Station and ship person days

Information was obtained from the ANARE Health Register. See Metadata record entitled ANARE Health Register.

INDICATOR DEFINITION
Human population in stations and ships expressed in person-days.

TYPE OF INDICATOR
There are three types of indicators used in this report:
1.Describes the CONDITION of important elements of a system;
2.Show the extent of the major PRESSURES exerted on a system;
3.Determine RESPONSES to either condition or changes in the condition of a system.

This indicator is one of: PRESSURE

RATIONALE FOR INDICATOR SELECTION
It is generally accepted that the potential impact on the natural environment is proportional to the human population. This is the 'human footprint'. Human activities can cause disruption in physical, chemical and biological systems. As stated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (1996): 'To understand the human impact on the Australian environment, it is necessary to know how many people live here, and how they are distributed across the continent.'

This indicator reveals where the greatest direct pressures related to size of the human population (e.g. fuel usage, sewerage and other waste generation etc) occur.

DESIGN AND STRATEGY FOR INDICATOR MONITORING PROGRAM
Spatial scale: Antarctic and sub-Antarctic stations and ANARE ships travelling to and from these stations.

Frequency: Monthly figures reported annually.

Measurement technique: The Polar Medicine Branch collects data on all expeditioner movements. These data are entered into the Health Register and updated as personnel arrive on or leave a station.

RESEARCH ISSUES
Now that this figure is available, research is required to ascertain the quantitive relationships of station and ship population to other indicators such as fuel usage and waste generation. This measure may be able to deliver a quantitative estimate of human pressure on the Antarctic environment.

LINKS TO OTHER INDICATORS
SOE Indicator 47 - Number and nature of incidents resulting in environmental impact
SOE Indicator 49 - Medical consultations per 1000 person years
SOE Indicator 50 - Effluent monitoring - Volume of coastal discharge from Australian stations
SOE Indicator 51 - Effluent monitoring - Biological oxygen demand
SOE Indicator 52 - Effluent monitoring - Suspended solids content
SOE Indicator 53 - Recycled and quarantine waste returned to Australia
SOE Indicator 54 - Amount of waste incinerated at Australian Stations
SOE Indicator 56 - Monthly fuel usage of the generator sets and boilers
SOE Indicator 57 - Monthly total of fuel used by station incinerators
SOE Indicator 58 - Monthly total of fuel used by station vehicles
SOE Indicator 59 - Monthly electricity usage
SOE Indicator 60 - Total helicopter hours
SOE Indicator 61 - Total potable water consumption

The fields in this dataset are:
Location
Date
Population (person-days)
Illness Rate (per 1000 person years)
Injury Rate (per 1000 person years)