• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.391-398
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• 2002

Trace organic contaminants in deep-sea sediments near Dokdo were analyzed. Total PAMs concentration ranged 14.8-314 ng/g dry weight and high molecular weight PAHs were dominant. The highest PAHs concentration was detected at A19 which located at Ulleung Basin. Most of organochlorines were under detection limit. Among the detected organochlorines, DDT compounds were dominant and followed by HCHs and HCB. Butyltin compounds and most of organophosphorus pesticides were not detected. Vertical distribution of PAHs showed typical sub-surface maximum and decreasing trends depending on depth. The highest PAHs concentration reached 454ng/g. Some organochlorines, DDT, HCH was detected and also showed decreasing trends. Other target organic pollutants were not detected in core sediments. Abnormally high level of PAHs concentration in A19 was discussed and the input sources were inferred to be the transport of sludge derived pollutant dumped at dumping site 'Byung' by deep current.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.197-199
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• 2012

According to the IPCC climate change scenario (A1B scenario), the surface seawater temperature of the South Sea of Korea by 2100 may be $2-3.5^{\circ}C$ higher than at present, and seawater pH may decrease from 8.1 to 7.8, due to the increase in atmospheric $CO_2$, which is predicted to increase in concentration from 380 to 750 ppm. These changes may not only intensify the strength of typhoons/storm surges but also affect the function and structure the marine ecosystem. In order to assess the impact of climate change on the marine ecosystem in Korean waters, the project named the 'Assessment of the impact of climate change on marine ecosystem in the South Sea of Korea' has been supported by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, from 2008. The goal of this project is to enhance our ability to adapt and prepare for the future environmental changes through the reliable predictions based on the knowledge obtained from projects like this. In this respect, this project is being conducted to investigate the effects of climate/marine environment changes (ocean warming and acidification), and to predict future changes of the structure and function of the ecosystem in the South Sea of Korea. This special issue contains 6 research articles, which are the highlights of the studies carried out through this project.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.376-391
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• 2010

To investigate seasonal variation and species composition by depth layers in the deep sea ecosystem of the East Sea of Korea, bottom trawl survey was conducted at 4 depth layers during spring and autumn from 2007 to 2009. A total of 47 species were collected and were composed of 23 fish species, 9 crustacea, 6 cephalopoda and 9 gastropoda. The main dominant species at each depth layers were Chionoecetes opilio in 300m, Berryteuthis magister in 500m, Chionoecetes japonicus in 700m and 900m. In spring, richness indices (R) showed low value of 2.01 in 500m depth, and high value of 2.16 in 300m depth. Diversity indices (H') showed low value of 1.53 in 300m depth, and high value of 2.09 in 700m depth. Dominance indices (D) showed low value of 0.15 in 700m depth, and high value of 0.31 in 300m depth. In Autumn, richness indices showed low value of 1.48 in 900m depth, and high value of 2.69 in 300m depth. Diversity' indices (H') showed low value of 1.13 in 300m depth, and high value of 2.23 in 700m depth. Dominance indices (D) showed low value of 0.14 in 700m depth, and high value of 0.54 in 300m depth. In spring, similarity analysis in each depth layers showed the difference between 900m and othe depth layer, on the contrary 500m and 700m showed the similarity. In autumn, similarity analyssis in each depth layers showed the difference between 700m and other depth layers, on the contrary 300m and 500m showed the similarity.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.123-125
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• 2013

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), ocean warming and acidification are accelerating as a result of the continuous increase in atmospheric $CO_2$. This may affect the function and structure of marine ecosystems. Recently, changes in marine environments/ecosystems have been observed (increase in SST, decrease in the pH of seawater, northward expansion of subtropical species, etc.) in Korean waters. However, we still don't understand well how climate change affects these changes and what can be expected in the future. In order to answer these questions with regard to Korean waters, the project named 'Assessment of the impact of climate change on marine ecosystems in the South Sea of Korea' has been supported for 5 years by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and is scheduled to end in 2013. This project should provide valuable information on the current status of marine environments/ecosystems in the South Sea of Korea and help establish the methodology and observation/prediction systems to better understand and predict the impact of climate/marine environment changes on the structure and function of marine ecosystems. This special issue contains 5 research and a review articles that highlight the studies carried out during 2012-2013 through this project.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.198-207
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• 2012

In this study, we investigated the effect of ocean fertilization by deep sea water, using an ecosystem model which contains not only phytoplankton but also zooplankton. The model is based on NEMURO which consists of eleven compartments - two species of phytoplankton, three species of zooplankton, $NO_3$, $NH_4$, $Si(OH)_4$, particulate organic nitrogen, dissolved organic nitrogen and particulate silicon. We introduced nitrogen cell quota in the both species of phytoplankton, and silicon cell quota in the large phytoplankton in addition to the eleven compartments of NEMURO. We made the experiment at Izu Oshima Island in order to investigate the effect of ocean fertilization. In this experiment, we could not find clear differences between the cases with and without deep sea water. We investigated the causes of the experiment results by the model simulations. One of the causes was high concentrations of nutrients in surface seawater used in the experiment. Another was that the increase of total concentration of inorganic nitrogen does not necessarily accelerate the photosynthetic rate because inorganic nitrogen uptake rate is related to the ratio of $NO_3$ to $NH_4$. Because the model can represent the results of the experiment, we investigated the effect of ocean fertilization by deep sea water using this model. We found that the effect of ocean fertilization hardly appeared when the interval of the addition of deep sea water was too short, or the amount of deep sea water was too much. It is supposed that if the addition of deep sea water is too frequent or too much, the dilution of plankton's concentrations will exceed the effect of promoting phytoplankton's photosynthesis.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.78-83
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• 2012

The abundant nutrients contained in deep seawater are delivered by natural upwellings from the deep sea to the surface sea. However, the natural upwelling phenomenon is limited to specific areas of the sea; in other areas, the thermocline separates the surface sea from the lower layer. Thus, the surface layer is often deficient in nutritive salts, causing the deterioration of its primary productivity and ultimately leading to an imbalance in the marine ecosystem. Without a consistent supply of nitrogenous nutritive salts, they are absorbed by phytoplankton, resulting in a considerable problem in primary productivity. To solve this issue, a floating type of artificial upwelling system is suggested to artificially pump up, distribute, and diffuse deep seawater containing rich nutritive salts. The key technologies for developing such a floating artificial upwelling system are a floating offshore structure with a large diameter riser, self-supplying energy system, density current generating system, method for estimating the emission and absorption of CO2, and way to evaluate the primary production variation. Strengthening the primary production of the sea by supplying deep seawater to the sea surface will result in a sea environment with abundant fishery resources.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.175-183
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• 2006

The discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents and their ecosystems is a monumental landmark in the history of Ocean Sciences. Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are scattered along the global mid-ocean ridges and back-arc basins. Under sea volcanic phenomena related to underlying magma activities along mid-ocean ridges generate extreme habitats for highly specialized communities of animals. Multidisciplinary research efforts during past three decades since the first discovery of hydrothermal vents along the Galapagos Rift in 1977 revealed fundamental components of physiology, ecology, and evolution of specialized vent communities of micro and macro fauna. Heterogeneous regional geological settings and tectonic plate history have been considered as important geophysical and evolutionary factors for current patterns of taxonomic composition and distribution of vent faunas among venting sites in the World Ocean basins. It was found that these communities are based on primary production of chemosynthetic bacteria which directly utilize reduced compounds, mostly $H_2S$ and $CH_4$, mixed in vent fluids. Symbioses between these bacteria and their hosts, vent invertebrates, are foundation of the vent ecosystem. Gene flow and population genetic studies in parallel with larval biology began to unveil hidden dispersal barrier under deep sea as well as various dispersal characteristics cross taxa. Comparative molecular phylogenetics of vent animals revealed that vent faunas are closely related to those of cold-water seeps in general. In perspective additional interesting discoveries are anticipated particularly with further refined and expanded studies aided by new instrumental technologies.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.781-792
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• 2020

Mine tailings, which are inevitably formed by the development of manganese nodules, manganese crusts, and hydrothermal seafloor deposits, have attracted attention because of their quantity and potential toxicity. However, there is a lack of data on the quantity of mine tailings being generated, their physicochemical properties, and their effects as environmental hazards and on marine ecosystems in general. The importance of treating mine tailings in an environmentally friendly manner has been recognized recently and related reduction/treatment methods are being considered. In the case of deep-sea mineral resource development, if mine tailings cannot be treated aboard a ship, the issue becomes one of the cost of transporting them to land and solving the problem of environmental pollution there. Therefore, the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology conducted research on the harmfulness of mine tailings, their effect on marine ecosystem, the diffusion model of contaminated particles, and candidate purification treatment technologies based on five representative controlling factors: 1) effects of pollution /on the environment, 2) effects of environmental/ biological hazards, 3) diffusion of particles, 4) mineral dressings, and 5) reducing/processing mine tailings. The results of this study can provide a basis for minimizing environmental problems by providing scientific evidences of the environmental effects of mine tailings. In addition, it is also expected that these results could be applied to the treatment of pollutants of different origins and at land-based mining waste sites.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.178-186
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• 2003

Seasonal variation of phytoplankton was investigated with surface mixed layer ecosystem model in the East Sea. The model consisted of four compartments (phytoplankton, zooplankton, nutrient, detritus) forced by mixed layer depths, photosynthetically available radiation and nutrient concentrations. From model results we estimated entrainment rate $2.5-4.0\;m{\cdot}day^{-1}$ to reproduce the two annual blooms, and reproduced seasonal variation of phytoplankton at southern and northern regions by the difference of surface winter mixed layer depth (MLD) using the entrainment rate value $3.0\;m{\cdot}day^{-1}$. The spring blooms in the southern and northern regions closely related to deepening of a winter surface MLD. In the southern region where MLD was shallow and phytoplankton spring bloom occurs one month in advance to the northern region where MLD was deep. The amount of light increases within the MLD during the onset of stratification and water temperature increases faster in spring in the southern region than the northern region. Decrease of phytoplankton was mainly affected by zooplankton grazing in the southern region and by nutrient exhaustion in the northern region. The fall bloom in the two regions was caused by the nutrient availability and entrainment on the phytoplankton.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.222-230
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• 2016

HEMIRE is a 6,000-meter-class remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that has been developed for observation and sampling of objects of interest on the deep seabed. We first carried out deep-seabed exploration around the slopes of the Hupo Bank and the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea in June 2015. Over two weeks, a total of 10 dives were made from a support ship, the R/V Onnuri, at eight stations with water depth ranging between 194 and 2,080 m. The dive times ranged from 1 to 6 hours, depending on the operating conditions. We obtained the following results: 1) video images of the deep seafloor; 2) red snow crab density data (a major fishery resource) and inventories of deep-sea fauna, including an unrecorded organism; 3) specific topographies such as canyons slopes; 4) an undisturbed sediment core obtained using a push corer; and 5) observations of the seabed surface covered with discarded anthropogenic waste material.