• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.468-480
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• 2022

Although the construction of the Nakdong River Estuary Barrage (NEB) improved the water supply in the region, it cut off the longitudinal connectivity of the estuary aquatic ecosystem. Thus, the social demands for opening the NEB have been continuously raised, and the efforts to restore the aquatic ecosystem of the Nakdong River estuary began in 2017. Many fish species have inhabited the Nakdong River estuary. Since their habitat and migration characteristics vary widely, the sluice gate operation considering them is essential for the restoration of the aquatic ecosystem. Therefore, in this study, we monitored the fish species living and migrating in the Nakdong River estuary and analyzed the possibility of smooth movement of for each fish species by calculating the average flow velocity according to the type and the height of the gate opening. Moreover, we selected the target fish species for each month and suggested the sluice gate operation according to the depth of the main habitat to present the measures that are ideal for optimal restoration of the aquatic ecosystem in the Nakdong River estuary area.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 2024

This study was conducted to provide the basic information on environment effects on appearance of ichthyoplankton in the Yeongsan River Estuary in Spring and Summer from 2018 to 2020. Data were obtain from the database of 'Coastal Ecosystem' in "National Survey of Marine Ecosystem." Among the abundance ichthyoplankton species, the Gobiidae spp. dominated, accounting for 85% of the total abundances with the secondary dominant species being the Parablennius yatabei, representing 3% of the abundances. Cluster analysis results revealed a composition differentiated between spring and summer. The Yeongsan River Estuary is known to be significantly influenced by the opening and closing of estuarine gates. In this study, the fluctuation in the number of occurrence groups and abundance among the years and season is attributed to the phenomenon of high water temperature period and the freshwater discharge.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2013

An emergy concept was used to evaluate the contributions of the Youngsan River Estuary to the Korean economy from systems and ecosystem service perspectives. Total emergy input to the estuary was $9.42{\times}10^{20}$ sej/yr with the chemical potential of river inflow accounting for 73% of the total and tidal energy for the remaining 27%, reflecting the unique environmental characteristics of estuaries where rivers meet sea. From the systems perspective, the estuary ecosystem contributed 179.9 billion em\/yr (14.91 million em\/ha/yr or 13,526 em$/ha/yr). Four ecosystem services of the Youngsan River Estuary were selected for the emergy evaluation: fishery production, pollutant removal, aesthetic function, and scientific research information. Aesthetic function contributed the most to the Korean economy with 179.9 billion em\/yr, followed by fishery production (101.1 billion em\/yr), pollutant removal (32.6 billion em\/yr), and scientific research information (934 million em\/yr). Emergy-based values of the selected ecosystem services of the estuary were higher than those calculated by economic methodologies.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.15-29
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to establish an ecosystem model that can predict ecosystem fluctuations in the Nakdong estuary, and use this model to calculate total primary production and respiration. AQUATOX model was used as the ecosystem model, and the model was calibrated and verified using the measured data. For the calibration of the model, chlorophyll-a data measured at the Nakdong estuary were used, and the model verification was performed using DO, TN, and TP data. In general, the total primary production and respiration volume vary greatly depending on the season, but the total primary production and respiration in the Nakdong estuary were greatly influenced by the amount of water discharged from Nakdong estuary bank. When the amount of effluent increased, photosynthesis could not be performed due to the loss of phytoplankton living in the lower area, and the total primary production amounted to zero, whereas the respiration increased sharply due to the inflow of organic substances contained in the effluent. The increase in the inflow water means the inflow of organic substances contained in the inflow water, and the organic substances are decomposed by oxidation, reducing dissolved oxygen. Compared with other countries' estuaries, the Nakdong estuary shows the lowest total primary production and because the respiration is larger than the total primary production, the dissolved oxygen is depleted by the oxidation of organic matter.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.256-261
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• 1988

Samples from Naktong Estuary had been taken for the characterization of heterotrophic bacterial communities and of the effects of environmental factors on their distribution in estuarine ecosystem. Bacterial communities isolated from seawater region were composed of more euryhalone groups than those from freshwater region, and the bacterial communities of summer were composed of more eurythermal groups than those of winter. Bacterial commnities became more diverse by the input of allochthonous bacteria from terrestrial and freshwater ecosystem, but less diverse by worse environmental conditions such as nutrient load, high salinity, low temperature, and so on.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.589-603
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to develop a integrated(fusion) utilization model aimed at maximizing the development/management functions of urban estuarine area and to present an integrated concept by analyzing the existing document and data. The main points of this study are as follows: 1) The integrated utilization model suggested in this paper goes beyond the existing idea of sustainable utilization and conservation, putting an emphasis on rational decision-making in estuary management and peaceful coexistence between human and nature. 2) Policies for utilization/development/conservation/regeneration of urban estuarine area include the establishment of communication system between human and nature and a safety net considering both human and nature, the support for environment-friendly community development and the importance of preserving valuable ecosystem and wetland habitat. 3) Lastly, this study suggested that the major tasks for the fusion utilization model development are the integrated management of estuary areas, the conservation and preservation of wetland ecosystem, proper utilization of estuary's productivity, and the introduction and action plans of the integrated management model including the best way to address contamination and disaster management.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.651-658
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• 2008

Estuary barrier is a hydraulic structure constructed to supply safely water as protecting chlorine penetration of sea water. However, the barrier brings about a problem which decreases original functions of estuary because hydraulic ecology was disrupted as obstructing natural water exchange between fresh water and sea water. It is important to supply Enough fresh water in the estuary ecosystem. But it is possible to reduce the problems brought from barrier throughout efficient water gate operation of estuary barrier. It was shown in this study that the environmental effect of estuary in Nakdong river was investigated according to the control of water level. Also, the basic information about the effective water gate operation was provided. The analysis results showed that the release rate of estuary was increased about 20% as changing the operational water levels. This helps supplying fresh water durably to the mixing zone. Also, CE-QUAL-W2 model was utilized to assess water quality. The values of BOD and COD were not changed in estuary area. From the result, it was analyzed the effect of water quality according to the water gate operation was not indicated.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.337-346
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• 2011

We investigated nutrient loading and trophic states in a coastal estuarine system in the Asan estuary by assessing phytoplankton biomass and using the trophic index (TRIX). The monthly and yearly nutrient loading (TN, TP) from freshwater discharge from the Asan and Sapgyo reservoirs into the estuary were estimated and analyzed with related factors. Monitoring data (physio-chemical and biological variables) collected at five estuary stations were used to assess trophic states. Descriptive statistics of total phytoplankton cells, chl a concentrations and primary productivity were also used to assess seasonal trophic status. N loading from freshwater ranged $1.0{\sim}1.3{\times}10^4$ ton yearly. The yearly P loading ranged between 350 and 400 ton during 2004~2006, increasing to 570 ton in 2007. Regression results suggest that DIN and DSi were correlated with freshwater discharge at the upper region. Based on phytoplankton biomass and total cell abundance, the trophic state of the estuary was found to be eutrophic during spring due to phytoplankton bloom. Primary productivity level was remarkably high, especially in summer coinciding with high nutrient loading. Pheopigments increased during warm seasons, i.e. summer and fall. Trophic index results indicate that the trophic state varied between mesotrophic and eutrophic in the estuary water body, especially in the upper region. The results suggest that phytoplankton production was regulated by nutrient loading from freshwater whereas biomass was affected by other properties than nutrient loading in the Asan Estuary ecosystem.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2022

An estuary is an area where a freshwater river or stream meets the ocean. Even before the importance of the value of estuaries was recognized, the estuary was lost because of large-scale conversion by draining, filling, damming, and dredging. In South Korea, 643 estuaries are located, and the total area is 3,248,300 ha, accounting for 32.5% of the total area of South Korea. Over 35% of Korean estuaries are closed estuaries which are only temporally connected with the sea, either permanently or periodically. Since 2008, in order to preserve the estuary ecosystem and solve major issues in the estuary by accumulating knowledge about the estuarine ecosystem, the Ministry of Environment of Republic of Korea has been conducting the "Estuarine Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment Project". At 668 sites of 325 estuaries, epilithic diatom, benthic macroinvertebrate, fish, and vegetation are investigated, and the habitat condition of each site is evaluated using the newly developed biotic index. More than 100 researchers annually record 2,097 species of estuaries according to the standardized survey guidelines over the past 14 years and provide strictly managed data necessary for establishing estuaries conservation policies. As a result of bibliometric analysis of 1,195 research articles related to the monitoring and assessment of the estuarine ecosystem, research on pollutants such as heavy metals and sediment control have recently been conducted. "Estuarine Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment Project" is an ecological monitoring type of long-term mandated monitoring that is usually focused on identifying trends. Although it is difficult to identify the mechanism influencing a change in an ecosystem through long-term mandated monitoring, providing empirical data for supporting evidence-based policy, decision-making, and the management of ecosystems. In order to increase the efficiency of the project, research to investigate the relationship between sediments and pollutants and organisms can be conducted at specific estuaries or sites to compensate for the shortcomings of mandatory monitoring.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.46-56
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• 2017

The Youngsan River estuary was physically changed by the construction of a sea embankment at near the mouth of estuary. Weirs were also constructed recently in the freshwater zone and it was reported that algal blooms occur more frequently. The freshwater introduced into saltwater zone from sluice gates of the embankment affects water quality but it has not been addressed that how the freshwater inputs influence the health of marine ecosystem. In this study, we used the data of water properties and phytoplankton communities collected at three stations for 4 days including before the freshwater discharge, during the discharge and after 1 and 2 days of discharge events. WQI(water quality index), TRIX (trophic status index) and P-IBI(phytoplankton index of biotic integrity) were used to evaluate the ecosystem health and long-term data were also utilized to determine the criteria for P-IBI. The results showed that grades of the ecosystem health assessed by the indices were low at the station near the gates and increased as downstream. However, the temporal pattern of grades was different depending on methods. Grades of WQI and TRIX decreased during the discharge and restored after the discharge whereas the grades of P-IBI decreased slightly even after the discharge. This suggests that P-IBI is more applicable to estuarine systems where experience extreme change of water properties than WQI and TRIX since P-IBI includes phytoplankton that can respond quickly to the change.