Worsleyneset at Lefdefjorden, north coast of Spitzbergen, Norway : gravel beaches surveyed in the early 20th century by Frank Worsley, later captain of Ernest Shackelton's ship 'Endurance' in the Antarctic. Photograph taken August 2008
Polar bear in attack position on the edge of the polar pack ice : 82 degrees north, 600 miles from the North Pole. Photograph taken from the MV Akademik Sergei Vavilov, August 1 2008, about two hours after a total solar eclipse.
Beaches at Sognfjord, north coast of Spitzbergen, Norway. Ocean currents deposit driftwood from Russian rivers, fishing net floats, oil barrels and other debris. August 2008
View of Longyearbyen, Spitzbergen, Norway, originally a coal mining centre founded in 1905 by John Munro Longyear, an American businessman. Now dependent on tourism, education and northern research. The pillars are part of a former overhead transport system for coal. August 2008
Patterned ground resulting from repeated freeze and thaw cycles, or frost heave, at Worsleyneset, Lefdefjorden, north coast of Spitzbergen, Norway. August 2008