Research progress and development direction of low-temperature drilling fluid for Antarctic region

By combing the characteristics of drilling in Antarctic region, performance requirements on drilling fluid for Antarctic low temperature conditions, and research progress of low temperature drilling fluid, current problems of the drilling fluid have been sorted out, and the development direction of the drilling fluid has been pointed out. Drilling in the Antarctic region mainly includes drilling in snow, ice and subglacial rock formations, and drilling in Antarctic low temperature conditions will face problems in four aspects:(1) low temperature and large temperature changes in the drilling area;(2) likely well leakage and drillstring-sticking in the snow layer, creep in the ice layer, ice chip gathering jamming in the warm ice layer, well wall collapse in the subglacial rock formations;(3) lack of infrastructure and difficulty in logistical support;(4) fragile environment and low carrying capacity. After years of development, progresses have been made on low-temperature drilling fluids for the Antarctic region. Low-temperature petroleum-based drilling fluid, ethanol/ethylene glycol-based drilling fluid, ester-based drilling fluid and silicone oil-based drilling fluid have been developed. However, these drilling fluids have problems such as insufficient low-temperature tolerance, low environmental performance and weak wellbore stability, etc. In order to meet the performance requirements of drilling fluid under low-temperature conditions in Antarctic region, the working mechanisms of low-temperature drilling fluid must be examined in depth;environment-friendly low-temperature base fluid of drilling fluid and related additives must be developed to prepare environmentally friendly low temperature drilling fluid systems;multi-functional integrated adjustment method for drilling fluid must be worked out to ensure well wall stability and improve cutting-carry capacity when drilling ice formations and ice-rock interlayers;and on-site support operation codes must be established to provide technical support for Antarctic drilling.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF CYCLONE TRACKS IN WESTERN ANTARCTIC REGION

The paper shows the statistical analysis of cyclone tracks that have influence on the western Antarctic region.Based on the conditions of cyclone movement and its impact upon the weather,cyclone tracks are classified into three categories,i.e.,the track moving towards the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, southern track,and northern track. Moreover,in this paper,the frequency distributions of cyclone tracks,the major tracks with higher frequencies,the original region of Antarctic cyclones and the seasonal features of Antarctic cyclones have been analyzed.The results show that there are higher cyclogeneses in summer,whereas relatively fewer cycloge- neses in winter,and cyclone numbers in transitional seasons are close to the climatological average.The analysis also shows that the moving velocity of Antarctic cyclone is about the same in winter and summer. It obviously speed up during the transitional season.

A comparative analysis of β-mannanases of bacteria from Antarctica and Malaysia

β-mannanase is an enzyme that is commonly expressed in environmental bacteria. It degrades hemicellulose found in plant material and recycles nutrients back into the environment. Because this enzyme significantly contributes to biodegradation and has recently been applied in industry, we conducted a comparative analysis of bacterial isolates found in soil samples from Schirmacher Oasis, Antarctica, and Sabah, Malaysia that were capable of degrading mannan. A total of 9 bacterial isolates from Antarctica and 30 bacterial isolates from Malaysia exhibited β-mannanase activity. These bacteria were differentiated and clustered using their random amplified polymorphic DNA （RAPD） profiles, and the β-mannanase activity of these isolates was tested at different temperatures and pH. Five out of 9 Antarctica isolates and seven out of 30 Malaysian isolates were identified based on their 16S rDNA sequences. Identified bacterial isolates from Antarctica were： MP1 （Bacillus amyloliquefaciens）, MP2 （Bacillus pumilus）, MP5 （Bacilluspumilus）, A40 （Arthrobacter sp.）, and C27 （Arthrobacter oxydans）. Identified bacterial isolates from Ma- laysia were： Y1 （Paenibacillus sp.）, Y2 （Bacillus sp.）, Y16 （Paenibacillus sp.）, Y18 （Paenibacillus sp.）, A7 （Paenibacillus sp.）, B26 （Streptomyces sp.）, and D4 （Paenibacillus amylolyticus）. β-mannanases produced by the Antarctica bacterial isolates MP1 （Bacillus amyloliquefaciens） and A40 （Arthrobacter sp.） were active at 5℃ and 20℃, respectively, while the β-mannanase pro- duced by the bacterial isolate from Malaysia, A7 （Paenibacillus sp.）, was active at 35 ℃.

Does polar amplification exist in Antarctic surface during the recent four decades?

There are numerous studies on polar amplification and its influence on mid-latitude weather and climate.However,assessments on whether polar amplification occurs in Antarctica are rarely conducted.Based on the latest atmospheric reanalysis of ERA5 produced by European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF),we have defined the Antarctic amplification index,and calculated the trend of annual and seasonal Surface Air Temperature(SAT)mean during 1979-2019 for Antarctic Ice Sheet(AIS)and the trend mean of different meridional sectors of Antarctic sub regions including East Antarctic Ice Sheet(EAIS),West Antarctic Ice Sheet(WAIS)and Antarctic Peninsula(AP).Antarctic amplification shows regional differences and seasonal variations.Antarctica shows a slight warming with the largest magnitude in AP.The temperature anomalies indicate the least fluctuations in austral summer,and the more fluctuations in winter and spring.In austral summer,the warming trend domains EAIS and WAIS,while the cooling trend appears over AP.The zonal mean in Southern Hemisphere maintains a warming trend in the low latitudes,and fluctuates greatly in the middle and high latitudes.The strongest Antarctic amplification phenomenon occurs in spring,with the amplification index of 1.20.For AP,the amplification occurs in austral autumn,and the amplification index is 2.16.At South Pole and the surrounding regions,SAT for land only fluctuates largely and shows different trends in different seasons.The mechanism of Antarctic amplification is unclear till now,and its research suffers from the limitation of measured data.This suggests that future research needs progress in comprehensive ground observation network,remote sensing data accumulation,and high-resolution climate modeling with better representation of both atmospheric and cryospheric processes in Antarctica.