The community structure of meiobenthos was studied at 16 stations within sandy tidal and subtidal zones in Jangbongdo in the Yellow Sea, Korea from Aug. 2006 to Jan. 2007. Meiobenthic organisms were collected by three core samples, with a 3.6 cm diameter, from each sediment sample taken with a Smith-McIntyre Grab. Mean grain size of study stations ranged from $1.49{\phi}$ to $3.55{\phi}$. Composition of sand ranged from 80.38% to 99.89%. There was reduction in total abundance and biomass of meiobenthos from summer to winter. Total densities of meiofauna ranged between 17 inds./10 $cm^2$ and 853 inds./10 $cm^2$. Nematodes, gastrotricha, nauplius and harpacticoids appeared as major taxa in decreasing order. This study shows that major taxa comprised 90 percent of total abundance. Most meiofaunal organisms are concentrated in the upper sediment layers and the total abundance and biomass of organisms in the tidal zone is higher than the subtidal zone.

Contents of biogenic components [opal, $CaCO_3$, TOC (total organic carbon)] were measured in Core LHB-3PC sediments collected off Lutzow-Holm Bay, in order to understand glacial-interglacial cyclic variation of the high-latitude surface-water paleoproductivity, in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean. An age model was established from the correlation of ARM/IRM ratios of Core LHB-3PC with LR04 stack benthic ${\delta}^{18}O$ records, in complement with radiocarbon isotope ages and biostratigraphic Last Appearance Datum (LAD). The core-bottom age was estimated to be about 700 ka. Although the $CaCO_3$ content is very low less than 1.0% throughout the core, the opal and TOC contents show clear glacial-interglacial cyclic variation such that they are high during the interglacial periods (7.2-50.3% and 0.05-1.00%, respectively) and low during the glacial periods (5.2-25.2% and 0.01-0.68%, respectively). According to the spectral analysis, the variation of opal content is controlled mainly by eccentricity forcing and subsequently by obliquity forcing during the last 700 kyrs. The opal contents of Core LHB-3PC also represent the apparent Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT)-related climatic variation in the glacial-interglacial cycles. In particular, the orbital variation of the opal contents shows increasing amplitudes since marine isotope stage (MIS) 11, which defines one of the important paleoclimatic events during the late Quaternary, called the "Mid-Brunhes Event". Based on the variation of the opal contents in Core LHB-3PC, we suggest that the surface-water paleoproductivity in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean followed the orbital (glacial-interglacial) cycles, and was controlled mainly by the extent of sea ice distribution during the last 700 kyrs.

The Korean government has acknowledged the importance of Dokdo Island and has consequently taken various measures for the effective management of it. There has, however, been little quantitative information about the value of Dokdo Island and this study, therefore, attempts to assess the Islands non-market value. To this end, this study estimated the non-market value by MAUT/CVM. The non-market value estimated by MAUT/CVM includes historic value, military value, ecological value, and geological value. According to the results, the values calculated by the price in market is about 10.37 trillion won and the values estimated by MAUT/CVM is about 1.72 trillion won annually.

The annual variation of mesozooplankton community in the Jangmok harbor of Jinhae Bay was studied in relation to environmental variables. Sampling was carried out weekly from January to December 2009. During the study periods, mesozooplankton community consisted of 44 taxa and the annual mean abundance was 8308 inds. $m^{-3}$. The maximum abundance was observed to be 50043 inds. $m^{-3}$ in August and the minimum in April with 1013 inds. $m^{-3}$. Of these, Penilia avirostris, cirripedia larvae, Evadne tergestina, Acartia omorii, Oikopleura s, Paracalanus parvus s. l., Eurytemora pacifica, Podon s, Oithona s, and Acartia steueri were observed as dominant species in Jangmok bay and they also contributed to 79% of total mesozooplankton. According to non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) and cluster analysis based on the mesozooplankton community data from each season, the community was divided into three groups. The first group included appearence species in winter and spring season, which is mainly dominated the copepod such as A. omorii and E. pacifica. The second and third group was composed with observed species in summer and autumn, respectively. Based on the SIMPER (similarity percentages), P. avirostris in summer and cirripedia larvae in autumn were significantly dominated. Our results indicate that although the mesozooplankton abundances in Jangmok harbor fluctuated abruptly, its annual variation was strongly influenced by water temperature.

The aim of this investigation was to evaluate antioxidant activity of crude extracts from the halophyte Vitex rotundifolia, their solvent fractions, and isolated compounds (1-3). Antioxidant capacity was determined by measuring DPPH radical, and authentic $ONOO^-$ and $ONOO^-$ generated from 3- morpholinsydnonimine (SIN-1) in vitro as well as degree of occurrence of intracellular ROS, NO and GSH in mouse macrophage Raw 264.7 cells. From comparative analysis, MeOH extract, n-BuOH, and 85% aq. MeOH solvent fractions showed significant antioxidant effect in DPPH radical and $ONOO^-$ assay systems. Activity-guided purification of n-BuOH and 85% aq. MeOH fractions led to the isolation of flavonoids 1-3. Among them, compound 1 exhibited excellent antioxidant effect in all bioassay systems tested. On the other hand, compounds 2 and 3 revealed potent inhibitory effect against $ONOO^-$ generated from SIN-1, comparable with the positive control penicillamine.

The temporal dynamics of the meiofauna community in Marian Cove, King George Island, Antarctica were observed from March 7 to December 21 2007. Nine meiofauna taxa were found, with nematodes the most dominant group, making up 92.97% of the total meiofauna density, followed by harpacticoid copepods (3.18%). Meiofauna abundance ranged from 123 to 874 individuals per 10 $cm^2$ (mean 464 inds.10 $cm^{-2}$), which is lower than that found in some polar and temperate regions. The lowest meiofauna abundance was found in the 26th April sample (III) and the highest meiofauna abundance was found in the March 23rd sample (II). There was no correlation between meiofauna abundance and season. The seasonal changes were likely caused by meltwater runoff, and there were the physical disturbances on the bottom sediment by huge iceberg. Biomass of meiofauna varied between 20.36 and 101.02 ${\mu}gC{\cdot}10\;cm^{-2}$, and overall mean biomass was 54.17 ${\mu}gC{\cdot}10\;cm^{-2}$ during the study periods. More than 80% of meiofauna was concentrated in the upper 2 cm of the sediment, and density decreased with depth. The mean diversity index was 0.37, and the ratio between the abundance of nematodes: and harpacticoids (N/C) ratio ranged from 7.31 to 95.04 (mean 26.39). NMDS analysis divided the community into three groups: A (III, IV, V, VII, VIII), B (II, IX, XI, XII) and C (I, V, X). The results of ANOSIM and SIMPER analysis revealed significant differences in community structure among three groups and major contributed meiofauna taxon in grouping were nematodes and copepods. No significant correlations were observed between major meiofauna taxon and environmental factors. Thirteen species in 12 genera representing nine families of harpacicoids were recorded. Ancorabolidae was the most diverse family, and Heteropsyllidae was the most abundant. The correlation analysis between benthic harpacticoid copepods and environmental factors showed that some species were affected by water temperature, sediment temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a concentration, grain size of the sediments and heavy metal contents of the sediments. These data describe the usefulness of benthic harpacticoid copepods as biological indicator species in Antarctic regions.

This study examined the change in sea surface temperature (SST) around the Korean peninsula since industrialization at year 1880, and its possible causes using observation based data from the Hadley Center, the Goddard Institute of Space Studies, and National Climate Data Center. Since year 1880, There have been multi-decadal fluctuations with a gradual reduction from 1880 to around 1940, and from 1950-1980. There has then been a marked increase from 1940-1950, and from 1980 to the present. The ocean surface warming is larger during the boreal winter than summer, and greater in the south. The multi-decadal SST fluctuations around the Korean Peninsula are largely consistent with the negative phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), which fluctuates with periods of about 20-50 years. Secondly, the El Ni$\tilde{n}$o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), whose long period component moves along with the PDO, appears to influence the SST near the Korean Peninsula, especially in recent decades. Overall, the SST around the Korean Peninsula has warmed since year 1880 by about $1^{\circ}C$, which is about twice the global-mean ocean surface warming. This long-term warming is aligned with an increase in greenhouse gas concentration, as well as local factors such as the PDO.

To investigate major factors controlling variations in water quality, principal component analysis and cluster analysis were used to analyze data sets of 12 parameters measured at 23 sampling stations of Jinhae Bay during winter and spring. Principal component analysis extracted three major factors controlling variations of water quality during winter and spring. In winter, major factors included freshwater input, polluted material input, and biological activity. Whereas in spring they were polluted material input, freshwater input, and suspended material input. The most distinct difference in the controlling factors between winter and spring was that the freshwater input was more important than the polluted material input in winter, but the polluted material input was more important than the freshwater input in spring. Cluster analysis grouped 23 sampling stations into four clusters in winter and five clusters in spring respectively. In winter, the four clusters were A (station 5), B (stations 1, 2), C (station 4), and D (the remaining stations). In spring, the five clusters included A (station 5), B (station 1), C (station 3), D (station 6), and E (the remaining stations). Intensive management of the water quality of Masan and Hangam bays could improve the water quality of Jinhae Bay since the polluted materials were mainly introduced into Jinhae Bay through Masan and Hangam bays.

Polar psychrophiles which thrive under extreme conditions such as cold temperature, high salinity, and high dose ultraviolet light, emerge as novel targets for biotechnology. To prevent genetic drift and the possibility of contamination by subculturing, cryopreservation was employed for two psychrophilic microalgae, Porosira sp. (KOPRI AnM0008) and Pyramimonas sp. (KOPRI AnM0046), which have anti-freeze activities. Five cryoprotectants (dimethyl sulphoxide, ethylene glycol, glycerol, methanol and propylene glycol) showed toxicity at 20-30% (v/v). The optimal cryoprotectant concentration and equilibration time were less than 20% and 10 min, respectively. Cryopreservation was carried out in the presence of cryoprotectants either by direct freezing in liquid nitrogen ($LN_2$) or controlled freezing using a controlled rate freezer followed by storage in the $LN_2$ tank. As a result, Pyramimonas sp. (KOPRI AnM0046), a psychrophilic chlorophyta was revived. Cryopreserved Porosira sp. was not revived from either freezing protocols probably due to the silicic cell wall and its relatively large cell size. In the case of Pyramimonas sp. (KOPRI AnM0046), the controlled freezing method showed higher revival yield than the direct freezing method.

This is a preliminary study of the feasibility of obtaining reliable tidal current harmonic constants, using one month of current observations, to verify the accuracy of a tidal model. An inference method is commonly used to separate out the tidal harmonic constituents when the available data spans less than a synodic period. In contrast to tidal constituents, studies of the separation of tidal-current harmonics are rare, basically due to a dearth of the long-term observation data needed for such experiments. We conducted concurrent and monthly harmonic analyses for tidal current velocities and heights, using 2 years (2006 and 2007) of current and sea-level records obtained from the Tidal Current Signal Station located in the narrow waterway in front of Incheon Lock, Korea. Firstly, the l-year harmonic analyses showed that, with the exception of $M_2$ and $S_2$ semidiurnal constituents, the major constituents were different for the tidal currents and heights. $K_1$, for instance, was found to be the 4th major tidal constituent but not an important tidal current constituent. Secondly, we examined monthly variation in the amplitudes and phase-lags of the $S_2$ and $K_1$ current-velocity and tide constituents over a 23-month period. The resultant patterns of variation in the amplitudes and phase-lags of the $S_2$ tidal currents and tides were similar, exhibiting a sine curve form with a 6-month period. Similarly, variation in the $K_1$ tidal constant and tidal current-velocity phase lags showed a sine curve pattern with a 6-month period. However, that of the $K_1$ tidal current-velocity amplitude showed a somewhat irregular sine curve pattern. Lastly, we investigated and tested the inference methods available for separating the $K_2$ and $S_2$ current-velocity constituents via monthly harmonic analysis. We compared the effects of reduction in monthly variability in tidal harmonic constants of the $S_2$ current-velocity constituent using three different inference methods and that of Schureman (1976). Specifically, to separate out the two constituents ($S_2$ and $K_2$), we used three different inference parameter (i.e. amplitude ratio and phase-lag diggerence) values derived from the 1-year harmonic analyses of current-velocities and tidal heights at (near) the short-term observation station and from tidal potential (TP), together with Schureman's (1976) inference (SI). Results from these four different methods reveal that TP and SI are satisfactorily applicable where results of long-term harmonic analysis are not available. We also discussed how to further reduce the monthly variability in $S_2$ tidal current-velocity constants.