• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.51-59
• /
• 2002

The seasonal variation in species composition and abundance distribution of zooplankton was studied in the Seomjin river estuary along the salinity gradients. In this estuary, marine taxa predominated in all seasons and very limited number of freshwater species appeared. The total abundances showed a seasonal fluctuation. The highest total abundance appeared in spring with over 3,000 individuals/m$^3$. In summer, the high abundance was sustained although it decreased a little. The abundance was minimal in fall with about 500 individuals/m$^3$. When the study area was divided into three salinity regimes, oligohaline (salinity less than 5 psu), mesohaline (5${\sim}$18 psu), and polyhaline zone (over 18 psu), the zone of high abundance as well as the composition of zooplankton community in each salinity regime changed seasonally. In fall, marine copepods predominated in oligohaline zone while marine species other than crustaceans dominated in polyhaline zone. However, in winter copepods predominated in all area. In spring and summer, holozoic dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans dominated in higher salinity regimes. We listed major copepod species of each salinity regime for each season with the ranges of water temperatures (T) and salinities (S) of their occurrence. T, S's of maximum abundances of those major copepod species were also reported. The observed very wide tolerance ranges of major copepod species for salinity suggested that the concept of 'indicator species' should be used in quantitative context rather than qualitative.

• The Korean Journal of Petroleum Geology
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.27-33
• /
• 2006

The possibility of oil reserve has been conformed because the oil has been produced by 450 barrel per day in the West Korea Bay basin of the North Korea. There is also possibility of giant oil reserve since it is geographically close to one of the biggest oil fields of Bohai Basin, China. Based on the on-going oil exploration and the present condition of investment, the areas of ongoing oil exploration are three: West Korea Bay B&C prospect explored by Swedish Taurus, the north of West Korea Bay and Anju basin explored by Canadian SOCO, and East Korea Bay explored by Australian Beach Petroleum. However, there is little or no possibility of oil reserve in the rest sea areas of three. Even though oil reserves were discovered in the some parts of land areas such as Kilju and Myungcheon, it was presumed to have no economical efficiency. Geology in West Korea Bay off the North Korea is similar to that in Bohai Bay off China. The basement consists of thick carbonate rock of the Late Proterozoic and Early Paleozoic overlain by Mesozoic ($6,000{\sim}10,000\;m$) and Cenozoic ($4,000{\sim}5,000\;m$) units. Source rocks are Jurassic black shale (3,000 m or more), Cretaceous black shale ($1,000{\sim}2,000\;m$), and pre-Mesozoic carbonates (several thousand meters). Reservoir rocks are Mesozoic-Cenozoic sandstone with high porosity and pre-Mesozoic fractured carbonate rocks. Petroleum raps are of the anticline, fault sealed, buried hill, and stratigraphic types. It absolutely needs to take up a positive attitude, the activation of ocean science and technology exchange, and the joint research and development of modern MT (Marine Technology) considering the state of establishing new international ocean order forcing on building up 200 nautical mile EEZ (exclusive economic zone) among coastal nations. Both South and North Koreas should extend the ocean jurisdiction and contiguity, and MT development dealing with the same sea areas. It is more urgent problem to find a way to have the North Korea participated in, and then to develop ocean management and ocean industry individually.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.20-31
• /
• 2002

This study was carried out to investigate the composition and the distribution of the benthic polychaetous communities in Deugryang Bay, semi-enclosed bays, on the southern coast of Korea and to deduce temporal changes in community with the comparison of the past studies. In Deugryang Bay, benthic polychaetous community structure was investigated on the base of the samples from 98 stations in 1996 and 1997. The main facies of surface sediment was clayey silt. The overall benthic macrofaunal density was 871 ind./m$^{2}$. The density was highest in the middle part of the bay because Musculus senhousia (Bivalvia) and cumaceans (Crustacea) had their highest densities in some stations. Benthic polychaetes were comprised of 100 species with a mean density of 138 ind./m$^{2}$. Their abundances were higher in the inner bay, in the middle bay, and in the mouth of bay, but poor community structures were established in the whole bay. The dominant species over 1.0 percentage were composed of the total 21 species, and they occupied 78.3% of the total abundance of the benthic polychaetes. The most dominant species was Lumbrineris longifolia (9.3%), followed by Eteone longa (7.3%), Heteromastus filifomis (7.1%), Sternaspis scutata (6.1%). From the cluster analysis, the study area could be divided into three station groups. Station group AI was located in the inner bay and in the shallow coastal region, and its most dominant species was Heteromastus filiformis. At the station group AII in the mouth of bay and in some channel region, its most dominant species were Lumbrineris longifolia and Eteone longa. And at the station group B located in middle part of the bay, the most dominant specis was Sternaspis scutata. In comparison with previous studies, the benthic polychaetous community experienced great change in the view of species number, density and dominant species. The dominant species were Sternaspis scutata and Eteone longa, but their densities declined greatly. Instead of these species, Lumbrineris longifolia and Heteromastus filiformis, known as the potential organic enrichment indicator species, appeared to the new dominant species even if their low densities. These facts mean that Deugryang Bay was maintained yet as little organic enriched area compared to other bays on the coast of Korea, but needed some caution of marine environmental management.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.131-145
• /
• 2014

The new passive sampler called "artificial mussel (AM)" offers a potential device to study the spatiotemporal changes of metal concentrations in different marine environment worldwide. The purpose of this study is to characterize metal (Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb) accumulation on the AM and transplanted mussel (Mytilus edulis) at 5 sites of Lake Shihwa. Both the AMs and mussels showed increasing concentrations of all five metals during the 12 weeks exposure period. Higher concentrations of Zn were showed in both the AMs and Mytilus edulis relative to other metals. The AMs accumulated higher concentrations of Cd, Cr and Zn, but they presented lower levels of Cu and Pb than Mytilus edulis. The correlations for Cd, Cu and Pb were statistically significant between the AMs and Mytilus edulis, indicating that the accumulation patterns for those metals were similar. However, no similarities for Cr and Zn were observed between two monitoring devices across all of the sites in Shihwa Lake. According to relationship for metal concentrations between dissolve phase in seawater and both the AMs and Mytilus edulis, the AMs for Cd, Cu and Zn represent more metal contamination than Mytilus edulis. Our results indicated that the AMs give a better resolution to reveal the spatial differences in dissolved metal concentration. This study suggests that the AMs can provide a time-integrated estimate of metal pollution in marine environments as well as freshwater environments of Korea.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.76-90
• /
• 2018

To determine the distribution of mercury (Hg) in the coastal surface sediments around the Korean peninsula, the baseline concentration of Hg was estimated, the extent of contamination was assessed, and the factors controlling the distribution were discussed. The concentrations of Hg in surface sediments were significantly high in Jinhae-Masan Bay in the South Sea, Ulsan-Onsan Bay and Yeongil Bay in the East Sea, but Hg in other sediments showed a similar distribution to Cs and relatively very low concentration between 0.21 and $39.5{\mu}g/kg$ ($13.6{\pm}7.80{\mu}g/kg$). Compared to the sediment quality guidelines in Korea, 8 % of the surface sediments (n=282) analyzed in this study exceeded the values of the threshold effects level (TEL), and six sediments collected around Onsan Port were higher than the value of the probable effects level (PEL). The contamination levels of Hg were assessed by the enrichment factors using the baseline concentration (2.06Cs+1.75) based on the residual analysis from the linear regression line for Cs, and further, factors controlling the distribution of Hg were discussed by the comparison with geochemical substances depending upon the Hg enrichment level. Hg concentrations were correlated well with Cs concentration in the range of less than 1.69 of EF implying grain size control, while in the range of 1.69 and 4.03 Hg concentrations were correlated well with Fe oxyhyroxide and organic carbon contents, which indicates Hg was enriched by superior sorption capability. On the meanwhile, samples with higher EFs (4.03 to 74.9) showed fairly positive correlations with other metals (Cu, Zn, Pb) rather than geochemical substances. For samples in Youngil Bay and Ulsan-Onsan Bay (n=30), Hg concentrations were correlated only with other metals rather than geochemical substances implying simultaneous supply of metal particles from metal refineries. But samples at Gosung, Sokcho and Uljin coast were correlated well with organic carbon even though they had high EFs. In addition, samples in Jinhae-Masan Bay with high contents of S were enriched by relatively high sulfide formation.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.40 no.5
• /
• pp.605-622
• /
• 2007

Elemental, Rock-Eval pyrolysis and isotopic analysis of the core sediments from the northwestern and eastern Ulleung Basin of the East were carried out to identify their geochemical characteristics, spatial and vertical variation and origin of organic matter in Upper Quaternary sediments from the northwestern and eastern Ulleung Basin of the East Sea. TOC, m and TS did not show spatial variation between the sampling locations whereas they showed systematic vertical variation associated with MIS stages related to the sea-level change of the East Sea. It is suggested that these past changes of sea-level influenced the sedimentary depositional environments and/or diagenesis which resulted the patterns observed in this study. Based on the results of TOC/N, TS/TOC, ${\delta}^{13}C_{org}\;and\;{\delta}^{15}N_{org}$ analysis, organic matters in the study area appears to be predominantly originated from the marine algae rather than land plant and deposited under normal marine oxic condition during MIS I and MIS III period, and under euxinic/anoxic condition during MIS II period. TOC/N, ${\delta}^{13}C_{org}\;and\;{\delta}^{15}N_{org}$ have a relatively constant value irrespective of MIS stages, implying that the organic matter source does not change by the sea-level fluctuations. However, the results of Rock-Eval pyrolysis indicates that the organic matter is in immature stage and originated from land-plant (Type III), locating in the immature stage land plant (Type III). Similar differences were reported from other areas such as the Atlantic Ocean, Iberia Abyssal Plain, Mediterranean Sea, suggesting that Rock-Eval method does not exactly reflect the characteristic of immature organic matters. Accordingly, the application of Rock-Eval pyrolysis for delineating the source of immature organic matters should be approached with caution and all other geochemical proxies should be considered altogether at the same time.