MAPPING ADELIE PENGUIN ROOKERIES IN THE VESTFOLD HILLS AND RAUER ISLANDS, EAST ANTARCTICA, USING SPOT HRV DATA

Digital analysis of a summer SPOT HRV scene that includes the Vestfold Hills and Rauer Islands, east Antarctica yielded the distribution patterns of Adelie penguin rookeries greater than 400 m2. The significant spectral contrast between the guano and the surrounding bedrock gneiss accounts for the 86 per cent classification accuracy achieved. The mapping in the nearby Rauer Islands presented a different challenge. The rookeries are on unconsolidated sediments, and application of digital image classification techniques was not promising due to spectral overlap between the guano and many of the surrounding surfaces.