standing scientific group on geosciences - Scientific Committee on ...

XXVIII SCAR Delegates Agenda 4.3 Paper 14
Recommends that National Committees, where possible, place long-term GPS observatories
on remote bedrock features (as identified by the SCAR ANTEC <strong>group</strong> –
www.antec.scar.org/proposed_gps.htm) to provide information on the current tectonic
motion of the Antarctic plate.
6. King George Island Geographic Information System
Noting the SCAR recommendation XXVI-6 concerning rationalization of <strong>scientific</strong> activities
on King George Island the Geospatial Information Group of Experts
Recognising that a Geographic Information System for the whole island has been produced
and is now available on the internet
Recommends that countries with program activities on King George Island should make use
of this integrated system for science activity, environmental planning and logistic
operations.
And further recommends that National Committees, through their National Programmes,
continue providing spatially referenced data to the GIS for the mutual benefit of all
National Programmes with activities on the island.
New Recommendation
Concerning Geographic Information contact officers
Background
Recent studies of spatial information stored in SCAR data bases, in particular the SCAR
Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica have highlighted problems with the integrity of that data.
In particular, coordinates for some named places vary between national gazetteers. This has
happened for a variety of reasons that do not reflect on the competence of those responsible
for the data but rather reflect such factors as:
1. Changes in surveying techniques which go from historical times to present
2. Loss of metadata such as, which geodetic reference system was used during the
original mapping of a feature.
3. Changes in the features themselves. For example, a named nunatak may now be part
of a ridge because of ice recession, or streams have migrated across their floodplain.
4. Lack of clarity in the original feature description.
This problem has important practical implications. Some Antarctic Specially Protected Areas
are defined about a topographic feature. If there are several sets of coordinates for the feature,
management of the area becomes impossible. Computer access and processing of <strong>scientific</strong>
data attached to a named feature can be compromised, and search and rescue can be hindered
if search parties have several different coordinate options for the same feature to choose
from.
This problem should be rectified during re-mapping activities and requires international
liaison between responsible geographic information specialists. Not every SCAR nation has a
designated Geographic Information contact person, therefore hindering the resolution of this
problem and other spatial data issues.
Thus the Geoscience Standing Scientific Group puts forward the following recommendation:
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