Thesis (M.S.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2007. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: John C. Priscu. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-111).

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, School of Earth Sciences, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 205-235)

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis deals with the nature and historical development of tourism and leisure activities that have been conducted within the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions from 1895 to present. First, it traces the brief history of human involvement with the Antarctic continent, which culminated in a surge of ostensibly scientific exploration with jingoistic overtones which has become widely known as the ‘Heroic Age’ of Antarctic exploration. These explorers’ adventures, taken up by the popular press and promoted by jingoistic governments, popularised a particular conception of the continent to the point where people imagined going to see it for themselves, vicariously reliving their heroes’ adventures in the form of tourism. The rise of formal governance on the Antarctic is then traced and used to explain how this provided for regular tourist activities to commence since the mid-1960s. The changing nature of tourism to the region is surveyed, as well as its impact on the environment. Finally, Marion Island, South Africa’s Sub-Antarctic Island, is discussed through the lens of tourism and leisure. Tourism has not been permitted on the island, so it offers a useful comparison with other sub-Antarctic islands that do allow tourists to visit. The thesis also deals with masculinity, as the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic were male dominated environments for the majority of human interaction with these regions. The thesis argues that the accumulation of knowledge in these areas by scientists has (perhaps counter-intuitively) led to the creation of the tourism industry, which would not have been able to flourish without the constant human presence secured by the scientific bases scattered around the Antarctic. Finally, this thesis offers a form of autoethnographic historical investigation, as an insider/outsider dichotomy (between “scientist” and “tourist”) was explored through embedded research, where scientists and support personnel are viewed as insiders on the one hand, and tourists are regarded as outsiders on the other. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis handel oor die aard en historiese ontwikkeling van toerisme en ontspannings aktiwiteite wat binne die Antarktiese en sub-Antarktiese gebiede onderneem is vanaf 1895 tot die hede. Dit behandel eerstens die kort geskiedenis van menslike betrokkenheid op die Antarktiese vasteland, wat uitgeloop het op 'n oplewing van oënskynlik wetenskaplike eksplorasie met nasionalistiese konnotasies wat wyd bekend geword het as die ‘Helde Era’ van Antarktiese verkenning. Hierdie ontdekkingsreisigers se avonture, soos weerspieël in die populêre pers en bevorder deur nasionalistiese regerings, het 'n bepaalde opvatting van die vasteland gewild gemaak. Soveel so dat dit mense beweeg het om as toeriste die gebied te besoek en op die wyse hul helde se avonture te herleef in die vorm van toerisme. Die opkoms van die formele beheer van die Antarktiese vasteland word dan nagespeur en gebruik om aan te dui hoe dit teen die middel 1960’s tot aktiewe toerisme in die gebied aanleiding gegee het. Die veranderende aard van toerisme na die streek, sowel as die impak daarvan op die omgewing word ondersoek. Ten slotte, word Marion Island, Suid-Afrika se Sub-Antarktiese eiland bespreek deur die lens van toerisme en ontspanning. Toerisme word nie op die eiland toegelaat nie, wat hom leun tot 'n nuttige vergelyking met ander sub-Antarktiese eilande wat wel toerisme toelaat. Aangesien die meerderheid van die menslike interaksie met Antarktieka en die sub- Antarktiese eilande deur mans gedomineer is, handel die tesis ook oor manlikheid. Die tesis argumenteer dat die opbou van kennis in hierdie gebiede deur wetenskaplikes (miskien teenintuïtief) gelei het tot die skepping van die toerisme-bedryf, wat nie in staat sou gewees het om te floreer sonder die konstante menslike teenwoordigheid, wat deur die wetenskaplike basisse versprei oor die Antarktieka verskaf is nie. Ten slotte, bied hierdie tesis 'n vorm van ń etnografiese historiese ondersoek in die vorm van ń binnestaander / buitestaander teenstelling (tussen "wetenskaplike" en "toeris"), waar wetenskaplikes en ondersteunings personeel as binnestaanders, en toeriste, as buitestaanders beskou word.

During the Austral Spring of 2007-2008 the ANtarctic geological DRILLing program (ANDRILL) recovered a 1,138 meter long sediment core AND-2A from the western side of the Victoria Land Basin for the Southern McMurdo Sound Project. The main goal of the project is to help establish a Neogene (~24 to 1.6 Mya) ice volume and climate record of Antarctica. This study focuses on the foraminifera record of AND-2A for paleoenvironmental and biostratigraphic purposes.AND-2A is unique in that it contains a Middle Miocene record (~17 to ~11 Mya) that includes the Middle Miocene transition of warm climatic conditions favoring polythermal ice sheets to major cooling into polar conditions resulting in the quasi-permanent formation of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. This Middle Miocene transition has not been previously recovered from the Antarctic continental margin.The foraminifer record is not abundant; however, three assemblage zones are identified throughout AND-2A. Calcareous benthic taxa dominate every assemblage, as well as displaying similarities between modern shallow shelf assemblages around Antarctica and assemblages from previous drilling projects in the Ross Sea sector. The foraminifera record displays a dynamic environmental record and is supported by both the sedimentologic and other paleontologic findings.

Lake Vanda is a meromictic, permanently ice-covered lake in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a polar desert in Southern Victorialand Antarctica. This area experiences very little rainfall and very cold average temperatures, around –20°C. Lake Vanda has an unusual limnological profile, with a sharp physical and chemical gradient at about 60 m where the water transitions from cold, oxic, and fresh, to warm, hypersaline, and sulfidic; CaCl2 rather than NaCl is the dominant salt. Aerobic enrichment techniques were used to isolate what turned out to be several strains of a species of Chromohalobacter, a genus of the Gammaproteobacteria, from Lake Vanda deep waters, while targeted enrichments for anaerobic and spore-forming bacteria were negative. The isolates were characterized for their temperature and pH optima, carbon and nitrogen nutrition, and salt tolerance and requirements. The results showed the organisms to be obligately aerobic with a broad pH range (optima pH 7). The isolates used some sugars and organic acids but not alcohols or fatty acids for energy and cell carbon, and showed a moderate requirement for NaCl but no requirement for CaCl2, even though CaCl2 is the predominant salt in their environment.

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are important components of semi-arid and arid environments and occupy a large area in Polar Regions. However, their ecological functions and the diversity of major organisms are still ambiguous. Given that rapid climate change is of particular significance and the current warming is already attributed to small variations on the Earth, it is important to obtain a more comprehensive picture about the environment to predict its changes. Moreover, climate change is faster and more severe in Polar Regions than in other parts of the world. In this context, the thesis is focused on the community structure of microbial phototrophs and their ecological functions in BSCs of the Arctic (Central Svalbard) and Antarctica (Dronning Maud Land). Combining molecular and morphological techniques we described cyanobacterial community composition in BSCs and its changes along the gradient of soil crust development. Moreover, we showed how the different stages of soil crust development (from poorly-developed to well-developed) influence photosynthetic and nitrogenase activities associated with the phototrophic community.

Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-90). Description: xii, 90 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.

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