Daily mean of air temperature at station Haudegen on Nordaustlandet 1944/45

Über die klimatischen Verhältnisse des Nordostlandes allgemein gültige Aussagen zu machen, dazu sind wir nach den vorhandenen Unterlagen noch nicht in der Lage. Denn diese Unterlagen beschränken sich auf die wenigen Aufzeichnungen der bisherigen Expeditionen (30), von denen nur die Oxford-Expedition 1935/36 über einen ganzen Jahresverlauf von Messungen an einer Stelle, im Branntwein-Fjord, und von Parallelbeobachtungen von der Dauer einiger Wochen bis mehrerer Monate an anderen Stellen verfügt. Erst wenn die Beobachtungen und Messungen der Expedition "Haudegen" im inneren Rijp-Fjord, besonders auch die Radiosondenaufstiege und die Höhenwindmessungen, dazu die mehrwöchigen Parallelbeobachtungen auf Schlittenreisen und in den Depots im Wahlenberg-Fiord und in der inneren Duve-Bucht ausgewertet sein werden, können wir abgerundetere Tatsachen über das Klima und den Witterungsverlauf im NordostIande erwarten.

Travel time and speed of gray whales and amphipod abundance along Chukotka Peninsula in 2006

The purpose of this study was to evaluate summer and fall residency and habitat selection by gray whales, Eschrichtius robustus, together with the biomass of benthic amphipod prey on the coastal feeding grounds along the Chukotka Peninsula. Thirteen gray whales were instrumented with satellite transmitters in September 2006 near the Chukotka Peninsula, Russia. Nine transmitters provided positions from whales for up to 81 days. The whales travelled within 5 km of the Chukotka coast for most of the period they were tracked with only occasional movements offshore. The average daily travel speeds were 23 km/day (range 9-53 km/day). Four of the whales had daily average travel speeds <1 km/day suggesting strong fidelity to the study area. The area containing 95% of the locations for individual whales during biweekly periods was on average 13,027 km**2 (range 7,097-15,896 km**2). More than 65% of all locations were in water <30 m, and between 45 and 70% of biweekly kernel home ranges were located in depths between 31 and 50 m. Benthic density of amphipods within the Bering Strait at depths <50 m was on average ~54 g wet wt/m**2 in 2006. It is likely that the abundant benthic biomass is more than sufficient forage to support the current gray whale population. The use of satellite telemetry in this study quantifies space use and movement patterns of gray whales along the Chukotka coast and identifies key feeding areas.

(Table 1) UK research stations, refuges and major depots between 1944 and 2010

Globally, areas categorically known to be free of human visitation are rare, but still exist in Antarctica. Such areas may be among the most pristine locations remaining on Earth and, therefore, be valuable as baselines for future comparisons with localities impacted by human activities, and as sites preserved for scientific research using increasingly sophisticated future technologies. Nevertheless, unvisited areas are becoming increasingly rare as the human footprint expands in Antarctica. Therefore, an understanding of historical and contemporary levels of visitation at locations across Antarctica is essential to a) estimate likely cumulative environmental impact, b) identify regions that may have been impacted by non-native species introductions, and c) inform the future designation of protected areas under the Antarctic Treaty System. Currently, records of Antarctic tourist visits exist, but little detailed information is readily available on the spatial and temporal distribution of national governmental programme activities in Antarctica. Here we describe methods to fulfil this need. Using information within field reports and archive and science databases pertaining to the activities of the United Kingdom as an illustration, we describe the history and trends in its operational footprint in the Antarctic Peninsula since c. 1944. Based on this illustration, we suggest that these methodologies could be applied productively more generally.