Tauranga-based Antarctic inland water expert Dr Ian Hawes has played a key role in a landmark clean-up of a former New Zealand research station in Antarctica, with a newly published study showing the restoration avoided long-term damage to a fragile polar ecosystem.

Hawes, from the University of Waikato, collaborated with researchers from Niwa, the University of Canterbury, and Antarctica New Zealand to assess the environmental recovery of Vanda Station in the Dry Valleys.

The study, published in Polar Record by Cambridge University Press, found that while the team removed thousands of kilograms of contaminated soil and groundwater, Lake Vanda – Antarctica’s largest and deepest ice-covered lake – remained unaffected.

“Despite early concerns, the microbial communities in the lake showed no significant differences compared to uncontaminated areas,” said Hawes.

The station, which operated from 1968 to 1992, was built 200m from Lake Vanda.

Over time, rising meltwater from the Onyx River brought the lake within 2.5m of the buildings, triggering the decision to remove the facility before it was flooded.

The decommissioning aligned with new international environmental standards introduced under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.

Niwa aquatic scientist Dr Clive Howard-Williams said the goal was not full decontamination but to minimise harm.

The team removed contaminated materials, including fuel-soaked soil, lead-painted rocks and wastewater residues, shipping more than seven tonnes of waste to Scott Base for treatment.

Hawes said the clean-up demonstrated the need for careful planning and science-led strategies.

With an estimated two million cubic metres of waste scattered across Antarctica, the Vanda restoration sets an example for how other nations can approach environmental remediation without causing further harm.