Royal Australian Navy soundings of approaches to Mawson, hand digitised from HI 99 V5/425 6762/1 (sheet A) scale 1:10 000. The data are not suitable for navigation. Bathymetric contours derived from these and other soundings are available from the metadata record with ID mawsonbathy_gis.

Royal Australian Navy soundings of approaches to Mawson, hand digitised from HI 169 V5/516 6762/3 (sheet 2) scale 1:10 000. The data are not suitable for navigation. Bathymetric contours derived from these and other soundings are available from the metadata record with ID mawsonbathy_gis.

This database is a compendium of histories of known age seals (Weddell) from observations across the Southern Ocean but focussed on the Windmill Islands, Mawson and the Vestfold Hills. Although the following information pertains to Elephant Seals, it is assumed similar procedures were undertaken with the Weddell Seals between 1973 and 2006: At Macquarie Island 1000 seals were weighed per annum between 1993-2003 at birth and individually marked with two plastic flipper tags in the inter-digital webbing of their hind flippers. These tagged seals were weighed again at weaning, when length, girth, fat depth, and flipper measurements were made. Three weeks after weaning 2000 seals were permanently and individually marked by hot-iron branding. Recaptures and re-weighings of these known aged individuals were used to calculate growth and age-specific survival of the seals. Similar data were collected from elephant seals between 1950 and 1965 when seals were individually marked by hot-iron branding. Mark-recapture data from these cohorts were used to assess the demography of the declining population. Length and mass data were also collected for these cohorts and were used, for the first time, to assess the growth of individual seals without killing them. The database was held by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre, but was taken offline due to maintenance problems. A snapshot of the database was taken in June 2018 and stored in an access database. This work was completed as part of ASAC project 90.

Royal Australian Navy soundings of approaches to Mawson Station. This fair sheet, HI 99 V5/425 6762/ scale 1:25 000, was hand digitised to capture soundings as point data. The data are not suitable for navigation. Bathymetric contours derived from these and other soundings are available from the metadata record with ID mawsonbathy_gis.

This dataset contains data on the habitats, distribution and numbers of Adelie Penguins (Pygoscellis adeliae) in the Mawson area, Antarctica during 1981 and 1988. The data are obtained from aerial photographs obtained at various times, during the 1981-82 and 1988-89 seasons. The results are listed in the documentation. Comparisons are made with census data collected in the 1971-72 summer. Data from this record has been incorporated into a larger Adelie penguin dataset described by the metadata record - Annual population counts at selected Adelie Penguin colonies within the AAT (SOE_seabird_candidate_sp_AP). It also falls under ASAC project 1219 (ASAC_1219).

This indicator is no longer maintained, and is considered OBSOLETE. INDICATOR DEFINITION Demographic parameters for the Adelie penguin at Bechervaise Island near Mawson. 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: CONDITION RATIONALE FOR INDICATOR SELECTION The Adelie penguin is a relatively long lived sea bird dependent on krill. It is expected that major changes in the availability of food (krill) to sea birds will be reflected ultimately in recruitment into the breeding population. Causes of changes in the availability of krill relate directly to changes in both the biological and physical environment brought about by man made or natural means. Ageing populations may give an outward appearance of stability in terms of numbers at a breeding colony but such a condition may mask a decline in recruitment. To determine whether there are environmental influences on the population it is necessary to undertake detailed demographic studies. Demographic studies carried out over many years on animal populations comprising known age cohorts are required to determine those factors responsible for any observed changes in recruitment and/or mortality. Population reconstruction techniques provide estimates of recruitment and mortality and relate these functions to population size and/or population trends. These studies may alert us to possible changes in the ecosystem particularly related to the availability of food to the penguins or changes to the physical environment. The identification of the cause of changes must come from detailed investigations of food availability and the environment carried out at the same time. Annual breeding success at Bechervaise Island (eggs laid to chicks fledged) varies enormously from 0 in catastrophic years to above 1 for good seasons. The population at Bechervaise Island near Mawson has been monitored since 1990 as part of the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program. Chicks and adults have been tagged annually. The number of breeding pairs has increased slightly between 1990-2001, but changes in the non -breeding population are unknown. Demographic studies based on the return rate of birds tagged as chicks provide information on trends in the overall population and the net rate of recruitment. Since it is intended that this program be undertaken indefinitely it makes this population an excellent subject for monitoring in the context of the SOE. DESIGN AND STRATEGY FOR INDICATOR MONITORING PROGRAM Spatial Scale: Restricted to the Mawson region. Similar studies are carried out by other national research programs at Terra Nova Bay (Italy) and on the Antarctic Peninsula (USA). Frequency: Annual Measurement Technique: The Adelie penguin population at Bechervaise Island consists of approximately 1800 breeding pairs. Each breeding season since 1990/91 in excess of 250 chicks have been given implanted electronic identification tags. The return of birds to their natal colony has been detected automatically by the Automated Penguin Monitoring System (APMS)or by checking all birds with a hand held tag reader. Additional and associated biological data as prescribed by CCAMLR (1997 are collected to aid interpretation of demographic and other trends. To detect trends in the population size and in demographic parameters, particularly of recruitment, it will be necessary to maintain an annual tagging program of chicks and recording of all tagged birds. RESEARCH ISSUES comprehensive analysis of the data collected over the duration of this study is required to determine natural variation and potential anthropogenic influences affecting Adelie penguin population dynamics. LINKS TO OTHER INDICATORS Sea-ice extent and concentration.

The relationship between colony area and population density of Adelie Penguins Pygoscelis adeliae was examined to determine whether colony area, measured from aerial or satellite imagery, could be used to estimate population density, and hence detect changes in populations over time. Using maps drawn from vertical aerial photographs of Adelie Penguin colonies in the Mawson region, pair density ranged between 0.1 and 3.1 pairs/m2, with a mean of 0.63 - 0.3 pairs/m2. Colony area explained 96.4% of the variance in colony populations (range 90.4 - 99.6%) for 979 colonies at Mawson. Mean densities were not significantly different among the 19 islands in the region, but significant differences in mean pair density were observed among colonies in Mawson, Whitney Point (Casey, East Antarctica) and Cape Crozier (Ross Sea) populations. This work was completed as part of ASAC project 1219 (ASAC_1219). The fields in this dataset are: Island Latitude Longitude Date Colony area Breeding Pairs Breeding Pairs per square metre Area per nest Number of nests Number of adults

This database is a compendium of histories of known age seals (Weddell and Southern elephant) from observations across the Southern Ocean but focussed on Macquarie Island, Marion Island, Heard Island, Mawson and the Vestfold Hills. At Macquarie Island 1000 seals were weighed per annum between 1993-2003 at birth and individually marked with two plastic flipper tags in the inter-digital webbing of their hind flippers. These tagged seals were weighed again at weaning, when length, girth, fat depth, and flipper measurements were made. Three weeks after weaning 2000 seals were permanently and individually marked by hot-iron branding. Recaptures and re-weighings of these known aged individuals were used to calculate growth and age-specific survival of the seals. Similar data were collected from elephant seals between 1950 and 1965 when seals were individually marked by hot-iron branding. Mark-recapture data from these cohorts were used to assess the demography of the declining population. Length and mass data were also collected for these cohorts and were used, for the first time, to assess the growth of individual seals without killing them. At Marion Island all the elephant seals have been individually marked with two plastic flipper tags in their rear flippers. Recaptures of these seals were used to compare survival at Marion and Macquarie Islands. At Heard Island, seals were branded between 1949-1953. Seal length was measured in feet and inches. Recaptures of seals were made up until 1955, and growth and age-specific survival was calculated. Survival data from Heard Island were compared with concurrent data from Macquarie Island. The database was held by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre, but was taken offline due to maintenance problems. A snapshot of the database was taken in June 2018 and stored in an access database. This work was completed as part of ASAC project 90.

This database is a compendium of histories of known age seals (Southern elephant) from observations across the Southern Ocean but focussed on Macquarie Island, Marion Island, Heard Island, Mawson and the Vestfold Hills. At Macquarie Island 1000 seals were weighed per annum between 1993-2003 at birth and individually marked with two plastic flipper tags in the inter-digital webbing of their hind flippers. These tagged seals were weighed again at weaning, when length, girth, fat depth, and flipper measurements were made. Three weeks after weaning 2000 seals were permanently and individually marked by hot-iron branding. Recaptures and re-weighings of these known aged individuals were used to calculate growth and age-specific survival of the seals. Similar data were collected from elephant seals between 1950 and 1965 when seals were individually marked by hot-iron branding. Mark-recapture data from these cohorts were used to assess the demography of the declining population. Length and mass data were also collected for these cohorts and were used, for the first time, to assess the growth of individual seals without killing them. At Marion Island all the elephant seals have been individually marked with two plastic flipper tags in their rear flippers. Recaptures of these seals were used to compare survival at Marion and Macquarie Islands. At Heard Island, seals were branded between 1949-1953. Seal length was measured in feet and inches. Recaptures of seals were made up until 1955, and growth and age-specific survival was calculated. Survival data from Heard Island were compared with concurrent data from Macquarie Island. The database was held by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre, but was taken offline due to maintenance problems. A snapshot of the database was taken in January 2015 and stored in an access database and several csv files. This work was completed as part of ASAC project 90.

This Atlas presents a compilation of AVHRR satellite images of sea ice adjacent to the coast of Eastern Antarctica. It is produced primarily for use by marine and vertebrate ecologists within the Australian Antarctic Division and as a contribution to the CCAMLR Ecosystem Monitoring Program. It is anticipated that this atlas will have value to a wider range of research and other uses including shipping operations. The Atlas provides one good image for each month between 1992 and 1999 for each of 5 regions of Eastern Antarctica centered on the following Antarctic Stations. Mawson station (M) - latitude 67 degrees 36.3 minutes S, longitude 62 degrees 52.2 minutes E Davis station (D) - latitude 68 degrees 34.6 minutes S, longitude 77 degrees 58.3 minutes E Casey station (C) - latitude 66 degrees 17.0 minutes S, longitude 110 degrees 31.2 minutes E Dumont D'Urville station (DD) - latitude 66 degrees 39.8 minutes S, longitude 140 degrees 00.1 minutes E Terra Nova Bay station (TN) - latitude 74 degrees 41.7 minutes S, longitude 164 degrees 07.0 minutes E Each image has been renavigated onto the same projection (Polar stereographic), gridded and a coastline added. Visible and thermal images are provided for the austral summer months, while only a thermal image is provided for the dark winter months. Due to either missing data or the lack of suitable imagery it has not been possible to provide a complete coverage over the period in all regions. Those 500 images presented were culled from some 20,000 images consulted. Images are presented with a schematic map indicating the major divisions of the image into open water, sea ice, cloud, land etc. Each month is accompanied by a short description of the sea ice conditions. The concept of a Sea Ice Atlas for scientific purposes was first proposed in 1999 and funded by the Australian Antarctic Division on the recommendation of the ANARE Mapping and Geographic Information Committee in 1999. Dr Kelvin Michael at IASOS was contracted to supervise the project and produce the Sea Ice Atlas in both hard copy and digital format. The AVHRR data are down loaded at the HRPT receiving facility Australian Antarctic Station of Casey. The HRPT archive is kept at the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC at the University of Tasmania.