The preceding article by Mr Seligman has broken the ground for a review of what is known about the nature of friction on sledge runners, which is so vital an element in polar travel.

The 1978 Cambridge Spitsbergen Expedition was organized along similar lines to those of previous years by C. A. G. Pickton and was in the field from late June to mid-August. Expedition members were: W. B. Harland (leader), C. A. G. Pickton, I. J. Fairchild, P. F. Rawson, M. J. Hambrey and P. Waddams (geologists); T. H. Druitt, J. H. Barne and D. A. Waldron (geological assistants); R. Davies (engineer); N. Cox and J. Caner (boat captains).

For residents of Finnish Lapland, snow frames outdoor and indoor activities during the entire year, both in its presence and in its absence. This article focuses on people’s social and aesthetic perspectives on what is commonly referred to as “snow work”, lumityö. In ethnographic tradition, the aim is to understand “doing living with snow” in contemporary urban society – with snow that falls and, unlike other forms of precipitation, stays around for many months to come, thus creating physical, mouldable obstacles that have mental, social and environmental consequences. The shovelling of snow is considered an important physical activity that allows people to practice their individual expert knowledge and lets them socialise during long annual periods of potential isolation. Hence, apart from its restricting features, snow and ice enhance the meaning of homeowners’ dwelling in the open. In this context, aesthetic and creative concepts are essential where they draw on people’s gardening and artistic skills, and bring satisfaction to those engaging with this mundane and unavoidable activity.

This account of an Arctic whaling voyage made in 1894 was discovered among the papers of the late W. S. Bruce, in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh. Bruce and the author, a sailor named Redgrave, had sailed together in the Balaena during the cruise of the Dundee whalers to the Antarctic in 1892–93. Redgrave probably wrote the account at Brace's request.

Although the principles of water supply and sewage disposal in the north of Canada are the same as those for more temperate regions, the physical features of the installations often vary with the influence of low temperature and permafrost. These not only create technical problems of design but, when coupled with the relative isolation of most northern sites, they also introduce serious economic considerations. Operating costs as well as initial construction costs are higher, making facilities of the kind normally provided too expensive for many people.

In 1902, the Norwegian Professor Kristian Birkeland organised an expedition to the Arctic for studies of the aurora borealis, terrestrial magnetism and cirrus clouds. He established four stations at different locations—northern Norway, Iceland, Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya—all equipped with a similar set of scientific instruments. Using an extended concept of a scientific instrument, it is shown here that not only the instruments themselves, but also the external equipment, buildings and camp-facilities, as well as the manual work performed by the expedition members all played a role in obtaining the final results. Further, it is shown that Birkeland's efforts in organising and funding the expedition can be seen as an instrument-making operation.

In the heroic age of Antarctic exploration—the first 15 or so years of this century (Hayes 1932)—scientific investigations took second place, at least in the public eye, to geographical exploration and its offshoot, the race to the South Pole. Nevertheless important geological discoveries were made and the basic framework of Antarctic geology was mapped out. This article describes briefly the geological work and the geologists of the expeditions that explored Victoria Land between 1900 and 1912, with a note on the significance of the geological specimens found with the bodies of Scott, Wilson and Bowers in 1912.

Petty Officer Evans was the first member of Captain Scott's party to die during the return journey from the South Pole in January-March 1912. His death has been ascribed to a combination of scurvy and exhaustion. This paper re-examines the evidence provided by Scott's and Wilson's diaries, and concludes that the primary cause of his death was anthrax, contracted from contact with the expedition ponies or their equipment.

A group of 17 Norwegian sealers died in Svenskhuset, the Swedish House at Kapp Thordsen, Spitsbergen during the winter and spring of 1872–1873. The Swedish House was built by a mining company, but was left deserted as there were poor prospects for mining in the area. The house was well stocked with food, fuel and hunting gear. The death of these men has been a mystery for 135 years although the usual interpretation has been that they died from scurvy. In an effort to challenge this historical diagnosis, the authors applied for permission to open the graves to sample the bone for lead analysis, and, if possible, to examine the skeletons for evidence of scurvy. This was granted. No objective signs of scurvy were found. The level of lead in bone, however, was very high, indicating that lead poisoning very probably played a part in the tragedy. This article reveals the historical facts behind the tragedy, the excavation of the sealers’ graves in 2008, and presents a discussion of the medical evidence.

Wintering in the Antarctic has long been known to have at best a lethargic effect and at worst an occasional psychopathological effect. A review of journal entries, laboratory studies, independent observations, clinical reports and specific experimental projects shows some discrepancies about the type of impairment reported. The suggestion is that the results from various data gathering domains should be integrated, rather than offset against each other, and that climatic severity data be obtained. Then a fresh attempt should be made to resolve the matter by developing techniques for monitoring the customary levels of performance of subjects instead of those from specific testing sessions. Present indications are that wintering produces a hibernating effect — a generalised lowering of sensory/motor reactions that is appropriate for the geographical and psycho-sociological circumstances.

The name for the Polar Record Glacier was approved in February 1952. At that time, the glacier was reported to possess an ice tongue that flowed into Sandefjord Ice Bay. In autumn 2000, AVHRR images were examined to assess whether the Polar Record ice tongue was still extant. It was found that there is an ice feature currently about 15 miles in length at the end of the glacier, although its orientation has changed since it was first surveyed in 1947. A fissure indicates that the tongue has calved to form an iceberg that is probably grounded.

This article is based on studies of existing, rather limited, reports on health and disease among the Lapp population, and on my personal experience during 16 years of ‘front-line’ health work (1945–61) in northernmost Sweden. My work in Jukkasjärvi, Norrbotten county, some 300 km north of the Arctic Circle in the heartland of the Lapp world, provided daily contacts with Lapps and their problems; extensive travel and official field visits to camps and settlements helped to give me detailed knowledge of social and health conditions among the Lapp population.