• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2021

This study measures the change of ice flow velocity of David Glacier, one of the fast-moving glaciers in East Antarctica that drains through Drygalski Ice Tongue. In order to effectively observe the rapid flow velocity, we applied the offset tracking technique to Sentinel-1A SAR images obtained from 2016 to 2020 with 36-day temporal baseline. The resulting velocity maps were averaged and the two relatively fast points (A1 and A2) were selected for further time-series analysis. The flow velocity increased during the Antarctic summer (around December to March) over the four years' observation period probably due to the ice surface melting and reduced friction on the ice bottom. Bedmap2 showed that the fast flow velocities at A1 and A2 are associated with a sharp decrease in the ice surface and bottom elevation so that ice volumetric cross-section narrows down and the crevasses are being created on the ice surface. The local maxima in standard deviation of ice velocity, S1 and S2, showed random temporal fluctuation due to the rotational ice swirls causing error in offset tracking method. It is suggested that more robust offset tracking method is necessary to incorporate rotational motion.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.205-214
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• 2005

From ancient Antarctic glacier ice, we extracted total genomic DNA that was suitable for prokaryotic 16S rDNA gene cloning and sequencing, and bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library and end-sequencing. The ice samples were from the Dry Valley region. Age dating by $^{40}Ar/^{39}Ar$ analysis on the volcanic ashes deposited in situ indicated the ice samples are minimum 100,000-300,000 yr (sample DLE) and 8 million years (sample EME) old. Further assay proved the ice survived freeze-thaw cycles or other re-working processes. EME, which was from a small lobe of the basal Taylor glacier, is the oldest known ice on Earth. Microorganisms, preserved frozen in glacier ice and isolated from the rest of the world over a geological time scale, can provide valuable data or insight for the diversity, distribution, survival strategy, and evolutionary relationships to the extant relatives. From the 16S gene cloning study, we detected no PCR amplicons with Archaea-specific primers, however we found many phylotypes belonging to Bacteria divisions, such as Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria $({\alpha},\;{\beta},\;and\;{\gamma})$, Firmicutes, and Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroid$. BAC cloning and sequencing revealed protein codings highly identical to phenylacetic acid degradation protein paaA, chromosome segregation ATPases, or cold shock protein B of present day bacteria. Throughput sequencing of the BAC clones is underway. Viable and culturable cells were recovered from the DLE sample, and characterized by their 16S rDNA sequences. Further investigation on the survivorship and functional genes from the past should help unveil the evolution of life on Earth, or elsewhere, if any.