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  3. Studies in Polar Research

This interdisciplinary series, aimed at all scientists with an interest in the world's cold regions, reflects the growth of research activity in the polar lands and oceans and provides a means of synthesizing the results. Each book in the series covers the present state of knowledge in a given subject area, resulting in a series which provides polar scientists with an invaluable, broad-ranging library.

  • Editorial Boards: R. J. Aidie, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, T. E. Armstrong, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, D. J. Drewry, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, S. W. Greene, University of Reading, B. Stonehouse, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, P. Wadhams, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, I. Whitaker, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia
  • Edited by: D. W. Walton, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge

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10 results in Studies in Polar Research

Antarctica: The Next Decade
  • Report of a Group Study Chaired by Sir Anthony Parsons
  • Edited by Anthony Parsons
  • Published online:
    04 August 2010
    Print publication:
    08 October 1987
  • The Antarctic Treaty, set up in 1961 to provide a means for managing international relations in Antarctica, was reviewed in 1991. The book considers the question of the region's future with the ever growing international interest in the area as a source of important mineral resources. In this survey, a study group, brought together by the David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies, looks at the political and environmental questions raised by the potentially conflicting interests in the Antarctic. What are the stresses, internal and external, on the Antarctic Treaty System and can it develop to cope with these? Could these stresses be resolved in a new instrument? If not, what is the likely political outlook for Antarctica? This book does not describe the components of the Antarctic Treaty System. These are discussed in The Antarctic Treaty Regime, edited by Gillian Triggs. Together, the two books will form an authoritative basis for the study of the Antarctic Treaty and its future.

Arctic Air Pollution
  • B. Stonehouse
  • Published online:
    03 May 2010
    Print publication:
    05 March 1987
  • Arctic atmospheric pollution is now a major international issue. This volume presents the most authoritative review of this increasingly important subject for an audience of both scientists and administrators concerned with worldwide, as well as polar, pollution problems. Arctic Air Pollution is an edited collection of papers, first presented at a conference helo as the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge in 1985. Building on foundations established at earlier meetings, this volume examines the problem of Arctic air pollution in an integrated, multidisciplinary fashion, with contributions from leading authorities in chemistry, ecology, climatology and epidemiology. To chemists, physicists and climatologists, it presents scientific problems. Ecologists are concerned with environmental threats; medical researchers with potential threats to human health. International lawyers and administrators are concerned with the legal implications of pollutants transferred across continents. Overall hangs the major question; can man-made pollution affect the delicate energy balance of the Arctic, and precipitate major climatic change worldwide?

Biology of Polar Bryophytes and Lichens
  • R. E. Longton
  • Published online:
    24 April 2010
    Print publication:
    10 November 1988
  • This book reviews the biology of bryophytes and lichens in the polar tundra, where these plants may form a dominant component of the vegetation. It considers adaptation to severe environments in terms of growth form, physiology and reproduction. The role of bryophytes and lichens is discussed in vegetation processes such as colonisation and succession, and in energy flow, nutrient cycling and other functional aspects of polar ecosystems, both natural and as modified by man, The range of microclimates experience by polar cryptograms is described using an energy budget approach, and the environmental relationships of CO2 exchange, stress resistance, growth and other physiological responses are discussed against this background. Reproductive biology is also reviewed as an introduction to a consideration of population ecology, distribution patterns, dispersal potential and the origin and adaptation of polar cryptogamic floras. This book integrates the results of work in the Arctic and the Antarctic, and includes a classification of vegetation zones applicable to both polar regions. The study of plant ecology in these areas has advanced dramatically and the results synthesised here contribute to a general understanding both of polar ecosystems and of the environmental relationships of bryophytes and lichens.

Transit Management in the Northwest Passage
  • Problems and Prospects
  • Edited by Cynthia Lamson, David L. van der Zwaag
  • Published online:
    26 March 2010
    Print publication:
    28 April 1988
  • The operation of a commercial shipping route through the Northwest Passage - a 1450 kilometre marine corridor linking Baffin Bay to the Beaufort Sea - has been a recurring dream of traders since the late fifteenth century. It is now fast becoming a practical possibility with the recent discoveries of hydrocarbon and other mineral resources. A consideration of the problems this will raise is urgently necessary. The Canadian Northern Waters Project, at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, has therefore initiated a four-year programme to investigate the feasibility of expanded arctic shipping and ocean development. This title is the first result of the project. The work provides, in chapters by different authors, an in-depth review of the outstanding environmental, technological, political, economic, social and legal issues associated with arctic resource use, development and management.

Canada's Arctic Waters in International Law
  • Donat Pharand
  • Published online:
    20 January 2010
    Print publication:
    28 April 1988
  • The crossing of the Northwest Passage in August 1985 by a US icebreaker, without requesting authorisation, raised the whole question of Canada's sovereignty over the waters of its Arctic Archipelago. Given this controversy and the existence of similar situations in other parts of the world, this book presents an examination of the international legal validity of Canada's claim by an in-depth study of three possible bases in international law: the sector theory, the doctrine of historic waters and the Straight baseline system. This work is the second of a series of monographs arising from the Canadian Northern Waters Project of the Dalhousie Ocean Studies Programme, It draws on examples from other parts of the world, and, as such it will have relevance beyond the development of the Canadian Arctic. Professor Pharand is a recognised authority in this field. His earlier book, The Law of the Sea of the Arctic is still one of the standard reference works in the area, but with changes in the general law of the sea, this monograph presents a timely reappraisal of the relevant legal theories and practices.

The Antarctic Treaty Regime
  • Law, Environment and Resources
  • Edited by Gillian D. Triggs
  • Published online:
    20 January 2010
    Print publication:
    16 July 1987
  • The Antarctic Treaty regime is a uniquely successful legal system which preserves Antarctica for peaceful purposes and guarantees freedom of scientific research. This volume based on an international conference, examines the legal, political and environmental issues that it raises. After setting the scene of the Antarctic environment, the early chapters discuss the legal issues involved in the Treaty. Later chapters consider protection of the marine environment and the regulation of mineral exploitation. The book concludes with a discussion of Antarctica and its development.

Antarctic Mineral Exploitation
  • The Emerging Legal Framework
  • Francisco Orrego Vicuna
  • Published online:
    04 November 2009
    Print publication:
    07 April 1988
  • The system of international co-operation in the Antarctic has been evolving rapidly since the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959. Inextricably linked to this co-operation is the question of the rational management of Antarctic resources. In this book Professor Orrego Vicuna examines in depth the legal framework – the Antarctic Treaty, sovereignty, jurisdiction and the law of the sea – as it relates to the exploitation of Antarctic minerals. This is fast becoming a live issue with the ever-growing potential for the development of these resources. The first part of the book examines the main characteristics of the international legal framework governing the co-operation of states in Antarctica, particularly in relation to resource conservation. Against this background, in the second part of the book, the regime for mineral resources is discussed in sufficient detail to identify the basic issues and interests which have to be accommodated in order to attain an acceptable convention. The final part of the book considers the important set of questions raised by the interest of the world community at large in the Antarctic: most significantly, the initiatives concerning a broader international participation under the auspices of the United Nations.

General Geocryology
  • E. D. Yershov
  • Edited by Peter J. Williams
  • Published online:
    03 November 2009
    Print publication:
    27 August 1998
  • In the cold regions, freezing of the ground presents major geotechnical and environmental challenges. In Russia, oil and gas gives these regions special economic and geopolitical significance. After glasnost, it became evident that research there was more comprehensive but the problems far greater than elsewhere. This translation of a wide-ranging account of the effects of freezing and their importance for geotechnical undertakings, has been prepared by an international team of specialists. It makes available a uniquely readable and technically accurate review, especially valuable to international organisations and those involved in joint ventures. The English edition of the 16-sheet geocryological map of Russian has been prepared by the same international team. For more details please see: www.freezingground.org/map or contact Scott Polar Research Institute, (Attn. Prof. P. J. Williams), Lensfield Rd., Cambridge, CB2 1ER, UK. - or e-mail: pjw1005@cus.cam.ac.uk.

Skua and Penguin
  • Predator and Prey
  • Euan Young
  • Published online:
    27 October 2009
    Print publication:
    17 February 1994
  • Areas of barren rock and scree around the edge of Antarctica provide a breeding ground for two of the continent's most well-known species of bird: the south polar skua and the Adélie penguin. This book considers the relationship between these two species, taking as its study site Ross Island. Through detailed observations of the foraging ecology of the skua, the traditional view that skuas are totally dependent on penguin eggs and chicks for food is challenged. In addition, studies of the impact of skuas on penguin breeding and the extent to which the skua breeding cycle is functionally related to that of the penguin provide further evidence to suggest that the two species occur together independently as a consequence of limited breeding space, rather than as a result of a distinct predator-prey relationship.

The Frozen Earth
  • Fundamentals of Geocryology
  • Peter J. Williams, Michael W. Smith
  • Published online:
    24 October 2009
    Print publication:
    05 October 1989
  • This book describes the effects of cold climates on the surface of the earth. Using scientific principles, the authors describe the evolution of ground thermal conditions and the origin of natural features such as frost heave, solifluction, slope instabilities, patterned ground, pingos and ice wedges. The thermodynamic conditions accompanying the freezing of water in porous materials are examined and their fundamental role in the ice segregation and frost heave processes is demonstrated in a clear and simple manner. This book concentrates on the analysis of the causes and effects of frozen ground phenomena, rather than on the description of the natural features characteristic of freezing or thawing ground. Its scientific approach provides a basis for geotechnical analyses such as those essential to resource development.