Microscopic analysis on eukaryotic algae and cyanobacteria in nine seasonal lakes and ponds in Vestfjella,Dronning Maud Land,Antarctica

Antarctic continental lakes and ponds are among the most impoverished aquatic environments on earth but many of them support flourishing populations of cyanobacteria,eukaryotic algae,protozoans,and some multicellular animals.In this study,we present results of a microscopic analysis of cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algae from nine diverse types of Antarctic continental water bodies during one austral summer.The results supplement and enlarge our previous studies on the limnological characteristics of the epiglacial and supraglacial lakes and ponds in Dronning Maud Land,an area that has received little attention from limnologists.The taxon with highest frequency among the samples(n=79)was Mesotaenium cf.berggrenii,a eukaryotic Zygnematophyceae,which occurred in 82%of the samples with a maximum cell density of 68 cells·mL^(-1).The taxa with second and third highest frequency were the prokaryotes Gloeocapsopsis(60%)and Leptolyngbya(41%),followed by Chlamydomonas(34%)and Cyanothece(29%).The number of taxa varied between 7-21 among the lakes and ponds,being highest in a supraglacial lake,and lowest in an epiglacial lake.The results did not reveal any obvious correlation between the abundance of any taxa and the water chemistry,but water bodies with inorganic sediments had higher cell densities and biomasses than those without sediment.This suggests the importance of sediment in supporting biological diversity in these ultraoligotrophic lakes and ponds.

Endogenous Trypsin Triggers Free Fluoride Release from Antarctic Krill(Euphausia superba)Cuticle

During postmortem storage,fluoride in Antarctic krill can be enriched in the muscle.Trypsin,as the most important digestive enzyme in Antarctic krill with a high activity in low temperature,plays a potential role in this process.In this study,endogenous trypsin was purified and its properties were investigated.The involvement of trypsin in the generation of free fluoride from Antarctic krill cuticle was explored.Cuticle microstructure before and after hydrolysis was compared with scanning electron microscopy,and the ash samples of the hydrolyzed Antarctic krill cuticle were analyzed with X-ray diffraction,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,and electron dispersive spectroscopy,respectively.Mass spectrometry analysis and inhibition tests confirmed that the purified enzyme was endogenous trypsin.Results of the present study indicated that trypsin digestion caused the increases of the concentrations of both fluoride ions and free amino N simultaneously,while the protein coated on the cuticle surface was dissolved too.However,no compositional change was detected in the cuticle inorganic salts.These findings suggest that trypsin triggered free fluoride release from Antarctic krill cuticle.In addition,the kinetics of free fluoride release could be described by the equation C_(W)=(1-0.97^(-0.006t)-0.03e^(0.0558t))×337.53+10.50.The present study improved the understanding of the role of trypsin in free fluoride release from Antarctic krill cuticle,facilitating future studies aimed at reducing the fluoride content in krill protein during Antarctic krill processing.

The Performance of Downward Shortwave Radiation Products from Satellite and Reanalysis over the Transect of Zhongshan Station to Dome A, East Antarctica

The downward shortwave radiation(DSR) is an important part of the Earth's energy balance, driving Earth's system's energy, water, and carbon cycles. Due to the harsh Antarctic environment, the accuracy of DSR derived from satellite and reanalysis has not been systematically evaluated over the transect of Zhongshan station to Dome A, East Antarctica.Therefore, this study aims to evaluate DSR reanalysis products(ERA5-Land, ERA5, MERRA-2) and satellite products(CERES and ICDR) in this area. The results indicate that DSR exhibits obvious monthly and seasonal variations, with higher values in summer than in winter. The ERA5-Land(ICDR) DSR product demonstrated the highest(lowest) accuracy,as evidenced by a correlation coefficient of 0.988(0.918), a root-mean-square error of 23.919(69.383) W m^(–2), a mean bias of –1.667(–28.223) W m^(–2) and a mean absolute error of 13.37(58.99) W m^(–2). The RMSE values for the ERA5-Land reanalysis product at seven stations, namely Zhongshan, Panda 100, Panda 300, Panda 400, Taishan, Panda 1100, and Kunlun, were 30.938, 29.447, 34.507, 29.110, 20.339, 17.267, and 14.700 W m^(-2), respectively;with corresponding bias values of 9.887, –12.159, –19.181, –15.519, –8.118, 6.297, and 3.482 W m^(–2). Regarding seasonality, ERA5-Land, ERA5,and MERRA-2 reanalysis products demonstrate higher accuracies during spring and summer, while ICDR products are least accurate in autumn. Cloud cover, water vapor, total ozone, and severe weather are the main factors affecting DSR. The error of DSR products is greatest in coastal areas(particularly at the Zhongshan station) and decreases towards the inland areas of Antarctica.

Deep Learning Shows Promise for Seasonal Prediction of Antarctic Sea Ice in a Rapid Decline Scenario

The rapidly changing Antarctic sea ice has garnered significant interest. To enhance the prediction skill for sea ice and respond to the Sea Ice Prediction Network-South's latest call, this study presents the reforecast results of Antarctic sea-ice area and extent from December to June of the coming year with a Convolutional Long Short-Term Memory(Conv LSTM)Network. The reforecast experiments demonstrate that Conv LSTM captures the interannual and interseasonal variability of Antarctic sea ice successfully, and performs better than the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Based on this, we present the prediction from December 2023 to June 2024, indicating that the Antarctic sea ice will remain at lows, but may not create a new record low. This research highlights the promising application of deep learning in Antarctic sea-ice prediction.

Influence of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation on Antarctic surface air temperature during 1900 to 2015

The importance of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation(AMO)and Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation(IPO)in influencing zonally asymmetric changes in Antarctic surface air temperature(SAT)has been established.However,previous studies have primarily concentrated on examining the combined impact of the contrasting phases of the AMO and IPO,which have been dominant since the advent of satellite observations in 1979.This study utilizes long-term reanalysis data to investigate the impact of four combinations of+AMO+IPO,–AMO–IPO,+AMO–IPO,and–AMO+IPO on Antarctic SAT over the past 115 years.The+AMO phase is characterized by a spatial mean temperature amplitude of up to 0.5℃over the North Atlantic Ocean,accompanied by positive sea surface temperature(SST)anomalies in the tropical eastern Pacific and negative SST anomalies in the extratropical-mid-latitude western Pacific,which are indicative of the+IPO phase.The Antarctic SAT exhibits contrasting spatial patterns during the+AMO+IPO and+AMO–IPO periods.However,during the–AMO+IPO period,apart from the Antarctic Peninsula and the vicinity of the Weddell Sea,the entire Antarctic region experiences a warming trend.The most pronounced signal in the SAT anomalies is observed during the austral autumn,whereas the combination of–AMO and–IPO exhibits the smallest magnitude across all the combinations.The wavetrain excited by the SST anomalies associated with the AMO and IPO induces upper-level and surface atmospheric circulation anomalies,which alter the SAT anomalies.Furthermore,downward longwave radiation anomalies related to anomalous cloud cover play a crucial role.In the future,if the phases of AMO and IPO were to reverse(AMO transitioning to a negative phase and IPO transitioning to a positive phase),Antarctica could potentially face more pronounced warming and accelerated melting compared to the current observations.

What induced the trend shift of mixed-layer depths in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current region in the mid-1980s?

An obvious trend shift in the annual mean and winter mixed layer depth(MLD)in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current(ACC)region was detected during the 1960–2021 period.Shallowing trends stopped in mid-1980s,followed by a period of weak trends.The MLD deepening trend difference between the two periods were mainly distributed in the western areas in the Drake Passage,the areas north to Victoria Land and Wilkes Land,and the central parts of the South Indian sector.The newly formed ocean current shear due to the meridional shift of the ACC flow axis between the two periods is the dominant driver for the MLD trends shift distributed in the western areas in the Drake Passage and the central parts of the South Indian sector.The saltier trends in the regions north to Victoria Land and Wilkes Land could be responsible for the strengthening mixing processes in this region.

Retrieval of Antarctic sea ice freeboard and thickness from HY-2B satellite altimeter data

Antarctic sea ice is an important part of the Earth’s atmospheric system,and satellite remote sensing is an important technology for observing Antarctic sea ice.Whether Chinese Haiyang-2B(HY-2B)satellite altimeter data could be used to estimate sea ice freeboard and provide alternative Antarctic sea ice thickness information with a high precision and long time series,as other radar altimetry satellites can,needs further investigation.This paper proposed an algorithm to discriminate leads and then retrieve sea ice freeboard and thickness from HY-2B radar altimeter data.We first collected the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ice surface temperature(IST)product from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to extract leads from the Antarctic waters and verified their accuracy through Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar images.Second,a surface classification decision tree was generated for HY-2B satellite altimeter measurements of the Antarctic waters to extract leads and calculate local sea surface heights.We then estimated the Antarctic sea ice freeboard and thickness based on local sea surface heights and the static equilibrium equation.Finally,the retrieved HY-2B Antarctic sea ice thickness was compared with the CryoSat-2 sea ice thickness and the Antarctic Sea Ice Processes and Climate(ASPeCt)ship-based observed sea ice thickness.The results indicate that our classification decision tree constructed for HY-2B satellite altimeter measurements was reasonable,and the root mean square error of the obtained sea ice thickness compared to the ship measurements was 0.62 m.The proposed sea ice thickness algorithm for the HY-2B radar satellite fills a gap in this application domain for the HY-series satellites and can be a complement to existing Antarctic sea ice thickness products;this algorithm could provide long-time-series and large-scale sea ice thickness data that contribute to research on global climate change.

Review of the Cretaceous avian diversity of Antarctica:a changing scenario for the evolution of early Neornithine birds

The worldwide record of Cretaceous Neornithes and Neornithine-like birds is both controversial and poorly understood.However,in recent years,the Antarctic continent has yielded a substantial number of Maastrichtian avian specimens,contributing significantly to our understanding of the early evolution of this group.Simultaneously,the keen interest and collaborative efforts of various paleornithologists have resulted in a wealth of knowledge,which we have thoroughly reviewed,updated,and discussed in the context of recent discoveries.

A new look at the first dinosaur discovered in Antarctica:reappraisal of Antarctopelta oliveroi(Ankylosauria:Parankylosauria)

The first dinosaur discovered in the Antarctic continent was the ankylosaur Antarctopelta oliveroi in the 1980s.Nevertheless,since then several hypotheses of phylogenetical relationships have been proposed because these have been depended on how the skeletal remains have been interpreted.The main obstacle for clarifying its phylogenetic position is that many portions of the skeleton remain unknown,in addition to the presence of unknown characters in typical ankylosaurs.Considered an ankylosaurid,nodosaurid,or even a chimaera,a recent proposal based on mostly complete material of a new ankylosaur from Chilean Patagonia provided support for a novel phylogenetic hypothesis:Antarctopelta and other southern ankylosaurs are an early branching clade,the Parankylosauria,whose origin probably dates to the Late Jurassic.In the light of this new view,a redescription of the available skeletal remains is provided together with a new reconstruction of the first Antarctic dinosaur known to the science community.

The global Antarctic Research event,SCAR 2024

We are pleased to announce that“The 11th SCAR Open Science Conference”will take place in Pucón,Chile from 19-23 August 2024,hosted by the Chilean Antarctic Institute.Detailed information at https://www.scar2024.org/.The 11th SCAR Open Science Conference theme“Antarctic Science:Crossroads for a New Hope”,recognizes the importance of Antarctica as a unique and fragile ecosystem.With increasing concerns about climate change and its impact on the polar regions,this theme aims to highlight the significance of Antarctic research in shaping our understanding of global environmental challenges.By fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange,the SCAR Open Science conference hopes to inspire new solutions and a renewed sense of hope for the future of our planet.

Research and exploration of direct current power supply and distribution systems for Antarctic research stations

The power supply and distribution systems for Antarctic research stations have special characteristics.In light of a worldwide trend toward a gradual increase in the application of renewable energy,an analysis was performed to assess the feasibility of achieving a direct current power supply and distribution at Antarctic research stations by comparing the characteristics of direct current and alternating current electricity.Research was also performed on the status quo and future trends in direct current power supply and distribution systems in Antarctica research stations in combination with case studies.

Migration and role of zinc in biogeochemical cycles in the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Southern Ocean

Zinc(Zn),a widespread metal in the Earth’s crust,serves as a crucial nutrient in the Southern Ocean’s primary production.Studies on Zn in Antarctic snow and ice offer insights into the origins of this metal and its transport routes,as well as its impact on the biogeochemical processes within the Antarctic atmosphere–land–ocean system.This review examines research on the spatial and temporal distribution of Zn in Antarctic snow and ice,as well as in Southern Ocean waters.It includes an overview of advanced methods for sampling and analyzing Zn,along with explanations for the observed variations.The review also discusses various sources of Zn as a nutrient to the Southern Ocean.Finally,it addresses prospective issues related to the use of Zn isotopes in identifying atmospheric sources and their biogeochemical effects on the development of the Southern Ocean ecosystem.

Assessment of future Antarctic amplification of surface temperature change under different Scenarios from CMIP6

Global warming may result in increased polar amplification,but future temperature changes under different climate change scenarios have not been systematically investigated over Antarctica.An index of Antarctic amplification(AnA)is defined,and the annual and seasonal variations of Antarctic mean temperature are examined from projections of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6(CMIP6)under scenarios SSP119,SSP126,SSP245,SSP370 and SSP585.AnA occurs under all scenarios,and is strongest in the austral summer and autumn,with an AnA index greater than 1.40.Although the warming over Antarctica accelerates with increased anthropogenic forcing,the magnitude of AnA is greatest in SSP126 instead of in SSP585,which may be affected by strong ocean heat uptake in high forcing scenario.Moreover,future AnA shows seasonal difference and regional difference.AnA is most conspicuous in the East Antarctic sector,with the amplification occurring under all scenarios and in all seasons,especially in austral summer when the AnA index is greater than 1.50,and the weakest signal appears in austral winter.Differently,the AnA over West Antarctica is strongest in austral autumn.Under SSP585,the temperature increase over the Antarctic Peninsula exceeds 0.5℃when the global average warming increases from 1.5℃to 2.0℃above preindustrial levels,except in the austral summer,and the AnA index in this region is strong in the austral autumn and winter.The projections suggest that the warming rate under different scenarios might make a large difference to the future AnA.

Quality Changes and Safety Evaluation of Ready-to-Eat Roasted Antarctic Krill(Euphausia superba)During Storage at Room Temperature(25℃)

The objective of this study was to determine the quality changes and shelf life of ready-to-eat roasted Antarctic krill,either untreated(CT)or treated with sodium diacetate(SD)or sodium diacetate and a deoxidizer(SDD),during storage at room temperature(25℃)by using sensory,physiochemical,and microbial assessment.Additionally,fluoride accumulation in this food product was used to evaluate its safety.Analysis showed that the addition of SD and SDD resulted in better sensory scores compared of that of CT samples(P<0.05).Accordingly,microorganism growth and total basic nitrogen(TVB-N)were maintained at a low level for the duration of storage with SD and SDD treatments.The total viable counts of SD and SDD reached(4.58±0.08)log(CFU g^(−1))and(4.20±0.11)log(CFUg^(−1)),respectively.The mold was found after 6 and 18 days for SD and SDD treatment,and the numbers reached 5.2×10^(6) and 8.5×10^(4) respectively at the end of shelf life.The TVB-N values from CT continuously increased during the whole storage.While TVB-N values from SD and SDD remained significantly less change(P<0.05)during the early 20 days of the storage,and the values reached(12.11±0.07)mg(100 g)^(−1) and(10.88±0.15)mg(100 g)^(−1) on day 33 and day 70,respectively.Importantly,SDD treatment effectively minimized the oxidation values and retained the color of ready-to-eat roasted Antarctic krill.Our results showed that the shelf life of ready-to-eat roasted Antarctic krill treated with SDD was extended by up to 52 days.Additionally,rats fed ready-to-eat roasted Antarctic krill showed accumulation of fluoride exclusively in the thighbone.The accumulation of fluoride residues in the thighbone showed concentration-dependent.The concentrations of fluoride residues in rats were(1760.03±38.21),(2371.52±42.15)mgkg^(−1) and(3615.44±30.53)mgkg^(−1),which were less than sodium fluoride feeding group(4621.01±28.67)mgkg^(−1).The results suggested that the SD and SDD treatments led to better quality and shelf life extension of ready-to-eat roasted Antarctic krill during storage at room temperature(25℃).Therefore,the ready-to-eat roasted Antarctic krill can be of great interest to the seafood industry.

Antarctic krill antioxidant peptides show inferior IgE-binding ability and RBL-2H3 cell degranulation

Enzymatic hydrolysis,isolation,and purification might make a great deal of difference in antioxidant activity and antigenicity of peptide components.This study aimed to isolate and purify antioxidant peptide components from Antarctic krill and evaluate their allergenicity of them.Electron paramagnetic resonance(EPR)spectroscopy results indicated 3-10 kDa Antarctic krill hydrolysates(AKHs)had higher DPPH and·OH radical scavenging rates.And the second component(N2-2)purified 3-10 kDa hydrolysate showed better ability to scavenge DPPH and·OH radicals(P<0.05),which were(47.43±2.18)%and(34.33±1.25)%,respectively.Additionally,indirect-ELISA results revealed that N2-1 had a weaker ability to bind specific IgE and that N2-2 had a lower binding capability to specific IgG1(P<0.05).And N2-2 had a higher EC50 value of(5.29±0.95)ng/mL(P<0.05)in cell degranulation assay,which was about 13.80 times that of Antarctic krill.Therefore,N2-2 might be the potential source of the antioxidant peptides with lower allergenicity.

The Role of Ozone Depletion in the Lack of Cooling in the Antarctic Upper Stratosphere during Austral Winter

Temperature trends in the upper stratosphere are investigated using satellite measurements from Stratospheric Sounding Unit(SSU)outputs and simulations from chemistry-climate models(CCMs)and the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6(CMIP6).Observational evidence shows a lack of cooling in the Antarctic,in contrast to strong cooling at other latitudes,during austral winter over 1979-97.Analysis of CCM simulations for a longer period of1961-97 also shows a significant contrast in the upper stratospheric temperature trends between the Antarctic and lower latitudes.Results from two sets of model integrations with fixed ozone-depleting substances(ODSs)and fixed greenhouse gases(GHGs)at their 1960 levels suggest that the ODSs have made a major contribution to the lack of cooling in the Antarctic upper stratosphere.Results from CMIP6 simulations with prescribed GHGs and ozone confirm that changes in the dynamical processes associated with observed ozone depletion are largely responsible for the lack of cooling in the Antarctic upper stratosphere.The lack of cooling is found to be dynamically induced through increased upward wave activity into the upper stratosphere,which is attributed mainly to ODSs forcing.Specifically,the radiative cooling caused by the ozone depletion results in a stronger meridional temperature gradient between middle and high latitudes in the upper stratosphere,allowing more planetary waves propagating upward to warm the Antarctic upper stratosphere.These findings improve our understanding of the chemistry-climate coupling in the southern upper stratosphere.

A Detail Investigation on the Antarctic Wind Energy

The scientific development of wind energy based on local conditions is conducive to the urgent energy demand and environmental protection of Antarctic region.In this study,the ERA5 reanalysis data are used to evaluate the wind energy resources in the Antarctic region.A series of key indicators,such as wind power density,effective wind speed occurrence,energy level occurrence and stability,are comprehensively considered by using climate statistical analysis methods to analyze the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of Antarctic wind energy resources.The results show that the Antarctic region contains abundant wind energy resources,which benefits the construction of scientific research stations.The superior areas are the Southern Ocean and the coast of the East Antarctica,followed by the Transantarctic Mountains,the coast of the Bellingshausen Sea and Amundsen Sea.These areas have advantages in terms of wind power density(500-2500 W/m2),effective wind speed occurrence(80%-90%),energy level occur-rence(60%-90%)and stability(Cv:0.6-1,Mv:1.2-1.8,Sv:0.8-1.2).The Antarctic’s wind energy resources in wind power density,effective wind speed occurrence and energy level occurrence in autumn and winter are better than those in summer,while the coefficient of variation in summer is worse than that in autumn and winter.

Analysis of recent Antarctic plate kinematics based on GNSS data

The research aims to study recent Antarctic plate kinematics based on Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)data.The research covers 60 continuous GNSS stations located on the Antarctic plate during 1994-2021.We determine the components of horizontal displacement vectors of these GNSS stations and construct the schematic map of their distribution.The results indicate that the direction of velocity vectors of horizontal displacements has a rotational nature in clockwise order.The analysis of deformation processes shows that a gradual decrease in the horizontal strain rates,maximum shear strain and area strain is taking place from west to east,in the direction of West Antarctica-the Transantarctic Mountains-East Antarctica.The absolute rotation pole of the Antarctic plate in the ITRF2014/IGS14 reference frame has been determined,and the obtained values are in good agreement with recent plate models.

Nutritional Metabolism of Antarctic Krill Product Protein in Rats

This work conducted a four-week metabolism test on rats to study the digestion and absorption characteristics of five protein-based krill products prepared from Antarctic krill as raw material.It aimed to provide theoretical support for the effective use of Antarctic krill protein and the development of novel protein resources.The results showed that the weight gain and true digestibility of the rats fed with krill meat,surimi and ordinary krill powder were significantly higher(P<0.05)than those of the rats fed with traditional casein.Compared to casein,proteins from the five Antarctic krill products were found to significantly improve the net protein utilization(P<0.05),and reduce the total cholesterol and triglycerides in the serum of rats(P<0.05).In summary,the Antarctic krill protein-based products with high nutritional values can be used as a potential novel protein resource in the food industry.

The 17th Workshop on Antarctic Meteorology and Climate and 7th Year of Polar Prediction in the Southern Hemisphere Meeting

1.Overview August 2022 marked the 17th Workshop on Antarctic Meteorology and Climate(WAMC)which was held in a hybrid format at the Pyle Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison(UW-Madison)in Madison,WI,USA.The workshop is the first partial in-person gathering since the 14th WAMC(Lazzara et al.,2018)as the 15th WAMC was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,and the 16th WAMC(Bromwich et al.,2022)was purely online.Global members of the Antarctic meteorological community gathered at this meeting to present and discuss weather-related topics encompassing scientific research and support operations within Antarctic meteorology and climate.These conversations aimed to share and discuss results,future developments,and build collaborative plans.