Performance of rip-rap shore protection (1992-1998) Rothera Station, Antarctica

The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) maintains a research and support station on Rothera Point (67 degrees 34'S, 68 degrees 08'W), located on the southeastern side of Adelaide Island, about 15 km west of the Antarctic Peninsula. The support infrastructure at Rothera Station includes an 885 m gravel surfaced runway, hangar, aviation fuel tank farm, and sheet pile wharf. The north and south ends of the runway embankment, exposed to marine water, are protected with a rip-rap (armor stone) revetment. In addition to wave action, the shore protection at Rothera is subject to abrasion from summer ice flows, ice berg impact, and ice plucking. The BAS retained R&M Consultants to inspect the shore protection at the station. The paper summarizes the condition of the rip-rap as of late January-early February 1998. Based on the observations at Rothera to-date, special aspects for designing shore protection systems in similar marine settings are also reviewed.