Methodology of landscape monitoring in ASMA at the Admiralty Bay: application in Keller Peninsula

ABSTRACT

The first Brazilian buildings on the Antarctic Continent date from 1984, with the establishment of isolated and readymade structures from Brazil, whose primary function was supporting the development of research and marking the Brazilian intention of developing long-term activities in that place. Since then, the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Base, located in Keller Peninsula, has undergone deep and disorganized transformations, reaching 2.250 m² in its main body to date, not considering the individual units. At first the establishment of the Base and its scale indicated minimal changes in the natural landscape and would allow the complete recovery of the environment, if there was a need for its removal. However, concurrent with its growth, the need for assessing the impact caused by the human presence in the region from a landscape perspective was verified. Thus, this study has the purpose of obtaining results with the view to creating a methodology of monitoring and subsequent analysis of the landscape impact on Antarctic environment and applying it to Keller Peninsula. The morphological approach is aimed at assuring the ecological sustainability of that landscape, keeping the large structures working and establishing the link between past and present.

Date: 2010