• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.24 no.5
• /
• pp.553-568
• /
• 2018

Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) plays a dominant role in absorbing UV-VIS light and is also important in the biogeochemical carbon cycle due to the production of carbon dioxide from photo-oxidation at the sea surface in marine environments. Since absorption by CDOM was recently found to be responsible for increasing the energy absorbed in the mixed layer by 40 % over pure seawater, the importance of CDOM absorption in seawater for increasing sea surface temperature has come to be well recognized. We measured aCDOM and the absorption characteristics of CDOM during spring 2012 and 2014 in the southwestern East Sea. Distribution of CDOM in spring 2012 and 2014 was compared and S value was used to find the source of CDOM in the study area. As a result, the average $a_{CDOM}$ was $0.237m^{-1}$ ($0.009{\sim}0.988m^{-1}$) and the average S value was $16{\mu}m^{-1}$,which shows coastal properties. Also a positive correlation between Chl a and CDOM was observed ($r^2=0.34$), with an especially strong correlation near coastal stations. aCDOM in 2014 was about 40 % higher than aCDOM in 2012 during spring in the study area. This difference in aCDOM concentration resulted not only from annual variation but also from stratification and photobleaching in late spring 2012. This observation implies the possibility of flux of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as a result of photo-oxidation in the East Sea.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.27 no.9
• /
• pp.1086-1095
• /
• 2017

There is growing interest in groundwater resources to overcome the loss of surface water resources due to climate change. An understanding of the microbial community of aquifers is essential for monitoring and evaluating groundwater contamination, as well as groundwater management. Most microorganisms that inhabit aquifer ecosystems are attached to sediment particles rather than planktonic, as is the case in groundwater. Since sampling aquifer sediment is not easy, groundwater, which contains planktonic microorganisms, is generally sampled in microbial community research. Although many studies have investigated microbial communities in contaminated aquifers, there are only a few reports of microbial communities in uncontaminated or pristine aquifers, resulting in limited information on aquifer microbial diversity. Such information is needed for groundwater quality improvement. This paper describes the ecology and community structure of groundwater bacteria in uncontaminated aquifers. The diversity and structures of microbial communities in these aquifers were affected by the concentration or distribution of substrates (e.g., minerals, organic matter, etc), in addition to groundwater characteristics and human activities. Most of the microbial communities in these uncontaminated aquifers were dominated by Proteobacteria. Studies of microbial communities in uncontaminated aquifers are important to better understand the biogeochemical processes associated with groundwater quality improvement. In addition, information on the microbial communities of aquifers can be used as a basis to monitor changes in community structure due to contamination.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.51-67
• /
• 2002

In order to understand behaviors of heavy metals around the artificial Lake Shihwa in the vicinity of Kyunggi Bay in Korea in relation with huge environmental changes due to construction of huge artificial lake, water samples were collected from Lake Shihwa and its tributaries from 1996 to 1998 and analyzed. Due to extreme pollutant discharge from various kinds of anthropogenic sources such as the Banweol and Shihwa Industrial Complexes and cities, the Shihwa and its tributaries have been polluted in waters with various heavy metals. The enrichment factors of particulate heavy metals in water of streams and storm sewers were very high. All of the heavy metals observed in the waters showed relatively high temporal and spatial variations. In surface waters of the lake during the desalination after the dike establishment, spatial distributions of heavy metal concentrations were mainly controlled by various biogeochemical factors as well as input of industrial and municipal wastewaters, while, physical mixing was minor factor Pb and Co showed a strong affinity to particle phase, however the affinity to dissolved phase was dominated in Ni, Cu and Cd. Water quality of the artificial Lake Shihwa has been deteriorated by direct discharge of untreated wastewater and heavy metals have been accumulated in the lake system. Therefore, luther environmental improvement plan should be programmed subsequently.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.210-224
• /
• 2003

Sulfate reduction is a microbiological process which occurs ubiquitously in anaerobic marine environment. Sulfate reducing bacteria play a significant role in anaerobic decomposition of organic matter and regeneration of inorganic nutrients which supports the primary production in the water column (i.e., benthic-pelagic coupling) and, in special case, could be responsible for the harmful algal bloom in the coastal marine environment. Summary of the sulfate reduction rates reported in various marine sedimentary environments revealed that supply of organic substrates and presence of various electron acceptors (i.e., $O_2$, NO$_{3}$$^{[-10]}$ , Fe(III) and Mn(IV), etc.) for other aerobic and anaerobic respiration directly affect the sulfate reduction rate and relative significance of sulfate reduction in organic matter mineralization. Significance of temperature, macrophytes and bioturbation is discussed as factors controlling supply of organic substrates and distribution of electron acceptors. Finally, we suggest studies on the anaerobic microbiological processes associated with biogeochemical element cycles in the coastal environments of Korea where massive operation of organic enriched fish cage farm, frequent occurrence of toxic algal bloom and hypoxia and conservation of tidal flat are of major environmental issues.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.32-48
• /
• 2018

The mechanisms of $CH_4$ uptake into and release from the ocean are not well understood due mainly to complexity of the biogeochemical cycle and to lack of regional-scale and/or process-scale observations in the marine boundary layers. Without complete understanding of oceanic mechanisms to control the carbon balance and cycles on a various spatial and temporal scales, however, it is difficult to predict future perturbation of oceanic carbon levels and its influence on the global and regional climates. High frequency, high precision continuous measurements for carbon isotopic compositions from dissolved $CH_4$ in the surface ocean and marine atmosphere can provide additional information about the flux pathways and production/consumption processes occurring in the boundary of two large reservoirs. This paper introduces recent advances on optical instruments for real time $CH_4$ isotope analysis to diagnose potential applications for in situ, continuous measurements of carbon isotopic composition of dissolved $CH_4$. Commercially available, three laser absorption spectrometers - quantum cascade laser spectroscopy (QCLAS), off-axis integrated cavity output spectrometer (OA-ICOS), and cavity ring-down spectrometer (CRDS) are discussed in comparison with the conventional isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Details of functioning and performance of a CRDS isotope instrument for atmospheric ${\delta}^{13}C-CH_4$ are also given, showing its capability to detect localized methane emission sources.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.87-99
• /
• 2006

The Median Resolution Sensors (MRSs) for land observation such as Landsat-ETM+ and SPOT-HRV are more effective than Ocean Color Sensors (OCSs) for studying of detailed ecological and biogeochemical components of the coastal waters. In this study, we developed suspended sediment algorithm for Landsat TM/ETM+ by considering the spectral response curve of each band. To estimate suspended sediment concentration (SS) from satellite image data, there are two difference types of algorithms, that are derived for enhancing the accuracy of SS from Landsat imagery. Both empirical and remote sensing reflectance model (hereafter referred to as $R_{rs}$ model) are used here. This study tried to compare two algorithm, and verified using in situ SS data. It was found that the empirical SS algorithm using band 2 produced the best result. $R_{rs}$ model-based SS algorithm estimated higher values than empirical SS algorithm. In this study we used $R_{rs}$ model developed by Ahn (2000) focused on the Mediterranean coastal area. That's owing to the difference of oceanic characteristics between Mediterranean and Korean coastal area. In the future we will improve that $R_{rs}$ model for the Korean coastal area, then the result will be advanced.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.23 no.7
• /
• pp.885-892
• /
• 2017

We estimated the limiting nutrient and DIP limiting history based on alkaline phosphatase (APase) activity during the spring of 2017 in the Southern Sea, Korea. In the frontal area, concentration of dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN): DIP ratio and Chlorophyll a (Chl-a) were < $0.2{\mu}M$, 23.2 and $2.2{\mu}g/L$, respectively, indicating high productivity despite DIP limiting. The relationship between APase and DIP indicates that the study area had limited DIP because of a strongly reverse correlation (r= -0.81; P<0.001). Relationship between APase and Chl-a (r=0.61, p<0.001) also indicated that APase may have been induced by phytoplankton (ca. 60 %) and bacteria (ca. 40 %). In DIP limiting history in this study area, frontal area and non-frontal areas might have induced long-term DIP limitation and the recent relief from DIP-limitation, respectively, based on distributions of dissolved APase and particulate APase. Thus, these results suggest that by measuring the enzyme that hydrolyzes organic matter such as APase in frontal area, it is possible to estimate temporal and spatial characteristics of limiting nutrient, thereby improving our understanding of biogeochemistry cycles.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2021

Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element in the crust and consists of three stable isotopes, 28Si (92.23%), 29Si (4.67%), and 30Si (3.10%). Si isotopes are widely studied worldwide as a proxy for the biogeochemical cycle of Si to reconstruct the paleoenvironment and paleoclimate. However, in Korea, there have been no studies on biogenic silica using Si isotopes. In this study, we carried out Si isotope measurements of giant diatoms, summarizing the previously reported alkali fusion methods and establishing the best Si separation method for biogenic silica. Samples were completely digested using alkali fusion at high temperatures, effectively separating Si using an AG® 50W-X8 cation exchange resin. To evaluate the precision and accuracy of our measurements, Si isotope standard material (NBS-28) and USGS reference materials (AGV-2, GSP-2, BHVO-2) were analyzed. The results are in excellent agreement with the reported values within the acceptable error. The Si isotope measurement method developed in this study is expected to help in understanding the paleoclimate and paleoenvironment by tracing the Si cycle.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.53-62
• /
• 2019

Heterotrophic bacteria are a major member of the microbial loop in the marine ecosystem and play an important role in the biogeochemical cycle decomposing organic matter. Therefore study of bacterial variation is important to understand the material cycle and energy flow of marine ecosystems. We investigated the monthly variations of bacteria and environmental factors in the Youngsan River estuary, and the correlation between bacteria and phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll-a) including size-structure. As a result, bacteria of the Youngsan River estuary were higher in the surface than in the bottom layer, and higher in the summer than in winter. And the closer to the dike, the abundance increased, and it increased to the peaks in August, September, and June 2019 at the station closest to the dike. The chlorophyll-a also increases at the stations and time when the bacterial abundance was high and they correlates positively displaying no difference between size fractions. The results indicate that organic matter derived from phytoplankton has an effect on bacterial variation but no size-dependent effects. In addition, the seasonal pattern of bacteria increasing in proportion to the water temperature suggests the effect of water temperature on the growth of bacteria. No association of bacterial abundance variation with nutrient supply due to freshwater input was observed. In this study, dissolved oxygen was depleted and hypoxia was observed for a short time when a strong stratification was not developed. This may be resulted from the supply of organic matter from phytoplankton and the consumption of oxygen due to bacterial decomposition.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.95-120
• /
• 2023

Methane (CH₄) is a key greenhouse gas in the atmosphere with 85 times greater greenhouse potent relative to carbon dioxide (CO₂). The atmospheric concentration of CH₄ is rapidly increasing due to the intensive usage of CH₄ and the thawing of the cryosphere. Additionally, with the current warming of ocean water, the dissociation of gas hydrates, an ice-like compound and the largest reservoir of CH₄ on Earth, is expected to occur, resulting in the release of CH₄ from the seafloor into the overlying water and atmosphere. Moreover, bottom water hypoxia is another concern that potentially introduces greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. With ongoing global warming and eutrophication, the size and duration of bottom water hypoxia are rapidly increasing. These low-oxygen conditions would relocate the redox zone shallower in sediment or in the water column, causing the release of CH₄ into the atmosphere and thereby intensifying global warming. However, there exists a gap in the understanding of CH₄ dynamics including its generation in relation to bottom water hypoxia. Therefore, this review article aims to understand the relationship between CH₄ and bottom water hypoxia and to draw attention to CH₄ investigation in Korea.