Locations of Emperor Penguin colonies in East Antarctica, 2022

This dataset shows the locations of Emperor Penguin colonies in East Antarctica in 2022, derived from the analysis of Sentinel 2 satellite imagery captured on various dates between April to December 2022. Sentinel 2 Level 2A imagery (10m resolution) was accessed via the European Space Agency’s Sentinel Playground (https://www.sentinel-hub.com/explore/sentinel-playground). The method involved searching areas where colonies had previously been reported, on imagery with generally less than 40% cloud cover (for methods see Fretwell and Trathan, 2021, Remote Sens. Ecol. Cons. 7, 139-153). Areas where faecal staining on ice was clearly visible were used as an indicator of Emperor Penguin colony presence. Colony locations identified by this method were collated into a point dataset, consisting of the colony name, location (latitude and longitude), the date of the satellite imagery from which the point location was derived, and a description of the location including any notable landmarks in the vicinity, e.g. named features, rock outcrops, grounded icebergs etc. The locations of 26 colonies from Umebosi Rock (~43° E) to Yule Bay (165.5° E) were determined through the use of satellite images. These colonies are ‘known’ colonies identified in previous studies and are named according to their location. It is important to note that these colonies tend to occur in the same general area every year, but their exact location may shift somewhat between years in response to variable sea ice conditions. The purpose of this dataset is therefore to identify exact colony locations at the specified date (the date of the satellite image from which the colony location was derived) and given the mobile nature of these colonies it is imperative that dates be included with any future colony location data. This dataset may be added to over time as colony locations vary from year to year. This dataset was developed from analysis of Sentinel 2 satellite imagery (https://sentinel.esa.int/web/sentinel/missions/sentinel-2)

本数据集呈现了2022年南极东部帝企鹅（Emperor Penguin）殖民地的分布点位，其数据源自对2022年4月至12月不同日期获取的Sentinel 2卫星（Sentinel 2）影像的分析。Sentinel 2 Level 2A级影像（分辨率10米）通过欧洲空间局（European Space Agency，ESA）的Sentinel Playground平台（https://www.sentinel-hub.com/explore/sentinel-playground）获取。研究团队先检索既往已报道的殖民地区域，所用影像的云量普遍低于40%（具体方法参见Fretwell与Trathan，2021，《Remote Sens. Ecol. Cons.》7卷，139-153页）。以冰面粪便染色痕迹清晰可见作为帝企鹅殖民地存在的判定依据。通过该方法识别出的殖民地点位被研究人员整合为点位数据集，包含殖民地名称、地理位置（纬度与经度）、获取该点位所用卫星影像的拍摄日期，以及点位周边的地标描述（如命名地物、裸露岩区、坐底冰山等）。本次研究通过卫星影像共确定了从乌梅博西岩（Umebosi Rock，约43°E）至尤勒湾（Yule Bay，165.5°E）范围内的26个殖民地。这些殖民地均为既往研究中已确认的“已知”殖民地，并以其所在位置命名。需特别说明的是，这些殖民地每年大致分布于同一区域，但受海冰条件变化的影响，其精确位置可能在不同年份间发生一定偏移。因此本数据集的目的是明确指定日期（即用于确定殖民地位置的卫星影像拍摄日期）下的精确殖民地点位；鉴于此类殖民地的位置具有移动性，未来任何殖民地点位数据均需附带拍摄日期，这一点至关重要。随着每年殖民地位置发生变化，本数据集后续可进行扩充更新。本数据集的构建基于对Sentinel 2卫星影像的分析（https://sentinel.esa.int/web/sentinel/missions/sentinel-2）