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STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess whether populations with access to general practitioner hospitals (GP hospitals) utilise general hospitals less than populations without such access. DESIGN: Observational study comparing the total rates of admissions and of occupied bed days in general hospitals between populations with and without access to GP hospitals. Comparisons were also made separately for diagnoses commonly encountered in GP hospitals. SETTING: Two general hospitals serving the population of Finnmark county in north Norway. PATIENTS: 35,435 admissions based on five years' routine recordings from the two hospitals. MAIN RESULTS: The total rate of admission to general hospitals was lower in peripheral municipalities with a GP hospital than in central municipalities without this kind of institution, 26% and 28% lower for men and women respectively. The corresponding differences were 38% and 52%, when analysed for occupied bed days. The differences were most pronounced for patients with respiratory diseases, cardiac failure, and cancer who are primarily or intermediately treated or cared for in GP hospitals, and for patients with stroke and fractures, who are regularly transferred from general hospitals to GP hospitals for longer term follow up care. CONCLUSION: GP hospitals seem to reduce the utilisation of general hospitals with respect to admissions as well as occupied bed days.

I Nordlit 2 (1997) har Ragnhild Engelskjøn et innlegg med tittelen «Debatten rundt Liv H. Willumsens biografi Havmannens datter: Regine Normann—et livsløp», der hun drøfter en debatt som oppsto i avisen Nordlys etter utgivelsen av Regine Normanns biografi høsten 1997. (…) Med utgangspunkt i egen lesing av biografien forsøker Engelskjøn å klargjøre en del posisjoner knyttet til biografiskriving, og hun oppfordrer til fortsatt diskusjon om emnet. Som forfatter av Regine-Normann-biografien vil jeg gjerne få komme med noen betraktninger i forlengelsen av Engelskjøns innlegg. This essay is written as part of a debate related to the biography as genre, following the publishing of my biography Havmannens datter. Regine Normann - et livsløp [The merman's daughter. Regine Normann - a life story] (1997). On one hand the essay contains arguments related to this specific biography. On the other hand, it contains general points of view related to biography as genre. The author defines biography as a written life-story about a person different from the biographer himself or herself. A biography is a work according to historical methods, as it is based on historical sources and has an explicit claim to documentation inherent. In the specific biography on Regine Normann, which is styled as a story, strict demands to historical references are practiced. Still the biography in its final form is dependant upon interpretation of the sources. As more general points on biography as genre the essay argues that competence within documentation is of uttermost importance for the work, as reliable historical sources are the fundament of any valid biography. The work of reference is emphasized, as the reader should have the possibility to control the factual information given. There is a demand that correct and accurate when referring to sources, and not inventing or adding information which can not be documented. It is further argued for a division line between biography writing and literary analysis, in cases wherein the biography is written on an author. For that reason, literary analysis of fictional works does not have any place in a biography, but should be published as literary research. The interpretative function of the biographer is underlined, even in a text based on historical information. In a text formed along narrative lines, as is the case with Regine Normann's life story, the narrator has the authority and power to interpret documents and formulate the text in his own manner and according to his interpretation. N.B: This article was originaly printed among the reviews of Nordlit nr. 3 and can also be found there, in its chronological place. It has been elevated by request of the author.

Experimental fishing with long lines for deep-water fish was carried out in four areas of the North Atlantic by staff of the Directorate of Fisheries, Bergen. These were off North Norway in 1990, west of the British Isles and along the Reykjanes Ridge in 1991 and frnally on Hatton Bank in 1992.

Apres avoir retrace de maniere generale la situation multilingue du nord de la Norvege, l'A. examine la situation sociolinguistique d'un village particulier situe sur la region cotiere. Le developpement linguistique de ce village est decrit comme un cas de changement linguistique, ou la langue du groupe dominant (norvegien) a progressivement ete adoptee par le groupe domine. L'A. tente d'expliquer ce developpement

Since 1980, there has been large variation and a recent decline in the mass and body condition of Common Guillemot Uria aalge chicks departing from the nest site in NE Norway. This may be related to deterioration in the feeding conditions off the colony and is alarming considering the critically endangered status of the species in Norway. To measure body condition, earlier studies have caught, weighed and measured guillemot chicks either while still on the breeding site or as they leave the colony. This study emphasises the importance of choosing and defining which method to use as they give different results.

Department of Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Edvard Griegs Gate 8, 7489 Trondheim, Norway Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway Department of Medical Genetics, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Wellcome Trust/MRC Building, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge CB2 0XY, UK Department of Neurology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromso, Norway e Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tromso, Norway

Israel is testing an “extremely nasty” type of weapon in Gaza, two Norwegian doctors have claimed on returning home on 13 January after spending 10 days working at a hospital in the Palestinian territory. “There’s a very strong suspicion, I think, that Gaza is now being used as a test laboratory for new weapons,” said Mads Gilbert, head of emergency medical services at the University Hospital of North Norway, in Tromso. He told the BMJ about the injuries that he and his colleague Erik Fosse, head of the interventional centre at Rikshospitalet University Hospital in Oslo, had dealt with at Gaza’s Shifa hospital. “We have not seen the casualties affected directly by the bomb because they are normally torn …

Title: Dependency, Autonomy, Sustainability in the Arctic Editors: Hanne Petersen and Birger Poppel. Published by: Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 1999 ISBN: 1–84014–701–6 Brief description: Title: Security in the European North: From ≪Hard≫ to ≪Soft≫ Editors: Lassi Heininen and Gunnar Lassinanti. Published by: Rovaniemi, Finland: Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, 1999‐ Series: Arctic Centre Reports No. 32 ISBN: 951–634–690–1. Brief description: Title: Commons in a Cold Climate: Coastal Fisheries and Reindeer Pastoralism in North Norway ‐ The Co‐Management Approach. Editor: S. Jentoft. Published by: UNESCO (Paris) and Parthenon (NY), 1998. Series: Man and the Biosphere Series Vol. 22, Series editor J.N.R. Jeffers. ISBN: 185070–045–1. UNESCO ISBN: 92–3–103585–1. Brief description

Since the last published review of the development of the Northern Gannet Morus bassanus population in Norway (Barrett & Folkestad 1996), there has been a general increase in numbers breeding in North Norway from ca. 2200 occupied nests in 1995 to ca. 2700 in 2008. In Lofoten and Vesteralen, however, numbers have decreased from 1500 occupied nests in 1989 to 500 in 2008, and what were the two largest colonies on Skarvklakken and Hovsflesa have been abandoned. Small colonies have, in the meantime, been established in the region, but these are all characteristically unstable. A new colony established in Troms in 2001 increased to 400 occupied sites in 2007, but the population dropped to 326 in 2008. Harassment by White-tailed eagles Haliaeetus albicilla is mooted as the main cause of the decline in Lofoten and Vesteralen.

Investigation of the temporal and spatial distributions of zooarchaeological material can aid in understanding of the palaeoecology of nonhuman and human species. Northern gannets ( Sula bassanas ) and northern fulmars ( Fulmarus glacialis ) were first documented to breed in Norway during the present century. Skeletal remains of gannets and fulmars uncovered at Norwegian archaeological sites have been dated from approximately 7000 to 800 B.P. and from about 30,000 to 400 B.P. respectively. The modal occurrence of gannets occurred in Norwegian waters earlier than did most fulmars. Recovered fulmar bones greatly outnumber those of gannets, a pattern consistent with relative abundances in Norwegian waters today, but one that might also reflect differential accessibility and/or prey preferences of previous coastal inhabitants. Proportionally more of the fulmar material was uncovered at proportionally more sites in North Norway, findings consistent with current species distributions and with speculation of similar oceanographic conditions in previous millenia.

The integration of RNST 1 and 3 together with our integration as a whole with Med Squadron was successfully and effectively implemented and clearly indicated that should we be required to work together as a collective in the future, either in a training capacity or on an operational deployment, we are prepared. The opportunity to carry out AST was highly beneficial and although taxing at times for many, provided a package suitable for all levels of experience. Once again, living in such field conditions was often interesting, sometimes daunting and also eye-opening. The change to the MEDEX phase of the deployment was a disappointment to most but another exercise is planned in Wales. On a positive note, it was very beneficial to actually be involved in erecting the DRASH as previously we had only ever seen it in its formed state. In conclusion, the poignant message from this exercise took three main forms: first, the integration of the two teams was smooth and we worked well together. Secondly, we all learnt something from the high quality arctic training we were given and all successfully passed this, and finally, some new aspects to the DRASH system. All in all this deployment was of a high standard and has shown that the interaction between Med Squadron, Cdo Logistics Regt RM and RNSTs is ever improving.

Main Sections: Sustainable resource use and management: the challenge. Ecological knowledge: implications for resource management. User involvement and decision-making: the co-management approach. Conclusion. Index.

Women in Detroit can now get more than hot rollers and highlights at their weekly trip to the hair salon. In a campaign to cut high rates of hypertension, diabetes, and renal disease among the city's African-Americans, the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan is teaching stylists to spot suspicious symptoms and encourage their clients to see a doctor ( Detroit News , 9 September 1999). The scheme could go nationwide if it is successful, although it's still unclear how women will respond to being probed about their health while trapped under a hair dryer. The helicopter ambulance in Tromso, a rural area in north Norway, takes about 20 minutes to get airborne after an emergency call. Emergency medicine specialists estimate, however, that speeding up the take off would make little difference to the patients ( Prehospital Immediate Care 1999;3:136-9). An expert panel reviewed 65 cases over two years - 51 deaths and 14 survivors with ongoing problems - and concluded that shortening the response time by 15 minutes would have improved the outcome in only two patients; a 6% increase in life years gained across the board. Electroconvulsive therapy has …

We analyse a 79-yr time series of small rodent peak years from South-East, Central, North Norway by a statistical method for detecting cyclic patterns in sequences of binary numbers. We demonstrate that the populations of small rodents, which usually have been considered to exhibit exclusively cyclic dynamics in these regions, lost their cyclicity during a period of approximately 20 yr at the beginning of this century. During their cyclic phases the small rodent populations fluctuated synchronously within each of the geographic regions and between South-East Norway and Central Norway. But North Norway was out of phase with the two southern geographic regions. A reduction of the total number of small rodent predators, as a result of a country wide predator extermination programme initiated around 1900, may have produced the changes in the small rodent population dynamics as well as a dramatic increase in the population of several small game species.

Only recently has the importance of politics in northern resource development been apparent. Governments, resource companies, and the public thought that lack of technology would be the major obstacle in the way of exploiting non-renewable resources in northern areas. The political difficulties encountered by British Petroleum and its Alaska North Slope partners, when trying to obtain government approval for the trans-Alaska (Alyeska) oil pipeline in the late 1960s, were the first clear sign that there exist widely varying political attitudes towards non-renewable resource development in northern lands (Arnold and others, 1976). Native groups in Canada's Northwest Territories were later successfully to argue their case against a Mackenzie valley gas pipeline before the public and a special inquiry (Morton, 1978). The attitude of the Canadian public towards the native position was sympathetic and open to compromise. Recent political emphasis in northern North America has been on the impact of non-renewable resource development upon native peoples and the environment. This has been true of Greenland but less so of North Norway (Nord Norge). Political attitudes over Svalbard have focused almost exclusively upon the international implications of non-renewable resource development (Sollie and others, 1974).

The Trollfjord-Komagelv (T-K) fault is a major WNW–ESE trending dextral strike-slip fault which cuts the Caledonides of northern Norway, with a palaeomagnetically determined displacement of 500–1000 km. Although earlier interpretations suggested a pre-Caledonian age for the strike-slip displacement, our analysis shows that the fault movement was intimately associated with late Caledonian thrusting. The epizone/high-intermediate baric type metamorphism of the Barents Sea Caledonides has been used to constrain their restored position relative to other units in the Caledonides in northern Scandinavia. This indicates a postmetamorphic dextral displacement along the T-K fault of ∼415 km. The Kalak Nappe Complex straddles the line of the T-K fault but has not been cut by it. Despite this relationship, it is argued that the Kalak Nappe Complex was emplaced prior to strike-slip fault movement. North of the fault, structures reflect blind thrusting and passive roof duplex development, refolded by en echelon strike-slip structures, indicating that T-K fault movement started after thrusting. South of the fault, structures in the Gaissa Thrust Belt have been affected by strike-slip movement, although final thrust movements deformed the T-K fault. The Kalak Nappe Complex north of the T-K fault was carried passively by the strike-slip block while to the south, major thrusting occurred.

An acoustic assessment of the krill stock based on estimates from a back-scattering model is presented. The model is empirical and based on measurements of the back-scattering intensity, the physical properties, and orientational characteristics of krill. Two main swarms were recorded in the fjord. The bigger swarm was c. 7 km long, with concentrations of 2000 krill/m2 while the other was c. 6 km long, with up to 1000 krill/m2. Within these swarms the krill formed distinct layers with up to 75 krill/m3.

The chronology of the Younger Stone Age in Varanger, North Norway is tested by means of radiocarbon dates. Compared with earlier chronologies there are shown to be temporal deviations. These are large in relation to Simonsen's chronology of 1975 and less in the case of Helskog 1974. Maximum temporal deviation between sites is 3000 calcndric years. The beginning of the Younger Stone Age period is defined on different cultural material than previously suggested and moved from 3400 to 4500 calendric years B.C. The profound temporal changes indicate a strong need for a revision of both internal and external cultural relationships.

Water escape structures are abundant in the Gronnes Formation, a tectonically undeformed, late Precambrian shallow marine sandstone deposit in North Norway. Trough cross-bedded sandstones of the current-dominated shallow marine environment were frequently liquefied, presumably due to recurring seismic shocks. Subsequent dewatering resulted in deformation of the cross-bedding and the formation of convolute lamination. A three-fold upward vertical sequence developed where liquefaction occurred below the sediment-water interface: convoluted bed passively deformed bed undeformed bed. The passively deformed bed resulted from differential subsidence of a relatively plastic bed above a liquefied bed. It is characterized by anticlinal ridges and sand volcanoes at the sites of vertical sediment extrusion, and synclinal troughs at the sites of lateral sediment movement. Liquefaction may have been induced by either tectonic (earthquake shocks) or non-tectonic (storm-induced microseisms) trigger mechanisms, or a combination of both. The restriction of such a high frequency of water escape structures to deposits immediately above a gentle regional unconformity lends support for a tectonic trigger mechanism.

Several sites of the historic and prehistoric periods exist at the vicarage of Borg on Vestvag⊘y, North Norway. The settlement site Borg I, which is at present being investigated within the framework of a Scandinavian research project, is believed to be a Late Iron Age chieftain's residence.

Spat of the Iceland scallop, Chlamys islandica (O.F. Muller), was artificially collected using thin nylon monofilament as a substrate for settlement. Collectors placed at depths between 15 m and 40 m in Balsfjord, north Norway, collected most spat at depths of between 30 m and 40 m. After settlement in September the spat grew slowly until the following spring (April/May) when growth accelerated. One year after settlement a shell height of about 7 mm was attained. There was also some evidence that secondary migration in this species begins about 1 year after settlement.

Pink salmon transplanted to the north Atlantic coast from the Soviet Union reached a peak in 1973, both in the Soviet Union and in Finnmark. Pink salmon catch statistics were compiled in 1977 for the inshore coastal and fjord areas of Finnmark from the atlantic salmon fisheries conducted locally and outside the coastal limits of Finnmark. The survey indicated a total sea catch of 12 800 specimens or 18 450 kg in Finnmark in 1977. The pink salmon reached the coast in the western regions of Finnmark during the first half of July, after which the main migration continued eastwards along the coast. The migrations into the western fjords were few, with half the total inshore catch captured in the most eastern fjord, Varangerfjord.

Radiocarbon dates of marine shells from Central West Greenland, Finnmark, in North Norway, and Dublin Bay, in Ireland, were used in dating relative sea-level changes. When fossil assemblages and formation of marine deposits and their relationship to sea-level were taken into account, the constructed curves of relative sea-level changes agreed with the shell dates. The origin of the shells in the deposits studied varied from site to site, but the dates gave additional information of the formation of marine deposits which could not have been obtained from the study of sediments alone.

In an attempt to study the regional income and employment impact of different harvesting regimes and harvesting patterns of marine resources, this article demonstrates an approach of combining multispecies bioeconomic modeling and input-output (I-O) analysis. The applicability and usefulness of this approach is demonstrated by implementing the model with data from North Norway and the Barents Sea fisheries.

Populations of Mytilus edulis which were attached to the floats supporting the fish cages at the University of Tromso's former experimental fish farm were found to have grown at a relatively high rate, and almost continuously. In contrast, mussels taken from other populations in the area which were not in the vicinity of any fish farm had grown more slowly and had marked growth-stoppage rings, probably laid down in winter. Mussels samples from a second fish farm in the area had grown at a rate similar to those from the University's fish farm. Possible reasons for the differences in growth rates among the populations sampled are discussed with reference to the possibilities of mussel farming in north Norway.

BOREAS Foged, N. 1978 03 01: Diatoms from the Middle and Late Weichselian and the Early Flandrian period on Andoya, north Norway. Boreas, Vol. 7, pp. 41–47. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483. From cores from a depth of 9.9 m up to 5.1 m below the present surface of a mire situated approx. 36 m above sea level on Andoya, north Norway, 47 samples were analysed for diatoms. Some 240 taxa were recorded, chiefly in Late Weichselian and Early Flandrian material. They were subdivided according to their halobion and pH relation. On the whole, the pH reaction of the environment was neutral, but it changed from faintly acid to faintly alkaline during the sedimentation of the Late Weichselian material.

Near Odda, in West Norway, metal-bearing waters enter the Sorfjord, a tributary of the Hardangerfjord. Unusually high concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Zn are present in marine life over a considerable length of the fjord. Marine life near Odda also contained concentrations of Hg higher than normal. At Fauske, in North Norway, marine organisms contain high concentrations of Cu, but this contamination is confined to a small area of the Skjerstadfjord system.

The Holocene land/sea-level changes in Finnmark, North Norway, were determined with the help of radiocarbon dates of shells from raised beaches. The regression of the sea level below 25 m could be dated in the Varangerfjord area for the time interval 5500–3600 B.P:, and below 15 m for the outer coast of the Varanger peninsula after about 4500 B.P. In addition, dates from two lakes and a former dated peat at Tomaselv were used to determine the lowering of the sea level after 9000 B.P. It was shown that radiocarbon dates of charcoal samples from archaeological sites cannot directly be compared with the other dates and also that lichenometry cannot be used in the study of the Iand/sea-level changes of the area. The influence of corrected radiocarbon ages is also discussed.

Corner, G. D. 1978. Deglaciation of Fugloy, Troms, North Norway. Norsk geogr. Tidsskr. Vol. 32, pp. 137-142. Oslo, ISSN 0029-1951. The deglaciation of Fugloy is dated on the basis of raised shorelines and deglaciation limits. A probable lateral moraine of the Weichselian ice sheet is tentatively dated to pre-Bolling (Middle Weichselian). Cirque glaciation after the retreat of the Weichselian ice sheet is probably between Younger Dryas and Bolling in age.

A total of 77 adult and 123 juvenile willow grouse ( Lagopus lagopus ) from the island of Karlsöy, and 75 adult and 63 juvenile willow grouse from Sennaland on the mainland of North Norway were examined for helminths. Raillietina urogalli and Hymenolepis microps , and Ascaridia compar and Syngamus trachea were found. All four species occurred regularly in grouse from Karlsöy between April and September-October, but only H. microps was frequently found in birds from Sennaland. S. trachea only parasitised juvenile grouse.

Lithostratigraphic investigations, pollen and diatom analysis, and 14C datings of three sections at Ramsa on Andoy in Vesteralen indicate an age of c. 6000 BP for the Holocene (Tapes) transgression maximum. Two dates from Lofoten (Leknes and Eggum) give a similar age.

Sociological tables are given for five communities found on Alnus incana in Troms, North Norway: Arthopyrenietum punctiformis P. James et al., Lecanoretum chloropoliae ass. nov., Lecanoretum subfuscae Hil., Lobarion pulmonariae Ochsn. and Parmelietum olivaceae Barkm. Snow cover and shading from large ferns are important factors governing the distribution of the communities on the tree trunks.

Dye‐marking and ringing of drake Goosanders after their breeding activities were completed in Britain has proved the existence of a moult migration to the Tana estuary in north Norway. Counts of moulting drakes in Finnmark and estimates of the sizes of breeding and winter populations suggest that almost all drake Goosanders in western Europe moult in this one area.

Rates of food consumption are notoriously difficult to measure under field conditions and indirect methods must be used. Using data for cod collected from three different areas (North Sea, Faroes & Balsfjorden), food consumption was estimated from stomach fullness and rates of gastric evacuation. These estimates were then compared with estimates given by analysis of food-growth relationships. Although estimates were of the same order of magnitude there were differences. These differences were suggested to be largely due to insufficient knowledge relating to feeding rhythms of wild fish and lack of data regarding the‘costs of reproduction’. Differences between the annual energy budgets of cod from the three stocks are discussed.

Two periods of garnet growth (Gt1 and Gt2) have been found in the Finnmarkian nappes of north Norway. In the Kolvik Nappe (the lowest nappe) Gt1 has preserved an S2 syntectonic spiral inclusion fabric; in the Olderfjord Nappe an earlier S1 fabric and an interkinematic inter-D1–D2 fabric have been preserved in Gt1 whilst only the S1 fabric has been found in Gt1 in the Brennsvik Nappe (the highest nappe). In each nappe Gt2 overgrew a penetrative fabric (S2) wrapped around Gt1. In the Kolvik Nappe inclusion fabrics may be continuous from Gt1 into Gt2 but in the higher nappes there is a distinct break. Gt2 may have been partially syntectonic with D3 in the Brennsvik Nappe. Chemically Gt1 in the Kolvik Nappe and in parts of the Olderfjord and Brennsvik Nappes has antithetic Fe-Mn zoning. In all nappes XCa and XMg are weakly zoned in Gt1; XMg increases outwards and is greater in the higher nappes in Gt1 suggesting higher nucleation temperatures. In the Olderfjord and Brennsvik Nappes Gt2 is marked by increasing XCa, probably due to changing garnet-plagioclase equilibria, although the Fe/Mg ratio remains constant. XMg is higher in Gt2 than Gt1. Basement rocks within the nappe pile have an early pre-Finnmarkian growth (Gt1) and a later Finnmarkian growth (GtH) correlated with Gt2 on the basis of chemical zoning patterns. The diachroneity of Gt1 is ascribed to progressively earlier (compared to the structural development) cessation of overstepping of garnet-forming reactions before peak metamorphism in the higher nappes, resulting in earlier structural events being preserved.

Four localities between south‐west Lofoten and north Troms have been studied by means of pollen‐analysis combined with C14‐datings. Introduction of animal husbandry in Lofoten c. 4400 calendar years B.C. is suggested. The earliest Hordeum‐growing at the Lofoten site was established c. 2200 calendar years B.C. Probable colonization of marginal farm places and farming areas has been dated to resp. c. 100 calendar years B.C. and A.D. 200 and 430, at different localities. Animal husbandry based upon leaf foddering was probably dominant during Neolithic times, and was also important during later periods. Grassland pastures probably became established during Bronze Age (south Scandinavian terms), especially during the Later Bronze Age. Establishment of farms in the Early Iron Age were characterized by a rapid formation of grassland, probably due to more advanced agricultural methods.

When plotted on a δD-δ18O diagram, the isotope values of basal ice formed by refreezing of melt water beneath the cold-based margin of a corrie glacier lie on a straight line with a slope of 5.5. This freezing slope differs from a slope of 7.2 for the basal ice layer of the cold-based ice cap, Balgesvarri, which has not undergone refreezing. The latter slope is similar to that of 7.7 for the local precipitation. Co-isotope measurements from the two glaciers support the association of subglacial debris entrainment with refreezing processes.

Basal layers in bogs in the Lofoten-Vesteralen archipelago, North Norway, have been 14C-dated. Especially effects of climatic conditions on the existence and distribution of younger and older bogs are discussed.

Textural relationships between porphyroblasts of biotite and garnet in metasediments in the Nordkinn Peninsula area of the Finnmarkian Caledonides of North Norway are apparently complex. There is evidence for two textural zones in both mineral phases and superficially the development of these appears to have overlapped, at least in part, in time and space. This apparently complex porphyroblast growth history can be considerably simplified if only one period of garnet growth occurred and if different inclusion fabrics developed where garnet replaced biotite porphyroblasts and where it overgrew the matrix foliation. The possibility that porphyroblasts with textural evidence for multiphase growth histories actually grew during a single crystallization event is of importance in the interpretation and elucidation of tectonometamorphic relationships.

After a brief introduction to Scandinavian settlement archaeology, and that of North Norway in particular, a detailed analysis of the Viking Age settlement situation at the island of Vestvag⊘y is undertaken. An attempt is made to arrive at quantitative figures for both farm number and population size. The methods, or rather the combination of methods, differ somewhat from what is normally met with. There is heavy reliance on the occurrence, of deserted farms and farmyards as well as on pollen‐analysis. A retrospective use of written records and later archaeological evidence is also employed. The results indicate a dense settlement in the Viking Age and a situation not much different from that of the 14th century and that of the 17th century. Finally the Viking Age chiefdom organization is briefly dealt with.

A lichenometric investigation of the 14 major Neoglacial end moraine sequences formed by the Okstindan Glaciers revealed the presence of a similar ‘Little Ice Age’ sequence, while in four instances, older Neoglacial end moraines occurred outside the former sequence. Using lichenometric and historical data from Okstindan and other Scandinavian glacierized regions, the formation of the ‘Little Ice Age’ and moraines was assigned to the period between A.D. 1920 and an undefined part of the 18th century. The older end moraines could not be lichenometrically dated, though it was evident that they were considerably older than the others. Comparisons of lichenometric data collected using different sampling and lichen measuring methods showed that significantly different results were obtained.

Shortly after 1300 hrs on wednesday March 5, 1986, a snow avalanche released from Storebalak, a mountain located at Vassdalen in Nordland county. The avalanche struck 31 men from the North Norway Brigade while they were moving snowmobiles along a stream valley on the north side of Storebalak. Thirty men (3 sergeants and 27 soldiers) originated from Platoon 2, Engineer Company, and one soldier had been borrowed from Infantry Battalion 3. All of the men were swept along by the avalanche, and to a greater or lesser extent, buried in the snow mass. A total of 16 of the 31 men were killed in the accident, and there were 15 survivors. The accident took place in association with the Nato winter exercise, Anchor Express. According to the battle plan, Brigade North was to advance northward along the highway E6 from the Bjerkvik area near Narvik. One battalion, Infantry Battalion 3 was to carry out a flank operation through the valleys Vassdalen, Bukkedalen and Rauddalen to Bonnes, in order to come behind the enemy and cut off the E6 at Salangsdalen. The opening of a snowmobile track through the abovementioned valleys as early as possible, was essential to carrying out this operation. Platoon 2, from the Engineer Company, Brigade North, was in the process of preparing this track when the accident took place.