The Environment of the Bunger Hills - 1999-2000

During the 1999/2000 summer a group of four people visited the Bunger Hills (66 degrees 20 minutes S, 100 degrees 50 minutes E), an area of ice-free rock situated in Wilkes Land, eastern Antarctica, with the aim of gathering scientific and other information to support the development of an Environmental Impact Assessment for the use of sites in the area for landings by large aircraft capable of intercontinental flight.

The following report, which describes the natural history of the Bunger Hills, was developed from observations made in the field during this visit supplemented by information published previously. This report is divided into several sections. The remainder of Section 1 deals with the geographical setting, nomenclature and occupational history of the Bunger Hills; Section 2 covers the weather; Section 3 briefly discusses the geology, geomorphology and Quaternary history; Section 4 covers the hydrology, physics, chemistry and biology of the extensive lake systems of the Hills; Section 5 discusses the terrestrial flora; and Section 6 covers the terrestrial fauna.