Climate and environmental change places a variety of different pressures on remote, indigenous Arctic communities. The sea ice is the platform on which the Inugguit culture of northwest Greenland is based and thus it is inevitable that its retreat will have implications for the indigenous notion of place and for the manner in which the Inugguit articulate their sense of belonging with respect to the natural environment. With the demise of story-telling, the traditional vehicle for knowledge transmission, and the squeeze on hunting by consumer society and the Greenland Self Rule imposed quota system, it is apparent that some younger people are now engaging with more western ontologies of place. The relationship between man and nature is for some beginning to be expressed in terms of detachment and not extension. Whilst the way the Inugguit relate to their immediate natural environment might be in flux, other social practices of belonging such as naming and visiting are unchanged and still characterise these communities. In northwest Greenland, the need to ‘belong’ remains the social imperative that it has always been and the mechanisms used to reinforce this remain intact.

The development of formal discourse about education and outreach within the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM), and the influence of major international activities in this field, are described. This study reflects on the ATCM Parties’ approach to implementing the ambition of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty Article 6.1.a, to promote the educational value of Antarctica and its environment, and examines the role of workshops and expert groups within the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes. These early initiatives, which emerged in the 1990s, were a prelude to the development and implementation of a large number of International Polar Year (IPY) education and outreach programmes. The establishment of an Antarctic Treaty System Intersessional Contact Group, and an online forum on education and outreach during the 2015 ATCM in Bulgaria, is a legacy of IPY and is the next step in fostering collaboration to engage people around the world in the importance and relevance of Antarctica to our daily lives.

Between 15 and 29 March 1987 the Labrador Ice Margin Experiment(LIMEX), a major international field experiment, took place in the Grand Banks region of the Labrador Sea, off the New found land coast. First in a series of experiments to be conducted at the southern ice margin during early spring, the period of maximum ice extent, LIMEX'87 addressed questions on physical properties of the environment and the role of remotely sensed data, particularly microwave data, in providing information for monitoring and forecasting air-sea-ice properties and dynamics.

The lipid composition of blue mussels Mytilus edulis L. living under different environmental conditions (in the intertidal zone and in aquaculture) was studied to detect origin-related differences in seasonal modifications of lipids, and their fatty acid composition in gills and digestive glands. In early May, the gills and digestive glands of intertidal mussels contained higher amounts of total lipids, chiefly phospholipids and sterols, which appear to perform a protective function as maintenance of membrane integrity. Seasonal modifications in lipid composition of both intertidal and aquaculture mussels were related to environmental factors (mainly low temperature), reproductive processes and food availability. We show that seasonal changes in membrane lipid composition of both intertidal and aquaculture mussels reflect the process of membrane lipid remodelling (namely changes in phosphatidylethanolamine proportion and in the fatty acid composition of phospholipids) required for homeoviscous adaptation in low-temperature conditions. In particular, the unsaturation index and chain fluidity index of phospholipids increased in gills and digestive glands of mussels collected in early May and in November. Similar seasonal changes in the triacylglycerol levels and its fatty acid composition were observed in gills and digestive glands of both intertidal and aquaculture mussels collected in late May and August.

The struggle between Antarctic Treaty Parties and their UN critics regarding the management of Antarctica was resumed in November 1988 when, for the sixth successive year, the United Nations discussed the 'Question of Antarctica'. This year the UN adopted two further resolutions reaffirming demands of 1987 for wider participation in the minerals negotiations, the involvement of the UN Secretary-General in Antarctic Treaty System operations, and the exclusion of South Africa from treaty meetings. The Treaty Parties seem unlikely to heed these resolutions. Reforms within the Treaty System are the most likely means of progress for the critics, althoough Australia's critique of the Minerals Convention has introduced an element of uncertainty.

The “Arctic Uchronotopias” special issue of Polar Record is an important contribution to scholarly reflection on resource extraction. The ideas, perspectives, and empirical cases that we encounter have significance for extractivism wherever it takes place, both inside and outside of the Arctic region. To see extractivism through an Arctic lens is particularly useful since it brings up many of the issues that are often at stake in extraction activities, but not always at the same time: geopolitics, transboundary relations, environmental and climate impacts, cultural and natural heritage, indigenous relations, rights issues, local and regional development, and lives and fates of communities. Above all, these papers bring out the full spectrum of issues and tensions related to ongoing major global shifts, such as the Great Acceleration and Overheating, and those transformations of which resource extraction forms a major part. The research presented in Arctic Uchronotopias demonstrates that affect and emotions have explanatory value in the geopolitics of Arctic resource extraction. It also shows that emotional and cognitive experience and wisdom carry values and properties that conventional Environmental Impact Assessments and other technologies of evaluation and decision-making can capture.

During the Second World War, both Chile and Argentina advanced sovereignty claims to the Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding sub-Antarctic islands that overlapped substantially with claims that the United Kingdom had made in 1908 and 1917. This article explores the emergence of the concept of a South American Antarctica during this period. Although, at one level, the two South American countries attempted to create a united front against the British, they actually decided to press their claims to Antarctica for different and sometimes conflicting reasons. In Argentina, nationalists connected the question of sovereignty in Antarctica with their claims to the Malvinas and with a broader struggle against a supposed British economic imperialism. In Chile, patriotic officials were less concerned with British claims to the Antarctic Peninsula and more worried about Argentina's growing interest in the region. The article concludes that a better understanding of the complex and contradictory history of the emergence of the idea of South American Antarctica during the Second World War leads to an enhanced appreciation of the subsequent development of the so-called ‘Antarctic Problem’ as it developed over the next 15 years. In order to avoid the artificiality of the term ‘Falklands (Malvinas)’, the British terms ‘Falklands’ and ‘Falkland Islands’ have been used when discussing the United Kingdom's position, and the Argentine term ‘Malvinas’ when discussing that of Argentina.

It has been argued that science diplomacy (SD) helps avoid or mitigate conflicts among stakeholders in the Arctic. Yet underlying some of these well-intended and sometimes successful initiatives is a one-sided understanding of SD. The most recent literature takes a more differentiated approach towards the means and ends of SD. It shows that international scientific interaction is shaped by the twofold logic of competition and collaboration. Instruments of SD can be meant to serve national interests, collective regional goals or global agendas. The present paper disentangles these confounding discourses of collaboration and competition based on a conceptually enhanced SD framework. It analyses Arctic strategies and two cases of Arctic SD, the Agreement on Enhancing International Arctic Scientific Cooperation and research activities on Svalbard, to reveal the mechanisms of collaboration and competition in the sphere of international science in relation to security, environment and economy. By pointing out where and how science is currently being used in the Arctic, this article provides (a) a systematic overview of the state of SD in the region and (b) a tool for policy-makers and scientists to assess what impact different facets of SD have in Arctic politics.

Svalbard in the European Arctic has a well-documented history of natural resource exploitation. Since its discovery in 1596, the archipelago has witnessed phases of commercial whaling, sealing, fur hunting and fishing. Scientists, trophy hunters and miners have also added to the depletion of wildlife. The magnitude, scale and speed of the hunt, however, remain largely unknown. This paper collates historical catch data of five selected species of game animal from published written and archaeological sources. These species include the bowhead whale, the Atlantic walrus, the polar bear, the Arctic fox and the Svalbard reindeer. The paper thereby aims to quantify the anthropogenic pressure on Svalbard's ecosystems over more than four centuries. This quantification is only moderately successful. The incomplete record prevents the use of this catch data as a suitable indicator of human-induced ecosystem change. To advance the state of knowledge, the paper recommends a return to the primary sources across international archives, libraries and museum collections, and outlines steps with which to arrive at the much needed time-depth in Svalbard historical ecology.

Monthly mean passive microwave-derived sea-ice motion maps for 36 winters (October–April) are used to examine pan-Arctic sea-ice drift speeds and patterns. The mean Arctic Ocean sea-ice motion consists of three well-known primary circulation regimes: the Beaufort Gyre (BG), transpolar drift (TPD), and a motion system from the Kara Sea (KS). The 36-year mean winter sea-ice drift pattern is used to identify the average boundaries between the circulation regimes mentioned above. Regression analyses of the ice drift speed anomalies show statistically significant positive drift speed trends in BG, TPD and KS. Non-significant trends are associated with negative trends of generally weak drift speeds north of the Canadian Arctic and over the Chukchi/East Siberian Shelf. The first three modes of Empirical Orthogonal Functions were found to explain 30.2%, 13.5% and 8.7% of the spatial variance in the mean winter ice drift patterns and highlight the large variability in the ice drift patterns.

The medieval King's Mirror describes Iceland and Greenland with a scientific accuracy that is remarkable. One of the very few exceptions is the hafgerdingar in the Greenland Sea. The term translates as ‘sea hedges,’ within which a mariner may become trapped at great peril. Many have believed that a real event was being described, although none of the proposed explanations has been totally satisfactory. The most common view currently is based on Steenstrup (1871), who explained the phenomenon as a tidal wave following a submarine earthquake. A simpler and more consistent theory is developed here: that the hafgerdingar are an optical phenomenon, specifically, a superior mirage. Such mirages, quite common in the polar regions, can produce an appearance fully consistent with the original description, as illustrated by several photographs and a computer simulation. Even the peril to seafarers has been corroborated, in the sense that such a mirage is frequently followed by a storm.

Portugal has developed an active Antarctic programme over the past decade. Here, we examine Portuguese Antarctic activity using a variety of bibliometric measures, showing that Portuguese scientific output has grown substantially faster than the field as a whole, with quality remaining broadly constant. Antarctic science made up a growing percentage of overall Portuguese research, up to 0.14% of all papers in 2016—a level comparable to many other nations with well-established research programmes. Alongside this, Portugal has increasingly engaged in policy discussions and produced policy papers for Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, some of which were based on Portuguese environmental science. The Antarctic Treaty reserves decision-making powers to ‘Consultative Parties’—those who have been recognised as demonstrating substantial research activity in the continent. Our data indicates that Portugal is currently the fourth most productive non-Consultative Party, and has similar or greater output than several Parties who have already attained consultative status—its publication record is similar to that of the Czech Republic, which became a Consultative Party in 2014. The rapid growth of Portugal's Antarctic research may make it well placed to consider attaining consultative status to the Antarctic Treaty in the near future.

Despite the global alarm caused by accelerating climate change, hydrocarbon companies are exploring and opening up new oil and gas fields all over the world, including the Arctic. With increasing attention on the Arctic, companies address the growing global environmental pressure in their public marketing in various ways. This article examines the webpages of Norwegian Equinor and Russian Gazprom & Gazprom Neft. Building on feminist discussions, I analyse the different justification strategies these fossil fuel companies working in the Arctic utilise in order to support their ongoing operations. This article concludes that in order to justify their operations in the Arctic, the Norwegian and Russian companies emphasise values based on discourses that have historically and culturally been associated with masculine practices, such as the control of nature enabled by technology. These justifications are thus reinforcing the narrative of the Arctic as a territory to be conquered and mastered. Even though the companies operate in different sociopolitical contexts, the grounds of justification are rather similar. Their biggest differences occur in their visual presentations of gender, which I argue is part of the justification. Approaching the fossil fuel industry from a feminist perspective allows questioning the dominant conceptualisations, which the justifications of Arctic hydrocarbon companies are based on.

Mankind's relationships with animals consist mainly of preying on them or selecting and controlling useful traits through domestication. The tradition of manipulating populations to conserve animals is ancient. Old laws in western Europe restricted hunting to the upper classes, and regulations have governed the killing of mammals and birds for food. Inhabitants of Britain's remote St Kilda Island, for example, lived off sea birds for 150 years, taking into account the breeding requirements and reproductive potential of several species. Marine birds provide good examples of how different patterns of animal exploitation and conservation have become established. The utilization of one such bird the Common Eider Somateria mollissima demonstrates a rare mutual dependence between man and animal.

Although more widely known as the founder of modern embryology, Karl Ernst von Baer played a special role in the investigation of the physical geography of the Russian Empire in the nineteenth century. Baer not only conducted his own scientific research in the Arctic, he was also a key supporter and organiser of other Russian expeditions to the far north. Baer carried out the first investigations of the physical geography, flora, and fauna of Novaya Zemlya, and it was due to his work that the first precise data on the climate of the Russian Arctic appeared in the scientific literature in Europe. He can also be considered the founder of geocryology, as he not only wrote the first theoretical survey on Siberian permafrost, but was the initiator and organiser of the first expedition, under the leadership of Alexander Theodor von Middendorff, that was launched with the task of studying that phenomenon in Siberia. Baer was instrumental in the restoration of the tradition of Russian Arctic exploration, which had died out at the end of the eighteenth century; it was at his initiative that the Russian Geographical Society — which later became the leader in Russian Arctic exploration — was founded in 1845.

The climate and its components (temperature and precipitation) are organised according to different spatial scales that are structured hierarchically. The aim of this paper is to explore the dependence between temperature and deterministic factors at different scales on a 10 km2 study area on the northwestern coast of Svalbard. A GIS was developed which contained three sources of information: temperature, remotely sensed imagery and digital elevation models (DEM), and derived raster data layers. The first layer, temperatures, was acquired at regularly observed temporal intervals from 53 stations. The second layer comprised remotely sensed images (aerial photography and SPOT imagery) and DEM data at 2 m and 20 m resolution, respectively. From these, a windowing procedure was applied to derive several spatial subsets of different spatial resolutions (6, 14, 30, 60, 140, and 300 m). The third layer comprised slope, aspect, and a theoretical solar radiation value derived from the DEM, and a vegetation index derived from the remotely sensed imagery. Linear regressions were then systematically conducted on the datasets, with temperature as the dependent variable, and each of the other data layers as the independent variables. By using graphical analysis, we link the correlation coefficients obtained for each factor, from the smallest spatial resolution (6 m) to the largest resolution (300 m). The results indicated that each explanatory variable and scale brings a specific contribution to changes in temperature. For example, the effect of elevation remains constant for all spatial resolutions, reflecting a quasi ‘non-scalar’ pattern of this variable. For other variables however, the effect of spatial scale can have a strong effect. In the case of solar radiation, a maximum of explanation was obtained for spatial resolutions of 14 m and 60 m; for vegetation index the optimum contribution was related to the 300 m resolution. Thus, different environment characteristics may have significant effects on changes in temperature when differences in spatial scale are taken into account.