Following a review of commercially-viable offshore oil deposits in northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland, the author explores alternative possibilities currently under consideration for transporting the oil to centres where it will be used.

Hazards of pipeline construction, particularly under water, and the problems and dangers associated with giant surface tankers and projected giant submarines are discussed. The author concludes that conventional submarines towing oil-filled plastic drogue tanks offer the safest and most expeditious method of solving the problem. This is the second of two articles (see Polar Record, 21 (133): 369–81 (1983)).

Living resources of polar zones (areas limited by the 10°C isotherm for the warmest month) have in the past been developed exploitively: examples range from 17th century Arctic whales to musk oxen, caribou, and most recently fin fish stocks from Antarctic waters. Mineral resources as yet remain under-developed, particularly in the Antarctic. This is due to a combination of technological problems imposed by the harsh environment, and marketing problems accentuated by remoteness. Recent scientific and technological advances make further mineral exploitation feasible, though markets do not as yet justify the high costs of development in the Antarctic, where there remain unsolved technical and transportation problems. Future exploitation of living resources is likely to be more conservative than hitherto, especially in the Antarctic where the Treaty System provides potential safeguards. Management plans based on rational decision-making, and incorporating environmental safety measures, are needed to ensure that all further development of renewable natural resources, at either end of the earth, is conducted on a sustainable basis, and that all development proceeds with minimal environmental disturbance.

The Transglobe Expedition (leader Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Bt.), circumnavigated the world between September 1979 and 1982, keeping as close as possible to the Greenwich meridian. This involved journeys in both polar regions. During the expedition's southern phase (1979–81) two overwintering bases were established in Antarctica and a party of three crossed the icecap on snowmobiles, via the South Pole. During the northern phase (1981–83) two men traversed the Northwest Passage by boat on foot, sledging across Ellesmere Island to the settlement of Alert, where a party of three overwintered. Two then set out over the pack ice, crossing the North Pole and drifting with the floating ice toward Svalbard, to be picked up by the expedition ship.

As part of its commitment to the programme of the First International Polar Year (1882–83) the Deutsche Polarkomission dispatched an expedition to South Georgia (Schrader 1891; Baker 1982). The team consisted of seven scientists and observers, led by Dr K. Schrader and accompanied by a support group of four men. As with the other 13 expeditions of the International Polar Year, the major emphases were on studies of meteorology, magnetism and aurora, although the South Georgia station also had a secondary major task, that of observing the transit of Venus. Fortunately the Deutsche Polarkomission had the foresight to include a trained zoologist on the expedition, in the person of the medical officer, Dr Karl von den Steinen.

Initial results from a programme of drilling in eastern Taylor Valley, Ross Dependency, Antarctica, in 1982–83 show lithological correlations with earlier drilling work in the same area. A preliminary interpretation suggests that drift deposits represent at least two glacial episodes, probably Ross I and pre-Ross I, separated by periods of proglacial sandur development and lake sedimentation. Further drilling is planned for 1983–84.