Methods for digital diagnosis of endangered cultural heritage

The impact of climate change on inaccessible cultural heritage sites and monuments poses a significant challenge for heritage preservation. This project investigated how experts from various disciplines can digitally visit and diagnose a site, and how lessons learned from this can be applied to the documentation and analysis of other sensitive or hard-to-reach environments.

In 1901, Otto Nordenskjöld and a multidisciplinary research team departed Gothenburg harbor aboard the Antarctic, bound for the unknown landscapes of the south. Their goal was to map and collect climate and geological data for a year. However, when the ship froze and sank in the Weddell Sea in 1903, the expedition was forced to overwinter in isolated groups. One group overwintered at a wooden station on Snow Hill Island, while other groups built stone huts in Hope Bay and Paulet Island, sites that still exist today and are protected as Historic Sites and Monuments (HSM) under the Antarctic Treaty.

The Argentine Navy ship Uruguay came to the rescue and saved the survivors, also cementing a long-term Argentine commitment to the preservation of these remains. Today, the remains are managed jointly by Sweden and Argentina, with contributions from Norway for certain sites.

The expedition took place at a time when large parts of Antarctica were still unexplored. Several places on and around the Antarctic Peninsula were named through the Swedish endeavor – such as Hope Bay, Andersson Island, and Nordenskjöld Glacier. The winter station on Snow Hill Island has since served as both a museum and a refuge with an open door and emergency supplies for future expeditions.

However, the condition of the remains, especially the winter station, is now severely affected by climate change. Thawing permafrost and meltwater from glaciers cause erosion and landslides, threatening to obliterate the site in the near future. Historical and contemporary images show how dramatically the landscape has changed, especially in the last 30 years.

Antarctic cultural heritage is geographically remote – but its fate is closely linked to the major challenges of our time. It is not an isolated Swedish heritage, but rather shared remains of international significance – and clear, physical traces of a changing climate.

A Modern Expedition in Nordenskjöld's Footsteps Emerges

The question of increased and official Swedish involvement in protecting Antarctic cultural heritage has been the subject of various initiatives since the late 1990s. These have involved diplomats, researchers, and institutions at Swedish universities, as well as professionals within the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). Against this background, CHAQ2020 was developed and realized through collaboration between a research project on Arctic cultural heritage, called CHAQ and funded by the Swedish Research Council (VR), and an initiative from the National Heritage Board (RAÄ) to produce up-to-date knowledge with documentation and cultural heritage in Antarctica.

CHAQ 2020 Participants

• Jonathan Westin, GU. Responsible for drone-based photogrammetry, laser scanning, and VR documentation. Participates on behalf of the National Heritage Board. Also project manager for the project "Methods for Digital Diagnosis of Endangered Cultural Heritage." (Second person from the right).
• Gunnar Almevik, University of Gothenburg (GU). Responsible for issues related to building preservation and associated documentation. Participates on behalf of the National Heritage Board. (Third person from the right).
• Kati Lindström, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). Researcher, responsible for documentary filmmaking and ethnographic work, research on the Antarctic Treaty's heritage policy and its implementation by Argentina. (First person from the right).
• Dag Avango, Luleå University of Technology (LTU) and Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. Project leader for CHAQ 2020 and leader of the Swedish team, responsible for traditional archaeological documentation. (Person in the middle).
• Pablo Fontana, Head of Humanities and Social Sciences Research, Dirección Nacional del Antártico/Instituto Antártico Argentino (DNA-IAA), Argentina. Expedition leader. (First person from the left).

Also participating in the field camp were:

• Héctor Emanuel Mamani Ovejero, COCOANTAR (Comando Conjunto Antártico - Ejército Argentino), Argentina (second person from the left). Logistics expert.
• Valeria Contissa, Secretaría de Derechos Humanos y Pluralismo Cultural, preservation expert working on on-site artifact preservation (third person from the left).

During the CHAQ 2020 expedition, January–February 2020, Jonathan Westin digitally documented the historical remains. Digital equipment was used to collect photogrammetry, laser scanning, drone footage, video recordings, and sound recordings.

   2. The Project

 "Methods for Digital Diagnosis of Endangered Cultural Heritage" is an interdisciplinary research project that explores how digital tools and methods can be used to investigate, analyze, and make accessible cultural heritage in environments threatened by climate change – in this case, the remains of the Swedish South Polar Expedition of 1901–1903.

The project builds upon the CHAQ2020 expedition and is a collaboration between the Centre for Digital Humanities and the Department of Conservation at the University of Gothenburg, as well as Visual Arena. The Swedish Embassy in Buenos Aires is also included as an external support partner for dissemination of results.

What has been done within "Methods for Digital Diagnosis of Endangered Cultural Heritage"?

1. Interdisciplinary Method Development for Visual Diagnostics 

The project has inventoried and tested digital methods to enable researchers from various disciplines (cultural heritage, glaciology, geology, and building technology) to analyze sensitive environments without having to physically travel there. This includes enabling observation, assessment, and simulation based on digital material.
 

5. Workshops and User Tests

• Three workshops have been conducted with researchers and experts from different disciplines. The purpose has been to test workstations, discuss data needs, and evaluate technical solutions to support diagnostics. The lab sessions were observed to gain a deeper understanding of user needs.

6. Development of Needs-Driven Guidelines

• The project has developed a requirements specification for future digital documentation of inaccessible and endangered cultural heritage environments. This specification is based on interdisciplinary needs and will serve as guidance for similar projects in the future.

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