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Understanding visitor use in Antarctica: the need for site criteria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2009

Pamela B. Davis
Pamela B. Davis
Affiliation:
Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1ER
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Abstract

The landing of visitors in Antarctica presents wilderness managers with several challenges. Foremost among these is ensuring that visitors do not ‘love the wilderness to death.’ This article presents research gathered on Hannah Point, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands during the austral summer of 1993/94. First, an estimation of duration and type of use was conducted to identify where visitors spent the majority of their time, and second, what conditions, such as weather, physical layout, or on-site supervision, influenced this decision. The implications of these results are discussed vis-à-vis the current system of visitor landings, and suggestions are offered to help devise criteria for landing procedures. This paper stresses how the pattern of visitor landings can be altered, as a preventative strategy, to ensure low impact on visitor sites.

Type
Articles
Information
Polar Record , Volume 34 , Issue 188 , January 1998 , pp. 45 - 52
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

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