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Developing a standardised approach to measuring the environmental footprint of antarctic research stations
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-19, 09:03 authored by Shaun BrooksWithin the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, momentum has been building to define and manage the human footprint of research stations in Antarctica. This has been reflected by national operators and researchers offering varied approaches to measuring "footprint". By not having a standard method, comparative measurements have shown great disparity. By formulating a standard approach, this study delivered a method that enables comparison. To achieve this, recognition was needed of the vastly different environments in which Antarctic stations are situated. To aid this, defining what to measure, resources consumed, and location descriptors were developed to represent the actual impact of the footprint. The model was then tested on Australia's Davis Station. Inspection of aerial photography and mapping with geographical information systems was supported by field measurements. The model was found to be applicable, with on-the-ground measurements detecting additional footprint area not obvious from the desktop methods. While open to refinement, this study offers a standardised and comparable approach to measuring the footprint of Antarctic research stations.
History
Publication title
Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and ManagementVolume
16Issue
4Article number
1450037Number
1450037Pagination
1-19ISSN
1464-3332Department/School
Institute for Marine and Antarctic StudiesPublisher
World Scientific Publishing CoPlace of publication
United StatesRights statement
© Imperial College PressRepository Status
- Restricted