• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.305-312
• /
• 2010

Seagrass beds are a type of coastal wetland with many ecosystem services and precious economic values. Seagrass meadows used to be widespread along the coasts in northern Chinese seas, yet they have long been overlooked and lack devoted study on their history and status. This paper firstly reveals, by synthesis of information on composition of seagrass species and their distribution, that the seagrasses in this region have experienced considerable declines, both in terms of distribution and biomass, from the earliest record to present days. Then, a case study at the seagrass bed of Chudao is described to show the status of representative seagrass meadows. The results indicate that the environmental condition is good, seagrasses are in recovery, the planktoners are healthy and rich fishery resources and the mammal finless porpoise are associated with the seagrass bed. The cause(s) of historical seagrass decline and current conditions are also discussed, and future recommendations on seagrass protection and mapping are suggested.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.27-41
• /
• 2008

Distribution characteristics of phytoplankton community were investigated by HPLC and flow cytometry in Jeju Strait and the Northern East China Sea (NECS) in May 2004, in order to understand the relationship between physical environmental factors and distribution pattern of phytoplankton communities. Based on temperature and salinity data, three distinct water masses were identified; warm and saline Tsushima Warm Current (TWC), which is flowing from northwest of Jeju Island, warm and low saline water at the center of Jeju Strait, which is originated from China Coastal Water (CCW) and relatively cold and high saline water originated from Yellow Sea at the bottom of the Jeju Strait. At Jeju Strait, less saline water (<33 psu) of 15 km width occupied surface layer up to 20 m which located at 20 km offshore and strong thermal front between warm and saline water and cold and less saline water was found in the middle of the Jeju Strait. Vertical transect of temperature and salinity at the NECS also showed that low saline (<33 psu) water occupied the upper 20 m layer and cold and saline water was present at the eastern part. Chl a was measured as $0.06{\sim}3.07\;{\mu}g/L$. Spring bloom of phytoplankton was recognized by the high concentrations of Chl a at the low saline water masses influenced by the CCW and subsurface chlorophyll maximum layer appeared between $20{\sim}30\;m$ depth, which was at thermocline depth or below. Abundances of Synechococcus and picoeukaryote were $0.2{\sim}9.5{\times}10^4\;cells/mL$ and $0.43{\sim}4.3{\times}10^4\;cells/mL$, respectively. Dinoflagellate, diatom and prymnesiophyte were major groups and minor groups were chlorophyte+prasinophyte, chrysophyte, cryptophyte and cyanophyte. Especially high abundance of dinoflagellate was identified by high concentration (>1\;{\mu}g/L$) of peridinin at the bottom of the thermocline, which showed an outbreak of red tide by high density of dinoflagellates. Abundances of picoeukaryote in Jeju Strait were about $5{\sim}10$ times higher than abundance measured in Kuroshio water and showed a good correlation with Chl b (Pras+Viola), which implies the most of population of picoeukaryote was composed of prasinophytes. Prochlorococcus was not detected at all, which suggests that Kuroshio Current did not directly influenced on the study area. Based on the strong negative correlations between biomass of phytoplankton (Chl a) and temperature+salinity, the primary production and biomass of phytoplankton in the study area were controlled by the nutrients supply from CCW.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Fisheries Technology Conference
• /
• 2000.10a
• /
• pp.290-291
• /
• 2000

우리나라 주변해역에 출현하는 아귀류는 아귀과(Lophiidae)에 속하는 저서성 어류로서 황아귀, Lophius litulon(Jordan)와 아귀 Lophiomus setigerus(Vahl) 두 종이 알려져 있다. 황아귀는 주로 중국의 하북성, 산동성 연안, 한국 서해 및 제주도 서방 등 동중국해 북부 및 황해에 분포하고 아귀는 주로 동중국해 남부 및 필리핀근해 등에 분포한다(Seikai Regional Fisheries Research Laboratory, 1986). (중략)

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Fisheries Technology Conference
• /
• 2000.05a
• /
• pp.330-331
• /
• 2000

우리나라 주변해역에 출현하는 아귀류는 아귀과 (Lophiidae)에 속하는 저서성 어류로서 황아귀, Lophius litulon (Jordan)와 아귀, Lophiomus setigerus (Vahl) 두 종이 알려져 있다. 황아귀는 주로 중국의 하북성, 산동성 연안, 한국 서해 및 제주도 서방 등 동중국해 북부 및 황해에 분포하고, 아귀는 주로 동중국해 남부 및 필리핀 근해 등에 분포한다(Seikai Regional Fisheries Research Laboratory, 1986). (중략)

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Fisheries Technology Conference
• /
• 2000.05a
• /
• pp.344-345
• /
• 2000

근해안강망어업에서 주로 어획되는 수산자원은 참조기, 갈치, 아귀등의 저서성어류로서, 겨울에는 월동장인 우리나라 서해남부 및 동중국해 북부해역으로 남하회유하고 봄이 되면 황해 및 중국 연안의 산란장으로 북상이동하는 계절회유를 한다. 따라서 근해안강망어업의 주간어황은 황해 및 동중국해에 서식하는 대상어업자원의 자원량변동의 영향을 받으며, 해황의 변동에 따른 회유경로의 경년변동 및 계절회유에 의한 주 서식처의 변동, 조석의 변동, 어장의 일기등의 영향을 받는다. (중략)

• Proceedings of the Korean Association of Geographic Inforamtion Studies Conference
• /
• 2004.03a
• /
• pp.507-510
• /
• 2004

동중국해 북부에서 쿠로시오의 경계역으로 확장된 중국대륙 연안수가 주변의 북상 난류역에 의해 포획된 후 고립되는 현상이 1999년 및 2003년 NOAA 위성영상에 포착되었다. 1999년의 경우 cold core eddy는 약 2개월간 존재(5월초～6월 하순)하였고, cold core의 중심 수온은 15～20℃로 주변해역의 17～23℃보다 2～3℃ 낮게 나타났다. 1999년 5월 7일 획득된 SeaWiFS 위성자료로부터 추정된 클로로필 α 분포는 1999년 5월 6일부터 획득된 NOAA 위성수온 영상에 나타난 cold core eddy의 주변 가장자리 해역에서 비교적 높게 나타났다. 2003년 경우 2월 중순에 cold core의 수온은 9～10℃c였으며 직경 150km 정도였다. cold core의 수평규모는 50m 등수심 분포와 유사하게 나타났다. 이어도를 중심으로 동계 및 춘계에 나타나는 cold core eddy의 형성 메카니즘은 중국대륙 연안수와 쿠로시오 난류가 만나는 경계역에서의 힘의 균형과 계절풍 조건, 해저 지형 분포와 밀접한 관계성이 있는 것으로 사료된다.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.117-124
• /
• 1997

Vertical profiles of dissolved Cu and Ni at the upper 400 m water layer have been determined at two stations in the central East Sea in October 1995. This is the first report on the vertical distribution of trace metals in Korea. Copper concentrations are in the range of 2.1~5.8 nmol/kg and 1.6~2.4 nmol/kg for stations S and N, respectively. The vertical profile of Cu at S is found a scavenging type (i.e., drastic decrease with increasing depth). Concentrations of Ni range from 4.3 to 7.1 nmol/kg and from 3.4 to 5.4 nmol/kg for stations Sand N, respectively. At station S, Ni is best correlated with phosphate, but not at stations N. Such difference between two stations are probably due to their different vertical distribution of water masses. Station S has a strongly stratified water column with 6 distinct water masses, but station N with a well-mixed subsurface water layer extending from 50 to 300 m depth. Extremely low salinity (31.87~31.96 psu) found at the surface water of station S was interpreted as a result of the Yangtze River effluents which were probably fed into the East Sea through the Korea Strait during the late summer. Such seasonal appearance of low salinity in southern part of the East Sea was reported previously. The concentrations of Cu and Ni at two sites are comparable to those reported in the North Pacific. It was found that Ni mostly exist as dissolved phase.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.355-370
• /
• 2020

We conducted a field survey to analyze the ecological structure and spatial distribution of microplankton (phytoplankton and ciliates) in relation to water masses at 21 stations on the surface and chlorophyll-a maximum layers (CML) in the Northern East China Sea (nECS; 32°-33°N; 124°00'-127°30'E) from August 3 to August 6, 2019. The results showed that the water masses were divided into Chinese Coastal Waters (CCW) and the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC). The CCW showed the environmental characteristics of high temperature and low salinity, and the TWC showed high temperature and high salinity. The characteristics of the phytoplankton community in the CCW showed various community structures related to the nutrients supplied from the large rivers of the Chinese continent. However, the TWC had simple community structures because it originated near the equator and moved northward. The standing crops of phytoplankton and ciliates were very high in the CCW but showed low at the TWC. In particular, from the higher standing crops of protozoa than plant plankton at the TWC, the energy flow at the lower tropic levels caused by the microbial loop that fed on heterotrophic bacteria played an important role in the production of resource organisms. In other words, the marine ecological structure of the nECS in summer could be estimated as a bottom-up system at the CCW and a top-down system at the TWC.

• 한국해양학회지
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.123-136
• /
• 1992

As a result of faunal analysis on 50 bottom samples bearing a total of 183 species of the Recent benthonic foraminifers from the West and South Sea of korea, five bioassociations (groups of species) and five biotopes (groups of samples) were discriminated. From the areal distribution of biotopes in combination with bioassociations and the available ecological data of foraminiferal species, five biofacies are recognized: (1) Southern Inner Shelf Biofacies; (2) Southern Coast Biofacies; (3) Northern Middle Shelf Biofacies; (4) Central Middle Shelf Biofacies; and (5) Southern Outer Shelf and Upper Slope Biofacies. The biofacies are defined by a group of sampling stations containing a diagnostic species association and can be related to the major current pasterns and water masses in the West and South Sea of Korea: Southern Inner Shelf Biofacies is related to the Coastal Waters and drainage from China; Southern Coast Biofacies is related to the Coastal Waters and drainage from Korea; Northern Middle Shelf Biofacies is related to the Coastal Waters and Yellow Sea Cold Water, Central Middle Shelf Biofacies is related to the Yellow Sea Warm Current; and Southern Outer Shelf and Upper Slope Biofacies is related to the Tsushima Warm Current.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.100-110
• /
• 2005

We carried oui a study on the marine environment and distribution of phytoplankton community, such as chlorophyll a, species composition, dominant species and standing crops in the Northern East China Sea during early summer of 2004. According to the analysis of a T-S diagram, three characteristics of water masses were identified. We classified them into the coastal water mass, the cold water mass and the oceanic water mass. The first was characterized by the low temperature and the low salinity originated from China territory, the secondary was characterized by the low temperature, the low salinity and the high density originated from bottom cold water of Yellow Sea, and the third was done by the high temperature and salinity originated from Tsushima warm current. The internal discontinuous layer among them was farmed at the intermediate depth (about $5{\sim}30m$ layer). And the thermal front by upwelling region between the cold water mass and Tsushima warm current appeared in the central parts of the South Sea of Korea. The Phytoplankton community in the surface and stratified layers was a total of 44 species belonging to 26 genera. Dominant species were Prorocentrum triestinum, Scrippsiella trochoidea, Skeletonema costatum & Leptocylindrus mediterraneus. Standing crops of phytoplankton in the surface layer fluctuated between $0.3{\times}10^3$ cells/L and $10.8{\times}10^3$ cells/L. Diatoms appeared mainly in the Tsushima warm current regions, and flagellates occurred in the frontal zone and the low salinity regions where was the transfer areas of Chinese continental coastal waters. Chlorophyll a concentration by controlled phytoflagellate ratio in the South Sea of Korea was high values in the frontal zone and sub-surface layer. It was high concentration in the upwelling and coastal waters regions, but low concentration in the Tsushima warm current regions. The Chl-a maximum layers appeared in the thermochline depth or sub-surface layer lower than thermocline. The phytoplankton production in the South Sea of Korea was controlled by the expanded coastal waters of Chinese Continent which include a high concentrations of nutrients.