Determination of the carbon emissions of antarctic expeditionary research vessels

Abstract

The vast majority of studies carried out in Antarctica are provided by research vessels. However, data on the environmental impact of carbon emissions from research vessels are limited. In this study, it is aimed to develop two different scenarios with statistical methods, to determine the emissions of ships conducting scientific expeditions in Antarctica and to propose different methods to reduce the emissions. After calculating the fuel consumption of the research ship and aircraft according to these scenarios, the emission amounts of pollutant gases were estimated for each scenario using the emission factors in the Atmospheric Emission Inventory Guidebook of European Monitoring and Evaluation Program / European Environment Agency (EMEP/EEA) and carbon emission factors in resolution 212(63) of International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). In the first scenario, emissions were calculated assuming that scientific expeditions were only made by sea from Europe to the West the Antarctic Peninsula. In the second scenario, the calculation is made by assuming that the same region is used in an integrated way by air and sea transportation. A total of 2143 tons of CO2 emissions were calculated in the first scenario where only the sea route is used. The carbon emissions due to open sea voyage, staying at anchor and ice navigation were calculated as 60%, 38% and 2%, respectively. In the second scenario, where the expedition is integrated with the airline, 1218 tons of CO2 emissions were calculated, the emission due to staying at anchor, flight, open sea voyage and ice navigation were found as 66%, 21%, 10% and 3% of, respectively. The calculations showed that the use of a research vessel along with the airline can reduce emissions by 57% in this study. In conclusion, this study shows that the effects of carbon emissions on the Antarctic environment can be reduced if countries that are not geographically close to Antarctica use air and sea transportation together, instead of sending research vessels directly for Antarctic expeditions.