The establishment of the United States IGY stations at the South Pole and in Marie Byrd Land, with their subsequent annual re-supply, has involved the delivery of men and matériel by air on a scale previously unknown to Antarctic operations. “Amundsen-Scott” station at the South Pole was planned and executed entirely by air, with C-124 Globemasters of the United States Air Force air-dropping the great bulk of the required cargo tonnage, and Navy ski-equipped R4D and P2V aircraft delivering personnel and nondrop cargo. In the case of “Byrd” station, the bulk of the cargo was planned for delivery from “Little America V” by tractor train, assisted by skiequipped aircraft carrying personnel and some cargo to the station, and giving logistic support to the tractor trains. A considerable amount of matériel was also air-dropped by the C-124's, both cargo for the station and fuel for the tractor trains. In addition, a small amount of cargo was air-dropped for the setting up of the small summer station on the South Pole route (formerly “Liv Camp”, now the “Naval Auxiliary Air Facility, Beardmore Glacier”).

During the Antarctic summers of 1958–59 and 1959–60, oceanographie survey work was carried out in the Ross Sea by members of the New Zealand Oceanographic Institute from HMNZS Endeavour. Photographs of the sea bed were taken at nine of the forty-nine stations occupied, and at seven of these stations bottom samples were taken with trawls and grabs.

There has for long been discussion among Soviet geographers on the definition of various terms in Soviet usage to indicate the northern part of the USSR. Some of these terms—“the Arctic” [Arktika], “the Arctic region” [arkticheskaya oblast'], “the sub-Arctic” [subarktika], “the polar regions” [Zapolyar'ye]—are normally used to denote areas defined according to physical criteria. Such criteria are similar to those usually applied outside the USSR, such as the “10° C. July isotherm”, the “tree line”, or the “limit of continuous permafrost”, and, again as in the non-Soviet world, the terms have no generally accepted precise meaning and must be defined by each user. But in addition to these terms for natural regions, there are certain terms in predominantly economic and administrative usage: “the north” [sever], “the far north” [dal'niy sever], “the extreme north” [krayniy sever], “the northern marches” [severnyye okrainy], and “the Soviet north” [sovetskiy sever]. Some explanation of their current connotations may be helpful to those studying Soviet literature.

In 1946 the United States Weather Bureau and the Canadian Meteorological Service installed the first of the Joint Arctic Weather Stations at Resolute Bay. The network of satellite stations was extended into the Arctic archipelago in the following years on roughly a 275-mile spacing to Mould Bay, Isachsen, Eureka and Alert.

Beachcombers usually are associated with tropical islands, with hot sandy foreshores and coral reefs, backed by waving palms and jungle-clad slopes. They conjure up an atmosphere of dusky maidens and pearls and the other features of a lazy lotus land. But wherever ordered life frays out on the edges of civilization, the beachcomber makes his appearance. He likes comfort, but cheerfully accepts inconvenience provided only that he can escape a life of rules and ordered conventions: he seeks a measure of freedom far beyond the dreams of the noisy democrat. The untrammelled life that the unsocial beachcomber seeks is not impossible in Spitsbergen: true, conditions are not such as would attract lovers of warmth and comfort in every hour of existence, but a nomad's life in the Arctic has not all the discomforts that the inexperienced might believe.

Before the Eskimo economy had been much affected by the advent of whites, pack dogs were a common means of summer transport in most if not all parts of the Canadian Arctic. Among the changes which have led to less inland movement in summer are the attraction of settlements at “ship time”, the increase in bulk and weight of the average Eskimo family's personal effects, the increased reliance on bought food, the advent of boats and modern weapons, and the decline of the mainland caribou. Also, the availability of steel-shod dog sledges and the increased size of dog teams have, in some areas, made it more convenient to use a sledge in summer than to use pack dogs. However, sledge travel is not suitable for a small party of whites on a single summer trip, as a large team is needed and sufficient dogs and dog food may be difficult to obtain. We have found the use of pack dogs both convenient and economical, particularly for reconnaissance work, where freedom to spend varying amounts of time in any place along the route is a requisite. The reduction of weight of one's personal pack increases the pleasure of travelling and facilitates work along the way. We have used from one to four dogs, depending on their availability and upon the amount of dog food which can be obtained before starting and en route. Five is probably the maximum number of pack dogs that a man travelling alone would want to look after, as loading in the morning and adjusting packs during the day are time-consuming tasks.

During the thirty years since the Amery Ice Shelf was first sighted there has been a steady accumulation of information, first on the ice shelf itself and later on the interesting mountains and glacier systems which lie to its south. The ice shelf occupies the head of a large embayment consisting of Prydz Bay and Mackenzie Bay, which deeply indents the coastline of the Antarctic mainland near the borders of MacRobertson Land and Princess Elizabeth Land. An associated valley runs south from the bay, between the Prince Charles Mountains and the Mawson Escarpment, and it is occupied by one of the world's largest valley glaciers, the Lambert Glacier. (In fact, recent findings by Soviet parties suggest that the Lambert Glacier is considerably longer than the Beardmore Glacier.) The exploration, survey and subsequent mapping of the ice shelf, and the mountains and glaciers of its hinterland, by Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions in recent years has been a major contribution to Antarctic geography.

Project “Ice Skate” was initiated in 1957 to establish and support the United States drifting research stations in the Arctic Ocean, “Alpha”, and “Bravo” and later the “Alpha” replacement, “Charlie”. The purpose of the project was to provide facilities for research in geophysical phenomena as prescribed in the Arctic Ocean Study Program formulated by the United States National Committee for the International Geophysical Year, and continued under the International Geophysical Co-operation Program.

Operation “Hazen” was an IGY expedition, organized by the Canadian Defence Research Board to carry out scientific studies in the Lake Hazen area of northern Ellesmere Island, from April 1957 to August 1959. From April to August 1957, a party of six carried out glaciological, glacial-meteorological, seismic, and survey studies on Gilman Glacier, and two geologists worked out from Hazen Camp, the main station on Lake Hazen. From August 1957 to April 1958, a party of four meteorologists wintered at the base camp. The third phase, from April to August 1958, involved a continuation of the 1957 studies on Gilman Glacier, an extension of these studies to the ice cap to the north of Lake Hazen, and a co-ordinated study of the Lake Hazen basin and of other parts of northern Ellesmere Island. The latter included meteorological, geological, limnological, geomorphological, botanical, zoological and archaeological work by twelve members of the expedition stationed at the base camp. In the summer of 1959, a limited programme of glaciological, meteorological and botanical research was conducted by a small party on Gilman Glacier. During the spring and autumn re-supply operations, the expedition received support and co-operation from the Royal Canadian Air Force, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Navy, the United States Air Force, and (for a week in 1958) from a “Supercub” aircraft flown by Dr Terris Moore of Waterville, Maine.

Arctic char, long a favourite food with the Eskimos, has recently been finding a ready market throughout Canada and the United States. With the increasing concentration of Eskimo populations in settlements, and with their increasing dependence on “white man's” food and equipment, it has become essential to stimulate means of increasing cash income. It was with this in mind that the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources carried out an experimental project to introduce Arctic char to the southern market in 1958. During the season, about 1,500 lb. were shipped on ice to Montreal and Toronto by air, and were distributed to a number of the best restaurants. Its reception by customers was so enthusiastic that a repeat order for more than the original 1,500 lb. was received in a matter of days.