Site selection for the next Chinese Antarctic research station

摘要

Site selection for the Antarctic research station is of great importance and necessary for Antarctic expedition, affecting both scientific investigations and service life of the station. This study was conducted to identify suitable sites for an Antarctic research station, by Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP). Considering the natural environment and built environment in the study area, fifteen criteria were proposed as multiple evaluation sub - criteria and were gro uped into four main criteria: scientific interest, environment, accessibility and topography. Weights of all the sub -criteria and main criteria were calculated through the FAHP. The weights were then multiplied with the suitability scores for each grid on raster maps of criteria in GIS software to produce the suitability maps in a hierarchical way. All the suitability maps in different levels were aggregated to allocate the most suitable areas for Chinese new Antarctic research station. Further, comparisons were also made between predicted suitable areas and existing stations and camps in Antarctica to show the fitness -for-use of the modeling results. After considering the locations of existing Chinese stations, the scientific interest of Chinese Antarctic expedition and relationships with stations of other countries, we suggested the candidate site for Chinese new Antarctic research station in the range of 166.53 ° - 167.16 °E, 77.699°- 77.847 °S and gave the final mapping.