India's interest in Antarctica dates from 1956, when the Indian government first raised the question of the peaceful use of Antarctica in the UN. Although India began as a strong critic of the Antarctic Treaty System, and, indeed, conducted scientific activities on the continent for two years without being a member of it, India recognised that her interests would be better served by joining the Treaty as a full member.

A number of recent publications in English (Borgstrom, 1961; Herman, 1964; Helin, 1964; Kravanja, 1964; Shparlinskiy, 1964) have dealt with aspects of the growth of Soviet fisheries since the Second World War. Some of these publications are written from inside the Soviet fishing industry, others by western fisheries specialists. There would be no advantage in covering the same ground again in detail. The object of this paper is to draw attention to certain features of the Soviet industry not very fully considered in the accounts just mentioned. Before this can be done, however, it will be necessary to sketch in, as background, enough indication of the growth to make the rest of the paper comprehensible.

Svalbard comprises the islands between longs 10 to 35° E and between lats 74 to 81° N. The largest of these islands is Vestpitsbergen, followed by Nordaustlandet, Edgeøya, Barentsøya and Bjørnøya. The archipelago lies in the northwestern part of the Barents-Kara shelf. To south and east the continental shelf is covered by the shallow waters of the Barents Sea, whilst to the north and west the shelf falls away rapidly into the Arctic Basin and the Greenland Sea.

Concentrations of calcium and phosphorus were measured in the neonatal dentine of 11 crabeater and 11 Weddell seal postcanine teeth with an energy-dispersive x-ray analyser. The extent of variation in elemental concentrations in different parts of the tooth, differences between species and individuals, and whether variation in elemental concentrations can provide information about dentine deposition mechanisms were assessed. No consistent patterns in elemental deposition in different parts of the tooth were found, but there were differences in concentrations between and within species. Post-natal dentine is composed of layers that appear alternately bright and dark in backscattered electron images. The elemental composition of neonatal dentine was closer to the dark bands than to those that appeared bright. It is suggested that the composition of neonatal dentine is more similar to the dark than the bright layers of dentine because of nutritional stresses that were occurring during mineral deposition.

A very clear mirage observed by Scoresby in the Greenland Sea shows an inverted ship floating above the horizon. This mirage can be mathematically reconstructed using a linear image diagram. Scoresby's description is here re-examined: anew set of essential assumptions is distilled from his report, and an ‘exact’ reproduction of the mirage is obtained to match these conditions.

The landing of visitors in Antarctica presents wilderness managers with several challenges. Foremost among these is ensuring that visitors do not ‘love the wilderness to death.’ This article presents research gathered on Hannah Point, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands during the austral summer of 1993/94. First, an estimation of duration and type of use was conducted to identify where visitors spent the majority of their time, and second, what conditions, such as weather, physical layout, or on-site supervision, influenced this decision. The implications of these results are discussed vis-à-vis the current system of visitor landings, and suggestions are offered to help devise criteria for landing procedures. This paper stresses how the pattern of visitor landings can be altered, as a preventative strategy, to ensure low impact on visitor sites.

The article discusses how organisational structure and culture affected the preparations for sledging in three Antarctic expeditions between 1901 and 1904. The central focus is how expedition leaders sought tacit knowledge, ‘the knowledge of how we do things.’ Two organisational types were derived from a study of 36 major polar expeditions. These – the industrial organisation and the innovative organisation – were used to analyse how sledging practices evolved in the British National Antarctic Expedition, German South Polar Expedition, and Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. Robert Falcon Scott, in great part as a result of his naval heritage, did not fully understand the need for and the methods required to gain the operational knowledge required for sledging in Antarctica. He applied the traditional command-and-control system based on naval tradition. Erich von Drygalski and William Speirs Bruce applied Fridtjof Nansen's scientific approach, in which the scientific staffs were integrated into sledging operations. In this approach, every variable that could possibly affect the outcome of the research was incorporated into preparations, much as is the case in classical experimental design. While no attempt is made to judge sledging success in the study, the results clearly indicate the importance of knowing how to use the tacit dimension in sledging. The implications go far beyond sledging and suggest the need for managers to have an intimate understanding of how things work.

This paper presents the details of lichens and mosses found on whale vertebrae substratum in the Admiralty Bay area, King George Island, Antarctica. Samples were taken in the coastal area at Hennequin Point, a relict of the Antarctic whaling era. The samples were collected from the upper surface of the whale bones found in the study area during the austral summer 2010–2011. A total of 15 lichen and two moss species were found. All species sampled are known in the Admiralty Bay area, both as pioneers and in more advanced succession stages in ice-free areas. These results suggest that the colonisation of whale bones is not new for Antarctic plants, but it is an additional substrate on which these plants can develop. A map showing the distribution of colonised bones and details of the usual substrata for the lichens and mosses found in this study are provided.

Radiocarbon age determinations of 32 walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) remains show that the species has been a member of the Greenland fauna since at least the middle Holocene. The oldest date is 7280–7160 calendar years BP. However, most dated remains come from archaeological sites and are of late Holocene age

Frederick George Jackson, the leader of the Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition of 1894–1897, accomplished a great deal during his exploration of Franz Josef Land [Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa] although his achievements have never been fully acknowledged. Jackson's expedition itself has often been eclipsed by his famous meeting in 1896 with Fridtjof Nansen, absent for 3 years in the Arctic and it has been unfairly coloured by the view that Jackson was no more than an adventurer and sportsman. The research reported in this article evaluates Jackson's plan and management activities. The study developed a set of factors to evaluate his performance arising from a variety of expeditions contemporary with Jackson's. His strong personality and limited personnel managerial experience limited the full extent of what he might have achieved. Yet, Jackson developed a strong exploration model that was based on comprehensive planning, a significant concern for the health and welfare of his companions, the willingness to innovate in a number of activities including sledging, and a commitment to scientific discovery. Although the expedition did not find a route to the North Pole, Jackson confirmed that Franz Josef Land was an archipelago and he gave credence to the consumption of fresh meat as a means of preventing scurvy. One of Jackson's legacies to subsequent explorers was the use of ponies for haulage. He was unable to appreciate the weaknesses in their use and his influence on subsequent Antarctic expeditions often led to undesirable results. But, overall, Jackson was an innovator in a conservative exploration community.

In December 1913 Sir Ernest Shackleton released a prospectus and announced The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. His goal was to undertake the first crossing of Antarctica from the Weddell Sea via the polar plateau to McMurdo Sound on the Ross Sea. The journey had already been attempted by Wilhelm Filchner whose ship Deutschland, had become beset in the Weddell Sea ice for nine months in 1912. Shackleton aimed ‘to make all possible scientific observations on [the Trans-Antarctic] journey; to carry on similar work by parties operating from the two bases on the Weddell and Ross Seas [and] to carry on scientific work, and travel unknown portions of the coastline, by the two ships of the expedition’(Shackleton 1913: 3). With Endurance a continental crossing party of six led by Shackleton would begin from the Weddell Sea and a supporting depot laying party led by Nimrod veteran Lieutenant Aeneas L.A. Mackintosh RNR, with the auxiliary barquentine Aurora based in McMurdo Sound. Unbeknown to each party, both experienced problems beyond their control. Endurance was holed and sank in the Weddell Sea and Aurora locked in ice, although damaged, reached New Zealand. Here the ship was repaired and then undertook a relief expedition with Shackleton as a passenger, to McMurdo Sound. In spite of these major setbacks each party conducted valuable scientific observations.

When Shackleton published his book South (Shackleton 1919) on the expedition, compiled with New Zealand journalist and friend Edward Saunders, with exception of accounts on the Ross Sea party sledging and drift of the ship Aurora, no recognition was given to work undertaken by the four Ross Sea party scientists and an assistant. Later publications have focused on the depot-laying, while books on Antarctic science have largely overlooked the science undertaken.

The purpose of this paper is to make this better known, and to give credit to the four scientists involved. The science conducted although primarily concerned with meteorological observations, also covers limited glaciological observations including the ablation of lake ice, solution of glacier ice in salt water, tidal recordings, collection of zoological and other specimens, along with the use of improvised equipment to undertake observations. The science achieved was secondary to the field work. The Ross Sea party science was done however, under conditions not normally conducive for such field work with health issues a major contributing factor. A lack of funding, equipment, personality problems, concern for Aurora and crew, uncertainty of Shackleton's Antarctic crossing and their own relief, led to depression, sleeplessness and insomnia.