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SCAR BULLETIN, No. 151, October 2003

Management Plan for Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 147
Ablation Valley and Ganymede Heights, Alexander Island

1. Description of values to be protected

The principal values are the geological, geomorpho-logical, glaciological, limnological, and ecological features, and the outstanding scientific interest of one of the largest ice-free ablation areas in West Antarctica.

2. Aims and objectives

3. Management activities

4. Period of designation

Designated for an indefinite period.

5. Maps and photographs

Map 1: ASPA No. 147 location map.
Map 2: ASPA No. 147 topographic sketch map.

6. Description of the Area

6(i) Geographical coordinates, boundary markers and natural features

Ablation Valley – Ganymede Heights (between latitudes 70°45' S and 70°55' S and longitudes 68°21' and 68°40' W, approximately 180 km2, is situated on the east side of Alexander Island. The Area has a central west–east extent of about 10 km and a north–south extent of about 18 km, flanked to the west by the upper part of Jupiter Glacier, to the east by the permanent ice shelf in George VI Sound, to the north by Grotto Glacier and to the south by the lower reaches of Jupiter Glacier. Ablation Valley – Ganymede Heights contains the largest contiguous ice-free area in the Antarctic Peninsula sector of Antarctica, with the smaller permanent ice fields and valley glaciers within the massif representing only about 17% of the Area. The topography of the region is mountainous, rising to a maximum altitude of 1070 m The region has been heavily glaciated.
The designated Area comprises the entire Ablation Valley – Ganymede Heights massif (Map 2).

6(ii) Restricted and managed zones within the Area

None.

6(iii) Structures within and near the Area

There are no structures known to be present in the Area except some cairns, as survey markers, and some bright red reflectors to mark the airstrip in Moutonnée Valley. The nearest structure is an abandoned caboose at Spartan Cwm. A summer-only facility exists at Fossil Bluff.

Visits shall be made to ensure management and maintenance measures are adequate.

There are no other protected areas within 300 km.

7. Permit conditions

Entry is prohibited except in accordance with a Permit.


7(i) Access to and movement within the Area

There are no special restrictions on the points of access to the Area, nor on the overland or air routes used to move to and from the Area

7(ii) Activities that are or may be conducted in the Area, including restrictions on time or place

7(iii) Installation, modification or removal of structures

Structures shall not be erected within the Area except as specified in a Permit and permanent structures or installations, other than the airstrip markers, are prohibited. Removal of specific equipment for which the Permit has expired shall be a condition of the Permit.

7(iv) Location of field camps

One camp site has been designated on the north-western (upper) end of the airstrip in Moutonnée Valley (latitude 70°51’48" S, longitude 68°21’39" W) (Map 2).

7(v) Restrictions on materials and organisms which can be brought into the Area

No living animals, plant material or microorganisms shall be deliberately introduced into the Area and the precautions listed in 7(ix) below shall be taken against accidental introductions. No herbicides or pesticides shall be brought into the Area. Any other chemicals, including radio-nuclides or stable isotopes, which may be introduced for scientific or management purposes specified in the Permit, shall be removed from the Area at or before the conclusion of the activity for which the Permit was granted. Fuel is not to be stored in the Area.

7(vi) Taking or harmful interference with native flora or fauna

Any other taking or harmful interference with native flora or fauna is prohibited, except by Permit .

7(vii) Collection or removal of anything not brought into the Area by the Permit holder

Material may be collected or removed from the Area only in accordance with a Permit.

7(viii) Disposal of waste

All wastes, except human and domestic liquid wastes, shall be removed from the Area. Human and domestic liquid wastes may be disposed of down ice cracks along the margin of George VI Ice Shelf or Jupiter Glacier, or by burying in moraine along the ice margin in these localities as close as practical to the ice.

7(ix) Measures that are necessary to ensure that the aims and objectives of the Management Plan can continue to be met

Permits may be granted to carry out monitoring and site inspection activities. Any specific long-term monitoring sites shall be appropriately marked.
To help maintain the ecological and scientific values derived from the relatively low level of recent human impact at Ablation Valley – Ganymede Heights, visitors shall take special precautions against introductions. Of concern are microbial, invertebrate or plant introductions derived from soils at other Antarctic sites, including stations, or from regions outside Antarctica. Visitors shall ensure that sampling equipment or markers brought into the Area are thoroughly cleaned or sterilised. To the maximum extent practicable, footwear and other equipment to be used in the Area shall be thoroughly cleaned beforehand.

7(x) Requirements for reports

Parties should ensure that the principal holder for each Permit issued submits to the appropriate authority a report describing the activities undertaken.