Three sites near Scott Base and Vanda Station were used to measure soil damage from foot trampling. SCIOPS conducted investigations where a 20-meter strip of previously undisturbed ground was subjected to 20, 50, and 200 passes, with assessments of stone disturbance, footprint depth, and track width. Observations were recorded in 1995, with follow-up monitoring after one year.
Use Cases
- Modeling the relationship between pass count (20, 50, 200) and metrics like footprint depth or proportion of ground disturbed.
- Analyzing the recovery of surface stone cover and track width disturbance after a one-year observation period.
- Comparing soil trafficability susceptibility across the three distinct Antarctic site locations near Scott Base and Vanda Station.
Strengths
- Experimental design includes controlled pass counts (20, 50, 200) for comparative analysis.
- Longitudinal component with track observations recorded after one year.
Limitations
- Small experimental scale with only three sites and a single 20-meter strip per site.
- Data is temporally stale, collected in 1995 with no indicated updates.
Provenance
- Source
- SCIOPS via NASA EarthData.
- Collection Method
- Field experiments assessing ground surface before and after controlled foot traffic passes.
- Time Range
- 1995, with one-year follow-up.
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Antarctica (one site at Scott Base, two sites near Vanda Station).