In ’Why didn't they ask Evans?’ (Turney, 2017), I draw together previously unpublished sources and new analyses of published material to cast further light on the circumstances that led to the fatal events surrounding the return of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Polar Party on the British Antarctic Expedition (BAE, 1911–1913). Of particular importance are the notes on the meeting between the Royal Geographical Society's President Lord Curzon and the widows Kathleen Scott and Oriana Wilson in April 1913, which explicitly identify Lieutenant Edward ‘Teddy’ Evans as having removed food that exceeded his allocation as a member of the Last Supporting Party (Curzon, 1913), the establishment and almost immediate closure of a ‘Committee of Enquiry’ chaired by Lord Curzon (Beaumont, 1913a, b, c; Cherry-Garrard, 1913a; Darwin, 1913; Goldie, 1913), the recognition of missing food at key depots by the returning Polar Party on the 7, 24 and 27 February 1912 (Scott, 1913a; Wilson, 1912), Evans’ anger at not being selected as a member of the Polar Party and his early departure home (Evans, 1912), the revised timeline of when Evans fell down with scurvy on the Ross Ice Shelf to apparently align with when and where the food was removed (The Advertiser, 3 April 1912, Adelaide: 10) (Cherry-Garrard, 1922; Ellis, 1969; Evans, 1912, 1913a, 1943; Lashly, 1912; Scott, 1913a, 1913b), Evans’ failure to ensure Scott's orders regarding the return of the dog sledging teams had been acted on (Cherry-Garrard, 1922; Gran, 1961; Hattersley-Smith & McGhie, 1984) and the misunderstanding amongst senior Royal Geographical Society members during Evans’ recuperation in the UK that Apsley Cherry-Garrard ‘was to meet the South Pole party, with two teams of dogs, at the foot of the [Beardmore] glacier’ (Markham, 1913). I would like to thank May (2018) for her comment and acknowledge that Edward Wilson's sketchbooks of the expedition's logistics, scientific priorities, sketches and notes on the BAE comprise entries from 1911–1912 and not solely from 1912, which Turney (2017) used to denote the year of the last entry.

Advance in science in Antarctica has been paralleled, and in many cases made possible, by the development of logistic support facilities. As early as 1959 the use of turbine-powered helicopters had been suggested for a United States programme in the Ellsworth Mountains, where the altitude and cold weather made the use of conventional piston-powered helicopters impractical. Turbine-powered helicopters were not available from the US Navy, and the use of civilian machines was turned down at the time. However, an investigation of machines suitable for polar work was conducted by the US Naval Support Force, Antarctica, and the development of the LC-130 air delivery system necessary to support helicopters in the continental interior of Antarctica continued.

In a botanical field survey of Ile de Croy, Iles Kerguelen, from 17 November to 14 December 1984, 14 of the 29 species of vascular plants known from the archipelago were recorded. None of the eight Kerguelen species of pteridophytes and no introduced species were present. Four major natural plant associations were identified. Notes are given on the habitats, distribution and ecology of each species, and comparisons are made with mainland Kerguelen and neighbouring subantarctic islands. The significance for conservation of this relatively undisturbed island is discussed.

Of the sixty-two sledge dogs helonging to the Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition, twenty-eight dogs came from Jakobshavn and Christianshåb in West Greenland, twelve from Longyearbyen in Spitsbergen and twenty two (including nine bitches) from the Falkland Islands Dependencies. The dogs from Spitsbergen had originated in Canada in 1945; those from the Falkland Islands Dependencies had been bred from dogs originally brought from Labrador in 1945 and 1946. The dogs from Spitsbergen were larger than the others, and several weighed considerably more than 50 kg. The dogs from West Greenland and the Falkland Islands Dependencies were smaller, averaging 40 to 50 kg. At the time when they were acquired by the expedition, the dogs from Spitsbergen and the Falkland Islands Dependencies were in much better condition than those from West Greenland.

An expedition of the Canada/China Dinosaur Project collected several large marine-reptile fossils on western Ellesmere Island in the summer of 1989. They were led to the area by a 1939 report that a large fossil skeleton had been seen north of Trold Fiord by a member of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police patrol in 1926. This paper examines the events of the original discovery and an unsuccessful attempt by David Haig-Thomas to locate the fossils in 1937–38. Haig-Thomas had visited the area in 1935 as a member of the Oxford University Ellesmere Land Expedition. His party had reached a fiord variously identified as Trold Fiord or Vendomc Fiord, but a study of his probable route suggests that it was neither. This inaccurate identification misled Haig-Thomas' later search. In 1989, pieces of fossil bone from a large marine reptile were collected at a site compatible with the 1939 description.

The creation of a 200-nautical mile [370-km] fishing zone in December 1976 for certain marine areas off the coast of the USSR, including Arctic waters, is a significant development for a subject which has given rise in the past to diplomatic exchanges and confrontations with foreign powers.

After unsuccessful introductions of reindeer into Canada during the early decades of this century, a herd brought from Alaska in 1935 was maintained successfully under government management (latterly under the Canadian Wildlife Service) for almost 40 years in the Mackenzie Delta region, Northwest Territories. Sold in 1974 into private ownership, the herd has since increased substantially in size; new management techniques have been developed to herd, handle and slaughter the animals. Meat, antlers in velvet and skins are the main products of a small but profitable local industry under native ownership. Currently numbering some 16 000 animals, the herd now justifies new management decisions affecting its future size and the scope of the enterprise.

Although the Arctic is emerging as a promising region for energy development and maritime transportation, navigational safety is a persistent and growing concern. What can international trade regulations do to ensure the safe transportation of natural resources on the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and the sustainable development of the Arctic region? Government support is almost inevitable for shipyards, particularly in a highly competitive market. Shipyards build large-scale vessels that navigate the Arctic Ocean. However, excessive export competition will soon lead to over-production and exportation of substandard products. Assuming that even a single incident in the NSR could have a disastrous impact on the flora and fauna of the entire Arctic region, the potential for substandard vessel use represents a significant risk and potential damage to the environment. Although the World Trade Organization (WTO) has detailed rules for this purpose with an effective dispute settlement mechanism, the history of WTO disputes has proven that WTO proceedings sometimes result in unintended consequences. As an alternative option, along with negotiations under the WTO and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), this paper suggests the possibility of a critical mass agreement to mutually allow more flexible government support for vessels only if they have superior environmental performance.

Socio-economic transformations greatly worsened the state of the Arctic regions for residents, which led to a decrease in the population due to the significant migration outflow. Using the balance of the population movement based on data from Rosstat, we estimated the intensity of migratory movement (relocation to permanent residence) and the natural movement of the population, along with the directions of incoming movement and attrition of the population to the general population dynamics in 1991–2000 in the regions of the Arctic zone of Russia. The analysis showed that the population was characterised by greater mobility compared with the population of the country as a whole. The attrition of the population was greater than the incoming population, and the regions of the Arctic zone of Russia were the donors of the population for the rest of Russia.

The thirteenth UN session on the ‘Question of Antarctica,’ held at the close of 1996, saw the reaffirmation of the consensus approach restored in 1994. One brief session of the First Committee, followed by the General Assembly's adoption of resolution A51/56 without a vote, signified the continued acceptance by UN members, including Antarctic Treaty Parties (ATPs), of the benefits of an agreed approach towards the ‘Question of Antarctica.’ Resolution A51/56, acknowledging the broader international community's interest in the continent, marked the ATPs' willingness to allow a limited UN role in Antarctica. UN members, identifying the merits of further research on environmental and scientific questions, pressed the case for a comprehensive report on the state of the Antarctic environment, as discussed at recent Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. The ‘Question of Antarctica,’ having moved from annual to biennial UN discussions in 1994, has now been put on a three-year cycle; thus, it will not be placed on the UN agenda again until the close of 1999.

Oil exploration and production in the Arctic regions has resulted in spills of petroleum and salt water in tundra ecosystems. The transportation and use of refined petroleum in Arctic regions has also led to spills, and the cleanup and ecosystem restoration in these systems can often be complicated by the existence of ice-rich soil permafrost. Compaction, removal, or tearing of the protective vegetation and organic soil can result in thermokarsting and associated changes in plant communities, which may persist for decades. Such problems led the State of Alaska to establish recovery-based clean-up regulations for spills to tundra.

A review was conducted of published literature, government agency spill files, and industry reports concerning spills of petroleum and saline water in tundra regions. A tundra spill database was created, which allows the determination of the spill frequency of refined petroleum, crude oil, and saline water. Refined-petroleum spills are more common and smaller than crude-oil and saline-water spills. Most spills are to wet tundra during winter, and winter spills are more effectively cleaned up than those in summer. In winter, snow contains most spills, frozen soil and frozen water bodies prevent much soil penetration, plants are dormant, and operation of heavy equipment is feasible on frozen ground. The use of fire to reduce the volume of petroleum spills in winter is not recommended. Heat from burning petroleum can melt snow, thaw soil, and allow the penetration of petroleum into soil.

[1214] Since the discovery of these distant and desolate islands, manyaccounts have been published respecting them. But from what source soever the information has been derived, they all concur in describing them as barren, uninhabited, and in every respect dreary.

It was our good fortune to be possessed of all the leading facts which related to them long before their existence was announced to the public; but at the particular desire of our correspondent, who was in the first vessel that ever touched on these inhospitable shores, we omitted giving it publicity until several weeks had elapsed; and it was not until some reports had found their way into the world, that our embargo was taken off. This circumstance enabled the conductor of a weekly journal to announce the existence of these distant lands to the public, just before the day of publication with us arrived. Of this incident he has readily availed himself; [1215] and in a recent number, has claimed the exclusive honour of having furnished the first public notice of this discovery.

The explorer F.G. Schwatka, a participant in the Franklin search is buried in Salem, Oregon. This note sets on record information concerning the headstone of his grave.

The Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) has provided a peaceful framework for governing the continent over many decades, in spite of seven extant territorial claims. However, its method of freezing these claims has been criticised for being short-sighted and ineffective in providing a long-term solution. This paper argues to the contrary. It undertakes a brisk analysis of different categories of alternatives: global commons, absolute sovereignty, restricted sovereignty and shared sovereignty. After dismissing each category for various reasons, it promotes the reform of the existing ATS, in which a long-term vision and modified chairmanship structure provide stronger leadership and more effective implementation. Essentially, it holds that the primary reason there is criticism of the system is because it is not functioning as well as it might be. The paper not only contends that a developed ATS is an achievable aim, but that it could eventually develop into a restricted, shared sovereignty governance framework. That form of governance, which would emerge over time, could be a more durable solution that resolves the competing territorial claims. In this way, the paper charts a potential pathway for the future of Antarctic governance. This path begins, however, with a reformed ATS.