In much of the boreal forests, snow covers the ground for half of the year. Since these boreal forests comprise approximately 15% of the land normally covered by snow during the winter and upwards of 40% of the land surface normally snow-covered during the spring and autumn, reliable measures of snow cover and snow mass are required for improved energy-balance and water-balance estimates. In this study, results from snow-depth climatological data (SDC), passive microwave satellite data, and output from general circulation models (GCMs) have been intercompared for the boreal forests of both North America and Eurasia. In Eurasia, during the winter months, snowmass estimates from these data sets correspond rather well; however, in North America, the passive microwave estimates are smaller than the estimates from the climatological data and the modeled data. The underestimation results primarily from the effects of vegetation on the microwave signal. The reason why the underestimation is a bigger problem in North America than in Eurasia is likely due to the use of global microwave algorithms that have not accounted for regional differences in the size of snow grains. The GCMs generally produce too much snow in the spring season. This is a result of the models having moisture amounts that are greater and temperatures that are slightly lower than observed, in the late winter and early spring periods. The models compare more favorably with the SDC in the Eurasian boreal forest than in the forests of North America during the winter season. However, in the spring, the model results for the North America boreal forest are in better agreement with the SDC than are the forests of Eurasia.

By the early 1840s photographers were travelling widely to obtain photographic images of remote and interesting areas. Attempts at photography in the Arctic lagged slightly at the start, but these attempts were no less determined than elsewhere, despite the additional problems that the Arctic environment presented. The first Arctic expedition on which photographic equipment is believed to have been taken was Sir John Franklin's ill-fated expedition of 1845–1848. However, the first Arctic expedition from which photographic images have survived was Sir Edward Belcher's expedition (1852–1854) in search of the missing Franklin expedition; these were calotypes taken by Dr William Domville of HMS Resolute in West Greenland in the spring of 1852, and by Captain Francis Leopold McClintock of HMS Intrepid at Beechey Island in August 1854. This article examines all the expeditions that are believed to have attempted photography in the Arctic from the Franklin expedition to the British Arctic Expedition of 1875–1876, in terms of their equipment, problems, and degree of success. During this period, Arctic expeditions were sufficiently innovative to utilize the latest available technology, and, in many cases, successful results were achieved under difficult circumstances. The results of these early efforts at photography in the Arctic provide an extremely valuable record of the exploration vessels, crews, and equipment, and of Greenlanders and Greenland settlements.

In 1911 the Northern Party of Robert Falcon Scott's British Antarctic expedition (1910–1913), built a wooden hut at Cape Adare, a locality notorious for gusting, high-velocity winds. During the expedition, the hut suffered superficial damage from 18 storms estimated at force 11–12 on the Beaufort scale. Since then, storms during the intervening 84 years have virtually destroyed the hut. This paper outlines the wind and storm events recorded at Cape Adare and suggests that the topography of the Adare Peninsula forces the strong southeast wind to change to an eastsoutheast wind only on meeting high ground. By the time it reaches Ridley Beach, it assumes the character of a highvelocity katabatic wind. It is suggested that at Cape Adare topographically reinforced winds are largely responsible for the destruction of the historic hut. The reasons for this and a possible history of hut destruction is given.

The record of Parliamentary proceedings relating to the Franklin search covers the period 1848–1863. The main subject of discussion was the need for the government to mount search expeditions, while topics such as rewards for successful expeditions and the question of the provision of monuments to Sir John Franklin also occupied Parliamentary time. Interest in the matter among Members of Parliament crossed party boundaries. Most of the activity was in the House of Commons rather than in the House of Lords, because the former House had control of expenditure. A further reason was that the government was more exposed to questioning in the House of Commons, because, for most of the period, the First Lord of the Admiralty was a member of that House. Lady Franklin also had a wider range of acquaintance in the House of Commons and was able to conduct a lobbying campaign using it as a medium.

Orographic clouds over north Victoria Land, East Antarctica, have been observed in Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite imagery. These occasional clouds are discussed through analysis of their spectral features in AVHRR data. Temporal occurrence, spatial extension, and direction of the clouds are also discussed in relation to meteorological data for two periods characterised by katabatic winds, in December 1992 and January 1993.

The three voyages to Baffin Island under the command of Martin Frobisher (1576, 1577, and 1578) constituted the first recorded European expeditions to the area. Their original aim—the discovery of a northwest route to ‘Cathay,’ the ill-understood far east—was one manifestation of a broader English attempt to challenge the commercial ascendancy of Spain and Portugal whilst avoiding political confrontation with those powers. This latter imperative made it necessary for the search to be conducted in relatively high latitudes, corollaries of which were the growth of English experience of Arctic and sub-Arctic conditions, and the development of a body of literature, both technical and popular, to record the lessons of these endeavours. Utilising the relative abundance of contemporary evidence on the events of Frobisher's 1578 voyage—the largest expedition to Baffin Island prior to the present century—this paper notes and examines the responses of English mariners to these climatic conditions.

Despite the harshness of the weather, the winter months on Spitsbergen provide good opportunities for auroral observing. December is usually the cloudiest month, but it also has many short-lived periods of post-cyclonic clearing of excellent clarity. January, however, is the most favourable month, with long periods of clear, dark skies due to the dominance of anticyclonic systems over the polar cap. February is also a very good month from the meteorological point of view, but observing opportunities are much more restricted by increasing twilight, especially in the latter half of the month. The most frequently observed types of aurora are patchy prenoon aurora, noontime or cusp aurora, discrete postnoon arcs, discrete polar-cap aurora, and substorm aurora. Diffuse polar-cap (polar glow) aurora and storm-type aurora are also seen occasionally but only at times of great geomagnetic disturbance.

Glacial Crooked Lake was an ice-dammed impoundment in Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica, that had a volume of (250 ± 45) × 10 m. The impoundment is inferred to have existed during deglaciation following the Late Holocene Chelnok Advance of Sørsdal Glacier. The dam released water incrementally, allowing the formation of four major series of shorelines with a maximum height of 24 m above the current lake level of 22 m asl. Water from Glacial Crooked Lake overflowed into Watts Lake downstream, allowing saltwater there to mix, dilute, and be transported to the sea via Ellis Rapids. In this way water in Watts Lake became fresh, and alluvial fans consisting of cobbles and boulders formed below Crooked Lake and Ellis Rapids.

Scurvy was a long-recognised problem amongst sailors, the cure and prevention ofwhich is sometimes incorrectly accredited to James Lind in the mid-eighteenth century. However, the therapeutic value of many antiscorbutic foods was discovered long before Lind's treatise on the scurvy was published in 1753, and problems with the deficiency continued well into the twentieth century. Through an examination of early Arctic exploration (1585–1632), the incidence and practical knowledge of this much-feared condition are analyzed. During this half century, knowledge of scurvy was far from complete, as is revealed in the journals of a number of voyages that set out in search of the Northwest Passage. From the careful reading of these journals many questions about the incidence of scurvy in the early exploration of the Canadian Arctic can be addressed.

The South African state has never made a formal claim to the Antarctic continent. In the inter-war period, the South African government prepared a number of memorandums and discussion papers on the subject of a ‘South African sector in the Antarctic.’ This paper not only critically interprets those government papers, but, more importantly, assesses the reasons why South Africa never made a formal claim. It is suggested that relations with Britain and the Empire, as well as the activities of Norway and the United States, were crucial determining factors. Finally, the implications for later South African involvement in the South Atlantic and the Antarctic Treaty System are briefly considered.

During the past decade, most publications on Antarctic politics and law have concentrated upon broader developments at the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) level. Less attention has been devoted to the nature of national interests in Antarctica and ways of balancing different policy objectives through time. Canada, though failing to accede to the Antarctic Treaty until 1988, offers a useful case study illuminating the broad range of interests influencing the policy of individual governments toward Antarctica, and particularly the reasons why states lacking clear national interests therein participate in the ATS. For Canada, Antarctica has always been viewed principally from an Arctic perspective. The resulting low priority of Antarctica explains Canada's initial non-involvement in the ATS. However, by the late 1980s, accession to the Antarctic Treaty was deemed desirable on policy grounds, even if Canada assumed only alow key role in the ATS, at least until 1994–1995, when the appointment of an Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs was apparently followed by a more active bi-polar strategy.

Arctic pollution has become a focus of attention as a result of the admission byRussia of former indiscriminate dumping of radioactive waste in the Kara Sea; thus, radionuclides in the Arctic Basin have become a major cause for concern. Evidence for the bioaccumulation of toxic contaminants such as organochlorines, PCBs, and heavy metals in the Arctic food webwould seem to raise questions about this issue, there being little evidence of significant levels of radionuclide contamination in higher orders of the chain. However, there is growing evidence of a major influx of toxic material into the Arctic Basin, from riverine input and atmospheric deposition, which is transported to biologically active melt fronts. This suggests thatthe serious polluting of the Arctic Basin, combined with bioaccumulation processes, particularly for organochlorines and trace metals, is a major cause for concern. There is, then, a requirement for an overview of current information on Arctic pollutants, with a consideration of source, transport, and accumulation processes, in order to be able to apply some perspective to the situation, to quantify and qualify the problems, and to suggest appropriate actions.

Breeding activity of pairs of south polar skuas (Catharacta maccormicki) in the eastern Larsemann Hills, Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica, was recorded in five of six austral summers between 1988 and 1994. More detailed observations of breeding success were made in the 1989/90 and 1993/94 summers. Although relatively few skuas nest in the study area, data suggest that there was inter-annual variation in numbers and locations of territories and chicks fledged. This variation is discussed in relation to increased human activities in the area (development of a summer base and more permanent stations) and to an enhanced access to human-derived foods. It is concluded that there has been some human impact on this species in the Larsemann Hills.

The open-system pingos of Spitsbergen are formed outside terminal moraines, fault zones, and delta areas. Pingos in this study area were located near the shore in active geologic uplift areas. Three open-system pingos in the Adventdalen delta area of Spitsbergen were examined. Pingos closer to shore are younger in age and those farther away are older. Growth of these pingos occurs rapidly after initial submarine uplift and a minimum thickness of permafrost is established. Hut pingo, which is farthest from the sea, was formed after 6980±70 a BP (NUTA-3856). Driftwood associated with Longyear pingo, in the middle part of the delta, was dated at 2800±90 a BP. The radiocarbon age of peat near the shore pingo, Lagoon pingo, was 140±20 a BP. The growth of the pingos is related to transgression and development of permafrost.

This is an account of the British Graham Land Expedition, which spent nearly three years in that part of the Antarctic that lies south of South America and was the first British expedition to winter in Antarctica in the last twenty-five years.

HM King George VI approved the award of the Polar Medal to the sixteen members of the party — a coveted distinction — only previously granted the expeditions of Captain Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Sir Douglas Mawson, and Mr Gino Watkins. The Royal Geographical Society and the American Geographical Society have also honoured the work of this expedition by giving its leader, Mr John Rymill, their highest awards.