Polar bear family feeding on a seal, Northwest Passage, 1999. © Hinrich Bäsemann, www.polarfoto.de
In the September issue of Polar Research, the politics of science is one of the themes in an essay by historian Stian Bones, who examines Norway's role in past International Polar Years, starting with the first one in 1882-83. Bones describes the strengths of the scientific traditions of this polar nation, and he examines the varying motivations that have driven Norwegian involvement in International Polar Years.
Also in this issue, scientometrician Prabir Dastidar presents the results of his research on scientific journal publications concerning Antarctica from 1980 to 2004. He shows that authors from the USA were responsible for more than a quarter of all scientific articles about Antarctica during this 25-year period. Authors from the UK (13.8%), Australia (9.7%) and Germany (8.8%) came next. Turning his gaze toward institutions, Dastidar's analysis reveals that the British Antarctic Survey was far and away the most productive institution in terms of articles in scientific journals. Next came the Alfred Wegener Institute of Polar and Marine Research (Germany), the Australian Antarctic Division and the University of Tasmania.
The issue also features some brief contributions based on talks made during World Environment Day, which was held in Tromsø this year. Established by the United Nations in 1972, WED is commemorated on 5 June every year, in a different city and with a different theme. This year's theme, with the motto "Melting Ice--A Hot Topic?", was climate change. An international conference on this topic was held in Tromsø, attended by such notable participants as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner and IPCC Chairman Dr Rajendra Pachauri as well as scientists, politicians, indigenous peoples' representatives and environmental and human rights activists from around the world. A small selection of the oral presentations is in the current issue of Polar Research, including a visually striking one by geologist/photographer Hinrich Bäsemann."
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