Quantarctica, an integrated mapping environment for Antarctica, the Southern Ocean, and sub-Antarctic islands

Kenichi Matsuoka*, Anders Skoglund, George Roth, Jean de Pomereu, Huw Griffiths, Robert Headland, Brad Herried, Katsuro Katsumata, Anne Le Brocq, Kathy Licht, Fraser Morgan, Peter D. Neff, Catherine Ritz, Mirko Scheinert, Takeshi Tamura, Anton Van de Putte, Michiel van den Broeke, Angela von Deschwanden, César Deschamps-Berger, Brice Van LiefferingeStein Tronstad, Yngve Melvær

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Quantarctica (https://www.npolar.no/quantarctica) is a geospatial data package, analysis environment, and visualization platform for the Antarctic Continent, Southern Ocean (>40oS), and sub-Antarctic islands. Quantarctica works with the free, cross-platform Geographical Information System (GIS) software QGIS and can run without an Internet connection, making it a viable tool for fieldwork in remote areas. The data package includes basemaps, satellite imagery, terrain models, and scientific data in nine disciplines, including physical and biological sciences, environmental management, and social science. To provide a clear and responsive user experience, cartography and rendering settings are carefully prepared using colour sets that work well for typical data combinations and with consideration of users with common colour vision deficiencies. Metadata included in each dataset provides brief abstracts for non-specialists and references to the original data sources. Thus, Quantarctica provides an integrated environment to view and analyse multiple Antarctic datasets together conveniently and with a low entry barrier.

Original languageEnglish
Article number105015
Number of pages14
JournalEnvironmental Modelling and Software
Volume140
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2021

Keywords

  • Geographical information system
  • Polar regions
  • Regional analytical tool

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