Garbage is on everyones' minds at the moment and no more so than in the Antarctic. Thirty years ago it was publicly, legally and scientifically acceptable to burn plastics, to leave rubbish to fall through the ice and to dump hazardous waste into the sea outside the Treaty area. This is no longer the case and the recent turn round in policy poses a number of problems, especially for those countries with long-established stations.

Remote sensing provides the means to study features and processes that are not easily accessible or amenable to direct observations. The polar regions, and Antarctica in particular, offer a variety of examples where the ability to observe from afar is necessary or highly desirable. In particular, studies of ice shelf processes, changes in the sea-ice cover, and ice-ocean-atmosphere investigations must rely in large part on measurements from aircraft and satellites. The polar regions present a unique set of problems that complicate applications and limit the usefulness of certain sensors; new instruments planned for launch in the 1990s will help resolve many of these difficulties. Examples of remote sensing applications for the study of the continent, drifting ice, ocean, and atmosphere demonstrate ways that existing data as well as new observations can be used to aid polar research.

The short term degradation of ‘Arabian light’ crude oil was followed under various seasonal conditions in coastal seawater at Iles Kerguelen. Artificial degradation experiments were carried out in 3 m3 tanks. In situ experiments were conducted in free-floating, semi-enclosed chambers permitting direct contact between the crude oil and the marine environment. Daily sampling allowed a regular survey of the bacterial changes of the oil contaminated seawater. All samples were analysed for total bacteria, heterotrophic viable microflora and hydrocarbon utilizing microflora. At the end of experiments, the remaining oil was carefully collected for rough quantitative estimation of hydrocarbon degradation. All the results clearly revealed a significant increase in the three types of bacterial microflora after the addition of crude oil. However, the data suggest that the initial state of the bacterial communities is important. Thus, the seasonal variations in the bacterial responses to hydrocarbon addition can be related to the differences in the natural bacterial populations involved. In all cases the wall effects observed in batch systems were reduced with in situ incubations.

The demersal fish fauna of the southern and eastern Weddell Sea is described. The following species were recorded for the first time in this area: Aethotaxis mitopteryx, Bathyraja eatoni, B. Maccaini, B. sp2 (FAO-list), Bathydraco marri, Dissostichus mawsoni, Macrourus holotrachys, Muraenolepis sp., Notothenia coriiceps, Notothenia kempi, Psilodraco spec. and Trematomus nicolai. In terms of biomass the dominant species on the very narrow eastern continental shelf were Chionodraco myersi (49%), Trematomus eulepidotus (11%), C. hamatus (7%), T. lepidorhinus (6%), Pagetopsis maculatus (5%) and T. scotti, Cryodraco antarcticus, Cygnodraco mawsoni and Pleuragramma antarcticum (4% each). The highest density of individuals and greatest biomass was found between 400 and 650 m water depth. Here, C. myersi, T. eulepidotus and T. lepidorhinus dominated the catches. The shallow shelf area was inhabited by smaller species such as T. scotti, T. centronotus, P. maculatus, Artedidraco skottsbergii, A. shackletoni, and Prionodraco evansii. In the southern Weddell Sea Akarotaxis nudiceps, Dolloidraco longedorsalis, Gerlachea australis, Pleuragramma antarcticum, and Trematomus loennbergi were dominant. Members of the Channichthyidae occurred only occasionally, most of these are Dacodraco hunteri. The biomass of the demersal fish fauna was estimated to be 0.3 to 1.6 t km−2 on the Vestkapp shelf and 0.1 to 0.4 t km−2 for Gould Bay. Biomass values greater than 1.0 t km−2 were found at the shelf edge.

The diet of Heard Island cormorants was investigated by examination of casts over three summer seasons. The diet was composed mainly of benthic organisms, with polychaetes being the most common prey for the greater part of the population. Fish were taken commonly only by the small breeding population at the western end of the island, whereas elsewhere only 22% of casts contained any fish remains at all. The diet is therefore different from that reported for Phalacrocorax atriceps at other localities.

A saccoderm desmid Mesotaenium berggrenii forma (Mesotaeniaceae) occurring as a major component of the snow algal flora is reported from the Windmill Islands region of Continental Antarctica. Stages of the life cycle of the species are illustrated. The local distribution of the species is outlined, habitat conditions described, taxonomy, reproduction and survival strategies discussed. Morphological and nuclear size classes indicate the possibility of polyploidy in the species.

The fluorescent neutral lipid stain, nile red, was used to examine cell-specific neutral lipid levels in natural assemblages of Antarctic sea ice microalgae. Neutral lipid:chlorophyll, neutral lipid:particulate carbon (PC) and neutral lipid:particulate nitrogen (PN) ratios were highest in communities dominated by Nitzschia spp. and Navicula glaciei van Heurck. The lowest specific neutral lipid content was estimated in the congelation ice samples dominated by the diatom Amphiprora spp., and in surface assemblages dominated by Phaeocystis pouchetii Hariot and the dinoflagellate Gymnodinium sp. Scatter plots of neutral lipid on PC and PN, which included data from all assemblages, showed that assemblages dominated by P. pouchetii and Amphiprora spp. clustered near the origin reflecting their relatively lower specific neutral lipid levels, compared with assemblages dominated by N. glaciei and Nitzschia spp. Cellular PC:PN was significantly (P<0.001) lower in microalgae inhabiting surface melt pools or tide cracks compared to those associated with congelation or platelet ice.

A new fossil genus of decapod Crustacea, belonging to the family Polychelidae is described from James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula. The specimen was obtained from a block of reworked Jurassic tuffaceous black shale belonging to the Ameghino (= Nordenskjöld) Formation in the Lower Cretaceous Kotick Point Formation. This is the first report of fossil Polychelidae in the Southern Hemisphere.

A new fauna of late Early to early Middle Triassic vertebrates has been found in the upper member of the Fremouw Formation in the Beardmore Glacier area of Antarctica. It includes Cynognathus, a kannmeyeriid, and other therapsid (mammal-like) reptiles representing new, more derived genera of carnivorous and gomphodont cynodonts. New genera of temnospondyl amphibians belonging to the capitosauroid evolutionary complex also occur. The unusual abundance of well-preserved amphibians may offer new insights concerning the evolution and distribution patterns of early Mesozoic temnospondyls. These fossils represent only the second terrestrial vertebrate fauna from the mainland of Antarctica. The fossils occur on a prominent sandstone platform, which represents part of the exhumed channel of a braided stream deposit. The platform is over 200 metres above the well-known Lystrosaurus fauna of the lower Fremouw Formation. The locality is near the axis of a major foreland basin that paralleled the present trend of the Transantarctic Mountains. Conditions of rapid subsidence and aggradation of fluvial units were ideal for the preservation of vertebrate faunas.

Ozone concentrations in the atmospheric surface layer above the Weddell Sea during the Antarctic spring season of 1989 varied significantly. Lower levels of ozone were associated with colder Antarctic air masses and higher values with warmer mid-latitude air. The lowest ozone concentration (1 to 2 ppbv) was measured in the centre of a low pressure system. A definite diurnal variation of tropospheric ozone observed during clear days with low total ozone amount (177 matm cm) may be interpreted as a consequence of the occurrence of photochemical reactions under conditions of increased ultraviolet solar radiation.