In the article by Hall and others (1995), a topographic correction factor (C) was developed for estimating actual land area by taking into account the effect of sloping terrain. An error that was made during image processing resulted in values of C being exaggerated. For this note, values of C for the example landscape in Glacier National Park were recalculated, and the results with and without the error are compared. It is shown that the error caused the mean value of C reported for the example landscape to be exaggerated by a factor of 2.62 times.

1997 was an important year for Russia's Northern Sea Route (NSR) in terms of foreign interest. The first full transits of the NSR by western merchant ships were made. The International Northern Sea Route Programme (INSROP) continued into phase 2 of its research projects, and planning proceeded for a European Union-sponsored demonstration voyage to the Ob' River. The nuclear icebreaker Arktika returned to Arctic operations, while two icebreakers were removed from polar service. Information about the NSR became more widely available with the distribution of an English translation of a navigation guide. Winter operations continued in the Kara Sea, albeit reduced, and a limited number of summer voyages to Russian Arctic ports originated from the Pacific rim. RADARS AT synthetic aperture radar images of sea ice along the NSR were used for the first time during several demonstration voyages.

Radiocarbon age determinations on marine shells in lateral moraines and other deposits several kms behind the present day termini of tidewater outlet glaciers from the Prince of Wales Icefield, east-central Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Arctic Canada, as well as tidewater glaciers from two nearby ice-caps, show that these glaciers have fluctuated considerably through the Holocene, both in length and in thickness. The terminus of Leffert Glacier, for which the best documentation is available, has been more than 20 km west of the position that it occupied in 1898–1899, when it was mapped for the first time. Leffert Glacier was much reduced in size for a period of several thousand years, between roughly 6450 and 1850 14C years BP. Other major outlet glaciers that have experienced significant fluctuations of their termini during the Holocene are: 1) MacMillan, Ekblaw and Tanquary glaciers in the Baird Inlet area, 2) Stygge Glacier and adjacent unnamed glaciers at the head of Jokel Fiord, 3) Benedict Glacier at the head of Sawyer Bay and 4) Parrish Glacier, the southernmost outlet glacier from the Agassiz Ice Cap. Of the glaciers investigated, only Alfred Newton Glacier, south of Cape Herschel, has surged during the period of field observation (1977 to 2009), and this glacier is now receding from the position attained in a surge which commenced in 1981. The terminus of Ekblaw Glacier, at the head of Baird Inlet, is now well forward of the position it occupied in 1950, when the first aerial photograph coverage was achieved.

Between 1898 and 1905, three American expeditions attempted to reach the geographical North Pole from the archipelago of Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa [Franz Josef Land] and each went to extraordinary and expensive lengths to stage their work. The third of these, the Ziegler polar expedition (1903–1905), led by Anthony Fiala and funded by the American baking soda tycoon William Ziegler, set up numerous camps and caches of supplies along its various expedition routes through the islands. The papers of Anton Vedoe and Ernest Leffingwell at the Rauner Special Collections Library at Dartmouth College reveal both the locations and contents of the caches Fiala ordered to be established in spring 1905, as he made his second and final attempt to reach the pole. These caches extend from the expedition base camp (Camp Abruzzi) at Bukhta Teplitsa [Teplitz Bay] on Ostrov Rudol'fa [Rudolf Island] to the main base of the preceding 1901–1902 Baldwin-Ziegler expedition (Camp Ziegler) on Ostrov Aldzher [Alger Island]. Little is known of the condition of these sites, especially the main cache site of Kane Lodge on Ostrov Grili [Greely Island]. As such, they hold the potential to provide new sources of archaeological data to study American polar ambitions at the turn of the 20th century. While these sites remain unexplored, increasing tourism in the islands necessitates informed planning and field research to establish the nature and stability of these remains so that they may be preserved and the potential effects of tourism mitigated.

Commander John P. Cheyne, R.N. (1826–1902) is a forgotten figure in the history of nineteenth-century polar exploration. A veteran of three expeditions in search of the missing Franklin expedition, his retirement was atypical of the many naval officers who had served in the Arctic. Late in 1876, after the disappointing return of the British Arctic expedition under George Strong Nares, Cheyne first announced his grand plans to reach the North Pole by balloon. He embarked on a transatlantic lecture tour in an effort to raise funds. It was a novel proposal that captured public imagination, but also drew wide criticism, and sometimes ridicule. This paper draws upon a study of primary and secondary materials: original manuscripts and correspondence, British and American newspapers and the illustrated press, souvenirs, pamphlets, and periodical reviews. This is a neglected episode in the history of polar exploration and in the history of aeronautics more generally, and it is a story of naivety and optimism, bravado and speculation. This paper examines the prevailing currents of public opinion of the value of exploration in this period, the debates surrounding new techniques of polar travel, and the changing image of the explorer. Both aeronautical pioneer and itinerant showman, Cheyne was increasingly maligned as a charlatan and lunatic. He proved unable to realise his dream of polar flight.