Last summer, the scientific stations operating on the east coast of Antarctica, both French and Australian, passed the cross inspection test, an Antarctic Treaty transparency exercise.
How would you like to organize a cross-visit of your respective homes with your neighbor? Sounds like a nice idea. But if, for the sake of transparency with regard to community rules, this involved drawing up a report that would be made public, it would immediately become a little trickier.
However, Australia and France have played this game in Antarctica by organizing a cross-inspection of the surroundings of Dumont d’Urville and Casey, two stations 1,300 kilometers apart on the east coast of the continent. “Cross-inspections are a useful tool for ensuring that the spirit of the Treaty is in place,” says Yan Ropert-Coudert, Director of the French Polar Institute.
“During the 2023-2024 Antarctic summer Australia was pleased to collaborate with France on a program of mutual inspections in Antarctica,” said the Australian Antarctic Division spokesperson. The Antarctic Treaty Secretariat released the reports on October 14.
Australia notes that France still has some way to go in improving infrastructure and biosecurity, but its representatives observe that respect for animals is firmly rooted in the station’s habits and culture.
France, meanwhile, is encouraging Australia to press ahead with the plan to remove the old buildings and waste from the former Wilkes station, but has been strongly inspired by the renewable energy sources harnessed at Casey.
“This cross inspection is an exceptional mechanism in law adopted in 1959 during the Cold War. Since then, all states have agreed to be inspected, the United States as well as Russia”, explains Anne Choquet, a legal expert specializing in polar spaces. “While the original idea was to keep the peace in Antarctica, today it’s more a means of reinforcing the environmental elements of the Treaty, confirmed in the Madrid Protocol.”
A vigilant eye was kept on the diesel tanks. In the history of Antarctic installations, several leaks have been recorded, including some at Casey between 1999 and 2018. This is why the various polar agencies are gradually replacing storage tanks with double-walled ones. According to the Australian report, France should strengthen its contingency plan in the event of a leak; the authors also note that Dumont d’Urville has not experienced one for 20 years.
Most of the fuel is used to power the generators that keep the lights on during the winter for the 23 overwinterers from France and the 30 from Australia. Dumont d’Urville’s is surprisingly old, dating from the 1990s. The Australians strongly recommend renewing it within 10 years.
“We’re in the process of putting together a team to work on pre-studies for a complete overhaul of the station [full reconstruction, ed. note]. I’m meeting the new Minister of Higher Education and Research this week. I’ll know more about the progress to be expected on this file in view of the budget restrictions requested by the government”, explains Yan Ropert-Coudert.
Resorts on both sides are experimenting with new forms of energy. A vertical wind turbine operates on Lion Island in Terre Adélie, while Casey is experimenting with a 30 kW solar station. The latter is of interest to French observers. “As these are our number one partners in the region, it was a very interesting exercise for IPEV. It enabled our teams to discover how our partners work in concrete terms on subjects that are also of concern to us, such as renewable energies”, explains the director.
A geranium at the helm
To reach Antarctica, each country has its own possibilities for landing aircraft or berthing ships. The French have no intention of renovating the airstrip on Lion Island, relying instead on the snow-covered airstrip inland. The Australian station can receive personnel and equipment by air, and the airstrip can accommodate heavy aircraft such as the Airbus A-319. The French base is more maritime-oriented, and Dumont d’Urville’s reconstruction plans include a floating dock to facilitate manoeuvring.
The visit to the Astrolabe served as a reminder that there is no dedicated biosafety infrastructure on board the ship, and the inspectors were surprised by the geranium in bloom on the bridge of the icebreaker operated by the French Navy. At the end of their visit, Australia emphasized the importance of biosafety kits and insisted that the presence of invasive species should be controlled on the ship to minimize the risk of introducing non-native species. At the Treaty’s annual meetings in Kochi this year, French representatives stated in response to the report that “a more ambitious biosecurity strategy” was being developed.
Equipment that arrives in Antarctica doesn’t always leave. Next to Casey, the former Wilkes Station is a legacy that today’s Australia could have done without. Built in 1957 and closed in 1969, it was destroyed by bad weather.
“Recently, the Cleaner Antarctica program has focused on mapping […] contaminants on the abandoned Wilkes station,” an Australian Antarctic Division spokesperson tells us. As the report indicates, the inventory is substantial. The total volume of waste and contaminated soil amounts to 31,000 m3. The French team advises working on the disposal project now, starting with the most voluminous remains, such as 8 old antennas.
At Dumont d’Urville, bulky equipment of no use could also be shipped back to Hobart, but what worries visitors most is the station’s proximity to penguin colonies. Bird flu could arrive in Terre Adélie this summer. Veterinarians are monitoring the birds, but a plan to minimize the impact could be in place.
“HPAI is strongly suspected in Crozet [French subantarctic island, ed.note], but we have to wait for final tests to make sure it’s the pathogen that’s causing the abnormal mortality of elephant seals on the island,” explains the director of the French Polar Institute. “A biosafety protocol has been put in place to protect humans while limiting the spread of the pathogen to other colonies. Together with the french administration, we are setting up a scientific project to monitor the evolution of the disease and its impact on populations.”
Cross-inspection ensures transparency with regard to the Treaty. The meeting with the staff enabled the Australians to see that French scientists were very attached to the safety distances with the animals.
This principle of transparency could be extended to other stakeholders, such as tourism companies. “There are guidelines for organizing inspections, and a framework is established at Treaty meetings,” explains Anne Choquet. “Recently, an observation system for tourist vessels was discussed. States found this interesting in the desire to go further in respecting the rules concerning tourism.”
Camille Lin, Polar Journal AG
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