• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.645-652
• /
• 2003

The coastal environment of King George Island is potentially subject to contamination by pollutants arising from station operations, such as emissions from fossil fuel burning, oil spills, waste disposal, etc. As a preparatory step to assess such impacts on the marine environment and living organisms of this island, two molluscan species (the bivalve Laternula elliptica and the gastropod Nacella concinna) were selected as biomonitors for metal pollution monitoring, and their baseline levels have been investigated for the past several years at King Sejong Station. In this review, variability of the baseline levels is discussed in relation to body size, tissue type, and sex. Natural elevations of some metals are also discussed with respect to the environmental characteristics of this region.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.297-304
• /
• 2009

We investigated the response of the westerly winds over the Southern Ocean (SO) to glacial boundary conditions for the Last Glacial Maximum using the CCM3 atmospheric general circulation model. In response to glacial boundary conditions, the zonally averaged maximum SO westerly winds weakened 20-35% and were displaced toward the equator by 3-4 degrees. This weakening of the SO westerly winds arose from a substantial increase in mean sea level pressure (MSLP) in the southern part of the SO around Antarctica relative to the northern part. The increase in MSLP around Antarctica is associated with a marked temperature reduction caused by an increase in sea ice cover and ice albedo feedback during the glacial time. The weakened westerly winds in the SO and their equator-ward displacement might play a role in reducing the atmospheric $CO_2$ concentration by reducing upwelling of the carbon rich deep water during the glacial time.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.83-97
• /
• 2022

The Amundsen Sea in West Antarctica is one of the most affected regions by climate change, but it is one of the least studied realms due to difficulties in access. Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) launched a research project in the Amundsen Sea in 2010 using the icebreaker research vessel (IBRV) Araon and has been conducting various research initiatives. In this paper, previous researches derived from the Amundsen Sea Embayment by Korean researchers are introduced. Through previous studies, researchers have been able to interpret the environmental and biogeochemical changes according to the inflow Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) and provide information for climate models. In particular, researches using radiocarbon isotopes (¹⁴C) were introduced to understand the physical and biogeochemical mechanisms of the carbon cycle in the Amundsen Sea. Opportunely, with the construction of a second icebreaker research vessel, the direction for systematic and long-term polar data acquisition can be presented.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.28.1-28.1
• /
• 2004

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.445-448
• /
• 2008

Candida antarctica lipase B (CalB) is an efficient biocatalyst for many organic synthesis reactions. To make full use of CalB, we need effective expression system. Previously recombinant CalB was successfully expressed in the methylotropic yeast Pichia pastoris. In addition, we succeed in the functional expression of CalB in the Escherichia coli cytoplasm. This CalB expression system in E.coli has many considerable advantages in comparison with other expression systems and enables high-throughput screening of gene libraries as those derived from directed evolution experiments. To optimize E.coli system, we investigate comparing between OrigamiB (DE3) and BL21 (DE3) and observing effect of IPTG amount.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.21-28
• /
• 2012

In this study, detection of icebergs that have various scattering characteristics around Wilkinson glacier in West Antarctica is investigated using C-band fully-polarimetric RADARSAT-2 SAR data. Various polarimetric analyses including Freeman-Durden decomposition, H/A/$\bar{\alpha}$ decomposition, entropy (H) and anisotropy (A) method, and Wishart unsupervised classification, were applied for the RADARSAT-2 data used in this study. The polarimetric decomposition methods were successfully classified most of the iceberg, yet some iceberg with similar intensity of volume and surface scattering as sea ice were indistinguishable. Unsupervised classification with a combination of the polarimetric parameter, [1-H][1-A], gave a possibility to distinguish those unclassified iceberg.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.16 no.E2
• /
• pp.85-96
• /
• 2000

The concentrations of Pb, Mn, Al and Na were measured from a total of 26 snow samples collected from a 1.5-m deep snow pit in Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Ore sampling location is great concern, because of its proximity to the southern extremity of south America, a candidate for the source regions of pollutant aerosols entering Antarctica. The mean concentrations of Pb and Mn were found to be 4.97 pg g(sup)-1 and 20.6 pgg(sup)-1, respectively. These concentrations levels are similar to those reported for recent snow at other Antarctic sites with pronounced spring maxima for both metals. Contributions form natural sources are estimated to be minor (∼16%) for Pb. For Mn, on the other hand, contribution from rock and soil dusts is found to be very important. Excess Pb over Pb from natural sources is likely to be anthropogenic, especially from South Americal. Our results show that yearly Pb fallout flux is much greater in Antarctic coastal areas than at other Antarctic locations far from the coast , indicating that the transport and deposition patterns of pollutant aerosols are not simple is Antarctica. It is also suggested that the recycling of anthropogenic Pb in seawater to the atmosphere could significantly contribute to the Pb fallout flux in the Antarctic coastal regions.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.155-163
• /
• 2004

The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was ratified in 1991. With the aim to ensure comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment, it contains provisions on environmental protection and conservation of the Antarctic area, including provisions for Environmental Impact Assessment. Environmental Impact Assessment is a method used to predict environmental impacts at an early stage in project planning and design, and find ways to mitigate or prevent adverse impacts in order to maintain balance between development activities and environmental conservation. Internationally, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in the Antarctic is classified into three types - preliminary, Initial, and Comprehensive - based on the environmental impacts of the proposed activities. In case of the Preliminary Environmental Review (PER), proposed activity may proceed in accordance to the national procedures and drafting of an outline. However, Initial (IEE) and Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation (CEE) assess and verify the impacts of the proposed activity, and require methods or alternatives for mitigating or eliminating negative impacts on the environment. Although Korea's Act of 'Activities and Environmental Protection in Antarctica' also includes provisions on EIA for activities in Antarctica, there are obvious contrasts with the EIAs currently being conducted in Korea, in regards to deciding the level of EIA through screening and identifying key issues for assessment through scoping. In order to implement the proper EIA, more improved methods for drafting and reviewing the EIA to Antarctica in Korea are necessary.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.23-35
• /
• 2015

A 450 m-long sediment section was recovered from Hole U1359D located at the eastern levee of the Jussieau submarine channel on the Wilkes Land continental rise (East Antarctica) during IODP Expedition 318. The age model for Hole U1359D was established by paleomagnetic stratigraphy and biostratigraphy, and the ages of core-top and core-bottom were estimated to be about 5 Ma and 13 Ma, respectively. Biogenic opal content during this period varied between 3% and 60%. In the Southern Ocean, high biogenic opal content generally represents warm climate characterized by the increased light availability due to the decrease of sea-ice distribution. The surface water productivity change in terms of biogenic opal content at about 10.2 Ma in the Wilkes Land continental rise was related to the development of Northern Component Water. After about 10.2 Ma, more production of Northern Component Water in the North Atlantic caused to increase heat transport to the Southern Ocean, resulting in the enhanced diatom production. Miocene isotope events (Mi4~Mi7), which are intermittent cooling intervals during the Miocene, appeared to be correlated to the low biogenic opal contents, but further refinement was required for precise correlation. Biogenic opal content decreased abruptly during 6 Ma to 5.5 Ma, which most likely corresponds to the Messinian salinity crisis. Short-term variation of biogenic opal content was related to the extent of sea-ice distribution associated with the location of Antarctic Polar Front that was controlled by glacial-interglacial paleoclimate change, although more precise dating and correlation will be necessary. Diatom production in the Wilkes Land continental rise increased during the interglacial periods because of the reduced sea-ice distribution and the southward movement of Antarctic Polar Front.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.535-542
• /
• 2011

We extracted a surface displacement map of Canisteo Peninsula and the surrounding area in West Antarctica by applying 4-pass DInSAR technique to two ERS-1/2 tandem pairs and analyzed the surface displacement of glaciers and sea ice. In the displacement map, glaciers showed fast motion pushing the adjoining land-fast sea ice which has the displacement in the same direction as the glacier. Cosgrove ice shelf showed large displacement pushing the adjoining land-fast sea ice as well. Some sea ice indicated the displacement that is opposite to the land-fast sea ice. This was because the type of the sea ice is drift ice that is affected by ocean current. Therefore, we could confirmed the boundary between land-fast sea ice and drift ice. It was difficult to distinguish ice shelf from ice sheet because they showed similarities both in brightness of the SAR images and in fringe rates of the interferograms. However, a boundary between fast-moving ice shelf and stable ice sheet was easily confirmed in the displacement map after the phase unwrapping process.