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Volume 44 Issue 01

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01

Polar Record is an international, peer-reviewed scholarly journal publishing results from a wide range of polar research areas. The journal covers original primary research papers in the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, life sciences, and polar technology, as well as papers concerning current political, economic, legal, and environmental issues in the Arctic or Antarctic. Notes, book reviews, letters to the editor, obituaries, and 'In Brief' items of general interest are also published. Polar Record provides rapid publication, normally within nine months of initial submission.

The Arctic cruises of Prince Albert I of Monaco

Research Articles
Jacqueline Carpine-Lancre, William Barr,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 1-14

Abstract
[Google Scholar]ABSTRACTFrom an early age, Prince Albert I of Monaco evinced a strong fascination for the polar regions. But it was only after 1898 that he was able to mount four scientific cruises to Svalbard on his yacht, the second Princesse-Alice. The first cruise was an oceanographical and zoological reconnaissance, aimed mainly at adding to the collections of the Mus anographique de Monaco, the construction of which had just started. In 1899, the focus was on the hydrography and topography of Raudfjorden, of which a map was published. In 1906, meteorology was added to the range of observations and surveys were pursued. The Prince also provided support for two other expeditions, that of the Norwegian, Gunnar Isachsen, to northwestern Spitsbergen, and that of the Scotsman, William Bruce, to Prins Karls Forland. The Prince's expedition in 1907 was aimed at completing the results from the previous summer. Prince Albert also lent his support, either financially, or through gifts or loans of oceanographic instruments, to numerous Arctic and Antarctic explorers. Finally, he showed a keen interest in environmental protection, especially in Svalbard. This is demonstrated by his responses to a questionnaire that Hugo Conwentz sent him in 1912.

The status of two exotic terrestrial Crustacea on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island

Research Articles
Penelope Greenslade, Brett A. Melbourne, Kendi F. Davies, Mark I. Stevens,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 15-23

Abstract
[Google Scholar]ABSTRACTTwo terrestrial Crustacea, Puhuruhuru patersoni (Amphipoda: Talitridae) and Styloniscus otakensis (Isopoda: Styloniscidae), were discovered on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island in 1991 and 1992, respectively. Each species was identified as having been described, and previously only known, from South Island, New Zealand and from some of New Zealand's southern offshore islands. The distributions of the two species on Macquarie Island have been mapped in detail on four occasions over the last fifteen years, each mapping extending previously existing distributions or showing changes from the earlier records. Details of all four years' mapping are figured. It is concluded that these species were most likely introduced between 1810 and 1919 and that populations of the amphipod have not expanded to any extent in the twelve years between 1992 and 2004 but that the isopod has slightly increased its range. Both species are macrodetritivores, a trophic group not well represented on the island, so there is the possibility of an irreversible change to the Macquarie Island ecosystem if they become more widespread with warming climates. However no such change has yet been observed. The advantages and feasibility of removing these two exotic species from the island is discussed, as are the possible routes by which the species were introduced to the island.

Representing Akaitcho: European vision and revision in the writing of John Franklin's Narrative of a journey to the shores of the polar sea. . .

Research Articles
Janice Cavell,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 25-34

Abstract
[Google Scholar]ABSTRACTThis article compares the representations of aboriginal people, and especially the Yellowknife leader Akaitcho, in the journal written by John Franklin during his first expedition (1819 1822) and the narrative he published in 1823. In the introduction to his 1995 Champlain Society edition of Franklin's journal, Richard Davis claims that when revising the journal for publication, Franklin changed his original entries so as to present an unfavourable, stereotyped image of Akaitcho to the British reading public. However, comparison of the relevant passages shows that, while Franklin evidently viewed Akaitcho with distrust during much of the expedition, he later, and on reflection, changed his opinion so that it became much more favourable, and accordingly altered the journal entries in order to do Akaitcho justice. These facts cast doubt on the interpretation of the first Franklin expedition put forward by Davis and others.

Defending polar empire: opposition to India's proposal to raise the ‘Antarctic Question’ at the United Nations in 1956

Research Articles
Adrian Howkins,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 35-44

Abstract
[Google Scholar]ABSTRACTThis paper examines the international response to India's 1956 proposal to raise the at the United Nations. It focuses in particular on the uneasy alliance that developed between the British Commonwealth and Latin America in opposition to the Indian proposal. Although Great Britain, Argentina, and Chile were bitterly disputing the sovereignty of the Antarctic Peninsula region, they shared a common desire to keep the southern continent off the agenda of the United Nations. This ability to work together for common goals, despite their differences, set an important precedent for the Antarctic Treaty that would be signed in 1959. In this way, opposition to the Indian proposal, more than the proposal itself, played an important role in the history of Antarctica in the 1950s. Latin American opposition to the proposal helped to fragment any coalition that might have developed in Antarctica. This fragmentation helps us to place the Antarctic Treaty System into the framework of post-colonial studies.

The Norse in Greenland and late Holocene sea-level change

Research Articles
Naja Mikkelsen, Antoon Kuijpers, Jette Arneborg,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 45-50

Abstract
[Google Scholar]ABSTRACTNorse immigrants from Europe settled in southern Greenland in around AD 985 and managed to create a farming community during the Medieval Warm Period. The Norse vanished after approximately 500 years of existence in Greenland leaving no documentary evidence concerning why their culture foundered. The flooding of fertile grassland caused by late Holocene sea-level changes may be one of the factors that affected the Norse community. Holocene sea-level changes in Greenland are closely connected with the isostatic response of the Earth's crust to the behaviour of the Greenlandic ice sheet. An early Holocene regressive phase in south and west Greenland was reversed during the middle Holocene, and evidence is found for transgression and drowning of early-middle Holocene coast lines. This drowning started between 8 and 7ka BP in southern Greenland and continued during the Norse era to the present. An average late Holocene sea level rise in the order of 2 3 m/1000 years may be one of the factors that negatively affected the life of the Norse Greenlanders, and combined with other both socio-economic and environmental problems, such as increasing wind and sea ice expansion at the transition to the Little Ice Age, may eventually have led to the end of the Norse culture in Greenland.

Human geographies of sea ice: freeze/thaw processes around Cape Dorset, Nunavut, Canada

Research Articles
Gita J. Laidler, Pootoogoo Elee,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 51-76

Abstract
[Google Scholar]ABSTRACTSea ice has been, and continues to be, an integral component of life in the Inuit community of Cape Dorset, Nunavut. Located on an island of the same name off the southwestern coast of Baffin Island, the strong Hudson Strait currents prevent extensive ice formation around the community. Nevertheless, sea ice remains an important travel and hunting platform, enabling access to Baffin Island, hunting and fishing grounds, and nearby communities. With the combined importance, dynamism, and continuous use of this frozen ocean environment, local Inuit elders and hunters have developed a detailed and nuanced understanding of sea ice conditions, freeze/thaw processes, and the influences of winds and currents on ice conditions. Working collaboratively with the community of Cape Dorset since October, 2003, we present the results of 30 semi-directed interviews, 5 sea ice trips, and 2 focus groups to provide a baseline understanding of local freezing processes (near-shore, open water, sea ice thickening, landfast ice, floe edge, and tidal cracks), melting processes (snow melt, water accumulation and drainage, break-up, and cracks/leads), wind influences on sea ice (wind direction and strength affecting sea ice formation, and movement), and current influences on sea ice (tidal variations and current strength affecting sea ice formation, movement, and polynya size/location). Strong emphasis is placed on Inuktitut terminology and spatial delineations of localised ice conditions and features. Therefore, this paper provides insights into local scale ice conditions and dynamics around Cape Dorset that are not captured in regional scale studies of Hudson Bay and/or Hudson Strait. Results have the potential to inform future research efforts on local/regional sea ice monitoring, the relationship between Inuit knowledge, language, and the environment, and addressing community interests through targeted studies.

Edward Wilson: medical aspects of his life and career

Research Articles
Isobel Williams,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 77-81

Abstract
[Google Scholar]ABSTRACTEdward Wilson's career plans were changed by a diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis. This diagnosis is reviewed as are the , hypothermia, vitamin C deficiency and other medical conditions encountered by Wilson between 1901 and 1912. Edgar Evans death on the return from the South Pole and a possible infective cause, is discussed.

A further Antarctic myth

Letter Papers
Rubens J. Villela,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 83-84

Abstract

THE OXFORD COMPANION TO WORLD EXPLORATION. David Buisseret (Editor). 2007. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2 volumes: xxx + 478 and x + 501 p, illustrated, hard cover. ISBN 0-19-514922-X. £140.00.

Book Reviews
Beau Riffenburgh,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 85-87

Abstract

ALBATROSSES, PETRELS AND SHEARWATERS OF THE WORLD. Derek Olney and Paul Scofield. 2007. London: Christopher Helm. 240 p, illustrated, soft cover. ISBN 978-0-7136-4332-9. £19.99.

Book Reviews
Kevin Elsby,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 87-88

Abstract

THE COLDEST CRUCIBLE: ARCTIC EXPLORATION AND AMERICAN CULTURE. Michael F. Robinson. 2006. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. xii + 206 p, illustrated, hardcover. ISBN: 978-0-226-72184-2. US$39.00.

Book Reviews
H.W.G. Lewis-Jones,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 88-90

Abstract

ANTARCTICA CRUISING GUIDE. Peter Carey and Craig Franklin. 2006. Wellington, New Zealand: AWA Press. v + 233 p, illustrated, soft cover. ISBN 0-9582629-4-2. $US25.95; $NZ39.99.

Book Reviews
T.R.D. Grade,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 90-91

Abstract

RIVER OF WHITE NIGHTS: A SIBERIAN RIVER ODYSSEY. Jeffrey Tayler. 2006. London: Robson Books. xxiii + 230 p, hard cover. ISBN 1-86105-949-3. £16.99.

Book Reviews
Ian R. Stone,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 91-92

Abstract

Obituaries

Obituaries
Geoffrey Hattersley-Smith,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 93-95

Abstract

Obituary

Obituaries
Tomas Holik, John Chardine, Jim Garlinghouse, Ian R. Stone,
Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 95-95

Abstract

2007 manuscript referees

Miscellaneous

Polar Record, Volume 44 Issue 01 , pp 96-96

Abstract