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Science and exploration in the high interior of East Antarctica in the twentieth century
Get PDFThe highest part of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, more than 4000 m above sea level, has been an area that has seen a considerable scientific research effort undertaken by the Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition, and its international collaborators, since January 2005. That includes the establishment of the most remote of the Chinese Antarctic stations, Kunlun, at Dome A in 2009. However, the exploration and mapping of this region had been commenced many decades earlier, most notably by inland traverses of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the 1957–1958 International Geophysical Year (IGY) and later; and the extensive surveys of Antarctic surface and sub-ice topography by airborne radio-echo sounding made by the US National Science Foundation–Scott Polar Research Institute–Technical University of Denmark (NSF-SPRI-TUD) in the late-1960s and the 1970s. Here we provide a history of the activities and achievements of these earlier programs. Recent topographic maps of the ice sheet surface in the Dome A region, produced using Chinese GPS data and satellite altimetry, have shown the maps compiled from the earlier data were remarkably accurate
Chinese investment in Greenland
Get PDFIn 2009 Greenland moved to a more extensive degree of self-government in relation to the Kingdom of Denmark (the Realm), and most policy areas related to business activities and investment are now under the control of Greenland. Under the Self-Government Act, Greenland has issued legislation within several business sectors and other business-related policy areas, including the mineral resources sector. Today, Greenland is highly dependent on fishing and fish exports; however, the government is quite ambitious in its desire to develop new business sectors and attract foreign investment, including investment from China, especially to develop its mineral resources. China is now the second largest economy in the world, and outbound investments by Chinese companies present unprecedented opportunities for both the Chinese companies and their global partners. However, Chinese outbound investment faces many hurdles, both at home and elsewhere. It is highly advisable for Chinese companies to evaluate the regulatory, political, environmental, labor, and financial conditions and under-stand what remedies may mitigate the risks they identify before investing in Green land. This paper investigates and analyzes the hurdles faced by Chinese investors in both Greenland and the Danish Realm. The paper focuses on but is not limited to investments in the mining industry
Recent progress in Chinese polar upper-atmospheric physics research: review of research advances supported by the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic expeditions
Get PDFIt has been more than 30 years since the first Chinese Antarctic Expedition took place. Polar upper atmospheric observations started at this time. First began at Great Wall Station and then at Zhongshan Station in Antarctica, and later in the Arctic at Yellow River Station, Kjell Henriksen Observatory on Svalbard, and at the China-Iceland Joint Aurora Observatory in Iceland. In this paper, we reviewed the advances in polar upper atmosphere physics (UAP) based on the Chinese national Arctic and Antarctic research over the last five years. These included newly deployed observatories and research instruments in the Arctic and Antarctic; and new research findings, from ground-based observations, about polar ionosphere dynamics, aurora and particle precipitation, polar plasma convection, geomagnetic pulsations and space plasma waves, space weather in the polar regions, simulations of the polar ionosphere-magnetosphere. In conclusion, suggestions were made for future polar upper atmosphere physics research in China
Joint Statement of Ministers - On the occasion of the first White House Arctic Science Ministerial
Get PDFWe, the Ministers representing the eight Arctic States (Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States), fourteen additional States (China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom), and the European Union, in partnership with Arctic Indigenous representatives, have gathered to assert the importance of improving collaborative science efforts in the Arctic. Ours is the first-ever convening of science ministers from around the world to focus on the potential of increased cooperation on Arctic science. Recognizing the significance of environmental, social, and economic change in the Arctic region and its impacts on the rest of the planet, we owe this legacy of cooperation to future generations
Norwegian contributions to Arctic environmental sciences from the 1880s to the third International Polar Year
Get PDFThis paper reviews the major contributions made by Norwegian scientists to Arctic environmental sciences since the 1880s. The review begins with the first International Polar Year (IPY) in 1882–83. It then considers the 1890s to 1920s with the scientific expeditions focusing on ocean and sea ice conditions of Nansen, Amundsen and H. Sverdrup, and the mapping of the Queen Elizabeth Islands by Otto Sverdrup and colleagues. The period from 1911 to the mid-1920s also witnessed annual expeditions to Svalbard led by Adolf Hoel. The 1930s to 1945 period encompassed the Second International Polar Year when Arctic weather stations were established or maintained. The time interval post-World War II to 2000 witnessed major advances made possible by technical and organizational innovations. The establishment of the Norwegian Polar Institute in 1948 led to extensive research on the glaciers and snow cover in the Svalbard archipelago and to oceanographic and sea ice research in the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean. Remote sensing methods began to be widely used from the 1980s. The new millennium saw the undertaking of the third IPY and a shift to multinational projects. New fields such as ocean–ice–atmosphere variability became active and there was much attention to high-latitude climate change in the context of global warming
Purification and characterization of a thermostable glutamate dehydrogenase from a thermophilic microorganism from Deception Island, Antarctica
Get PDFGlutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) catalyzes the oxidative deamination of glutamate to α-ketoglutarate and ammonium ions. Currently the determination of ammonium and glutamate is carried out using a bovine GDH enzyme, which lacks optimal thermostability for long term storage at room temperature. From samples of Deception Island, Antarctica, we obtained the thermophilic bacteria PID 15 belonging to the Bacillus genera with high GDH specific activity. This new enzyme exhibited NAD+ dependent activity and no activity was observed when NADP+ was used. This enzyme shows a specific activity of 4.7 U∙mg-1 for the oxidative deamination reaction and 15.4 U∙mg-1 for the reduction of α-ketoglutarate. This enzyme has an optimum temperature of 65°C and pH of 8.5 for the oxidative deamination. For the reduction of α-ketoglutarate, the optimum temperature is 60°C, with a pH of 8.0. One of the most important characteristics of this enzyme is its ability to retain more than 60% of its activity when it is incubated for 8 h at 65°C. The enzyme is also able to retain full activity when it is incubated for 48 d at 4°C and over 80% of its activity when it is incubated at 25°C. Characterization of its kinetics suggests that it primarily catalyzes the formation of α-ketoglutarate. This enzyme has an important biological role in the catabolism of glutamate and may have some interesting biotechnological applications based on its thermostable properties
Lessons and prospects of Sino-Russian Arctic cooperation
Get PDFThe strategic partnership between China and Russia is creating solid ground for the cooperative development of the Arctic. These two states’ joint development of the Northern Sea Route will not only provide additional impulse to the export-oriented economy of China and allow further diversification of supply routes to China, but will also promote investment into the infrastructure and economic growth of Russian northern territories. Climate change in the Arctic has forced China and Russia to acknowledge the sustainable use of the Arctic. On the one hand, exploration of the region should not harm indigenous people’s rights and should help this population improve their standard of living by providing qualified healthcare and opportunities for commercial fulfillment of traditional crafts. On the other hand, this exploration should also include elimination of harmful anthropogenic impact and provide support for environment self-restoration. Sino-Russian Arctic cooperation will help humans discover eco-friendly approaches to use Arctic resources, promote rational use of the Arctic and inspire sustainable development of the region
Potential methane production rates and its carbon isotopic composition from ornithogenic tundra soils in coastal Antarctic
Get PDFMethane (CH4) is one of important greenhouse gases with chemical activity. The determination of isotopic compositions for CH4 emitted from the soils helps us to understand its production mechanisms. CH4 isotope measurements have been conducted for different types of global terrestrial ecosystems. However, no isotopic data of CH4 have been reported from Antarctic tundra soils. In this paper, ornithogenic soil profiles were collected from four penguin colonies, and potential CH4 production rates and its 13C ratio (δ13C) were investigated based upon laboratory incubation experiments. The mean CH4 production rates are highly variable in these soil profiles, ranging from 0.7 to 20.3 μg CH4−C kg−1∙h−1. These ornithogenic soils had high potential production rates of CH4 under ambient air incubation or under N2 incubation, indicating the importance of potential CH4 emissions from penguin colonies. Most of the soil samples had higher δ13C-CH4 under N2 incubation (−39.28%~−43.53%) than under the ambient air incubation (−42.81%~−57.19%). Highly anaerobic conditions were conducive to the production of CH4 enriched in 13C, and acetic acid reduction under N2 incubation might be a predominant source for soil CH4 production. Overall the δ13C-CH4 showed a significant negative correlation with CH4 production rates in ornithogenic tundra soils under N2 incubation (R2=0.41, p<0.01) or under the ambient air incubation (R2=0.50, p<0.01). Potential CH4 production from ornithogenic soils showed a significant positive correlation with total phosphorus (TP) and NH4+−N contents, pH and soil moisture (Mc), but the δ13C-CH4 showed a significant negative correlation with TP and NH4+−N contents, pH and Mc, indicating that the deposition amount of penguin guano increased potential CH4 production rates from tundra soils, but decreased the δ13C-CH4. The CH4 emissions from the ornithogenic soils affect carbon isotopic compositions of atmospheric CH4 in coastal Antarctica
Outreach channels for polar science: an expedition to Kerguelen Islands as a case study
Get PDFPolar science outreach is strongly needed, because besides promoting the utility of polar studies for society as a whole, it can generate public demand for new projects and expeditions. The dissemination of polar discoveries should be reinforced in countries without polar territories and for which polar science might not be a priority. In this pilot study (N =182 participants) we have contrasted the opinions of polar scientists (French, Belgian, British, Canadian, Australian, German, Italian and Spanish researchers) with those of a potentially interested public (graduate students of pedagogy and biology), in order to assess if the communication channels employed by polar researchers to make their results public align with those used by non-polar experts for learning about polar discoveries. The results revealed that scientific publications and presentations were considered a priority by the researchers, and these scientific communication channels were preferentially employed. Only a minority of researchers thought that non-scientific publications might be a good communication resource. In contrast, both groups of students, which considered polar research important but not a top priority, employed the Internet as their main channel for information about polar discoveries. Students assessed the use of polar discoveries as positive for educational purposes at both Primary and Secondary levels. The information presently received by students was perceived as being too generalist and the main suggestions to improve outreach in this field, in addition to the use of Internet, were more rapid dissemination of new discoveries
Arctic security: evolution of Arctic security dynamics and prospect for a security regime in the Arctic
Get PDFThe security dynamics in the Arctic since the Cold War has transitioned from militarization, to de-militarization, and to re-militarization. Under the circumstances of ongoing globalization and climate change, the Arctic states have accorded priority to the enhancement of military capacities in the region, with a view to safeguarding sovereign rights, ensuring navigation security of Arctic waterways, responding to contingencies and guaranteeing civil security. Such military capacity-building measures are otherwise interpreted as initiatives to resume arms race in the Arctic, which would be contributive to the security dilemma. Subject to the structural competition of the U.S. – Russia rivalry, there has long been an absence of a security regime in the Arctic. Nevertheless, the build-up of security regimes in the Arctic constitutes a major concern for the Arctic states, as well as for some extra-regional stakeholders. In the Arctic regional context, the ever-intensifying institutional cooperation in the domains of nontraditional and civil security lays the cornerstone for establishing confidence-building measures, and gives rise to the consensus that maintaining cooperation in the Arctic will be mutually rewarding for all