute has ever found its way to judicial settlement, with most disagreements usually resolved at an early stage through ATCMs. While there is no reason to suspect that the use of consultation and negotiation will not continue, with the introduction of far more comprehensive measures for the protection of the Antarctic environment, combined with the significant increase in activity in and around the continent, there is a greater likelihood of situations occurring that clearly breach these principles or give rise to a dispute. In addition, where extensive damage to the environment has already occurred, negotiation may be limited, so that the other mechanisms for settling disputes must be instituted. The dispute procedures of the Protocol, taken almost entirely from CRAMRA, represent the most comprehensive system for the peaceful settlement of disputes arising in any Antarctic instrument to date. However, clear problems such as remedies, enforcement, and uncertainties with respect to standing and liability remain. Until these problems are resolved, all aspects of all disputes cannot be covered, and comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment specified in the Protocol will remain an objective, not a reality.

Investigations on the age and taphonomy of modern and abandoned penguin rookeries were completed in the Antarctic Peninsula region, 1992–1994. Systematic collection and identification of bones from modern rookeries of Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae), chinstrap (P. antarctica), and gentoo (P. papua) penguins indicate a bias in element preservation for humeri, furcula, femora, and tibiotarsi. More than 73% of the individuals represented by these elements are juveniles. Bones from abandoned rookeries show similar patterns that can help identify old breeding sites and the species that occupied them. Radiocarbon dates completed on 13 chinstrap and Adélie penguin bones, feathers, and eggshell fragments from five abandoned rookeries suggest that occupation of these sites occurred only during warm intervals of the Little Ice Age (AD 1500–1850). These data also provide information on the paleoecology and paleobiogeography of penguins in the Antarctic Peninsula region, which help explain modern distribution patterns and demography.

The twelfth successive UN session on the ‘Question of Antarctica,’ held at the close of 1994, saw a major change of direction. One brief session of the First Committee, followed by the General Assembly's adoption of resolution A49/80 without a vote, signified the restoration of a consensus approach towards the ‘Question of Antarctica’ for the first time since 1985. Resolution A49/80 stressed the need for Antarctic Treaty Parties (ATPs) to meet commitments undertaken at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, and particularly to continue providing the wider international community with information about Antarctic developments. The ‘Question of Antarctica’ will not be placed on the UN agenda again until 1996, thereby breaking the sequence of annual UN discussions started in 1983. On the surface, consensus was restored, but it is debatable how far the outcome represented merely a papering over of the cracks rather than the basis for an enduring solution to the problems dividing ATPs and their critics. The key point at issue remains the nature and extent of the UN's future role in Antarctic affairs, particularly as ATPs will only accept a limited UN role performed within the context of the Antarctic Treaty System.