Abstract: Based on the video records collected by the Chinese scientific observers of Antarctic krill fishery abroad the large-scale factory trawler “KAIXIN”, which operated around the South Orkney Islands in the austral summer-autumn 2011 (March 6 to April 21, 2011), this paper analyzed the spatiotemporal distribution patterns of the Antarctic krill aggregations in the water areas of the Islands. The Antarctic krill aggregation were concentrated in the northwestern water areas of the Islands, and limited mostly at 60°00′S-60°15′S and 45°30′W-46°30′W. In different water layers, the aggregations were dominated in patched distribution. The percentage similarity index (PSI) analysis showed that there was a high similarity of 92.3 between the 0-50 m and 50-100 m water layers. The scattered, patched, and belted aggregations had the highest proportion of occurrence in 0-50 m water layer, and the patched and belted aggregations had a very similar distribution pattern in different water layers (PSI=94.4). The time segment with higher occurrence of Antarctic krill aggregations was from 1:00 to 18:00, and the occurrence decreased gradually to the lowest level from 19:00 to 20:00. This study could provide basic data for better understanding the formation mechanism of Antarctic krill fishing ground, and the operational references for exploiting Antarctic krill resources.

Key words: tea garden, tillage method, soil physical characteristics, tea yield.