Comparing two crowdsourcing platforms: assessing their potential for mapping Antarctica

Abstract

Geographical data acquisition in Antarctic regions is challenging due to the lack of human habitation, harsh environmental conditions, and limited accessibility. This research explores and evaluates the capability of two crowdsourcing platforms in mapping facilities across Antarctic regions. The study presents crowdsourcing projects related to polar regions in the literature. The methodology section outlines the data acquisition techniques employed by Flickr and Happywhale, and the spatial evaluation methods applied to the collected data. In the implementation and results section, the spatiotemporal potential of the data obtained from the two identified crowdsourced platforms is assessed, and the results based on spatial statistical methods are compared. In the discussion and conclusion section, the contribution of the two identified crowdsourced platforms to mapping activities is evaluated in terms of spatial, temporal, and content differences. This study reveals that Happywhale offers data with higher spatial consistency, considering seasonal representation and spatial autocorrelation. Additionally, content restrictions and reliance on GPS enhance spatial accuracy in Happywhale. At the same time, the liberation of data production leads to lower quality but increased quantity, diversity, and spatial coverage, as observed in Flickr. By comparing two crowdsourced platforms, this study enhances data acquisition and evaluation potential in Antarctica.