For the purpose of publication of these Proceedings, the original conference programme has been rearranged to provide a more logical sequence of presentation. The beginning sections give the inaugural speech and the six keynote addresses which were delivered at the opening plenary session. Following these are the working papers, published more or less in the same sequence in which they were presented in the original programme. The order of presentation does not necessarily emphasise the importance of any one aspect of the Arctic Systems over others. The final reports of the six working groups and their conclusions and recommendations are edited in such a manner as to present them in a standardised format for easy comprehension. The editors accept responsibility for any distortion inadvertently introduced in the summarising and editing processes. Later sections of the Proceedings give a background to the Conference organization and deliberations, and an independent critique of the meeting. The directors and those who attended the Conference were conscious of the debt of gratitude owed by them to the Conference chairmen, rapporteurs, authors of working papers, and many individuals for their contributions to the success of the meeting. We wish to thank them and it is a pleasure to record their names in these Proceedings. Inaugural Speaker Dr. J. Rennie Whitehead, Canada Banquet Guest Speaker Honourable Mr. T. Alex Hickman, Canada Keynote Addresses Mr. C. Bornemann, Denmark Dr. A.E. Collin, Canada Dr. R.E. Francois, U.S.A.