• Title/Summary/Keyword: polar regions

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Analysis of High School Students' Polar Literacy and Its Implications for Polar Education (고등학생들의 극지 소양 평가 결과 분석 및 극지 교육에의 시사점)

  • Chung, Sueim;Choi, Haneul;Kim, Minjee;Shin, Donghee
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.43 no.3
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    • pp.446-463
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    • 2022
  • This study suggests the need for polar literacy education as an effective conceptual system to explain climate change in terms of science education in line with the common effort of humankind to respond to global environmental changes. To this end, we investigated the status of polar literacy in high school students through quantitative tests and qualitative interviews and discussed the resulting implications. A total of 329 high school sophomore students from two high schools participated in a test consisting of 25 true and false questions developed by referring to the Polar Literacy Principles, while 13 students agreed to be interviewed. The results showed that a somewhat insufficient understanding and conceptual gaps appeared regarding several areas of the Polar Literacy Principles. Knowledge of the geographic features of the polar regions was weak, and little was known about the components and key characteristics of the cryosphere. The lack of understanding of these concepts results in the inability of students to link the operational mechanisms of polar and global climate change sufficiently. While accepting unsatisfactory concepts in the school curriculum without criticism from outside media, students perceived the mechanism of climate change as somewhat monotonous or distorted. Moreover, linguistic information, analogies, and visual observation were used as cognitive strategies to compensate for the ambiguous understanding of polar and climate change. Based on the abovementioned results, we argue that polar literacy education should be introduced as a new knowledge system that can be used to aid a systematic and comprehensive understanding of climate change within the school science curriculum. Additionally, we suggest the following implications: review the consistency of knowledge related to polar literacy in other subjects, provide critical standards for out-of-school media information related to climate change, examine students' misconceptions, and identify improved thinking strategies.

Biotechnological Potential of Rhodococcus Biodegradative Pathways

  • Kim, Dockyu;Choi, Ki Young;Yoo, Miyoun;Zylstra, Gerben J.;Kim, Eungbin
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.28 no.7
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    • pp.1037-1051
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    • 2018
  • The genus Rhodococcus is a phylogenetically and catabolically diverse group that has been isolated from diverse environments, including polar and alpine regions, for its versatile ability to degrade a wide variety of natural and synthetic organic compounds. Their metabolic capacity and diversity result from their diverse catabolic genes, which are believed to be obtained through frequent recombination events mediated by large catabolic plasmids. Many rhodococci have been used commercially for the biodegradation of environmental pollutants and for the biocatalytic production of high-value chemicals from low-value materials. Recent studies of their physiology, metabolism, and genome have broadened our knowledge regarding the diverse biotechnological applications that exploit their catabolic enzymes and pathways.

Decadal Observation and Studies in the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica: Insights from Radiocarbon Values (10여년간의 서남극 아문젠해 관측과 연구: 방사성탄소동위원소 값을 중심으로)

  • Kim, Minkyoung
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.44 no.1
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    • pp.83-97
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    • 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.

Elementary, Middle, and High School Students' Perception of Polar Region (초·중·고등학생들의 극지에 대한 인식)

  • Chung, Sueim;Choi, Haneul;Kim, Minjee;Shin, Donghee
    • Journal of the Korean earth science society
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    • v.42 no.6
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    • pp.717-733
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    • 2021
  • This study is aimed to provide basic data to set the direction of polar literacy education and to raise awareness of the importance of polar research. Elementary, middle, and high school students' perception of the polar region was examined in terms of current status of polar information, impression regarding polar regions, and awareness of related issues. The study included 975 students from nine elementary, middle, and high schools, who responded to 16 questions, including close-ended and open-ended items. The results suggest that students had more experiences regarding the polar region on audiovisual media, but relatively limited learning experiences in school education. The impression they had of the polar region was confined to the monotonous image of a polar bear in crisis, following the melting of the glacier due to global warming. The students formed powerful images by combining scenes they saw in audiovisual media with emotions. In terms of recognizing problems in the polar region, the students were generally interested in creatures, natural environment, and climate change, but their interests varied depending on their school level and their own career path. The students highly valued the scientist's status as agents to address the problems facing the region, and gave priority to global citizenship values rather than practical standards. Based on the results, we suggest the following: introducing and systematizing content focusing on the polar region in the school curriculum, providing a differentiated learning experience through cooperation between scientists and educators, establishing polar literacy based on concepts that are relevant to various subjects, earth system-centered learning approach, setting the direction for follow-up studies and the need for science education that incorporates diverse values.

THE INFRARED AURORAE OF JUPITER

  • KIM SANG-JOON
    • Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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    • v.29 no.spc1
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    • pp.347-350
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    • 1996
  • Spectroscopic data between 7 and 15 microns obtained in 1979 by Voyager 1 and 2 Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer (IRIS) have been revisited. Using the spectral data, Jupit.er images have been constructed at the emission bands of hydrocarbons, such as methane, ethane, and acetylene. The resultant. images show differences in emission intensities in the polar regions, suggesting inhomogeneous distributions of the hydrocarbons over the auroral regions of Jupiter.

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Underwater Acoustic Environment and Low Frequency Acoustic Transmission in the Sub-Polar Front Region of the East Sea (동해 아극전선 해역의 수중음향환경 및 저주파 음파전달 양상)

  • Lim, Se-Han;Ryu, Gun-Hee
    • Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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    • v.12 no.4
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    • pp.415-423
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    • 2009
  • To investigate low frequency acoustic transmissions in the Sub-Polar Front(SPF) of the East Sea, numerical experiments are conducted with Range dependent Acoustic Model(RAM) using Circulation Research of the East Asian Marginal Seas(CREAMS) data and Autonomous Profiling Explorer(APEX)) data. Significant seasonal variations of sea water properties are existed across the Sub-Polar Front(SPF) region from the north and the south. The model results show that Transmission Loss(TL) decrease(about 20dB) with ideal front in the warm region whereas TL increase(about 25dB) with ideal front in the cold region. Regardless of season(both in summer and winter), when the sound source is located in the cold region of the SPF, the model results show weak TL, compared to the case of the source in the warm region(Maximum difference of TL reaches 28dB). This difference between the cases when the source is located in the cold region and the warm region, is accounted for from the different vertical profiles of sound speed in both regions.

AVO analysis on BSR in the northern regions of the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica (남극 남쉐틀랜드 북부지역에서 나타나는 BSR의 AVO 반응분석)

  • Goo, Kyoung-Mo;Hong, Jong-Kuk;Jin, Young-Keun;Lee, Joo-Han;Lee, Jung-Mo
    • 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 2007.06a
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    • pp.157-162
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    • 2007
  • Geophysical survey has been conducted on the continental margin off the South Shetland Islands aboard R/V Onnuri of KORDI in 1992/1993. About 800-line km of 96-channel reflection data have been acquired. On the seismic section, BSR with strong reflectivity and negative polarity has been found at 700 ms below the sea bottom. BSR is considered as the base of gas hydrates and AVO analysis was performed to study physical properties along BSR. True amplitude recovery and surface consistence amplitude were applied to seismic data and angle gathers were obtained. AVO gradient and AVO intercept are calculated on every CDP gather. Section of AVO intercept show strong reflectivity and negative polarity on BSRs and stronger continuity of BSR than stacked section. Cross plot of intercept-gradient indicates that the lower layer below BSR is filled with free gas.

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Biomass of Bacterioplankton and Protists and Their Ecological Importance in the Bering Sea

  • He, Jianfeng;Chen, Bo;Kang, Sung-Ho;Zeng, Yinxin;Cai, Minghong
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.26 no.2
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    • pp.113-120
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    • 2004
  • The abundance, biomass and distribution of phytoplankton, bacterioplankton and heterotrophic protists in the Bering Sea were investigated from July to August 1999. Chlorophyll a concentrations in the surface waters ranged from 0.16 to $3.79{\mu}g\;l^{-1}$ Nano-phytoplankton were found to constitute from 63 to 98% of the total phytoplankton biomass, and were clearly the dominant primary producers. The biomass of bacterioplankton in the surface layers varied from 1.46 to $20.2{\mu}g\;C\;l^{-1}$ and accounted for 30% of the total phytoplankton biomass. The biomass of bacterioplankton integrated over a depth of 0 to 100m averaged 65.4% of the total phytoplankton biomass. The surface biomass of heterotrophic protists ranged from 1.2 to $27.4{\mu}g\;C\;l^{-1}$, and was within the same order of magnitude as that of bacterioplankton. Of the total biomass of heterotrophic protists in the upper 100m of the water column, 65% was attributed to protists in the nano-size class. The results of this study suggest that bacteria and nano-protists are important components of the planktonic community in the Bering Sea during the summer season. The abundance of bacterioplankton and planktonic protists decreased from the western to northeastern and eastern regions of the Bering Sea. The abundance of these organisms also decreased with depth. The available evidence suggests that variation in the abundance and distribution of these organisms may be affected by water currents and vertical temperature variation in the Bering Sea.

Soil properties and molecular compositions of soil organic matter in four different Arctic regions

  • Sujeong, Jeong;Sungjin, Nam;Ji Young, Jung
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.46 no.4
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    • pp.282-291
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    • 2022
  • Background: The Arctic permafrost stores enormous amount of carbon (C), about one third of global C stocks. However, drastically increasing temperature in the Arctic makes the stable frozen C stock vulnerable to microbial decomposition. The released carbon dioxide from permafrost can cause accelerating C feedback to the atmosphere. Soil organic matter (SOM) composition would be the basic information to project the trajectory of C under rapidly changing climate. However, not many studies on SOM characterization have been done compared to quantification of SOM stocks. Thus, the purpose of our study is to determine soil properties and molecular compositions of SOM in four different Arctic regions. We collected soils in different soil layers from 1) Cambridge Bay, Canada, 2) Council, Alaska, USA, 3) Svalbard, Norway, and 4) Zackenberg, Greenland. The basic soil properties were measured, and the molecular composition of SOM was analyzed through pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (py-GC/MS). Results: The Oi layer of soil in Council, Alaska showed the lowest soil pH and the highest electrical conductivity (EC) and SOM content. All soils in each site showed increasing pH and decreasing SOC and EC values with soil depth. Since the Council site was moist acidic tundra compared to other three dry tundra sites, soil properties were distinct from the others: high SOM and EC, and low pH. Through the py-GC/MS analysis, a total of 117 pyrolysis products were detected from 32 soil samples of four different Arctic soils. The first two-axis of the PCA explained 38% of sample variation. While short- and mid-hydrocarbons were associated with mineral layers, lignins and polysaccharides were linked to organic layers of Alaska and Cambridge Bay soil. Conclusions: We conclude that the py-GC/MS results separated soil samples mainly based on the origin of SOM (plants- or microbially-derived). This molecular characteristics of SOM can play a role of controlling SOM degradation to warming. Thus, it should be further investigated how the SOM molecular characteristics have impacts on SOM dynamics through additional laboratory incubation studies and microbial decomposition measurements in the field.

Elementary School Students' Polar Literacy (초등학생들의 극지 소양)

  • Choi, Haneul;Chung, Sueim;Kim, Minji;Shin, Donghee
    • Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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    • v.42 no.1
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    • pp.19-32
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    • 2022
  • The need for polar education was further emphasized, depending on the importance of the pole, which is the best place for climate change detection and prediction, and treasure trove of future technology and resources. Therefore, this study analyzed the general cognitive and affective characteristics of elementary school students' polar literacy, and in addition, analyzed the cognitive and affective characteristics according to the level of diversity about polar experience. The items developed for the study were revised through a pilot survey of 43 fifth graders. They consisted of questions about gender, polar experience, scientific literacy, polar knowledge, polar literacy skills, polar literacy beliefs, and polar literacy attitudes. The types of questions used are selectable, reliable, and Likert (4 points), for a total of 66 questions. The students who participated in the study were 323 fifth grade elementary students. The study found that students were more interested in the dramatic consequences of polar changes than the scientific causes and processes associated with it. This is confirmed through the fact that they are more interested in and familiar with polar creatures suffering from polar changes than understanding ice, which is the main feature of and the central mechanism of polar changes. Students also recognized the issue of polar climate change as a global issue other than their own. They believe that what happens in the Arctic and Antarctica will affect the whole world, but not significantly to himself and his community. The level of knowledge about polar region and the ability to analyze and infer were not significantly related to each other, and students with a higher level of diversity of experience about polar region had a better understanding of polar science and technology. In this research, it is meaningful to check the characteristics related to the students' polar region and to use it as a basic data to show the direction in which polar literacy education should proceed in the future.