Presentation to National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs

The National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs funded a one-year planning effort to design a long-term program to monitor the environmental impact of science and operations at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The year of planning is being followed by a three year pilot project to test the assumptions and methodologies that form the basis for the program's design. The following presentation develops the rationale for the program and describes the elements that make-up the pilot project. Once refined, it is intended that the observing system established will continue to collect information to support management in minimizing and reducing the impact of humans at the station. It is also intended that the lessons learned at McMurdo Station will be used to appropriately manage other USAP facilities and provide an example for managing human presence in Antarctica for all other Treaty nations.(Slide 1)
In order to develop a long-term monitoring system, a three phase program was envisioned. The program includes compilation of all appropriate historical data-sets, evaluation of various monitoring design approaches, consideration of methodologies in the context of the Antarctic environment, a pilot project, and final implementation of a long-term monitoring program to be routinely executed.(Slide 2)
Phase I of the program had five objectives.(Slide 3)
Phase I was accomplished through the completion of seven Tasks. These Tasks included formation of an external advisory board of respected Antarctic and monitoring scientists and production of four reports.(Slide 4)
The four reports included a compilation of historical information, consideration of temporal and spatial scales of monitoring, selection of indicators, and a pilot project design.(Report 1, Report 2, Report 3, Report 4) (Slide 5)
Four goals for the long-term monitoring program were set forth.(Slide 7)
To develop a comprehensive and interlocking program of subelements, an overarching strategy was devised to direct the design of the program. It was also recognized that McMurdo Station consisted of several interrelated environmental settings that had their own special design requirements: terrestrial, marine, and ice/snow-covered.(Slide 8)
The elements of a terrestrial monitoring program are summarized.(Slide 9)
The elements of a marine monitoring program are summarized including benthic monitoring and water quality subcomponents.(Slide 10)
The elements of a monitoring program for ice/snow covered areas are summarized. In addition, all monitoring results will be evaluated in the context of the duration and the intensity of human activities at the station. Measures of these activities are summarized. (Slide 11)
There are three elements to the regional design. Regional in this context is the entire area that is to be monitored. (Slide 12)
Aerail photography can be used to map the general attributes of the entire station area and begin to define the stations "footprint:. (Slide 13)
An example of an orthophotograph of McMurdo Station. This is a photograph of the station taken in 1993 and has better than a one meter resolution. (Slide 14)
The use of high resolution aerial photography provides many advantages in reconstructing the history of the development of the station. In particular, imagery is available for a period of more than forty years.(Slide 15)
Additional benefits from the use of aerial photography. High resolution photography allows one to establish the setting of each sample taken within the station area. (Slide 16)
A listing of the aerial photography that has been archived to date is listed.(Slide 17)
An important attribute of environments in polar climates is the extent and persistence of snow cover. (Slide 18)
The various types of information can be used to produce maps of important attributes of the area being studied. (Slide 19)
There have been several studies of human disturbance conducted in the past at McMurdo Station related to various management concerns. In this example Total Petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) were measured in areas where fuel spills might be expected. This study documented elevated levels of TPH near fuel storage tanks, fuel pipelines, and the helicopter pad.(Slide 21)
Each subcomponent of the monitoring program will include on-the-ground sampling of discrete samples at predetermined sites called point sampling. (Slide 25)
In the terrestrial setting a regional grid of sampling sites spaced 100 m apart will be sampled for a variety of parameters.(Slide 28)
Within the regional sampling grid closer spaced sampling sites will also be occupied in areas known or suspected of being contaminated. These include landfills (LF), fuel tanks (FT), fuel lines (FL), and the helicopter pad (HE).(Slide 29)
Runoff channels will also be sampled to determine the input of materials to the adjacent marine environment from runoff. (Slide 30)
In the marine environment a series of onshore/offshore transects will be sampled for benthic marine sediments. Samples are taken in multiple locations at similar water depth. Special attention will be paid to Winters Quarter Bay an area of known historical contamination. (Slide 32)
Water quality will also be monitored directly off of the sewage discharge point by sampling of the water column (Slide 33)
The ice is used for runways throughout the austral summer and samples of ice and snow from these areas will be taken to determine the type and levels of contaminants introduced from these activities.(Slide 35)
An example of the tremendous changes that have occurred over the past century in the McMurdo Station area. The upper left hand photograph looks across Winters Quarters Bay to the present site of McMurdo Station early in the twentieth century and the photograph in the lower right hand corner shows the same view nearly one hundred years later in the 1990's.(Slide 37)
All disturbances at the base will be judged in relation to the activities that are occurring at the station. Station activities can be categorized into a variety of types and indicate the intensity of human presence at the station.(Slide 38)
Ultimately all of the information collected and compiled will be entered into a relational database for easy display of the wide variety and types of information that are available about the performance and impact of the station.(Slide 39)
Year 1 - Terrestrial and Ice Covered Area Sampling Design Assumption Testing Year 2 - Marine Sampling Revised Terrestrial and Ice Covered Area Sampling Design Assumption Testing Year 3 - Revised Terrestrial, Marine, and Ice Covered Area Sampling ntThe pilot project will be phased in over a three year period. (Slide 40)
The pilot project began in October, 1999 and will be conducted over a three year period. Year 1 is from October 1, 1999 to September, 2000; Year 2 October 1, 2000 to September 30, 2001, and be completed from October 1, 2001 through September 30, 2002.(Slide 41)

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