• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1016-1023
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• 2008

Lichens are predominant and important components of flora in the terrestrial ecosystem of Antarctica. However, relatively few researches on the phylogenetic position of Antarctic lichen-forming fungi have been accomplished. In this study, partial sequences of nuclear large subunit rDNAs from 50 Antarctic specimens were obtained and the phylogeny was reconstructed. Antarctic lichen species were distributed in 4 orders, including the monophyletic order Agyrales, paraphyletic orders Pertusariales and Teloschistales, and polyphyletic order Lecanorales. Species diversity was highest in the order Lecanorales, followed by Teloschistales and Pertusariales. Based on the phylogeny and sequence similarity analyses, it is proposed that the taxonomy of Stereocaulon alpinum, Physcia caesia, Usnea aurantiacoatra, and Cladonia species should be revised by careful examination of their phenotypic and molecular characteristics. Six species known to be endemic to Antarctica, Catillaria corymbosa, Himantormia lugubris, Leptogium puberulum, Pertusaria pertusa, Rhizoplaca aspidophora, and Umbilicaria antarctica, formed unique lineages, implying independent origins in the Antarctic area.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.411-417
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• 2001

Due to international law the Antarctic is currently the best protected large ecosystem on earth, providing the opportunity for scientific research into processes of both regional and global importance. However, it is impossible to carry out research activities without minor disturbances to the environment. The Weddell Sea with its shelf inhabiting fauna can be considered to be representative for the entire Antarctic shelf with exceptions. It has generally escaped major anthropogenic impact but it is the only area in the high latitude Antarctic where long-term research fishing has been carried out. There are two main results combining aspects of nature conservation and benthos research. Firstly, the use of dredges has clearly decreased over the last two decades, whilst the use of non-invasive underwater photography and video has significantly increased. Secondly, during the same period icebergs destroyed an area of the seafloor and its fauna more than 2000-times greater than the area affected by research trawls. The increased use of imaging methods, Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) and other modem instruments, as well as statistically based and coordinated sampling strategies can contribute to both a better understanding of ecosystem function and to an ongoing reduction in anthropogenic impact.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.254-258
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• 2014

Field trial in ice-covered sea is one of the most important tasks in the design of icebreaking ships. To correctly estimate ice load and ice resistance on ship's hull, It is essential to understand the material properties of sea ice during ice field trials and to perform the proper experimental procedure by gathering sea ice data. A measurement of sea ice properties was conducted during February and March of 2012 with the Korean Icebreaking research vessel "ARAON" in the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica. This paper describes a test procedure to obtain sea ice data which provide basic information to estimate ice loads and icebreaking performance of the ship. The data gathered from sea ice field trials during the 2012 Antarctic voyage of the ARAON includes ice temperature/salinity/density and the compressive/flexural strength of sea ice. This paper analyses the gathered Antarctic sea ice material properties comparing with the previous data obtained during ARAON's Arctic and Antarctic voyages in 2010.

• Journal of the Korean Geophysical Society
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.291-299
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• 2006

The observed ocean barotropic circulation is not completely explained by the classical wind-driven circulation theory. Although it is believed that the thermohaline forcing plays a role in the ocean barotropic circulation to some degree, how much the thermohaline forcing contributes to the barotropic circulation is not well known. The role of thermohaline circulation driven by changes in temperature and salinity in the Southern Ocean (SO) water masses on the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) transport is investigated using a coupled ocean - atmosphere - sea ice - land surface climate system model in a Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) context. Withthe implementation of glacial boundary conditions in a coupled model, a substantial increase in the ACC transport by about 75% in 80 years of integration and 25% in the near LGM equilibrium is obtained despite of the decreases in the magnitude of wind stresses over the SO by 33% in the transient time and 20% in the near-equilibrium. This result suggests that the increase in the barotropic ACC transport is due to factors other than the wind forcing. The change in ocean thermohaline circulation in the SO seems to play a significant role in enhancing the ACC transport in association with the change in the bottom pressure torque.

• Atmosphere
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.555-563
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• 2014

The impacts of dynamic and thermodynamic schemes used in the Community Ice CodE (CICE), the Los Alamos sea ice model, on sea ice concentration, extent and thickness over the Arctic and Antarctic regions are evaluated. Using the six dynamic and thermodynamic schemes such as sea ice strength scheme, conductivity scheme, albedo type, advection scheme, shortwave radiation method, and sea ice thickness distribution approximation, the sensitivity experiments are conducted. It is compared with a control experiment, which is based on the fixed atmospheric and oceanic forcing. For sea ice concentration and extent, it is found that there are remarkable differences between each sensitivity experiment and the control run over the Arctic and Antarctic especially in summer. In contrast, there are little seasonal variations between the experiments for sea ice thickness. In summer, the change of the albedo type has the biggest influence on the Arctic sea ice concentration, and the Antarctic sea ice concentration has a greater sensitivity to not only the albedo type but also advection scheme. The Arctic sea ice thickness is significantly affected by the albedo type and shortwave radiation method, while the Antarctic sea ice thickness is more sensitive to sea ice strength scheme and advection scheme.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.902-906
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• 2012

Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from the Antarctic green algae Pyramimonas gelidicola were analyzed to obtain molecular information on cold acclimation of psychrophilic microorganisms. A total of 2,112 EST clones were sequenced, generating 222 contigs and 219 singletons, and 200 contigs and 391 singletons from control ($4^{\circ}C$) and cold-shock conditions ($-2^{\circ}C$), respectively. The complete EST sequences were deposited to the DDBJ EST database (http://www.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/index-e.html) and the nucleotide sequences reported in this study are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank. These EST databases of Antarctic green algae can be used in a wide range of studies on psychrophilic genes expressed by polar microorganisms.

• ALGAE
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.17-32
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• 2020

Asterochloris is one of the most common genera of lichen phycobionts in Trebouxiophyceae. Asterochloris phycobionts associated with the lichenized fungi Cladonia and Stereocaulon in King George Island (Antarctica) and Morro Chico (Chile), were isolated and then used to establish clonal cultures. To understand the phylogenetic relationships and species diversity of Antarctic Asterochloris species, molecular and morphological data were analyzed by using three microscopy techniques (light, confocal laser and transmission electron) and a multi-locus phylogeny with data from the nuclear-encoded internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA and the actin and plastid-encoded ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase large chain (rbcL) coding genes. Morphological data of three Antarctic strains showed significant species-specific features in chloroplast while molecular data segregated the taxa into distinct three clades as well. Each species had unique molecular signatures that could be found in secondary structures of the ITS1 and ITS2. The species diversity of Antarctic Asterochloris was represented by six taxa, namely, A. glomerata, A. italiana, A. sejongensis, and three new species (A. antarctica, A. pseudoirregularis, A. stereocaulonicola).

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.352-358
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• 2022

We explored the frequency response of krill target strength (TS) to understand the Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and ice krill (Euphausia crystallorophias) using the stochastic distorted-wave Born approximation (SDWBA) model. The results showed that the distribution of orientation and the fatness factor could significantly impact on the frequency response of TS. Krill TS is clearly depended on acoustic properties, which could affect to estimate the biomass of two krill species. The results provide insight into the importance of understanding TS variation to estimate the Antarctic krill and ice krill biomass, and their ecology related to the environmental features in the Southern Ocean.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.493-503
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• 2015

This study analyzed how spatial distribution of Himantormia lugubris is affected by the microenvironment in the Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No. 171 located in the Barton Peninsula of King George Island that belongs to the maritime Antarctic. In order to determine the population structure of H. lugubris growing in Baekje Hill within ASPA No. 171, we counted the individuals of different size groups after dividing the population into 5 growth stages according to mean diameter as follows: ≤ 1 cm, 1-3 cm, 3-5 cm, 5-10 cm, and ≥ 10 cm. The count of H. lugubris individuals in each growth stage was converted into its percentage with respect to the entire population, which yielded the finding that stages 1 through 5 accounted for 32.8%, 25.3%, 15.9%, 22.5%, and 3.5%, respectively. This suggests that the population of H. lugubris in ASPA No. 171 has a stable reverse J-shaped population structure, with the younger individuals outnumbering mature ones. The mean density of H. lugubris was 17.6/0.25 m², mean canopy cover 13.3%, and the mean dry weight 37.8 g/0.25 m². It began to produce spore in the sizes over 3 cm, and most individuals measuring 5-10 cm were adults with sexually mature apothecia. The spatial distribution of H. lugubris was highly heterogeneous. The major factors influencing its distribution and performance were found to be the period covered by snow, wind direction, moisture, size of the substrate, and canopy cover of Usnea spp. Based on these factors, we constructed a prediction model for estimating the spatial distribution of H. lugubris. Conclusively, the major factors for the spatial distribution of H. lugubris were snow, wind, substrate and the competition with Usnea spp. These results are important for understanding of the distribution in the maritime Antarctic and evolution of H. lugubris that claims a unique life history and ecological niche.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.172-176
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• 1990

Electrocondensation method using aluminum electrodes was developed to remove excess amount of fluoride contained in Antarctic krill. Fluoride amount was reduced differently according to fluoride forms (total, ionic and bound) and sections (whole, muscle flesh and chitinous) of the Antarctic krill during electrocondensation process. Total, ionic and bound fluoride could be reduced by 56%, 35% and 60% of the initial amount contained in the whole body, respectively and reduced by 49%, 57% and 34% of the initial amount in the muscle flesh, respectively by electro condensation process for 120 min. In the case of chitinous section of the Antarctic krill, 68% of total fluoride could be decreased by this process for 120 min.