Recent observations reveal that the Tsushima Current has a double-cored structure downstream of the Tsushima Island. To explain this, a simple analytical model is proposed based on the assumption of small lateral eddy viscosity. This model suggests that an otherwise uniform current becomes to have a stream core immediately after it enters a channel due to the action of lateral friction. The core is initially broad but becomes sharper downstream. The speed at which the core develops depends on the intensity of lateral eddy viscosity. Likewise, a single-cored stream changes rapidly to a double-cored stream when it passes through an island located in the center of the channel. When the stream leaves the island behind, the reverse process from the double-to single-cored structures takes place. In this case, however, the double-cored structure is retained for a significant distance from the island. Overall, this model suggests that the double-cored structure of the Tsushima Current observed downstream of the Tsushima Island Is created by the lateral friction exerted by the Tsushima Island.

In this paper, a brief overview on data assimilation is provided in the context of oceanographic application. The ocean data assimilation needs to ingest various types of data such as satellites and floats, thus essentially requires dynamically-consistent assimilation methods. For such purpose, sequential and variational approaches are discussed and compared. The major advantage of the Kalman filter (KF) is that it can forecast error covariances at each time step. However, for models with very large dimension of state vector, the KF Is exceedingly expensive and computationally less efficient than four-dimensional variational assimilation (4D-Var). For operational application, simplified 4D-Var schemes as well as ensemble KF may be considered.

Typhoon Rusa passed over the East China Sea and crossed over the Korea Peninsula on August 31, 2002. The core of the typhoon passed directly over a data buoy mooring site at ($127^{\circ}45'E,\;34^{\circ}25'\;N$) and several ARGOS-tracked drifters capable of measuring salinity. Peak hourly mean wind speed reached 28 m/s at the mooring site and wind pattern in the East China Sea changed from southerly wind to northwesterly wind after the typhoon passage. Two or three days before the typhoon tile drifter displacement changed significantly and the region-wide circulation pattern changed from a northeastward current to a westward current one week after the typhoon had passed. The surface water in the East China Sea was cooled to about $4^{\circ}C$ under the typhoon core and a general cooling occurred in most of the East China Sea with the exception of the Chinese coast. The salinity as observed by the drifters in the East China Sea increased about 2 psu but the near-shore water along the Korean coast observed by the mooring was freshened about 3 psu. The freshening of near-shore water was caused by an intrusion of off-shore water rather than local freshening by typhoon precipitation.

Although seagrasses are relatively abundant, few studies have been conducted on seagrass physiology and ecology in Korea. Zostera marina is the most abundant seagrass species, widely distributed throughout all coastal areas of the Korean peninsula. To examine seasonal dynamics and spatial variations of eelgrass, Zostera marina distributed on the coast of Korea, morphological characteristics, biomass, tissue nutrient constituents, leaf productivity and environmental factors were monitored monthly from the eelgrass beds in Kabae Bay and Kosung Bay on the south coast of the Korean peninsula from June 2001 to June 2002. Eelgrass density, biomass, morphological characteristics, leaf productivities, and tissue nutrient constituents exhibited clear seasonal variations, and these seasonal trends reflected seasonal changes in water temperature. Eelgrass shoot density and biomass at Kabae Bay site showed more obvious seasonal trends than Kosung Bay. No strong seasonality in Kosung Bay site appeared to be caused by high water temperature ($>30{\circ}C$) during summer months at this site. Despite differences in nutrient availabilities between two study sites, eelgrass biomass and leaf productivities were not significantly different between study sites, and this lack of spatial variations implies that the ambient nutrient availabilities at the present study sites are in excess of seagrass nutrient demand. Eelgrass tissue N content and sediment pore water DIN concentrations exhibited reverse relationship at the present study. This reverse relationship suggests in situ nutrient concentrations are not good indicator of nutrient availabilities, and regeneration and turnover rates of sediment nutrients are also important factors to determine nutrient availabilities at the site.

The horizontal distributions of $^{224}Ra$ (half life=3.4 days) and $^{223}Ra$ (half life=11.3 days) were measured in surface seawaters of the Nakdong River estuary and the South Sea of Korea in April and October 2002. In order to determine these short-lived Ra isotopes, we used a delayed coincidence counter which is much more rapid and accurate than traditional methods. In an estuarine mixing zone (salinity, ~l6 ppt), the activities of $^{224}Ra\;and\;^{223}Ra$ were much greater than what would be expected from a mixture of freshwater and seawater in the Nakdong River estuary. This excess Ra may be a result of Ra desorption from fresh sediments originating from the river upstream. However, in the more open areas of the Nakdong River estuary (salinity>30 ppt) and the South Sea of Korea, $^{224}Ra\;and\;^{^{223}Ra$ activities decreased exponentially as a function of distance offshore. Using the decrease of $^{223}Ra$ with distance offshore in the South Sea of Korea, we estimated the apparent horizontal eddy diffusivities. The apparent eddy diffusion coefficients in South Sea of Korea are calculated to be approximately $3500-8000\;\textrm{m}^2/sec$.