Longyearbyen, Svalbard, has become showcase of Arctic climate change. However, we know little about how these changes are dealt with locally. This article aims to fill this gap by examining climate change impacts and adaptation in a non-Indigenous “community of experts” and sets out to 1) describe observed changes and perceived societal impacts of climate change and 2) discuss adaptation measures and related understandings of adaptation. The research consists of ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with planners, engineers, architects, scientists, construction workers and local politicians. The research finds that climate change impacts the built environment in Longyearbyen, and that there is vast awareness of and concern related to these impacts. There is a substantial knowledge base for adaptation, and a special trust in scientific knowledge, skills and experts. The interview partners consider adaptation as necessary and feasible. Adaptation is understood and implemented as technical responses to physical problems, rooted in a modernist understanding of the environment as separated from humans, who can control it through technical means. This suggests a narrow understanding of adaptation that might fail to address more socially transformative processes.

The four polar years are used as windows for highlighting changes in the character of polar research over the past 125 years. The approach taken may be seen as one of an archaeology of knowledge. As such it fixes on four separate strata in the history of science and seeks to lay bare distinctive features in each of these. To simplify, the focus is selective, mainly presenting three types of aspect for each year. The first is the character of the instruments and research technologies employed in each, and the second is the kinds of problems tackled, while the third is the associated view or ideal of science that stands out. The latter aspect has to do with epistemology. The paper suggests that whereas work during the first International Polar Year (IPY) reflected an empirical inductivist philosophy of science, during the second IPY a mix of problem oriented, and hypothesis driven, approaches existed alongside inductivism. By the time of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) the theoretical foundations of polar research had grown stronger and much of the focus had shifted to larger scale geophysical processes. Finally, today's ambition to develop an integrated Earth system science reflects an ideal that is systemic, constructivist and predictive. Such epistemological features are evident in some of the most advanced forms of computer aided analysis of Arctic and Antarctic processes, as well as in visualisation methodologies used to interpret and present data, concepts, models and theories. This latest approach is evident in some of the planning and agenda setting documents generated under the auspices of the current IPY.

Alaska currently relies on the Canadian Fire Weather Index (FWI) System for the assessment of the potential for wildfire and although it provides invaluable information it is designed as a single system that does not account for the varied fuel types and drying conditions (day length, permafrost, decomposition rate, and soil type) that occur across the North American boreal forest. The FWI System is completely weather-based using noontime measurements of precipitation, relative humidity, temperature and wind speed. The most common problem observed with the FWI system is in the initialisation and need for calibration of one of the moisture codes that make up the FWI system, the Drought Code (DC), which is representative of the deeper organic soil layers and has a 53 day lag period. SAR data represent an innovative tool to improve the current weather-based fire danger system of interior Alaska by initialising the spring values of DC, calibrating the codes throughout the season and providing additional point-source data. Using radar backscatter values from several recently burned boreal forests, an algorithm was developed that related backscatter to DC. The authors then demonstrated the application and validation of this algorithm at independent test sites with good correlation to in situ soil moisture and rainfall variations.

The article considers the perceptions of Inuit in one settlement in Nunavik regarding the dynamic relations between market and subsistence economies. The socio-economic role of country foods in Inuit society are described followed by a discussion about the impacts of the Hunter Support Program (HSP) on Inuit society. A hybrid institution, the HSP buys country foods in order to give them away. Based on interviews that included Inuit purveyors to, and administrators of, the programme, the article discusses some socio-economic effects of commoditisation of country foods on subsistence economies and explores the ways in which this food moves in and out of commodity status. It is argued that these shifts are linked to conflicting notions of value. Some Inuit justify the existence of the HSP because they perceive it to be an essentially non-Inuit institution which lies outside the realm of customary socio-economic organization and thereby frees them from the need to observe those rules strictly while providing them with the income to be able to respect the requirement to share food amongst Inuit. Others express reservations about the programme because it elicits behaviours amongst Inuit that they perceive as threatening their socio-economic reproduction. It is argued that the HSP, an institution that both mimics and breaks with tradition, one which is designed to help Inuit to promote the subsistence way of life yet does so in the context of at least some components of the market, is an example of Wenzel's (2001) contention that the analytical distinction between acculturation and adaptation is not a matter of oppositions, but rather, part of a whole.

This article considers the legal and policy issues surrounding the establishment of continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles (nm) from sub-Antarctic islands. Under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) a coastal state may establish a continental shelf that extends seawards beyond 200 nm where the continental shelf continues, normally to a total distance of no more than 350 nm. To establish such an extended continental shelf (ECS) a coastal state must file a submission of delineation data with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), a technical body established by UNCLOS.

The rights of coastal states present particular difficulties in the Antarctic Treaty area (ATA), due to the general non-recognition of the seven territorial claims and the provisions of article IV of the Antarctic Treaty. Accordingly, Antarctic claimant states are generally adopting a restrained approach to the issue of ECS as appertaining to claimed territories in Antarctica in their submissions to the CLCS. These states appear to recognise that they cannot secure the normal prerogatives of a coastal state from territorial sea baselines within the ATA, at least for the duration of the present Antarctic Treaty system (ATS). A different approach is being taken with respect of sub-Antarctic islands lying north of the ATA. Sovereignty over sub-Antarctic territory north of the ATA is, with the exception of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, not contested. Accordingly, rights in relation to any continental shelf attaching to sub-Antarctic islands may be realised, apparently without challenging the Antarctic modus vivendi.

However, the ECS of several sub-Antarctic islands penetrate the ATA. In 2008, the CLCS largely endorsed the 2004 Australian submission that included data on ECS from Australia's sub-Antarctic islands of Macquarie Island and the Heard and McDonald group. The ECS from both groups penetrates south of 60°S into the ATA, in the case of Heard and McDonald covering a huge area. Although the wider dispute regarding sovereignty between the United Kingdom and Argentina adds complexity to the case, the South Sandwich Islands are sufficiently close to the ATA that their continental shelf also penetrates the area. In the event that the CLCS were ever able to make a recommendation on a submission of data relating to the South Sandwich Islands (something that could only occur with the consent of Argentina and the United Kingdom) the result would be a situation similar to that pertaining to the Australian sub-Antarctic islands.

The consequence of these developments is that rights to seabed areas within the ATA have been assigned to individual states. On the face of it, this appears to be in conflict with the norm of collective responsibility that was established by the Antarctic Treaty 50 years ago precisely to constrain sovereignty issues in the region. What is suggested by this practice is a difference in the attitude of Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties (ATCPs) to rights generated from territory within the ATA and rights generated from external territory. Nonetheless, there may be significant implications flowing from the latter for resource issues within the ATA. Minerals exploitation on sub-Antarctic extended continental shelf within the ATA is precluded in the near-term because of cost, the formal prohibition under article 7 of the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, and the fact that all sub-Antarctic coastal states are ATCPs. However the situation in regard to other resource activities is less clear. Bioprospecting could proceed subject to coastal state approval pursuant to the provisions of UNCLOS relating to marine scientific research, and there is no mandatory regulation under the ATS. The possibility that a coastal state may seek to realise rights on the ECS in relation to genetic resources may complicate collective ATS approaches and pose wider geopolitical challenges. In the longer term, the fact that some Antarctic states are presently seeking to secure rights that are essentially about ensuring their preclusive access to resources may have significant implications for strategic interests in the greater Antarctic region.

The Ukraine crisis has led to tensions between Russia and the western states and the Arctic is one of the affected regions. Regional cooperation, institutions, and international law are essential for Arctic governance, and the crisis may thus have wide-ranging consequences for high north politics. The present article develops an interest-based model of Arctic conflict spill-over and examines its strength, based on a case-study of the first 18 months of the Ukraine crisis. Three hypotheses for Arctic conflict spill-over are developed: Arctic conflict spill-over will be less severe than spill-over in other regions, the western states will be more assertive than Russia, and the smaller Arctic states will be less assertive than the larger states. A review of the crisis confirms the bulk of these hypotheses with some exceptions, thus demonstrating that an interests-based model holds some merit, while also showing that a complete understanding of Arctic conflict spill-over necessitates a broader approach. The article concludes that conflict spillover is unlikely, but not impossible, in the Arctic.

An extensive terrestrial drainage system, centred on Algae Lake in southern Bunger Hills, is described. The 25-km-long Algae River is the third longest known in Antarctica after Onyx River (Wright Valley, Victoria Land) and Druzhby River (Vestfold Hills, Queen Elizabeth Land). Algae River receives meltwater from the Antarctic ice sheet, Apfel Glacier, and ephemeral and permanent snow banks in the ice-free area of the Bunger Hills. Water flows through a series of epiglacial lakes before reaching the extensive Algae Lake, which in turn has an outlet to Transkriptsii Gulf, a largely fresh-water, tidal epishelf lake connected to the ocean under the Edisto Ice Tongue and Shackleton Ice Shelf. Total flow from Algae Lake was estimated to be greater than 1 x 107 m3 a-1 from data collected in the 1986/87 summer. Some portions of the drainage system that were flowing during the 1946/47,1985/86, 1986/87, 1994/95, 1995/96, and 1998/99 summers were not flowing during the 1999/2000 summer, indicating the variable nature of discharge in the river and emphasising that parts of the drainage network may become disconnected readily.

When policies are adopted, it seems reasonable to assume that they address a certain issue and provide means to mitigate specific problems. This seems the case with the EU's regime on trade in seal products, but it becomes evident that the goal formulation in this case is blurry and unclear. Taking animal welfare, the so-called ‘Inuit exemption’, and internal market harmonisation into account, this article examines the goals of the seal products trade regime and how they are applied. It becomes clear that the attainment of goals bears consequences that are unprecedented due to conceptual and formulation difficulties. Given the indistinct goal formulation during the policy-shaping process and the goal formulation in the policy itself, it seems fair to say that the regime does not aim to improve animal welfare standards in the commercial seal hunt, but rather aims to shut down the commercial hunt completely. This, however, affects Inuit and non-Inuit seal hunters equally and is inconsistent with secondary goals that are formulated in the EU's documents relating to the Arctic. Therefore, the seal products trade regime has consequences that challenge the EU's ambitions in the north.

The Antarctic environment is well known for its hostility (cold, isolation, and confinement). The effects of the Antarctic experience on human health are controversial, as some studies emphasise negative (‘pathogenic’) and others positive (‘salutogenic’) effects. In the process of human adaptation to extreme environments, the cognitive and behavioural strategies — defined as coping — that individuals use are a basic component.

This study investigated the use and the changes of coping strategies in nine Antarctic wintering-over expeditioners by administering the COPE questionnaire three times during the year. The results showed a composite use of the coping strategies in the group. The ways of coping, focusing on problem solving and developing personal maturity, were judged to be those most used over the period. Some variations connected with the specific environment were noticed. There was an increase in self-distancing from problems, disengaging from the socio-operational environment, procrastinating, and emotional levelling, particularly in mid-winter. This lethargic, apathetic attitude, which is called ‘freezing,’ may represent a defence against useless energy expenditure and may reduce stress response. This ‘immobilisation’ strategy, well reflected in the symptoms of the ‘winter-over syndrome,’ appears to be adaptive in an environment where the control an individual can exert is highly limited. The results seem to support the salutogenic effects of the winter-over experience.

The Canadian Arctic provides important habitat for millions of marine birds. Some key habitat sites for these have already been protected, but many others lack official protected status and remain vulnerable to various anthropogenic threats. The authors worked with the community of Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut, to create two new National Wildlife Areas that protect the colonies, and the nearby marine area, of approximately 500,000 birds during the breeding season. The process has taken two decades to complete, in part due to misunderstanding and mistrust of government on the part of aboriginal residents. In this paper the path that led to the creation of these sites is traced. This has included the approach adopted to collaborating with the local community, incorporating aboriginal (local) ecological knowledge, conducting scientific surveys while building local capacity for further scientific investigation, and finding a solution that addressed the disparate interests of the various stakeholders in this process.

Seventy years ago Fridtjof Nansen and thirteen companions drifted across the Arctic Ocean in the specially designed ship, Fram. The drift took three years because the sea ice cover governs movements of a surface ship, allowing a ship's commanding officer only an occasional freedom of choice of direction in which to move his ship. In contrast, during August 1958, the nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus, under the command of Captain W. R. Anderson, crossed the Arctic Ocean in ninety-six hours, using the open sea that lies beneath the ice. In further demonstration of the capability of submarines to sail the Arctic Ocean, the USS Skate departed from New London, Connecticut, and the USS Seadragon from Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, proceeded to the Arctic Ocean, and on 31 July 1962 met each other at a prearranged point and time underneath the sea ice.

The archipelago of Svalbard is a good example of an Arctic locale undergoing rapid changes on multiple levels. This contribution is a joint effort of three anthropologists with up-to-date ethnographic data from Svalbard (mostly Longyearbyen and Barentsburg) to frame and interpret interconnected changes. The processes impacting Svalbard are related to issues such as geopolitical interests, and increasing pressure by the Norwegian government to exercise presence and control over the territory. Our interpretations are based on a bottom-up approach, drawing on experiences living in the field. We identify three great ruptures in recent years – the avalanche of 2015, the gradual phasing out of mining enterprises and the COVID-19 pandemic – and show how they further impact, accelerate or highlight preexisting vulnerabilities in terms of socio-economic development, and environmental and climate change. We discuss the shift from coal mining to the industries of tourism, education, and research and development, and the resulting changed social and demographic structure of the settlements. Another facet is the complexity of environmental drivers of change and how they relate to the socio-economic ones. This article serves as an introductory text to the collection of articles published in Polar Record in 2021/2022 with the overarching theme “changing Svalbard”. Issues discussed range from socio-economic change and its implications for local populations including identity of place, through tourism (value creation, mediation, human–environment relations, environmental dilemmas, balancing contradictory trends), to security and risk perception, and environmental and climate change issues.

Like many great institutions, the Antarctic Treaty system has its own creation myth, according to which it was brought into being by the Antarctic science programme of the 1957–1958 International Geophysical Year (IGY). As myths are prone to do, this one combines both an important truth and a good deal of misinformation. After fifty years in which it has shamelessly flattered the earth scientists, who are understandably rather fond of it, and undervalued the many non-scientists who advocated the internationalisation of Antarctica from 1910 onwards, it is time to lay it to rest. But before summarising the intermeshing contributions of private citizens, diplomats and other officials, and scientists, we should first take note of a different factor altogether, political geography.

There are two classes of airborne tourism in Antarctica: overflights without landing, and fl ights including landing. The earliest overflight was in 1956, but there were no regular flights until 1977, when Qantas and Air New Zealand began overflights with wide-bodied aircraft. A crash on Mount Erebus in 1979 that killed 257 people drew attention to the absence of effective planning, air traffic control, and rescue services. Landings began in the South Shetland Islands in 1982, when C-130 aircraft of Fuerza Aerea de Chile brought passengers from Punta Arenas. Since 1983, tourists have been accommodated in a Chilean government hostel. Flights to the interior began in 1984 when climbers were taken to the Sentinel Range by ski-equipped aircraft. Unmodified transport aircraft have been used since 1987, making wheel landings on naturally occurring bare ice in the Heritage Range. Tourists were taken from this site to the South Pole in 1988 by smaller, ski-equipped aircraft. Owing to the lack of conventional airfields in Antarctica, the future of intercontinental operations may depend on the development of additional airfields on bare ice. There are many possible sites. Most are near the periphery of the continent but some are in high latitudes, one only 300 km from the South Pole. A few of these will allow direct flights of unmodified passenger aircraft from South America, South Africa, Australia, or New Zealand. The possibility of 300 day-trippers stepping onto the ice from a Boeing 747 raises a variety of safety and environmental concerns. The challenge to the Antarctic Treaty System will be to reconcile the interests of governments, scientists, airlines, tour operators, tourists, and environmentalists.

This article explores the character of domestic political support for the Australian Antarctic Territory and Australia's involvement in the Antarctic Treaty System, using the linked frames of bifocalism and bipartisanship. After first unpacking these concepts it explores how they have shaped the extent and form of Australia's Antarctic endeavours from the 1930s to the present day. It is argued that the analysis shows that bipartisan commitment to Australian interests in Antarctica is framed through bifocalism: first, Australian national interests are closely linked to maintenance of the Antarctic Treaty and Antarctic Treaty System, and second, presentation of these national interests is not inimical to commitments to the Antarctic Treaty and Antarctic Treaty System.

In thirteen (mostly soil) mixed samples, collected from nine localities on the Antarctic continent and some of the neighbouring islands, 788 specimens and 32 eggs of tardigrades were found. In total, five species were identified: Acutuncus antarcticus, Echiniscus jenningsi, Diphascon (D.) victoriae, Hypsibius dujardini and Ramajendas dastychi sp. nov. A. antarcticus was the most abundant (nearly 90% of all specimens) and was the prevailing taxon found in the majority of locations. R. dastychi sp. nov. is the fourth species described in the exclusively Antarctic/sub-Antarctic genus. The new species differs from all other congeners by the presence of four gibbosities on the caudo-dorsal cuticle (configuration II:2–2) and also by some morphometric characters. In this paper we also briefly discuss the taxonomy and zoogeography of the genus Ramajendas.

Radiocarbon age determinations on shells of the common mussel (Mytilus edulis) show that this species was present in central East Greenland from approximately 9500 to 5400 cal. years BP. It probably arrived first at the outer coast, at a time when the inner parts of the fjords were still occupied by glaciers. After perhaps a millennium it spread to the central fjord region where it lived for at least three millennia. The former occurrence of Mytilus edulis indicates higher sea surface temperatures than at present and more extensive fjord water, which may have been a consequence of higher summer insolation, perhaps amplified by changes in atmospheric circulation, bringing more warm air masses to the north. The timing of the Holocene thermal maximum in the lowlands of East Greenland was later than recorded in the Renland ice core. This delay was probably related to the continuing recession of the margin of the Greenland ice sheet in the early Holocene. The lingering decaying ice meant that large lowland areas were still ice covered, and other areas were cooled by the ice.

James Croll (1821–1890) was a Scottish scientist who made major, although still largely unrecognised, contributions to the theory of the effects of variations in the Earth's orbit on the global climate. He was the first to identify the importance of positive feedbacks in the climate system, especially the ice-albedo feedback, and he placed the astrochronological method on a sound footing. Croll's theory was the first to predict multiple ice ages. However, it was unable to place the end of the most recent glaciation more recently than 80,000 years ago, and as evidence accumulated throughout the 19th century for a much more recent date than this Croll's theory fell into neglect. We argue that this was particularly unfortunate since several of his key ideas were forgotten, and that this has delayed the development of the orbital theory of paleoclimate.

Several Arctic and Antarctic historic sites have now been extensively excavated and some, such as the Scott and Shackleton huts in the Ross Dependency of Antarctica, have been restored and opened to visitors. The huts of Mawson's Australian Antarctic Expedition 1911–1914, the sole expedition site of the historic age in Australian Antarctic Territory, have become a tourist attraction and the subject of controversy. One view favours bringing the main hut back to Australia for display in a museum, on the grounds that the hut is deteriorating and at present inaccessible to the Australian people: repatriation would preserve the hut and enable it to be viewed by a greater number of visitors. An alternative is to preserve the hut on site by covering it with a dome or re-cladding, replacing the timbers which have been seriously eroded, and retaining the site (but not at present the hut interior) as a tourist feature. The author argues in favour of preservation on site, retaining as much of the original fabric of the huts as possible, and proposes the formation of an informal network to exchange information among other researchers studying polar historic sites.