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Champ, Michael A., David A. Flemer, Dixon H. Landers, Christine Ribic and Ted DeLaca. 1992. Roles of Monitoring and Research in Polar Environments -- A Perspective. EPA/600/J-93/382. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 25(9-12):220-226. (ERL,GB 826). (Avail. from NTIS, Springfield, VA: PB93-236214)

Researchers have been studying environmental processes in polar regions for more than 30 years. Nevertheless, the information gained has not been sufficient to provide in-depth understanding of the regions studied or most of the processes that occur there. This lack of understanding renders projections of the effects of human activities on terrestrial and marine ecosystems extremely tenuous. Some of the unanswered questions are: (1) What constitutes a significant impact in environments that are relatively unperturbed by humans? (2) What methods will minimize the environmental, health, and safety-related risks of living and working in polar regions? (3) Would the polar regions, due to their pristine nature and remoteness, serve as early warning indicators of global climate change or global pollution?

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