• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.79-93
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• 1993

The relative geostrophic velocity is estimated by using the MCSST(Multi-Channel Sea Surface Temperature) from a NOAA/AVHRR image and applied to the Korea Strait. Remote sensing technique can play a useful role to research for oceanic phenomena because of its synoptic, simultaneous and repetitive viewing. The high resolution data of AVHRR can determine the geostrophic flow more precisely than the hydrographic data on shipboard. As a result of research, the relative geostrophic velocity in the weatern channel of the Korea Strait is the strongest in the trough area and its maximum speed is about 23.8cm/sec in April, 1992. But this results include the error due to neglecting the effect of salinity in estimation the geopotential anomaly. The geostrophic volume transport through the western channel of the Korea Strait is the largest between trough area and the Tsushima Island.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.595-606
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• 2004

Hydrographic survey in the Korea Strait has long history that has begun in August 1917 at the Busan - Tsushima cross section, still continues to date. However, chemical properties of bottom cold water found exclusively in the western channel of the Korea Strait during summer did not receive much scientific attention. The aim of the study is to decipher the enigmatic origin of the Korea Strait Bottom Cold Water (KSBCW) in terms of chemical properties. The physicochemical properties of the KSBCW are extracted from the CREAHS II hydrographic data. OMP method was applied to analyze origin of the KSBCW quantitatively. The KSBCW is well defined by low temperature below $10^{\circ}C$. The cold waters exhibited the local presence near the coast at about 120m depth with a thickness of 20m to 30m. The cold water was characterized by relatively cold, saline and higher chemical concentrations than adjacent waters. The KSBCW seems to have different origin kom that of the coastal upwelled waters at the Ulgi-Gampo because it is saline, denser and contains considerably less dissolved oxygen than upwelled waters. The physicochemical properties are reported to have noticeable annual variations which suggest the complex origin of the KSBCW. OMP analysis show that the KSBCW is a mixture of three water types; TMW (24%), ESIW (36%) and ESPW (40%). Relationship between the KSBCW and the east Sea circulation is traced by mapping the water masses that have similar T, S and DO of KSBCW. The result showed that the KSBCW is most possibly an extension of southward flowing coastal intermediate waters. Front these results, we expect that the monitoring KSBCW will provide us valuable information about the East Sea circulation.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.281-291
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• 1993

A time-dependent primitive two0dimensional calculation is conducted to investigate the variations of Vol. transport onto the Yellow Sea and the Korea Strait with real bathymetries and to tract the Lagrangian movement of water particles. A series of experiment of the barotropic Kuroshio intrusions shows that the eddy induced branching of Kuroshio has sufficient intensity as to modify the continental shelf circulation. This intrusion seems to be one of the important forcing terms such as winds. tides and buoyancy that can also affect the dynamics in the region of the continental shelf. Transport variations across the shelfbreak due to the branching of Kuroshio which come particularly from the southwest of the Kyushu Island, have a strong relationship with the transport variations across the Korea Strait and in the southern area of the Yellow sea. The particle trajectories of the model results are well agreed with the trajectories of satellite tracking drifters obtained by one of the WOCE/TOGA program except the longer travel time period in the present model.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.175-182
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• 1998

Recently it is reported that anomalously low saline surface waters (salinity < 32) occurred at the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea-Japan Sea, during early September to November 1996. Apparent source of such a low saline watermass seems remotely linked to the Changjiang Dilute Water (CDW), which expands to the vicinity of Cheju Island during a flood season. Based on the assumption that waters passing through the Western Channel of the Korea Strait are formed by a mixing of Kuroshio Water and CDW, simplified two end-member mixing model using $^{228}Ra/^{226}Ra$ as a conservative tracer is applied to calculate the contribution of each end member for the formation of low saline surface seawater. Model calculations show CDW contributes $58{\pm}3%$ in September 1996 (S=32.17) and $10{\pm}3%$ in February 1997 (S=34.53) in the formation of surface water flowing into the Western Channel of the Korea Strait. Although results arc deduced from a simplified model with limited data, this study demonstrates that Changjiang discharge is clearly traceable to the interior of the East Sea-Japan Sea in fall season. Undergoing Three Valley Dam construction in the Changjiang River would invoke inevitable changes in the nature and discharge of CDW and its impacts on the marine environment might be significant in the northern East China Sea and even in the Ulleng Basin for coming decades.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.580-593
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• 1993

The Tsushima Current has been known to branch out from the Kuroshio west of Kyushu and to flow north to the Korea Strait. Then, it has to flow across the isobaths and so needs some driving forces. As the forces, sea level difference between the Korea and Tsugaru Straits, Reynolds stress west of Kyushu and density differences have been suggested, In this paper, their roles have been numerically studied in the barotropic case. Model results show that the Tsushima Current is possible without any above force. The flows just follow isobaths over the East China Sea. They seem to be driven by their own dynamics without any external force. The mechanism is just like outflows from a gap. Model results also show that the flows in this area could be significantly affected by the external forces such as Reynolds Stress. Then the dynamics and flows in real ocean might be complicated. However, the barotropic study tells us that the Tsuahima Currents is basically driven by geostrophic adjustment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research Conference
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• v.1
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• pp.91-96
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• 2006

International law provides for fundamental navigational rights called the right of transit passage in international straits as defined by UNCLOS. However, the Australian government published Marine Notice 8/2006 and the associated Part 54 of Australian Marine Orders which requires ships transiting the Torres Strait to engage the services of a pilot and imposes significant penalties for non-compliance on the basis of the IMO MEPC 133(53) which is just a resolution as a recommendation. This paper aims to study legal aspects in UNCLOS on the pilotage in the Torres Strait following the extension of the Great Barrier Reef PSSA neighbouring Australia.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.126-134
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• 1995

The salinity data taken by Fishery Research Development Agency were analyzed to investigate the salinity decrease in the South Sea of Korea in summer. Decrease of depth-averaged salinity in June and August can not be accounted for the input of river discharge and rainfall. The low salinity water in the Cheju Strait is the only possible source for the decrease of salinities in the South Sea. A box model of the salt conservation shows that the transport in the Cheju Strait is 0.5-0.6${\times}$10$\^$6/ ㎥/sec (mean velocity is 10-13 cm/sec) which is 31-36% of the transport in the western channel of Korea Strait and the transport in the section between Cheju island and Tsushima island is 0.9-1.4${\times}$10$\^$6/ ㎥/sec when the transport in the western channel of the Korea Strait is 1.4-2.0${\times}$10$\^$6/ ㎥/sec.

• Maritime Security
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.93-117
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• 2020

Four cargo ships were ambushed by bombs in 2019 while navigating in the Strait of Hormuz. It was not clear who attacked those ships, however, many nations including the United States argued that it was Iran due to several reasons. The United States established the maritime collective defense system named International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC) in order to protect the maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz, without disclosure against whom it is aimed. Persian, who uses the Persian language unlike other countries in the Middle East, is the major ethnic group in Iran, and most of them believe Shi'ah Islam while most of the Arabs in the Gulf countries adhere to Sunni Islam. It seems that historic and religious motives caused the bipolar system in the Middle East, however, it is plausible to analyze the system of international affairs in the Middle East via defensive or structural realism. Iran has attempted to maintain its hegemony in the region by supporting Shi'ah muslims in the neighboring countries as well as in the world by using military and economic means. In this context, Iran's maritime strategy is to maintain its maritime hegemony on the Persian Gulf via countering threats and cooperating with friendly navies by using the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy(IRIN) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy(IRGCN). IRIN acts like other navies in the world: protecting national interest at sea, expending its operational areas to the outer seas, and enhancing cooperation with other navies. Meanwhile, IRGCN plays a role as an asymmetric force at sea. It is composed of small and fast asymmetric assets, which can ambush ships fast and furious. Considering the poor study for Iran's maritime strategy in Korea, analyzing the strategy is meaningful for the Republic of Korea Navy, which has operated the Cheonghae Unit for more than ten years since it has extended its operational area over the Strait of Hormuz. In order not to be drawn into the conflict in the Strait, research on the maritime strategy of Iran and other countries in the Middle East should be started.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.23-29
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• 2010

Korean shipbuilding companies have sometimes carried out sea trials to measure a vessel's speed performance around the western channel of the Straits of Korea, where the flow fields are very complicated because of the effect of various flows such as sea, tidal, geostrophic, and wind-driven currents. Because these flows seem to present significant interference to a ship, the numerical reproduction of the flow-fields in the vicinity of the target sites could provide a better understanding of the sea environments while performing sea trials. In this study, we used the MEC ocean model to simulate the tidal currents around Tsushima Island and compared the simulated tidal amplitudes and currents with the measurements of Teague et al. (2001). The tidal amplitudes of the present simulation results agreed well with the observations. Based on the numerical simulation, the optimal direction and proper sites for a speed trial are described.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.56-67
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• 1984

Mesoscale thermohaline structures of the meandering front in the Korea Strait during November 1976, 1980 and 1982 are studied by means of closely spaced oceanographic observations and the satellite infrared images. Strong thermal and salinity fronts coincide each other and show a wavelike meander motion with wavelengths of 40-60km and amplitudes of, 15-20km. Salinity minimum band of less than 33.0 is found along the onshore edge of the front. Width of the frontal zone corresponds approximately to the internal radius of deformation (R=5-10km) and the slope of density interface is confined to about 2R. A series of satellite infrared images with the interval of 4-5 days show a noticeable growth of frontal meander over the flat shelf west of the Korea Strait. Possible mechanisms of frontal meander and its growth are discussed.