• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.32 no.6C
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• pp.275-284
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• 2012

The Antarctic continent exposed to strong wind, very low temperature, and extremely dry condition. The freezing-thawing cycles under this extreme environment change the mechanical characteristics of rocks near the ground surface. To investigate the effect of freezing-thawing cycles under the extreme environment understand on geotechnical properties of rocks, rocks from the Antarctica were collected from two places: (1) West Antarctic Cape Burks and (2) East Antarctic Terra Nova Bay areas. The rock characteristics of these two areas were described and compared. For Terra Nova Bay area, rock characteristics of rocks near the surface and depths exceeding 2.9 m were examined. The 'near-the-surface rocks' averages of absorption rate, P-wave velocity, and unconfined compressive strength were 0.56%, 3,717 m/s, and 109MPa, respectively; while, those values of 'deep-sited rocks' were 0.24%, 4,670 m/s, and 88MPa. From the measurements, it was found that the effects of weathering were not significant on mechanical characteristics (strength) but were pronounced on physical characteristics(absorption and P-wave velocity).

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.501-512
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• 2015

Landfast sea ice (LFI) in Terra Nova Bay, East Antarctica where the Jangbogo Antarctic Research Station is located, has significant influences on marine ecosystem and the sailing of an icebreaker. Therefore, it is essential to analyze the spatio-temporal variation of the LFI in Terra Nova Bay. In this study, we chose interferometric pairs with the temporal baseline from 1 to 9 days out of a total of 62 COSMO-SkyMed synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images over Terra Nova Bay obtained from December 2010 to January 2012, and then constructed the coherence image of each pair. The LFI showed coherence values higher than 0.3 even in the interferometric SAR (InSAR) pairs of up to 9-days of temporal baseline. This was because the LFI was fixed at coastline and thus showed low temporal phase decorrelation. Based on the characteristics of the coherence on LFI, We defined the areas of LFI that show spatially homogeneous coherence values higher than 0.5. Pack ice (PI) and open water showed low coherence values due to large temporal phase decorreation caused by current and wind. Distinguishing PI from open water in the coherence images was difficult due to their similarly low coherence values. PI was identified in SAR amplitude images by investigating cracks on the ice. The extents of the LFI and PI were estimated from the coherence and SAR amplitude images and their temporal variations were analyzed. The extent of the LFI increased from March to July (maximum extent of $170.7km^2$) and decreased from October. The extent of the PI increased from February to May and decreased from May to July when the LFI increases dramatically. The extent of the LFI and air temperature showed an inverse correlation with a time lag of about 2 months, i.e., the extent of the LFI decreases after 2 months of the increase in the air temperature. Meanwhile the correlation between wind speed and the extent of the LFI was very low. This represents that the extent of LFI in Terra Nova Bay are influenced more by the air temperature than wind speed.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.1499-1508
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• 2013

Freeze-thaw tests were performed on gneiss samples collected from Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica in order to examine the engineering properties of rocks with slightly weathered (SW) and moderately weathered (MW). The tests were conducted under temperature ranging from $20{\pm}2^{\circ}C$ to $-20{\pm}2^{\circ}C$. A cycle of test consisted of 5 hours of freezing followed by another 5 hours of thawing under full saturation. In this paper, total 200 cycles of freeze-thaw test were performed with measurements of porosity, absorption, ultrasonic velocity, and shore hardness per each 20 cycle and that of uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) per each 50 cycle. The UCS of the SW rocks approximately decreased 0.07 MPa per a single cycle, while that of MW rocks decreased around 0.2 MPa per a single cycle. During the 200 cycles of SW rocks, the absorption increased from 0.23% to 0.39%, the P-wave velocity decreased from 4,054 m/s to 3,227 m/s and S-wave velocity decreased from 2,519 m/s to 2,079 m/s. Similarly, those of MW rocks changed from 0.65% to 1.6%, 3,207 m/s to 2,133 m/s and 2,028 m/s to 1,357 m/s. In conclusion, it was inferred that the properties of SW rocks experienced approximately 200-300 cycles of freeze-thaw process become close to those of MW rocks.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.375-387
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• 2013

Accuracy assessment of tide models in polar ocean has to be performed to accurately analyze tidal response of glaciers by using Double-Differential Interferometric SAR (DDInSAR) technique. In this study, we used 120 DDInSAR images generated from 16 one-day tandem COSMO-SkyMed DInSAR pairs obtained for 2 years and in situ tide height for 11 days measured by a pressure type wave recorder to assess the accuracy of tide models such as TPXO7.1, FES2004, CATS2008a and Ross_Inv in Terra Nova Bay, East Antarctica. Firstly, we compared the double-differential tide height (${\Delta}\dot{T}$) for Campbell Glacier Tongue extracted from the DDInSAR images with that predicted by the tide models. Tide height (T) from in situ measurement was compared to that of the tide models. We also compared 24-hours difference of tide height ($\dot{T}$) from in situ tide height with that from the tide models. The root mean square error (RMSE) of ${\Delta}\dot{T}$, T and $\dot{T}$ decreased after the inverse barometer effect (IBE)-correction of the tide models, from which we confirmed that the IBE of tide models should be corrected requisitely. The RMSE of $\dot{T}$ and ${\Delta}\dot{T}$ were smaller than that of T. This was because $\dot{T}$ is the difference of tide height during temporal baseline of the DInSAR pairs (24 hours), in which the errors from mean sea level of the tide models and in situ tide, and the tide constituents of $S_2$, $K_2$, $K_1$ and $P_1$ used in the tide models were canceled. This confirmed that $\dot{T}$ and ${\Delta}\dot{T}$ predicted by the IBE-corrected tide models can be used in DDInSAR technique. It was difficult to select an optimum tide model for DDInSAR in Terra Nova Bay by using in situ tide height measured in a short period. However, we could confirm that Ross_Inv is the optimum tide model as it showed the smallest RMSE of 4.1 cm by accuracy assessment using the DDInSAR images.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2013

Campbell Glacier in East Antarctica is one of the major glaciers that flow into Terra Nova Bay. It is necessary to estimate accurate extent and flow velocity of Campbell Glacier which influences the dynamics of mass balance of East Antarctic Ice Sheet. However, few studies on Campbell Glacier have been performed since 1990s. In this study, we obtained a total of 59 COSMO-SkyMed SAR images over Campbell Glacier from June 2010 to January 2012. We estimated variations in the extent of Campbell Glacier Tongue and flow velocity of Campbell Glacier by applying the image digitizing and the offset tracking by image matching. Although the extent of Campbell Glacier Tongue decreased in summertime due to ice calving and increased in wintertime, the variation in the extent was very small. Campbell Glacier Tongue retained mean extent of 75.5 $km^2$. The ice discharge of Campbell Glacier Tongue was estimated to be $0.58{\pm}0.12km^3/yr$, which was bigger than in 1989. The flow velocity over Campbell Glacier Tongue was estimated to be from 181 to 268 m/yr that was faster than in 1988-1989, which contributed to the increase in the ice discharge of the glacier.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.6_1
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• pp.1245-1255
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• 2022

Terra Nova Bay polynya (TNBP) is a representative coastal polynya in East Antarctica, which is formed by strong katabatic winds. As the TNBP is one of the major sea ice factory in East Antarctica and has a great impact on regional ocean circulation and surrounding marine ecosystem, it is very important to analyze its area change and development characteristics. In this study, we detected the TNBP from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and optical images obtained from April 2007 to April 2022 by visually analyzing the stripes caused by the Langmuir circulation effect and the boundary between the polynya and surrounding sea ice. Then, we analyzed the area change and development characteristics of the TNBP. The TNBP occurred frequently but in a small size during the Antarctic winter (April-July) when strong katabatic winds blow, whereas it developed in a large size in March and November when sea ice thickness is thin. The 12-hour mean wind speed before the satellite observations showed a correlation coefficient of 0.577 with the TNBP area. This represents that wind has a significant effect on the formation of TNBP, and that other environmental factors might also affect its development process. The direction of TNBP expansion was predominantly determined by the wind direction and was partially influenced by the local ocean current. The results of this study suggest that the influences of environmental factors related to wind, sea ice, ocean, and atmosphere should be analyzed in combination to identify the development characteristics of TNBP.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.269-285
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• 2022

The interaction between ocean and ice shelf is a critical physical process in relation to water mass transformations and ice shelf melting/freezing at the ocean-ice interface. However, it remains challenging to thoroughly understand the process due to a lack of observational data with respect to ice shelf cavities. This is the first study to simulate the variability and circulation of water mass both overlying the continental shelf and underneath an ice shelf and an ice tongue in the Terra Nova Bay (TNB), East Antarctica. To explore the properties of water mass and circulation patterns in the TNB and the corresponding effects on sub ice shelf basal melting, we explicitly incorporate the dynamic-thermodynamic processes acting on the ice shelf in the Regional Ocean Modeling System. The simulated water mass formation and circulation in the TNB region agree well with previous studies. The model results show that the TNB circulation is dominated by the geostrophic currents driven by lateral density gradients induced by the releasing of brine or freshwater at the polynya of the TNB. Meanwhile, the circulation dynamics in the cavity under the Nansen Ice shelf (NIS) are different from those in the TNB. The gravity-driven bottom current induced by High Salinity Shelf Water (HSSW) formed at the TNB polynya flows towards the grounding line, and the buoyance-driven flow associated with glacial meltwater generated by the HSSW emerges from the cavity along the ice base. Both current systems compose the thermohaline overturning circulation in the NIS cavity. This study estimates the NIS basal melting rate to be 0.98 m/a, which is comparable to the previously observed melt rate. However, the melting rate shows a significant variation in space and time.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.677-686
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• 2014

Sea ice covers wide area in Terra Nova Bay in East Antarctica where the Jangbogo Antarctic Research Station was built in 2014, which affects greatly on the sailing of an icebreaker research vessel. In this study, we analyzed the optimum sea route and sailable period of the icebreaker to visit the Jangbogo Antarctic Research Station by using sea ice concentration data observed by passive microwave sensors such as Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) and Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) for the last decade, and by using sea route of the Araon, an icebreaker of Republic of Korea, from 2010 to 2012. It is found that Araon sailed in the route of sea ice concentration up to 78%. Sailing speed of the Araon decreased due to increasing sea ice concentration. However, Araon maintained the speed close to the average speed for the entire sailing period (~11 kn) in the route of sea ice concentration up to 70%. Therefore, we confirm that the Araon can sail typically in the route which shows sea ice concentration below 70%. We derived annually available sailing period in recent 10 years for the sea route of the Araon in 2010, 2011 and 2012, which is defined as the period showing sea ice concentration below 70% through the route. Maximum sailable period was analyzed to be 61 and 62 days for the route of the Araon in 2010 and 2011, respectively. However, the typical sailing in the routes was unavailable in some years because sea ice concentration was higher than 70% through the routes. Meanwhile, the sailable period for the routes of the Araon in 2012 was observed in every year, which was a minimum of 15 days and is a maximum of 89 days. Therefore, we could suggest that optimum route of icebreaker to visit the Jangbogo Antarctic Research Station is the route of the Araon in 2012. High resolution images from SAR or optical sensors are necessary to investigate sea ice condition near shoreline of Jangbogo research station due to several kilometers of low resolution of sea ice concentration.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.37 no.6_3
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• pp.2035-2046
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• 2021

Glacier movement speed is the most basic measurement for glacial dynamics research and is a very important indicator in predicting sea level rise due to climate change. In this study, the two-dimensional velocity measurements of Campbell Glacier located in Terra Nova Bay in East Antarctica were observed through the SAR offset tracking technique. For this purpose, domestic KOMPSAT-5 SAR satellite images taken on July 9, 2021 and August 6, 2021 were acquired. The Multi-kernel SAR offset tracking proposed through previous studies is a technique to obtain the optimal result that satisfies both resolution and precision. However, since offset tracking is repeatedly performed according to the size of the kernel, intensive computational power and time are required. Therefore, in this study, we strategically proposed a coarse-to-fine offset tracking approach. Through coarse-to-fine SAR offset tracking, it is possible to obtain a result with improved observation precision (especially, about 4 times in azimuth direction) while maintaining resolution compared to general offset tracking results. Using this proposed technique, a two-dimensional velocity measurements of Campbell Glacier were generated. As a result of analyzing the two-dimensional movement velocity image, it was observed that the grounding line of Campbell Glacier exists at approximately latitude -74.56N. The flow velocity of Campbell Glacier Tongue analyzed in this study (185-237 m/yr) increased compared to that of 1988-1989 (140-240 m/yr). And compared to the flow velocity (181-268 m/yr) in 2010-2012, the movement speed near the ground line was similar, but it was confirmed that the movement speed at the end of the Campbell Glacier Tongue decreased. However, there is a possibility that this is an error that occurs because the study result of this study is an annual rate of glacier movement that occurred for 28 days. For accurate comparison, it will be necessary to expand the data in time series and accurately calculate the annual rate. Through this study, the two-dimensional velocity measurements of the glacier were observed for the first time using the KOMPSAT-5 satellite image, a domestic X-band SAR satellite. It was confirmed that the coarse-to-fine SAR offset tracking approach of the KOMPSAT-5 SAR image is very useful for observing the two-dimensional velocity of glacier movements.