During the austral summer 1977–78 the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) conducted a fifth season of airborne radio echo sounding in Antarctica as part of a joint project with the US National Science Foundation Division of Polar Programs (NSF-DPP) and the Technical University of Denmark (TUD). In addition, trials were undertaken of a magnetometer installation, developed and operated, under NSF contract, by the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) of the Johns Hopkins University, USA.

A quarter of the terrestrial Acari recorded from Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands are parasitic haematophages or non-feeding phoretics associated with other larger and more mobile animals, especially sea birds and pterygote insects. Although flying sea birds are effective vectors of zoohoric mites into the region, penguins are not and merely serve as reservoir hosts. Similarly, most of the mites associated with insects were accidentally introduced by man as free-living adults that subsequently utilised a range of alien and indigenous insects as local dispersal mechanisms.

The speed with which tracks form as a result of trampling on exposed ground surfaces in Antarctica was investigated in the McMurdo Sound and Dry Valleys regions, by a simple treading experiment. Distinct tracks formed with fewer than 20 foot passes — as measured by stone cover, surface soil exposure, and track width — and they continued to develop with increasing traffic levels. Track development was rapid and most obvious on sandy gravel soils with a pebbly desert pavement, but slower and less distinct on soils with an extensive cover of surface boulders.

The persistence of human impact from ground disturbances, which occurred up to 30 years previously, when pits were dug during field science investigations, was assessed using a range of previously defined criteria. Recently disturbed sites, where some action had been taken to restore the site immediately after disturbance, showed the least overall impact. Impacts persisted longer at sites where no restoration had been undertaken, but the remaining impact varied with factors such as exposure to wind and the age of the land surface. These results demonstrate the fragility of Antarctic soil surfaces and the terrestrial environment, as well as the long time-scales for recovery of Antarctic ground-surface disturbances.

Remote sensing has provided evidence of vegetation changes in Arctic tundra that may be attributable to recent climate warming. These changes are evident from local scales as expanding shrub cover observed in aerial photos, to continental scales as greening trends based on satellite vegetation indices. One challenge in applying conventional two date, satellite change detection in tundra environments is the short growing season observation window, combined with high inter-annual variability in vegetation conditions. We present an alternative approach for investigating tundra vegetation and surface cover changes based on trend analysis of long-term (1985-present) Landsat TM/ETM+ image stacks. The Tasseled Cap brightness, greenness, and wetness indices, representing linear transformations of the optical channels, are analysed for per-pixel trends using robust linear regression. The index trends are then related to changes in fractional shrub and other vegetation covers using a regression tree classifier trained with high resolution land cover. Fractional trends can be summarised by vegetation or ecosystem type to reveal any consistent patterns. Example results are shown for a 3 000 km2 study area in northern Yukon, Canada where index and fractional changes are related to growth of vascular plants and coastal erosion.

This article studies the role of observers under both the Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy (AEPS) and the Arctic Council (AC) before the Nuuk ministerial meeting that took place in May 2011. In this meeting, the AC actors were able to find consensus on criteria for admitting new observers, an issue that has received much media attention, given that China and the European Union, for example, are queuing to become observers in the AC. It is of importance to examine the content of these recently adopted Nuuk observer rules and their potential to impact decision-making on whether the external actors can be included as observers. Moreover, this article studies how, if at all, the Nuuk observer rules might affect the position of the AC in the broader setting of circumpolar cooperation.

The ways by which contaminants in freezing ground disperse and interact with associated ecosystems is a new and challenging field of applied research that is crucial to effective assessment, monitoring, and remediation in cold regions. Three key issues have been identified as needing urgent research and development. The first concerns the development and application of meaningful environmental guidelines for cold regions. This usually means that contaminants in freezing ground per se need to be considered in their broadest context by also addressing associated ecosystems, such as the receiving marine environment. The second issue concerns developing best practice for bioremediation of seasonally frozen soils. Of particular concern are the risks, benefits, and costs of using so-called bioproducts, which may not offer substantial improvements over biostimulation of indigenous cold-adapted organisms. The third issue concerns the need for assessment and monitoring protocols and cost-effective analytical tools. In this respect the potential use of field portable instruments deserves careful consideration and on-site testing. Taken together, development of these issues during the coming years will be crucial if the science behind managing contaminants in freezing ground is to catch up with the knowledge that underpins the remediation industry elsewhere.

The Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1912–14, led by Douglas Mawson, encountered incredibly strong, persistent katabatic winds at Cape Denison and along the coastal stretches of Terre Adélie and George V land (Fig 1). The mean wind speed at Cape Denison was 19.3 ms−1 [43.2 mph] which far surpassed all previous surface wind records. The French expedition of 1950–52 to Port Martin, some 60 km west of Cape Denison, provided confirmation of extraordinary windiness of the region. ordinary windiness of the region. According to Mather and Miller (1967), the winds at coastal Terre Adélie and George V Land are about 70 per cent greater than those recorded at stations similarly located at the foot of the steep ice escarpment. Table 1 lists the mean monthly resultant winds at Cape Denison and Port Martin, along with four other coastal stations known to be influenced by katabatic winds. Included in the table is the record of Dumont d'Urville, situated along the same coastal stretch as Cape Denison and Port Martin. Despite its location on an island 5 km from the base of the ice slopes, Dumont d'Urville frequently experiences strong katabatic winds comparable to most stations located at the base of the steep coastal ice slope. Its wind record reflects the strong katabatic component along Terre Adelie and George V Land.

This paper (1) reviews the history of sealing and whaling in the Southern Ocean to illustrate how market demands combined with no or ineffective regulation of catches led to the overexploitation and near extinction of southern fur seals, southern elephant seals and all but one of the Southern Ocean populations of large whales; (2) indicates how the overexploitation and depletion of krill-eating whales led to the Krill Surplus Hypothesis, and the development of the Antarctic krill fishery and the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR); (3) points out how misinterpretation of the reference to ‘rational use’ in CCAMLR Article II(2), combined with consensus decision-making and the potential growth of markets for Antarctic krill, could lead to ineffective regulation of the krill fishery and adverse effects on the krill resource, on recovery of depleted populations of krill-dependent whales, and on other ecologically related species and populations; and (4) identifies reasonable actions that could be taken cooperatively by the International Whaling Commission and the CCAMLR Commission to minimise the risk that the krill fishery will prevent or impede recovery of depleted populations of krill-dependent whales.

In the future, data from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) will be employed to map snow in an automated environment at a resolution of 250 m to 1 km. Using Landsat thematic mapper (TM) data, an algorithm, SNOMAP, has been developed to map snow-covered area. This algorithm will be used, with appropriate modification, with MODIS data following the launch of the first Earth Observing System (EOS) platform in 1998. SNOMAP has been shown to be successful in mapping snow in a variety of areas using TM data. However, significant errors may be present in mountainous areas due to effects of topography. To increase the accuracy of mapping global snow-covered area in the future using MODIS data, digital elevation model (DEM) data have been registered to TM data for parts of Glacier National Park, Montana, so that snow cover on mountain slopes can be mapped. This paper shows that the use of DEM data registered to TM data increases the accuracy of mapping snow-covered area. Using SNOMAP on a subscene within the 14 March 1991 TM scene of northwestern Montana, 215 km2 of snow is mapped when TM data are used alone to map the snow cover. We show that about 1062 km2 of snow are actually present as measured when the TM and DEM data are registered. Approximately five times more snow is present when the effects of topography are considered for this subscene, which is in a rugged area in Glacier National Park. A simple model has been developed to determine the relationship between terrain relief and the amount of correction that must be applied to map actual snow-covered area in Glacier National Park using satellite data alone.

The Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) has conducted long-term meteorological studies over the Arctic basin and adjacent Siberian seas. Standard measurements of precipitation and snow geophysical properties were made, consistent with methods recommended by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). An extensive set of snow and precipitation data has been collected during the last 40 years and has been assembled into a digital database. These data are now kept at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and World Data Center A for Glaciology. The geophysical properties of snow and sea ice together affect the conductive, turbulent, and radiative energy exchanges between the ocean and atmosphere. The spatial and temporal variations in these exchanges have an impact on virtually all the physical processes operating across this interface. This paper describes some of the basic characteristics of these snow and precipitation data, including seasonal and interannual variability.

This article is concerned with the contemporary Antarctic and the kinds of sovereignty performances undertaken by claimant states such as Australia. Notwithstanding the entry into force of the Antarctic Treaty, claimant states have used, what this article terms, ‘treaty sovereignty’ further to entrench their sovereign rights, especially within public culture. Using Australia as a detailed example, the article considers how a range of activities including anti-whaling developments alongside contemporary public commentary has on the one hand stressed ‘sovereign rights’ and yet on the other hand, revealed a sense of anxiety and fear regarding the role of others; what one might term overall a form of ‘sovereignty watch’. In conclusion, the paper speculates on whether the treaty parties are entering an unstable phase of Antarctic co-existence precisely because of the kinds of behaviours that ‘treaty sovereignty’ encourages.

The Arctic and nearby remote areas are attracting more attention than ever before, because of their abundance of physical natural resources as well their wilderness environments which have become a major attraction for tourists. But use of land for tourism practices can lead to conflicts with other industries that utilise natural resources. Tourism in Iceland has grown rapidly in recent decades and nature and the wilderness is the main attraction. As well as being an important resource for the tourism industry, wilderness and natural areas are also very valuable for hydro–electric and geothermal power production. During the latter half of the last century several glacier–fed rivers in the highlands were dammed and hydropower plants built. Now there are plans for further exploitation of the natural resources which creates challenges and conflicts as many of the proposed power plants are located in natural areas, some of which are defined as wilderness. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the development of tourism in the Icelandic highlands and power production development and the challenges created by the changing idea of natural resources. It discusses a governmental project which is intended to solve the challenging conflicts about the use of natural areas. The project exposed the fact that the energy resources in the country are a far more limited resource than has previously been assumed. The power production industry now has to share the limited natural resources with the tourism industry. Thereby the ideas about natural resources and their utilisation are being re–defined by Icelandic society, depending on technology, global influences and other social trends.

The United States has more than 1000 individual areas of petroleum-contaminated soil at formerly used defense (FUD) sites located in cold regions. This paper investigates biotreatment systems based on exploiting naturally occurring phenomena in the rhizosphere — the soil adjacent to and influenced by plant roots. Rhizosphere-based remediation systems would be inexpensive to implement and maintain and would be applicable to remote or permafrost sites. Herein, this paper provides the rationale for using rhizosphere-based biotreatment systems and some initial results. In both laboratory and field studies, successful plant germination, plant growth, and root intrusion into and through contaminated soil are demonstrated.

Using a Captina silt loam in a 10-week laboratory study, the effects of vegetation and contamination on microbial numbers were compared. The vegetation treatments included an unvegetated control and a vegetated treatment seeded with bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum). The contamination treatments included an uncontaminated control and a treatment with 2000 mg pyrene kg-1 soil added. Microbial numbers at 10 weeks were not significantly influenced by the contaminant level of 2000 mg pyrene kg-1 soil compared to the control. However, microbial numbers were greater in the rhizosphere of the bahiagrass-vegetated soil compared to the unvegetated soil.

In a 34-week field study, total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentrations of a diesel-contaminated soil decreased significantly more in the rhizosphere+nutrient treatment compared to the control that was not vegetated or fertilized. Bacterial numbers in the field study were 287 times greater in the rhizosphere+nutrient treated soils than in the control treatments. Measurable TPH compounds in the plant tissue were insignificant. The data demonstrated that rhizosphereenhanced treatment of organic-contaminated soils can be effective in reducing soil petroleum concentrations and may be a cost-effective strategy particularly suited for treating cold-region sites where remediation options are limited by cost, remoteness of the site, and/or brevity of the treatment season.

Evidence is provided from the joint application of tephrochronology and palynology in two Icelandic locations — the island of Papey off the east coast and Seljaland in the south. The Papey study relates to vegetation change around the time of volcanic ash deposition from the eruption of Katla in 1755. This produced various hypotheses concerning volcanic impacts and land-use activities, including changes in nutrient inputs, grazing activity, and climate. Similar data have been obtained from Seljaland, where a group of farms was affected by fall-out from the 1947 eruption of Hekla. The patterns of pollen-based vegetational change were similar at both locations, enabling a fuller exploration of floristic and anthropogenic responses to ash deposition. The Seljaland data are influenced by the known removal of livestock in order to guard against the effects of fluorosis. The resultant cessation of grazing was probably responsible for much of the vegetational change apparent in the pollen record, and this represents a credible recent analogue for processes that may have taken place in Papey in 1755.

Published marine sediment core records and new information from terrestrial aeolian deposits from the surroundings of Igaliku Fjord, south Greenland, have been used for a tentative reconstruction of multi-decadal to centennial scale changes in the intensity of regional atmospheric circulation since the Medieval Warm Period. The marine data show that aeolian activity over southern Greenland was generally enhanced in the Medieval Warm Period between c. AD 900 and c. AD 1300. The preliminary data from the onshore aeolian deposits suggest that wind activity was strongest after AD 1000, reaching a peak close to AD 1300, after which atmospheric circulation intensity decreased. A comparison with the marine data shows that this decrease coincides with increased advection of Polar Water by the East Greenland Current at the beginning of the Little Ice Age. The aeolian sediment record suggests foehn wind activity displaying multi-decadal oscillations in the range of known north Atlantic climate oscillations. The intensity of erosional processes in south Greenland has previously often been attributed to farming activities initiated after AD 1000 by the Norse who disappeared a few hundred years later. Our findings suggest, however, that erosion in this area is mainly related to marked variations in wind strength.

This paper presents new census data and population estimates for penguins, blue-eyed shags, and southern giant petrels from 26 sites in the Antarctic Peninsula, collected by the Antarctic Site Inventory from 1994 to 2000. For nine sites, population data or estimates are published for the first time. The newly discovered gentoo penguin population of 215 nests at Herofna Island (63°24'S, 54°36'W) represents the easternmost location where this species has been found breeding in the Peninsula. All three pygoscelid penguins — gentoo, Adelie, and chinstrap — were found breeding at Gourdin Island (63° 12'S, 57° 18'W), the fourth known site where these species nest contiguously in the Peninsula. During the period, significant declines in nesting populations of blue-eyed shag were documented at three northwestern Peninsula locations.

A cold-tolerant fungal strain Thelebolus microsporus was investigated for the first time for its pigment and fatty acid production. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis confirmed the presence of carotenoid pigment. Gas chromatography observations showed the presence of major fatty acids: myristic acid (14:0), palmitic acid (16:0), stearic acid (18:0), heptadecanoic acid (17:0), linolenic acid (18:3) and linoleic acid (18:2). Of these, linolenic acid, a polyunsaturated fatty acid, was present in substantial quantity, suggesting that it may have a role in adapting the fungus to low Antarctic temperatures by modulating membrane fluidity. The commercial application of linolenic acid is as a food supplement for humans suffering from eczema, cardiovascular disease and diabetic neuropathy. Another fatty acid, linoleic acid, a precursor of 1-octen-3-ol, is the principal aromatic compound in most fungi and has also been documented in this strain. Screening of the fungal culture for extracellular enzyme activity for amylase, protease, lipase, chitinase and cellulase was carried out. The isolate showed maximum α-amylase activity at 20°C, suggesting effective applications as a detergent additive, in textile processing and in the food industry.

In an earlier article, tracing the development of commercial tourism in the Antarctic (Reich, 1980), I presented the currently available information on the scale and concentration of tourist activities. From this examination the broad conclusion was that over a 24-year period since tourism began, numbers of visitors landing, primarily from ships but also from aircraft, averaged less than 840 a year. Roughly three-quarters of these visits were concentrated on about nine places, all of which were occupied scientific research stations. In this paper an attempt is made, partly based on first-hand experience of a tourist cruise, to gauge the impact of sea-borne tourism. A description of the cruise precedes consideration of tourism in relation to the Antarctic Treaty. Planning issues are raised in certain recommendations on tourism adopted by the Antarctic Treaty nations, and these are examined. There are more questions than answers, partly due to lack of data, but I hope that by drawing attention to these issues further consideration will be given to them.

Arctic sea ice is currently receiving increasing attention, both in relation to technological problems associated with resources development and shipping (Walker and Penney, 1973), and to basic research questions. The polar pack ice in the Beaufort Sea, for example, is the focus of the Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment (AIDJEX) (Untersteiner, 1974), while an analysis of physical links between the characteristics of polar surfaces and climate is to be the crux of the United States contribution to the Polar Experiment (POLEX) (Weller and Bierly, 1973; National Academy of Sciences, 1974). A general discussion of sea ice, with emphasis on pack ice, has been presented recently by Wittman and Burkhart (1973), but another aspect of the sea ice regime deserving separate attention, particularly in the light of Arctic offshore oil developments, is the landfast or fast ice, ie that part of the sea ice which remains attached to the shore (see “Sea ice terminology”). This paper attempts to provide a broad picture of fast ice characteristics in the context of our field experience in the eastern Canadian Arctic.