• Title/Summary/Keyword: Antarctic

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Development of Antarctic Treaty System and Roles and Prospects of the Committee for Environmental Protection (남극조약 체제의 발전과정과 환경보호위원회의 역할과 전망)

  • Kim, Ji Hee
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.40 no.4
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    • pp.259-270
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    • 2018
  • The purpose of this study is to provide information to understand the context of the Antarctic Treaty System by looking back on its development process. It also aims to review the roles and activities of the CEP in the System in order to support the improvement of our Antarctic science policy. This study considered the developmental histories of independent conventions for Antarctic conservation and Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty under the system. CEP, established in accordance with the Protocol, has expanded its roles in the ATCM under the circumstances of climate change and increasing human activities in the treaty area. I examined CEP's functions, relationships with formal observers, and its activities along with CCRWP. In addition, I have estimated the contribution of the Parties to the CEP based on the documents submitted by the Parties. The leading Parties of the System have strengthened their initiatives to expand contributions to CEP with their output based on national Antarctic Program. However, Korea has not been able to take initiatives in the System even though Korea has invested considerable resources in its Antarctic program. To strengthen Korea's capability to instigate initiatives in the system, I suggest the following approaches: Firstly, Korea should improve its Antarctic science policy based on the newly established CEP five-year work plan; Secondly, Korea should organize a long-standing expert group to focus on Antarctic environmental policy and related scientific information; finally, Korea should intensify its collaboration with other Parties in developing Antarctic environmental priority issues.

Distribution and Vertical Structures of Water Masses around the Antarctic Continental Margin

  • Kim, Seong-Joong;Lee, Bang-Yong
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.27 no.3
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    • pp.277-288
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    • 2005
  • Spatial distribution and vertical structures of water masses around the Antarctic continental margin are described using synthesized hydrographic data. Antarctic Surface Water (AASW) over the shelf regime is distinguished from underlying other water masses by the cut-off salinity, varying from approximately 34.35 to 34.45 around Antarctica. Shelf water, characterized by salinity greater than the cut-off salinity and potential temperature less than $-17^{\circ}C$, is observed on the Ross Sea, off George V Land, off Wilkes Land, the Amery Basin, and the Weddell Sea, but in some shelves AASW occupies the entire shelf. Lower Circumpolar Deep Water is present everywhere around the Antarctic oceanic regime and in some places it mixes with Shelf Water, producing Antarctic Slope Front Water (ASFW). ASFW, characterized by potential temperature less than about $0^{\circ}C$ and greater than $-17^{\circ}C$, and salinity greater than the cut-off salinity, is found everywhere around Antarctica except in the Bellingshausen-Amundsen sector. The presence of different water masses over the Antarctic shelves and shelf edges produces mainly three types of water mass stratifications: no significant meridional property gradient in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas, single property gradient where ASFW presents, and a V-shaped front where Shelf Water exists.

Current Status of Antarctic Environments and Resources

  • Park, Paul-Kilho;Sutton, Holly J.;Kim, Su-Am
    • Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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    • v.33 no.3
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    • pp.123-135
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    • 1998
  • Cooperative scientific research in Antarctic has been successful since the International Geophysical Year 1957/1958. Presently, 43 nations have joined the Antarctic Treaty as consultative parties or acceding states, and other treaties and agreements have evolved to conserve the integrity and to manage the resources of the Antarctic ecosystem. Although yet to be designated, tourism areas in Antarctica are under consideration. Due to its remoteness and vast magnitude, Antarctica's science is slowly emerging. Satellite technology has enabled observation of the progression of the ozone hole above Antarctica. Mineral exploitation has yet to take place, as has the transport of Antarctic icebergs to some arid nations. On the other hand, both seal and whale exploitations have occurred, devastating these populations. The lessons learned from past human greed are used to design krill and squid fisheries, though the life histories of these organisms are yet to be adequately understood. An ecosystem approach to managing Antarctic resource exploitation is essential. Procuring the needed logistics to do so is daunting, requiring the highest degree of international cooperation and educational outreach to nurture the needed effective scientific and engineering talent, both natural and social.

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An Fundamental Study of on Freezing Characteristics of Antarctic Soil (남극 대륙기지 건설지에서 채취한 흙시료의 동결특성에 관한 기초연구)

  • Hong, Seung-Seo;Kim, Young-Seok;Bae, Gyu-Jin
    • Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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    • 2010.09a
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    • pp.1030-1038
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    • 2010
  • In order to design and construction of the Antarctic Continental Station at the Terra Nova Bay in the East Antarctic, ground characteristics for soil samples taken from the Antarctic. A series of laboratory tests were performed to investigate the variations of the thermal conductivity, the unfrozen water content according to the temperature change of the soil taken from the Antarctic. The temperature were low down below zero.

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Krill and Currents-Physical and Biological Interactions Influencing the Distribution of Euphausia superba

  • Nicol, Stephen
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.25 no.4
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    • pp.633-644
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    • 2003
  • The distribution and abundance of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), particularly in the South Atlantic, has traditionally been viewed as primarily determined by the flow of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Krill are viewed as being particles on a conveyor belt that carries them around the Antarctic continent resulting in a single circumpolar population. The evidence to support this viewpoint is largely circumstantial and there is very little direct evidence available of krill being moved by the currents-krill flux. There is also considerable biological and physical evidence which suggests that other factors may play a dominant role in the life history and distribution of krill. This review examines the evidence fur krill flux and also examines evidence that does not accord with this theory. The management implications of assuming krill flux are outlined and some lines for future research are suggested.

A Study on International Environmental Regime -The Case of the Antarctic Treaty System- (국제 환경레짐(Environmental Regime)에 관한 소고 -남극조약 체제(System)를 중심으로-)

  • Kang, Ryang
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.163-173
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    • 2006
  • The so called Antarctic Treaty System, started from the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, has gradually been enlarged into the concept of an international environmental regime, which has been included in not a few international institutions, treaties, conventions, and international non-governmental organizations (INGO). This kind of movement, as in the role of an international environmental regime, has recently been highlighted in the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. This Protocol is taking appropriate measures as an international environmental regime in regulating its member nations by enforcing principles in protecting Antarctic resources and environment, regulating member nations' Antarctic activities, establishing norms in the adoption of international and domestic laws, and devising regulations for deciding administrative actions through the member nations' collective decision-making procedures. h this context, this paper is to test a few questions; firstly, how the Antarctic Treaty System can be related with the role of international environmental regime; secondly, how the theories of international environmental regime, such as the hegemony theory, rational choice theory, and international morality theory, can be tested in the role of Antarctic Treaty System as an international environmental regime. Finally, this paper provides a solution for the future problems of the Antarctic Treaty System as an international environmental regime regarding the regime's principle (conflict between the environmental principle and the right of nation-state), norms and regulations (the conflict between the developed and underdeveloped nations in terms of the concept of 'common but differentiated environmental responsibility'), cooperation directions (the leadership problems between hegemonic nation and multilateral leading groups), and management methods (cooperation and arrangement problems among expert institutions, observer groups, and INGO).

Species Identification of Antarctic Krill Euphausia superba Using the 2-frequency Difference Method (주파수차법을 이용한 남극크릴(Euphausia superba)의 종 식별에 관한 연구)

  • Choi, Seok-Gwan;HAN, Inwoo;Hwang, Doo-Jin;Kim, Tae-Ho;An, Doo-hae;LEE, Kyounghoon
    • Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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    • v.50 no.6
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    • pp.788-798
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    • 2017
  • Antarctic krill Euphausia superba are important components of the Antarctic marine ecosystem both economically and ecologically; to manage this species effectively, their distribution and abundance must be understood. Using the Kwang Ja-Ho (3,012 tonnage), a commercial fishing vessel, we conducted acoustic surveys during April 13-24, 2016, to estimate the distribution and population size of krill around the South Shetland Islands of the Antarctic Continent, We used acoustic techniques based on the dB-difference, a method used mainly to classify of marine species. We found that Antarctic krill were present in numbers over 99% at six survey stations, with the exception of Station 3, where we only found Electrona carlsbergi. There was no difference in cell size due to frequency differences, but echo signals differed between species: 4.7-12.0 dB for Antarctic krill, and -4.1~0 dB for Electrona carlsbergi.

Change of Regional Atmospheric Circulation Related with Recent Warming in the Antarctic Peninsula (남극반도의 최근 온난화와 관련된 지역적 대기순환의 변화)

  • Lee, Jeong-Soon;Kwon, Tae-Yong;Lee, Bang-Yong;Yoon, Ho-Il;Kim, Jeong-Woo
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.25 no.4
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    • pp.503-518
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    • 2003
  • This study examines the relationship among temperature, wind, and sea level pressure to understand recent warming in the vicinity of the Antarctic Peninsula. To do this, the surface air temperature, NCEP/NCAR reanalysis wind data and sea level pressure data for the period of 40 years are analyzed. The 40-year surface air temperature data in the Antarctic Peninsula reveals relatively the larger warming trends for autumn and winter than other seasons. The variability of the surface air temperature in this region is compared with that of the regional atmospheric circulation. The surface air temperature is positively correlated with frequency of northwesterlies and negatively correlated with frequency of southeasterlies. This relation is more evident in the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula for autumn and winter. The trend analysis of wind frequency in the study area shows increasing and decreasing trends in the frequency of northwesterlies and southeasterlies, respectively, in the northwestern part of the Weddell Sea for autumn and winter. And also it is found that these winds are closely related with decreasing of sea level pressure in the southeastern region of the Antarctic Peninsula. Furthermore from the seasonal variation of sea level pressure in this area, it may be presumed that decreasing of sea level pressure in the southeastern region of the Antarctic Peninsula is related with warming in the vicinity of the Antarctic Peninsula for autumn and winter. Therefore it can be explained that recent warming in the vicinity of the Antarctic Peninsula is caused by positive feedback mechanism, that is, the process that warming in the vicinity of the Antarctic Peninsula can lead to the decrease of sea level pressure in the southeastern region of the Antarctic Peninsula and these pressure decrease in turn lead to the variation of wind direction in northwestern part of Weddell Sea, again the variation of wind direction enhances the warming in the Antarctic Peninsula.

Short-Term Effect of Elevated Temperature on the Abundance and Diversity of Bacterial and Archaeal amoA Genes in Antarctic Soils

  • Han, Jiwon;Jung, Jaejoon;Park, Minsuk;Hyun, Seunghun;Park, Woojun
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.23 no.9
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    • pp.1187-1196
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    • 2013
  • Global warming will have far-reaching effects on our ecosystem. However, its effects on Antarctic soils have been poorly explored. To assess the effects of warming on microbial abundance and community composition, we sampled Antarctic soils from the King George Island in the Antarctic Peninsula and incubated these soils at elevated temperatures of $5^{\circ}C$ and $8^{\circ}C$ for 14 days. The reduction in total organic carbon and increase in soil respiration were attributed to the increased proliferation of Bacteria, Fungi, and Archaea. Interestingly, bacterial ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) genes were predominant over archaeal amoA, unlike in many other environments reported previously. Phylogenetic analyses of bacterial and archaeal amoA communities via clone libraries revealed that the diversity of amoA genes in Antarctic ammonia-oxidizing prokaryotic communities were temperature-insensitive. Interestingly, our data also showed that the amoA of Antarctic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) communities differed from previously described amoA sequences of cultured isolates and clone library sequences, suggesting the presence of novel Antarctic-specific AOB communities. Denitrification-related genes were significantly reduced under warming conditions, whereas the abundance of amoA and nifH increased. Barcoded pyrosequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene revealed that Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria were the major phyla in Antarctic soils and the effect of short-term warming on the bacterial community was not apparent.

Recent Development in Multi-national Marine Ecosystem Surveys along the Antarctic Peninsula

  • Kim, Su-Am
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.23 no.4
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    • pp.425-431
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    • 2001
  • From an ecological point of view, the western part of the Atlantic sector is one of the most productive areas in the Southern Ocean. Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and krill-dependent predators such as fish, seals, and birds are abundant there, and most krill fisheries have operated in this area since 1970s. The hottest issues for the proper management of krill resources nowadays are to determine total biomass in this area, and to identify environmental forces controlling stock fluctuation. This paper reviews and collates information on ongoing oceanographic activities in the Antarctic Peninsula region concerning these issues. To delineate the status and function of Antarctic krill population in Antarctic marine ecosystems, multinational researches along the Antarctic Peninsula area have been developing recently. Four member states of CCAMLR (Japan, Russia, UK, and USA) had conducted acoustic surveys in January-February 2000 (socalled CCAMLR-2000 survey), and krill standing stock at 120 kHz was estimated to be 44.29 million metric tonnes in the western Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. On the other hand, the Southern Ocean GLOBEC (SO-GLOBEC) Programme has prepared a serial winter survey to examine the factors that govern krill survivorship and distribution in relation to shelf circulation processes. Ship-based surveys using ice-breakers are being conducted by three nations (Germany, UK, and USA) around the Marguerite Bay during the austral fall and winter 2001 and 2002. In addition to these two large-scale surveys, some CCAMLR members have carried out joint oceanographic surveys near the South Shetland Islands to detect ecosystem changes since 1994. Especially from December 1999 to February 2000, in conjunction with CCAMLR-2000 survey, four nations (Japan, Korea, Peru, and USA) conducted acoustic surveys to produce time-series information on krill distribution and biomass near the South Shetland areas. Though the aims of each program and the approach to solve the scientific questions were different each other, the results from each program fill the gaps between programs. Further cooperation and exchange in these activities could be beneficial to each program.

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