Uncontrolled scaling for furs and oil began on South Georgia about 1786 and continued sporadically until the early 20th century. From 1909 onward legislation covered licensed killing of male elephant seals Mirounga leonina. This provided for a successful oiling industry that lasted almost 60 years, operated by whalers primarily in early spring before the whaling season began. Biological research ensured that quotas in the last decade remained within the carrying capacity of the stocks. High-grade seal oil enhanced revenues from whaling, providing overall 16% of the volume and 19% of the value of total annual catches, with much higher proportions in some seasons. The seal oil industry did not long survive the demise of whaling on South Georgia, finally ending in 1968.

Born in 1867 and trained as a doctor, Jean-Baptiste Charcot gave up a fashionable medical practice to become, in his mid-thirties, France's leading polar explorer. His two major expeditions to the peninsular sector of Antarctica and the Bellingshausen Sea (1903–05, 1908–10) resulted in many new discoveries of land and established his reputation as a leader in the fields of scientific oceanography, research and survey. After service in World War I he continued polar work with a series of ten summer expeditions to the Arctic (1926–36), in which many young explorers were trained. Lost with his ship Pourquoi Pas? in a storm off Iceland in 1936, Charcot is remembered for qualities of leadership and scientific integrity which inspire the current generation of French polar scientists.

Contemporary dimensions of a conflict over the political powers of Alaska Natives and their relationship to the larger society were set by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971. This granted land and money to Alaska Natives, established corporations to use these assets, and ensured that the land and the corporations would remain under Native control until at least 1991. Under 1987 amendments to ANCSA, Congress extended these special protections indefinitely. Leaders of the tribal government movement in Alaska tried unsuccessfully to use the amendments to gain increased political power and federal recognition of Native tribes and tribal governments. They were opposed by federal authorities, Alaska's US senators, the State of Alaska, non-Native political interest groups, and Native leaders of the ANCSA corporations. Although stalled in this instance, the drive toward tribal government, or ‘sovereignty’, in Alaska remains a viable political movement. It is part of a continuing evolution of Native politics which in its modern form began with land claims and now includes a much broader concern for political claims of sovereignty, or inherent self-governing powers. In pursuing this course, however, tribal leaders will need to focus more on specific requirements for Native security and welfare than on general claims of sovereignty, and avoid direct confrontations with powerful opponents.

Large tabular icebergs derived from the glaciers which drain the north fringe of Greenland's Inland Iceoccur in many North Greenland fjords. Many have undulating surface topography resembling that of the ice islands calved from Ellesmere Island ice shelves. Semi-permanent sea ice in North Greenland fjords often prevents the escape of bergs, except in exceptional summers several decades apart, when the fjord ice melts completely and some bergs may reach the Arctic Ocean. Other possible sources for ice islands are small ice shelves and local glaciers along the north coast of Greenland.

The Eveny of northeastern Siberia live mainly by reindeer herding. Though this is highly economical, since collectivization it has progressively separated the nomadic herders from their families in the centralized villages. This leads to a low birth-rate and the estrangement of children from herding. Under percstroika, labour is being reorganized into a system of contracts. Though the aim is to increase efficiency, this may also allow families to live and work together again. However, logistic problems, such as schooling, remain. These developments are taking place against a background of increasing ethnic consciousness and open public debate on policy.

On 13 June 1988 a US party including Alaskan Natives and business, political and media representatives flew from Nome, Alaska to Provideniya, Siberia, on a ‘friendship flight’ arranged by the State of Alaska and Soviet authorities. In August of the same year MV Society Explorer, a US-operated cruise ship, made a 20-hour port call in Provideniya. On 7 September the Soviet research vessel Dmitri Laptev paid a return visit from Provideniyato Nome with a party of Yupik natives and Soviet officials. These visits represent the first formal contacts between neighbouring communities across Bering Strait for over 40 years.

Samples from 73 pieces of non-structural driftwood on Heard Island (53°06′S, 73°30′E) were identified to genus or species. Thirty-one belonged to South American species of Nothofagus. The remainder, consisting mostly of conifers especially Picea and Larix, probably came from ships' cargoes. The assemblage is similar to those reported, from smaller samples, on other southern islands. Other items of flotsam, including fishing buoys and drift-cards, are also reported from Heard Island. The significance of driftwood transport from South America to the island in accounting for long-distance dispersal of terrestrial and intertidal organisms is discussed.

Particulate matter collected at a single station in waters off the ice shelf of Prinsesse Astrid Kyst (70°S, 11°E), Antarctica, during the austral summer January–February 1986 was analyzed for organic content. Phytoplankton biomass represented by chlorophyll α varied from 0.051 to 3.1 μg dm-3. Values for constituent fractions ranged as follows: adenosine triphosphate 0.33 to 1.81 μg dm-3, particulate organic carbon 305 to 1850 μg dm-3, particulate carbohydrates 8 to 176 μg dm-3, particulate proteins 22 to 132 μg dm-3 and particulate lipids 8 to 209 μg dm-3. Large variation in values suggested patchy distribution. The likely presence of degraded carbon argues in favour of an active microbial community in these waters

During public hearings before the Norman Wells Project began, fears were expressed that the project would adversely affect consumption of country food. This note examines consumption of country food by native residents living in four communities in the impact zone of the project The proportion of country food in their diet did not diminish over its construction period, and may have increased slightly, mainly because residents maintained normal harvesting despite handicaps caused by the project. Other mitigating factors were that most construction occurred at a predominately non-native centre (Norman Wells), virtually no natives from the three native communities were employed full-time for the duration of the project, and most of their hunting area was well outside the pipeline impact zone.

Wintering in the Antarctic has long been known to have at best a lethargic effect and at worst an occasional psychopathological effect. A review of journal entries, laboratory studies, independent observations, clinical reports and specific experimental projects shows some discrepancies about the type of impairment reported. The suggestion is that the results from various data gathering domains should be integrated, rather than offset against each other, and that climatic severity data be obtained. Then a fresh attempt should be made to resolve the matter by developing techniques for monitoring the customary levels of performance of subjects instead of those from specific testing sessions. Present indications are that wintering produces a hibernating effect — a generalised lowering of sensory/motor reactions that is appropriate for the geographical and psycho-sociological circumstances.