The Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) are conducted through the cooperation of various government agencies and research and interest groups. Changes in organisational arrangements since 1946 have reflected the emphasis given to different aspects of Australian Antarctic policy. The Antarctic program is focussed in Hobart, and the lead agency, the Australian Antarctic Division, is currently part of the federal environment portfolio. Australia spent an estimated $A75.7 million on its Antarctic program in the financial year 1991/92, $A67.3 million, or 89%, of which was channelled through the Antarctic Division. The'disposable budget'for research activities has remained relatively static in real terms during the past decade. The consolidation of expenditure through the Antarctic Division and the program approach to budgeting now provide some degree of breakdown of the total expenditure, identify the large sums spent on infrastructure and technology support, and quantify the high threshold cost of research in Antarctica. It remains to be seen what effect the changes in national policies, such as the decision to ban mining in Antarctica, and geopolitical developments will have on future levels of funding.

Incidental mortality of Southern Ocean seabirds due to fishing activities well away from the breeding grounds has been implicated in the population declines of wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) on South Georgia (Croxall and others 1990) and lies Crozet, black-browed albatross (Diomedea melanophris) on lies Kerguelen, and possibly the southern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus) (Jouventin and Weimerskirch 1990). Albatrosses are particularly at risk from longline fisheries, based on the high proportion in recoveries of banded birds from longline fishing vessels off Brazil (Croxall and Prince 1990), and on direct observation of albatross during surface and midwater longline fishing for tuna in the Tasman Sea (Brothers 1991).

In July 1992 two aerial surveys were conducted to assess the size of the walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) population at haul-out sites reported on the northwest coast of Spitsbergen and on Moffen. Walrus have been extensively hunted in Svalbard during the past 350 years, and in 1952 concern about decreasing stocks caused the Norwegian government to pass a law protecting the animals from hunting. At the time of the survey, it is likely that the walrus would have been at some stage of the moult, and it is tentatively suggested that the physiological changes reported to take place during moulting can cause lethargy and sluggishness that may make walrus less susceptible to disturbance by engine noise. Thirty-seven walrus were counted on the survey around Moffen, and three walrus on the northwest coast of Spitsbergen three days later.

In August 1991 the authors organized a field seminar on visual anthropology in the village of Kazym in northwestern Siberia. The intention was to help establish the practice of visual ethnography among a small group of native Siberians interested in actively promoting their culture. (Visual anthropology and visual ethnography are terms used to describe the use of film, video, or photography to reveal a society's cultural characteristics either to itself or to other societies.) Members of the Association forUgrian Salvation, a regional native group, had shown an interest in using video ethnography to extend the awareness of Khant culture and to encourage its preservation and revitalization i n the context of its emergence from mainstream Soviet society. Its original intention to provide a record for scholars and for use by Khant teachers in the regional schools had expanded to include television broadcasting of native programs in the Khanty viewing area. The program proved to be a practical way to enhance local participation in creating visual and written ethnographic records for research, archival, and educational purposes.

This paper describes an improved nomogram (a graphical device avoiding the need for calculation) for estimating wind-chill and assessing the danger of frostbite. The nomogram incorporates recent theoretical work on the rate of heat loss from a clothedperson in cold or windy conditions.

In a voyage beginning 24 July in Ulsan, South Korea, and ending i n St Petersburg, Russia, on 21 September 1992, the icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov successfully completed an unassisted transit of the Northwest Passage, from Bering Strait to the North Atlantic Ocean. The ship was chartered jointly by Polar Schiffahrts-Consulting, Hamburg, Germany; Blyth and Company Travel, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and D.G. Wells Marine Ltd, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was marketed for tourists, some of whom traveled the entire distance of 14,120 nautical miles [26,150 km]. Khlebnikov was the fifty-third vessel to complete the Northwest Passage since Roald Amundsen first accomplished it in 1906 (Pullen and Swithinbank 1991, and confirmed by the office of Coast Guard Northern, Ottawa, Canada).