Mapping climate change and risks for Australian cultural collections

Abstract

The climate change variables of temperature, relative humidity, rainfall and fire weather are used in conjunction with spatial methodologies to produce maps that overlay locations of Australian national, state and regional cultural heritage collections with climate change risks. The data analysis of these maps is evaluated in relation to the biological risks of insect pests and mould using published studies and recent observations. Mapping both the distribution of cultural heritage collections and potential environmental impacts allows for future risks to collections to be modelled, producing an evidence base for identifying future priorities for conservation. An historical study of the development of arts policy and conservation guidelines in Australia places the investigation of changing climate and risks within a broader national cultural heritage context. In understanding how Australian cultural heritage collections, and the conservation profession more broadly, might become more sustainable and resilient, the use of environmental guidelines in conjunction with predictive climate mapping resources is recommended.

Keywords:

• Heritage preservation
• Cultural materials conservation
• Cultural heritage
• Environmental guidelines
• Climate change
• Climate projections

Acknowledgements

Climate projection data provided by CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology, Climate Change in Australia website (http://www.climatechangeinaustralia.gov.au/), cited 5 November 2019. We acknowledge the World Climate Research Programme's Working Group on Coupled Modelling, which is responsible for CMIP, and we thank the climate modelling groups (listed in Table 3.3.1 of CSIRO & Bureau of Meteorology (2015) Technical Report) for producing and making available their model output. For CMIP the U.S. Department of Energy's Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison provides coordinating support and led development of software infrastructure in partnership with the Global Organisation for Earth System Science Portals.

Research upon which this article is based is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship.

Author biographies

Amanda Pagliarino is QAGOMA Head of Conservation & Registration and leads a team of conservators, registrars, technicians and photographers engaged in a wide range of conservation, collection management and exhibition work. She is Coordinator of the AICCM Environmental Guidelines Project, a Churchill Fellow and past recipient of the AICCM Conservator of the Year award.

Ainslee Meredith is a PhD candidate, teaching and research assistant with the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, University of Melbourne. She holds a Master of Cultural Materials Conservation and Bachelor of Arts (Honours). Her research focuses on the public value of conservation in Australia within a social justice framework.

Notes

1 ‘RCPs … make predictions of how concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will change in future as a result of human activities’ (Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy n.d.).

2 The Heritage Collections Council was a program of the Cultural Ministers’ Council, funded from 1997 to 2001.

3 Guidelines for Environmental Control in Cultural Institutions was written by Professor Colin Pearson and the members of the Consortium for Heritage Collections and Their Environment, following two years of research and fieldwork. The manual has a particular focus on small cultural collections and passive control strategies. Pearson was an early advocate of passive climate control for the storage and display of collections. Through his role as co-director of the Cultural Heritage Research Centre at the University of Canberra (1975 to 2002), and his many positions served on the councils of AICCM, ICCROM, IIC, and ICOM, he brought the issue of conservation of cultural heritage collections in humid climates to the attention of the international community (see AICCM 2019; HCC 2002; Pagliarino 2018).

4 The paper was prepared by Amanda Pagliarino as the AICCM Coordinator of the Environmental Guidelines Project and Head of Conservation & Registration at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), with the cooperation of Carolyn Murphy—Head of Conservation at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), and Michael Varcoe-Cocks—Head of Conservation and MaryJo Lelyveld—Coordinating Conservator at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).

5 The Bizot Green Protocol guideline for loans was published by The International Group of Organizers of Major Exhibitions (also known as the Bizot Group) of which AGNSW and NGV are members. The environmental parameters set out in the protocol are 40–60%RH and 16–25°C with acceptable RH fluctuations ≤±10% per 24 h. Specific provisions in the protocol include references to customised environmental parameters for sensitive objects and the importance of seeking advice of conservators in establishing appropriate environmental conditions for works of art requested for loan (see Bizot Group 2015).

6 There are various organisational models amongst the galleries associated with local councils. Our list includes some galleries which are partially council-funded or which use council buildings. Some do not have permanent collections but display only loaned collections and exhibitions.

7 The mean daily air temperature, provided as an averaged annual statistic. This correlates to annually averaged warming.

8 Climate Change in Australia maps the specific cluster regions of Central Slopes (area west of the Great Dividing Range); East Coast (area on the eastern seaboard from Rockhampton to Sydney); Monsoon North (area of dry tropical savannah from Queensland to WA); Murray Basin (area extending from inland NSW, Victoria, and ACT to eastern SA); Rangelands (area covering much of the Australian interior); Southern Slopes (area covering Tasmania and south coast NSW and Victoria); South & South-Western Flatlands (covering two geographical locations of south coast WA and south coast SA); and Wet Tropics (two geographical locations of far north Queensland being Mackay/Whitsunday region and Townsville to the Torres Strait). (CSIRO & Bureau of Meteorology 2015).

9 The average daily maximum air temperature, provided as an averaged annual statistic.

10 Internal variability refers to the changes inherent within a climate system that occur without external forcing.

11 A=national, state and territory collections. N = New South Wales regional art galleries. Q = Queensland regional art galleries (north and south). S = South Australian regional art galleries. T = Tasmanian regional art galleries. V = Victorian regional art galleries. W = Western Australian regional art galleries. No regional maps were created for the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, as there are no municipal councils in the ACT, and no regional art galleries linked to local councils in the NT that could be identified by the authors.

12 The changes are calculated using the ‘time-slice’ method. This involves subtracting a future 20-year averaged value as simulated by the selected climate model from the 20-year averaged baseline (1986–2005) from the same model. The difference is presented in degrees Celsius for temperature variables and percent change for other variables.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Australian Government: [Grant Number Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship].