WOLFS FANG RUNWAY Initial Environmental Evaluation Report Final July 2016
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Office of Polar Programs
DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SURFACE TRAVERSE CAPABILITIES IN ANTARCTICA COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION DRAFT (15 January 2004) FINAL (30 August 2004) National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Boulevard Arlington, Virginia 22230 DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SURFACE TRAVERSE CAPABILITIES IN ANTARCTICA FINAL COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................1-1 1.1 Purpose.......................................................................................................................................1-1 1.2 Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation (CEE) Process .......................................................1-1 1.3 Document Organization .............................................................................................................1-2 2.0 BACKGROUND OF SURFACE TRAVERSES IN ANTARCTICA..................................2-1 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................2-1 2.2 Re-supply Traverses...................................................................................................................2-1 2.3 Scientific Traverses and Surface-Based Surveys .......................................................................2-5 3.0 ALTERNATIVES ....................................................................................................................3-1 -
A NEWS BULLETIN Published Quarterly by the NEW ZEALAND ANTARCTIC SOCIETY (INC)
A NEWS BULLETIN published quarterly by the NEW ZEALAND ANTARCTIC SOCIETY (INC) An English-born Post Office technician, Robin Hodgson, wearing a borrowed kilt, plays his pipes to huskies on the sea ice below Scott Base. So far he has had a cool response to his music from his New Zealand colleagues, and a noisy reception f r o m a l l 2 0 h u s k i e s . , „ _ . Antarctic Division photo Registered at Post Ollice Headquarters. Wellington. New Zealand, as a magazine. II '1.7 ^ I -!^I*"JTr -.*><\\>! »7^7 mm SOUTH GEORGIA, SOUTH SANDWICH Is- . C I R C L E / SOUTH ORKNEY Is x \ /o Orcadas arg Sanae s a Noydiazarevskaya ussr FALKLAND Is /6Signyl.uK , .60"W / SOUTH AMERICA tf Borga / S A A - S O U T H « A WEDDELL SHETLAND^fU / I s / Halley Bav3 MINING MAU0 LAN0 ENOERBY J /SEA uk'/COATS Ld / LAND T> ANTARCTIC ••?l\W Dr^hnaya^^General Belgrano arg / V ^ M a w s o n \ MAC ROBERTSON LAND\ '■ aust \ /PENINSULA' *\4- (see map betowi jrV^ Sobldl ARG 90-w {■ — Siple USA j. Amundsen-Scott / queen MARY LAND {Mirny ELLSWORTH" LAND 1, 1 1 °Vostok ussr MARIE BYRD L LAND WILKES LAND ouiiiv_. , ROSS|NZJ Y/lnda^Z / SEA I#V/VICTORIA .TERRE , **•»./ LAND \ /"AOELIE-V Leningradskaya .V USSR,-'' \ --- — -"'BALLENYIj ANTARCTIC PENINSULA 1 Tenitnte Matianzo arg 2 Esptrarua arg 3 Almirarrta Brown arc 4PttrtlAHG 5 Otcipcion arg 6 Vtcecomodoro Marambio arg * ANTARCTICA 7 Arturo Prat chile 8 Bernardo O'Higgins chile 1000 Miles 9 Prasid«fTtB Frei chile s 1000 Kilometres 10 Stonington I. -
Station Sharing in Antarctica
IP 94 Agenda Item: ATCM 7, ATCM 10, ATCM 11, ATCM 14, CEP 5, CEP 6b, CEP 9 Presented by: ASOC Original: English Station Sharing in Antarctica 1 IP 94 Station Sharing in Antarctica Information Paper Submitted by ASOC to the XXIX ATCM (CEP Agenda Items 5, 6 and 9, ATCM Agenda Items 7, 10, 11 and 14) I. Introduction and overview As of 2005 there were at least 45 permanent stations in the Antarctic being operated by 18 countries, of which 37 were used as year-round stations.i Although there are a few examples of states sharing scientific facilities (see Appendix 1), for the most part the practice of individual states building and operating their own facilities, under their own flags, persists. This seems to be rooted in the idea that in order to become a full Antarctic Treaty Consultative Party (ATCP), one has to build a station to show seriousness of scientific purpose, although formally the ATCPs have clarified that this is not the case. The scientific mission and international scientific cooperation is nominally at the heart of the ATS,ii and through SCAR the region has a long-established scientific coordination body. It therefore seems surprising that half a century after the adoption of this remarkable Antarctic regime, we still see no truly international stations. The ‘national sovereign approach’ continues to be the principal driver of new stations. Because new stations are likely to involve relatively large impacts in areas that most likely to be near pristine, ASOC submits that this approach should be changed. In considering environmental impact analyses of proposed new station construction, the Committee on Environmental Protection (CEP) presently does not have a mandate to take into account opportunities for sharing facilities (as an alternative that would reduce impacts). -
Development Pressures on the Antarctic Wilderness
XXVIII ATCM – IP May 2004 Original: English Agenda Items 3 (Operation of the CEP) and 4a (General Matters) DEVELOPMENT PRESSURES ON THE ANTARCTIC WILDERNESS Submitted to the XXVIII ATCM by the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition DEVELOPMENT PRESSURES ON THE ANTARCTIC WILDERNESS 1. Introduction In 2004 the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) tabled information paper ATCM XXVII IP 094 “Are new stations justified?”. The paper highlighted proposals for the construction of no less than five new Antarctic stations in the context of at least 73 established stations (whether full year or summer only), maintained by 26 States already operating in the Antarctic Treaty Area. The paper considered what was driving the new station activity in Antarctica, whether or not it was necessary or desirable, and what alternatives there might be to building yet more stations. Whilst IP 094 focused on new station proposals, it noted that there were other significant infrastructure projects underway in Antarctica, which included substantial upgrades of existing national stations, the development of air links to various locations in Antarctica and related runways, and an ice road to the South Pole. Since then, ASOC has become aware of additional proposals for infrastructure projects. This paper updates ASOC’s ATCM XXVII IP 094 to include most infrastructure projects planned or currently underway in Antarctica as of April 2005, and discusses their contribution to cumulative impacts. The criteria used to select these projects are: 1. The project’s environmental impact is potentially “more than minor or transitory”; 2. The project results in a development of infrastructure that is significant in the Antarctic context; 3. -
Nsf.Gov OPP: Report of the U.S. Antarctic Program Blue Ribbon
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MORE AND BETTER SCIENCE IN ANTARCTICA THROUGH INCREASED A LOGISTICAL EFFECTIVENESS Report of the U.S. Antarctic Program Blue Ribbon Panel Washington, D.C. July 23, 2012 This booklet summarizes the report of the U.S. Antarctic Program Blue Ribbon Panel, More and Better Science in Antarctica Through Increased Logistical Effectiveness. The report was completed at the request of the White House office of science and Technology Policy and the National Science Foundation. Copies of the full report may be obtained from David Friscic at [email protected] (phone: 703-292-8030). An electronic copy of the report may be downloaded from http://www.nsf.gov/ od/opp/usap_special_review/usap_brp/rpt/index.jsp. Cover art by Zina Deretsky. Front and back inside covers showing McMurdo’s Dry Valleys in Antarctica provided by Craig Dorman. CONTENTS Introduction ............................................ 1 The Panel ............................................... 2 Overall Assessment ................................. 3 U.S. Facilities in Antarctica ....................... 4 The Environmental Challenge .................... 7 Uncertainties in Logistics Planning ............. 8 Activities of Other Nations ....................... 9 Economic Considerations ....................... 10 Major Issues ......................................... 11 Single-Point Failure Modes ..................... 17 Recommendations ................................. 18 Concluding Observations ....................... 21 U.S. ANTARCTIC PROGRAM BLUE RIBBON PANEL WASHINGTON, -
Download (Pdf, 236
Science in the Snow Appendix 1 SCAR Members Full members (31) (Associate Membership) Full Membership Argentina 3 February 1958 Australia 3 February 1958 Belgium 3 February 1958 Chile 3 February 1958 France 3 February 1958 Japan 3 February 1958 New Zealand 3 February 1958 Norway 3 February 1958 Russia (assumed representation of USSR) 3 February 1958 South Africa 3 February 1958 United Kingdom 3 February 1958 United States of America 3 February 1958 Germany (formerly DDR and BRD individually) 22 May 1978 Poland 22 May 1978 India 1 October 1984 Brazil 1 October 1984 China 23 June 1986 Sweden (24 March 1987) 12 September 1988 Italy (19 May 1987) 12 September 1988 Uruguay (29 July 1987) 12 September 1988 Spain (15 January 1987) 23 July 1990 The Netherlands (20 May 1987) 23 July 1990 Korea, Republic of (18 December 1987) 23 July 1990 Finland (1 July 1988) 23 July 1990 Ecuador (12 September 1988) 15 June 1992 Canada (5 September 1994) 27 July 1998 Peru (14 April 1987) 22 July 2002 Switzerland (16 June 1987) 4 October 2004 Bulgaria (5 March 1995) 17 July 2006 Ukraine (5 September 1994) 17 July 2006 Malaysia (4 October 2004) 14 July 2008 Associate Members (12) Pakistan 15 June 1992 Denmark 17 July 2006 Portugal 17 July 2006 Romania 14 July 2008 261 Appendices Monaco 9 August 2010 Venezuela 23 July 2012 Czech Republic 1 September 2014 Iran 1 September 2014 Austria 29 August 2016 Colombia (rejoined) 29 August 2016 Thailand 29 August 2016 Turkey 29 August 2016 Former Associate Members (2) Colombia 23 July 1990 withdrew 3 July 1995 Estonia 15 June -
Balloons up and Away
Published during the austral summer at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, for the United States Antarctic Program December 21, 2003 Home away Balloons up and away from Dome By Kris Kuenning TRACER Sun staff As steel and plywood panels continue to go up at the new takes flight Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station building, this season’s By Brien Barnett residents are living out the transi- Sun staff tion from old Dome to new sta- Inside TRACER mission tion. control, Patrick “JoJo” Boyle With the summer crew set- sits in the six-foot square tling into the first two occupied office listening to music and sections of the new station, there watching computer monitors is some nostalgia for Dome life, for incoming data and mes- but the large new dining facility, sages. with windows overlooking the Every now and then Boyle ceremonial South Pole, has won points to the monitor where a a lot of hearts over already. string of bright red pixels “I don’t miss the old galley suddenly appear, indicating a one bit,” said cargo technician recent high-energy cosmic Scot Jackson, “and I really ray event. The tone of his thought I would.” voice shows excitement. Head chef “Cookie” Jon “Oooh, that’s a big Emanuel is enjoying the new event… That’s an iron event facilities, too, but is feeling the for sure … There’s another pangs of the transition when it one.” comes to getting supplies up to Behind him, in the office the second floor kitchen. Despite at McMurdo Station’s Crary the limiting size and aging facil- Laboratory is a map of ities of the old kitchen, the food Antarctica with a semicircle stores were always in easy reach of sticky notes stuck to it. -
Animal Airlift, 1968 Elsner and Gerald L
olivine-rich intrusive is dominant in the westernmost part of the mountains. In the east, a small isolated outcrop consisted of sedimentary rocks in a sequence of about 50 m, containing a fossil Glosopteris flora of Permian age. All mountains were crossed by do- lerite sills and dykes. Astronomical observations of the sun and stars were made to get an exact location of the mountains; for elevation estimation, a series of pressure readings will be compared with contemporaneous ones from SANAE and Halley Bay. Measurements of the mag- netic field were also made. During work in the moun- tains, animal and plant life were observed, and some samples were taken. In January, the glaciologist travelled 70 km north to the ice shelf, where a snow pit was dug and core drillings were made in order to compare the condi- tions there to those at the main base. Facilitated by favorable conditions, the work was finished ahead of schedule. Owing to coarse sastrugi and soft snow, the LC-130 aircraft experienced difficulty in becoming airborne, but succeeded after climbing up a slope and taking off downhill. After a day at the South Pole Station, it arrived at McMurdo Station on January Kraul Mountains 20. Weddell seals being conducted by Drs. Robert W. Animal Airlift, 1968 Elsner and Gerald L. Kooyman at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and navigational studies on Adélie K. N. MOULTON penguins being conducted by Dr. Richard L. Penney of the New York Zoological Society. To utilize fully Office of Antarctic Programs the airlift capabilities of the C-141, the National National Science Foundation Science Foundation agreed to fulfill several requests from zoological parks and arrange for the return During the early morning hours of December 2, of Adélie and emperor penguins as well as south polar 1968, a (J-141 Starlifter, presently the largest trans- skuas for the Detroit, Cincinnati, St. -
A NTARCTIC Southpole-Sium
N ORWAY A N D THE A N TARCTIC SouthPole-sium v.3 Oslo, Norway • 12-14 May 2017 Compiled and produced by Robert B. Stephenson. E & TP-32 2 Norway and the Antarctic 3 This edition of 100 copies was issued by The Erebus & Terror Press, Jaffrey, New Hampshire, for those attending the SouthPole-sium v.3 Oslo, Norway 12-14 May 2017. Printed at Savron Graphics Jaffrey, New Hampshire May 2017 ❦ 4 Norway and the Antarctic A Timeline to 2006 • Late 18th Vessels from several nations explore around the unknown century continent in the south, and seal hunting began on the islands around the Antarctic. • 1820 Probably the first sighting of land in Antarctica. The British Williams exploration party led by Captain William Smith discovered the northwest coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The Russian Vostok and Mirnyy expedition led by Thaddeus Thadevich Bellingshausen sighted parts of the continental coast (Dronning Maud Land) without recognizing what they had seen. They discovered Peter I Island in January of 1821. • 1841 James Clark Ross sailed with the Erebus and the Terror through the ice in the Ross Sea, and mapped 900 kilometres of the coast. He discovered Ross Island and Mount Erebus. • 1892-93 Financed by Chr. Christensen from Sandefjord, C. A. Larsen sailed the Jason in search of new whaling grounds. The first fossils in Antarctica were discovered on Seymour Island, and the eastern part of the Antarctic Peninsula was explored to 68° 10’ S. Large stocks of whale were reported in the Antarctic and near South Georgia, and this discovery paved the way for the large-scale whaling industry and activity in the south. -
Antarctic Treaty
ANTARCTIC TREATY REPORT OF THE NORWEGIAN ANTARCTIC INSPECTION UNDER ARTICLE VII OF THE ANTARCTIC TREATY FEBRUARY 2009 Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Article VII of the Antarctic Treaty .................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Past inspections under the Antarctic Treaty ................................................................................................... 2 1.3 The 2009 Norwegian Inspection...................................................................................................................... 3 2. Summary of findings ...................................................................................................................................... 6 2.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 2.2 Operations....................................................................................................................................................... 7 2.3 Scientific research .......................................................................................................................................... -
Mcmurdo Station, Antarctica MASTER PLAN for WORLD’S COLDEST AIRPORT
McMurdo Station, Antarctica MASTER PLAN FOR WORLD’S COLDEST AIRPORT Ty C. Sander, PE Vice President & Aviation Group Manager (BSCE ‘98) Andrew J. Bodine, PE, CM Project Manager (BSCE ‘11) Overview 1. Antarctica 2. Air Operations in Antarctica 3. Single Airfield Complex Master Plan Similar But Different • Air Passenger Terminal Similar But Different • Air Passenger Terminal Similar But Different • Air Passenger Terminal Antarctica: A Place of Extremes • Coldest • Driest • Windiest • Least Inhabited • Most Isolated • Harshest Antarctica: A Place of Extremes 5.4M Sq. Miles Antarctica: A Place of Extremes • 98% Ice Covered • 70% World’s Fresh Water • 6,000 ft Thick Why Antarctica? SCIENCE Unique Species Why Antarctica? SCIENCE Unique Species Why Antarctica? SCIENCE Unique Geology Why Antarctica? SCIENCE Unique Climate Why Antarctica? SCIENCE Unique Environment Antarctica Development • National Science Foundation – USAP – McMurdo 1955 • Farthest South Accessible by ship National Science Foundation (NSF) Operations US Stations: • Palmer • McMurdo • South Pole NSF Cycle of Operations at McMurdo • Austral Winter • Nearly 6 months of darkness • Skeleton Crew (~150) • Limited Maintenance/ Construction • No Transport Apr-Aug NSF Cycle of Operations at McMurdo Sep: Winfly Oct-Nov: Major Influx Dec-Jan: Peak Population 1,300 Continent 1,000 @ McMurdo Feb-Mar: Northern Migration Why Air Operations in Antarctica? Limited Options Sea transport 2 ships per year: Cargo, Fuel Led in by icebreaker Why Air Operations in Antarctica? • Land transport – No paved -
Appendix 2 Wolfs Fang Runway Iee South Pole and Atka Bay
Wolfs Fang Runway IEE, Appendix 2 South Pole and Atka Bay Visits IEE August 2017 APPENDIX 2 WOLFS FANG RUNWAY IEE SOUTH POLE AND ATKA BAY VISITS INITIAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AUGUST 2017 1 Wolfs Fang Runway IEE, Appendix 2 South Pole and Atka Bay Visits IEE August 2017 CONTENTS 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 4 2 Activities Considered ....................................................................................................... 4 3 Background ....................................................................................................................... 5 3.1 Proposed changes in operations .......................................................................... 5 4 Legislative context and screening ................................................................................... 7 5 Environmental Impact Approach and Methodology ..................................................... 9 5.1 Consultation and Stakeholder Engagement .............................................................. 9 5.2 Approach ................................................................................................................. 11 6 Description of Existing Environment and Baseline Conditions ................................. 13 6.1 Study Areas, Spatial and Temporal Scope ........................................................ 13 6.2 South Pole and FD83 ...............................................................................................