Abstract
The three-dimensional hydrodynamic model was simulated to understand coastal sea front of formation and seasonal variation in the Southern Sea of Korea. In this study, we used to concept of stratification factor, to realize seasonal distribution of stratification coefficient which of seasonal residual flow, considered with, tide, wind and density effect. Tidal current tends to flow westward during the flood and eastward during ebb. The current by the wind stress showed to be much stronger the coastal than the offshore area in the surface layer. And the current by the horizontal gradient of water density showed to be relatively weak in the coastal area, with little seasonal differences. On the other hand, the flow in the offshore area showed results similar to that of the Tsushima Warm Current. The stratification factor (SHv) was calculated by taking into account the total flow of tide, wind and density effect. In summer, the calculated SHv distribution ranged from 2.0 to 2.5, similar to that of the coastal sea front. The horizontal temperature gradient showed to be strong during the winter, when the vertical stratification is weak. On the other hand, the horizontal gradient became weak in summer, during which vertical stratification is strong. Therefore, it is presume that the strength of vertical stratification and the horizontal temperature gradient affect the position of the coastal sea front.
