This record describes GIS polygon data (a shapefile) representing the boundaries of Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs) and an Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA) in the Australian Antarctic Territory for which Australia was the proponent or co-proponent. Also included is the boundary of ASPA 168 for which China was the proponent. The following is a list of the ASPAs and ASMA: ASPA 101 Taylor Rookery ASPA 102 Rookery Islands ASPA 103 Ardery Island and Odbert Island ASPA 135 North-east Bailey Peninsula ASPA 136 Clark Peninsula ASPA 143 Marine Plain ASPA 160 Frazier Islands ASPA 162 Mawson's Huts ASPA 164 Scullin and Murray Monoliths ASPA 167 Hawker Island ASPA 168 Mt Harding ASPA 169 Amanda Bay ASPA 174 Stornes ASMA 6 Larsemann Hills

The data is available from a link in this metadata record and also, as a separate shapefile for each ASPA or ASMA, from the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat's Antarctic Protected Areas Database (see related url). GIS data representing the boundaries of other ASPAs and ASMAs is also available from the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat's Antarctic Protected Areas Database.

**Terauds, A., Wauchope, H. S., Wen, W., Lee, J. R. (2024) Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (Points and Polygons) 2024 Update, Ver. 1, _Australian Antarctic Data Centre**_** - **doi:10.26179/4qk0-cz71

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This is the 2024 data update.

Starting with the most recently updated polygon shapefile of ASPAs (Terauds and Lee 2016), which contained some minor improvement on the original ASPA spatial layer first made publicly available in 2011, we first cross-checked the location of ASPA polygons with the spatially explicit locations provided in the ASPAs Management Plans. Once polygons were aligned with the Management Plans, we then georeferenced the maps provided in the management plans to check the ASPA boundaries in relation to known landscape features, In some cases, there was a lack of concurrence between co-ordinates, PDF map, coastline, rock layer or Google Earth. In these cases the following protocol was followed: snap to coordinates (unless clearly wrong), otherwise align to rock outcrop layer based on the PDF map, otherwise align to coastline.

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Please follow instructions listed in the citation reference provided at

http://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/citation.cfm?entry_id=AAS_4296_Updated_ASPAs_2018 when using these data.

ID: 5998

Metadata ID: AAS\_4296\_Updated\_ASPAs\_2024

UUID: b4c92f68-64c3-476d-97eb-d439360415b9

This is the 2024 data update. For the 2018 update, please see the link below.

Starting with the most recently updated polygon shapefile of ASPAs (Terauds and Lee 2016), which contained some minor improvement on the original ASPA spatial layer first made publicly available in 2011, we first cross-checked the location of ASPA polygons with the spatially explicit locations provided in the ASPAs Management Plans. Once polygons were aligned with the Management Plans, we then georeferenced the maps provided in the management plans to check the ASPA boundaries in relation to known landscape features, In some cases, there was a lack of concurrence between co-ordinates, PDF map, coastline, rock layer or Google Earth. In these cases the following protocol was followed: snap to coordinates (unless clearly wrong), otherwise align to rock outcrop layer based on the PDF map, otherwise align to coastline. Full details of the updates made to each ASPA can be found in the README file accompanying the updated layer.

The downloadable dataset contains a folder with a points dataset, a folder with a polygon dataset, and a word document with further information.

For ASPAS and ASMAs within the AAT please see: https://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/aspas_asmas_aat - doi:10.4225/15/5a963cbd74a3a.

For the 2018 data update please see: https://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/AAS_4296_Updated_ASPAs_2018 - doi:10.26179/5c1b10c534c19.

Two shapefiles are contained in this update on the location and extent of Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs). The first is a point file (centroids of ASPA locations) and the second i sa polygon file showing the spatial extent and boundary of each ASPA. This update builds on the point and polygon files originally provided by Environmental Research and Assessment (2011). The update includes the removal of ASPAs that have been de-designated and new ASPAs that have been designated since 2011. New ASPA boundaries were created from coordinates provided in the management plans.

Starting with the most recently updated polygon shapefile of ASPAs (Terauds and Lee 2016), which contained some minor improvement on the original ASPA spatial layer first made publicly available in 2011, we first cross-checked the location of ASPA polygons with the spatially explicit locations provided in the ASPAs Management Plans. Once polygons were aligned with the Management Plans, we then georeferenced the maps provided in the management plans to check the ASPA boundaries in relation to known landscape features, In some cases, there was a lack of concurrence between co-ordinates, PDF map, coastline, rock layer or Google Earth. In these cases the following protocol was followed: snap to coordinates (unless clearly wrong), otherwise align to rock outcrop layer based on the PDF map, otherwise align to coastline. Full details of the updates made to each ASPA can be found in the README file accompanying the updated layer.