• Title/Summary/Keyword: Antarctic Ocean

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Preliminary Evidence for a Metallothionein-like Cd-binding Protein in the Kidney of the Antarctic Clam Laternula elliptica

  • Choi, Hee-Seon, J.;Ahn In-Young;Ryu Soo-Kyung;Lee, Yong-Seok;Lee, In-Sook;Jeong, Kye-Heon
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.23 no.4
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    • pp.337-345
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    • 2001
  • A Cd-binding protein was identified in the renal cytosol of the Antarctic clam Laternula elliptica which naturally contains high concentrations of Cd. The Cd-binding protein showed similar characteristics of metallothionein (MT) in molecular weight (about 10-12 kDa) and low spectral absorbance at 280 nm with relatively high absorbance at 254nm. Results of immuno-histochemical staining suggested that the MT-like Cd-binding protein was mainly located in the epithelial cells of the kidney. The MT-like protein was a major ligand of cytosolic Cd as shown in the elution profiles of chromatography and may play an important role in Cd sequestration and accumulation in L. elliptica kidney. A considerable amount of Cd was also found to be associated with particulate fraction, indicating the sequestration to particulate fraction is as important as binding to the cytosolic MT-like protein in Cd accumulation in the kidney.

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Natural and Anthropogenic Heavy Metal Deposition to the Snow in King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula

  • Hong, Sung-Min;Lluberas, Albert;Lee, Gang-Woong;Park, Jun-Kun
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.24 no.3
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    • pp.279-287
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    • 2002
  • Successive 24 snow samples, collected from a 1.2m snow pit at a site on the summit of Main Dome in King George Island, Antarctic Peninsula, were measured for heavy metals such as Pb, Cd, Cu, and Zn and other chemical species. The mean concentrations of heavy metals are 3.48pg/g for Pb, 0.10pg/g for Cd, 16.6 pg/g for Cu and 15.8 pg/g for Zn, respectively. Pb and Cd concentrations observed in our samples are very comparable to those reported for recent snow at other Antarctic sites, while Zn and Cu levels are much higher than those at other sites. The annual fallout fluxes of all heavy metals approximately calculated are, however, much greater in King George Island than at other sites. With respect to the estimates of natural contributions, sea salt spray is found to be a major contributor to Cd and Zn inputs to the snow and minor to Cu inputs. On the other hand, the anthropogenic input can account for a large part of Pb concentrations. A tentative estimate represents that local emissions could be responsible for more than half of the excess Pb flux to the snow in King George Island.

Origins and Paleoceanographic Significance of Layered Diatom Ooze from Bransfield Strait in the Northern Antarctic Peninsula around 2.5 kyrs BP

  • Yoon, Ho-Il;Kim, Yea-Dong;Park, Byong-Kwon;Kang, Cheon-Yun;Bae, Sung-Ho;Yoo, Kyu-Chul
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.24 no.3
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    • pp.301-311
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    • 2002
  • We used diatom and porewater data of two piston cores from the central subbasin and one from the western subbasin in the Bransfield Strait in the northern Antarctic Peninsula to elucidate the depositional mechanism of the layered diatom ooze. The layered diatom ooze is characterized by an abundance of organic carbon, biogenic silica, sulfde sulfur, and lower porewater sulfate concentration. This lack of pore-water sulfate concentration in the diatom ooze interval may reflect development of reducing micro-environment in which bacterially mediated sulfate reduction occurred. The negative relationship between the total organic carbon and sulfate contents, however, indicates that sulfate reduction was partly taking place but does not control organic carbon preservation in this unit. Rather, well-preserved Chaetoceros resting spores in the layered diatom ooze indicate a rapid sedimentation of the diatom as a result of repetitive iceedge blooms on the Bransfield shelf during the cold period (around 2500 yrs BP) when the permanent seaice existed on the shelf, During this period, it is expected that the downslope-flowing cold and dense water was also formed on the Bransfield shelf as a result of sea ice formation, playing an important role for the formation of layered diatom ooze in the Bransfield subbasins.

Year-round Monitoring of Atmospheric Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) at the King Sejong Station in the Antarctic (남극 세종기지에서의 대기 중 PCB 모니터링)

  • Choi, Sung-Deuk;Baek, Song-Yee;Chang, Yoon-Seok;Yoon, Young-Jun;Park, Byong-Kwon;Hong, Sung-Min
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.29 no.4
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    • pp.297-302
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    • 2007
  • Atmospheric levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at the King Sejong station were monitored for one year using passive air samplers. Low-chlorinated PCB homologues were predominant in all samples. PCB levels were observed to decrease with distance from the station, which may indicate that a significant part of PCBs could be of local origin. Although the level of PCBs at the King Sejong station is very low (${\Sigma}_9PCB$ (18, 52, 101, 118, 128, 138, 153, 180, 187): $2.3\;pg\;m^{-3}$) probably due to decrease in the global PCB emissions, it is one order of magnitude higher than a background level in the Antarctic. Based on this preliminary study, more interpretation on PCB data and meteorological conditions is required.

A Study of the Change of Ship Speed according to the Ice Load Signal during Slow Ramming (저속 충격쇄빙 시 빙하중 신호에 따른 선속 변화 연구)

  • Ahn, Se-Jin;Lee, Tak-Kee
    • Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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    • v.33 no.6
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    • pp.627-631
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    • 2019
  • Recently, researchers in Korea and abroad actively have conducted research activities using the ARAON, a Korean icebreaking research vessel. The ARAON regularly conduct research activities in the Arctic and Antarctic waters every year. The icebreaking mode, which can be either continuous breaking or ramming, is determined by the conditions of the ice and the ice-covered waters. When the icebreaker encounters thick sea ice or an ice ridge, ramming is used. At that time, the speed of the ship generally is slower than that of continuous icebreaking. In this study, the ice load signal at the time of repetitive ramming during ARAON's 2012 Antarctic research voyage was analyzed. The time history of the ice load signal and the change in the speed of the ship used in ramming were compared with these values during continuous icebreaking.

Cold Shock Response of an Antarctic Streptomyces Strain Showing Demulsifying Ability

  • Lee Yoo Kyung;Kim Hyo Won;Hyun Kwang Soon;Lee Hong Kum
    • Proceedings of the Microbiological Society of Korea Conference
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    • 2001.11a
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    • pp.138-145
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    • 2001
  • The hydrophobic spores of Streptomyces sp. AA8321 isolated from the Antarctic coast displayed demulsification ability. The aerial spores demulsified an emulsion of kerosene/$0.2\%$ Triton X-100 (2:1, v/v) to $50\%$ and $95\%$ within 1 min contact at the concentrations of $5.0{\times}10^7$ and $1.0{\times}10^8$ spores/ml, respectively. A cold shock protein (csp) gene was cloned from the hydrophobic spore- producing Streptomyces sp. AA8321 using PCR. It encoded a low molecular protein with 68 amino acids showing very low homology with previously reported csp genes. Only the sequence of the first six amino acids was just the same and yet others were different. RNA blot analysis indicated that the csp gene was induced by cold shock, i.e., transferring from $30^{\circ}C$ to $10^{\circ}C$, and this cold shock response proposed that the isolated gene be a new type of csp gene.

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Structure determination of Suberitenone B by Two-dimensional NMR techniques

  • Park, Jung-Rae;Youngwan Seo;Cho, Ki-Woong;Jongheon Shin
    • Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.71-77
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    • 1997
  • Substritenone B, sesterterpenoids of an unprecedented akeletal class, has been isolated from the Antarctic sponge Suberites sp. Structure of this compound has been determined by combined spectral and chemical studies.

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Design Guidelines of Prismatic Buildings for Antarctic Environment(II)-Snowdrift (남극환경을 위한 직사각형 건물의 설계지침에 관한 연구(II)-적설현황)

  • Kim, Dong-Hyeok
    • Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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    • v.5 no.2
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    • pp.31-42
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    • 1991
  • 남극건물의 기능을 현저히 저하시키는 큰요인의 하나인 극설현상에 관한 연구는 건물로 인한 남극환경에 미치는 인간의 영향을 최소화시키기 위한 기본적인 연구라고할 수 있다. 남극에 건설될 새로운 건물을 대상으로한 극설현상의 현지조사나 실물실험은 여러모로 보아 비경제적이고 비현실적이기 때문에 풍동실험의 필요성이 절실해진다. 본 연구는 극설현상의 풍동실험을 위해 필요한 similitude parameters 의 중요성및 각각의 상관성을 분석하였으며 고상식 및 지상식의 직사각형의 단독형 및 group형 건물들 주위에 쌓인 극설의 형태와 극설량을 풍동실험을 통해 조사분석햐여 남극건물의 극설현상에 대한 설계지침(design guideline)을 제시하였다.

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Oxygen Isotope Data of Winter Water in the Western Weddell Sea: Preliminary Results

  • Khim, Boo-Keun;Park, Byong-Kwon;Kang, Sung-Ho
    • Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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    • v.33 no.1-2
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 1998
  • In the western Weddell Sea, winter mixed layer is characterized by near-freezing temperature and higher salinity due to brine injection through sea-ice formation. This layer becomes Winter Water being capped by warmer and less saline Antarctic Surface Water during the sea-ice melt-ing season. In this study, Winter Water was preliminarily identified by the oxygen isotopic com-positions. The ${\delta}^{18}$O values of Winter Water show the progressively increasing trend from south to north in the study area. It presumably reflects the enhanced mixing with Antarctic Surface Water due to the extent of influence by low S'"0 value of sea-ice/glacier meltwater. Correlations between salinity and 6'"0 values of seawater can be used to more generally characterize Winter Water with a view to identification. However, the prediction on the degree of mixing from these relationships needs more detailed isotope data, although this study allows the oxygen isotopic composition of seawater as a tracer to identify the water mass.

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