Abstract
To investigate the characteristics of tidal currents and water circulation in the coastal waters off the Taean Peninsula, tidal currents and sea levels were measured at the study area from 1998 to 2004. In the central waterway to the south of Changan Sand Ridge, mean speed of tidal currents and residual currents were 74.0cm/s, 17.8cm/s respectively; the dominant residual currents flowed northeastward, and the amplitudes of semi-diurnal components $(M_2,\;S_2)$ were larger than diurnal components $(O_1,\;K_1)$. The flood and ebb tidal currents were northeastward and southwestward, respectively, and each period was about 6 hours for them, which was consistent with the period of sea levels at the study area. In the coastal region near Hakampo, Taean, mean velocities of tidal currents and residual currents were 46.1cm/s, 30.8cm/s respectively, and the dominant residual currents flowed southwestward. The amplitudes of shallow water constituents $(M_4,\;MS_4)$ were relatively laige, which were weaker to the northeastern coastal region off Mineodo. The northeastward flow continued for about $2{\sim}3$ hours, while the southwestward flow continued for about $9{\sim}10$ hours near Hakampo during the tidal period. Tidal currents flowed northeastward in the central area of the waterway during the period from the Low Water Level (LWL) to the High Water Level (HWL). While the currents in the coastal region flowed northeastward for the first 3 hours after the LWL, southwestward counter-currents flowed between 3 and 6 hours after the LWL. During the period from the HWL to the LWL, the dominant currents flowed southwestward in the study area except to the northeastern coastal region off Mineodo. Along the shorelines, the counter-currents flowed northward between 4 and 6 hours after the HWL. It seems that the counter-currents near the coastal region are caused by the topography and the geography of the shorelines at the study area.
