Abstract
Determination of the location of a research station in Antarctica is a very important issue, and necessary for countries to have sustainable Antarctic Scientific Program and expeditions. The suitable site selection is affected by long-term scientific work plan, its realization costs, and field experience on the continent. For this purpose, using a well-structured evaluation method is indispensable to handle decision uncertainties. This study focuses on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method with using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to detect the optimum probable location for an Antarctic research station. During the study, three main criteria groups and their sub-criteria were taken into account: spatial condition, accessibility, and international legal regime. The comparisons obtained from AHP method including GIS and surveys were used to find potentially suitable areas to demonstrate fitness-for-use of the allocation results. Finally, the suitability map was produced to identify the potential locations for the future Turkish Research Station by considering the climatic effects, environmental constraints, enabling logistics, cost and scientific interest. This study would help the decision-makers to take final steps for determining the potential Turkish Antarctic Station.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 100473 |
Journal | Polar Science |
Volume | 22 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2019 Elsevier B.V. and NIPR
Funding
This study was carried under the auspices of the Presidency of Turkish Republic, supported by the Ministry of Industry and Technology , and coordinated by Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Polar Research Center (PolReC) .
Funders | Funder number |
---|---|
Ministry of Industry and Technology | |
Istanbul Teknik Üniversitesi |