In July 1992 two aerial surveys were conducted to assess the size of the walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) population at haul-out sites reported on the northwest coast of Spitsbergen and on Moffen. Walrus have been extensively hunted in Svalbard during the past 350 years, and in 1952 concern about decreasing stocks caused the Norwegian government to pass a law protecting the animals from hunting. At the time of the survey, it is likely that the walrus would have been at some stage of the moult, and it is tentatively suggested that the physiological changes reported to take place during moulting can cause lethargy and sluggishness that may make walrus less susceptible to disturbance by engine noise. Thirty-seven walrus were counted on the survey around Moffen, and three walrus on the northwest coast of Spitsbergen three days later.

In Canada's Northwest Territories native peoples constitute the majority of the population, a unique situation which has recently had significant repercussions, national as well as regional, and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Native peoples are already playing an increasingly important role politically and economically in the Territories, currently illustrated by a proposed restructuring of the northern political map of Canada. Resolution of Comprehensive Land Claims with the Government of Canada will provide them with a major role in resource development and in policy governing it. At the time that many native peoples are entering into more active participation in modern society, renewed interest that others are showing in aspects of traditional culture creates at least a potential source of friction among them.

The first Finnish expedition to the Antarctic, made in 1988–89, included five men. The second, a year later, included 57, mostly researchers. Accidents that occurred during the expeditions were recorded by a medical doctor and their incidence rate and severity were estimated. The few accidents that occurred did not cause disability. Some 20 risk factors were evaluated from two questionnaires filled out during the journeys to and from Antarctica, using a scale from extremely safe to extremely unsafe. Working conditions were judged safer than had been expected, as were weather factors (wind, temperature, ice and snow circumstances). The most dangerous items identified, in order of importance, were moving along unmarked routes, weariness, unexpected dangers, hurry and tight schedules, and snow and ice. During the homeward journey, equipment for communication and for moving as well as personal equipment were judged more dangerous than had been expected in advance. Preparations for future expeditions should give more attention to these factors.

Peary Land, the northernmost part of Greenland, was until recently among the least known regions of the globe. The coasts are barred by a broad belt of virtually impenetrable pack ice, and the only means of reaching the area in, former times was by dog sledge. The development of air transport in recent years has, however, made possible a more thorough investigation of this remote land.

The deep eastern Arctic basin between the Lomonosov Ridge and the Eurasian continental margin differs from other ocean basins in the very slow spreading of its floor and unusual depositional environment under perennial sea-ice cover. The recent expedition ARK IV/3 of RV Polar stern for the first time made geoscientific investigations from the northern margin of the Barents Sea north to the Nansen-Gakkel Ridge. Much deeper than most other mid-ocean ridges, this ridge is poorly-surveyed, but has a central valley which in places is deeper than 5.5 km, 1–1.5 km below the basin floors on either side. Heat flow in the central part of the valley is very rapid; both basement rocks and overlying sediments showed unexpectedly the influence of intense and long-term hydrothermal activity. The sediments on the northern and southern flanks of the ridge are slightly calcareous pelagic mud layers alternating with carbonate-free horizons, where up to 40% of the sedimentary section is soft mud clasts. Similar mud aggregates were observed on the surface of the multi-year sea ice, appearing to represent a special type of sediment transport by sea ice in the Transpolar Drift. In contrast to the western Arctic, Fram Strait and the Norwegian-Greenland Sea, gravel is rarely found in sediment cores. Recovered cores indicate that icebergs and sea ice carrying coarse sediment seldom rafted detritus to the study area during the last approximately 300,000 years.

In 1897–98 I went to lies Kerguelen on a sealing expedition in the sealer Edward, returning to London later in 1898. It was through this that I learned that Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink was in London preparing an Antarctic expedition. He had served as an ordinary seaman in Antarctic in 1894–95 when H. J. Bull made a voyage to the Ross Sea, making the first landing in Victoria Land.

The old Norwegian text known as Konungs skuggsjá (The King's Mirror), hereafter abbreviated KS, is I believe the most significant early European vernacular document for northern research. This opinion was explicitly stated by Nansen, (1911, 2: 242):

We regret that, in our review Pôle Nord: Histoire de sa conquête et problèmes contremporains de navigation maritime et aérienne (Polar Record 24 (149): 141), the name of one of the authors, J. Malaurie, was mis-spelt.

For nearly two centuries Den Kongelige Grønlandske Handel (Royal Greenland Trade Department, or RGTD) has been responsible not only for transportation and supply in Greenland but also for the general development of production and of natural resources there. Before 1774, various private and chartered companies had been organized to supply Greenland and develop its natural resources, but they all failed because of the difficulties of operating in the Arctic. It then became evident that development of these regions would seldom, if ever, be profitable. It was also felt, however, that the economic well-being of the people could not be neglected, and consequently RGTD was established and vested with the responsibility of developing the country. This principle has remained unchanged throughout the years although Greenland has since achieved full and equal rights as a province of Denmark.

At least four littoral countries have Arctic strategies that address energy issues. However, US, Canada, Russia and Norway strategies up to 2020 and beyond, reveal different interests in exploring Arctic resources. While Arctic oil and gas are of strategic importance to Russia and to Norway, Canada and the US seem content with continuing their current extraction predominantly south of the Arctic Circle. Despite the different approaches, the outcomes seem strangely similar. Indeed, despite the hype concerning the Arctic in the last decade, and for very diverse reasons, it is unlikely that any of these four countries will increase hydrocarbon production in the Arctic during the period under analysis. This was true even before the recent drop in oil prices. For all its potential, it is unclear what lies ahead for the region.