• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.165-165
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• 2003

A borehole core ECSDP-102 (about 68.5 m long) has been investigated to get information on paleoenvironmental changes in response to the sea-level fluctuations during the period of late Quaternary. Several AMS $\^$14/C ages show that the core ECSDP-102 recorded the depositional environments of the northern East China Sea for approximately 60 ka. The Yangtze River discharged huge amounts of sediment into the northern East China Sea during the marine isotope stage (MIS) 3. In particular, $\delta$$\^$13/Corg values reveal that the sedimentary environments of the northern East China Sea, which is similar to the Holocene conditions, have taken place three times during the MIS 3. It is supported by the relatively enriched $\delta$$\^$13/Corg values of -23 to -21$\textperthousand$ during the marine settings of MIS 3 that are characterized by the predominance of marine organic matter akin to the Holocene. Furthermore, we investigated the three Holocene sediment cores, ECSDP-101, ECSDP-101 and YMGR-102, taken from the northern East China Sea off the mouth of the Yangtze River and from the southern Yellow Sea, respectively. Our study was focused primarily on the onset of the post-glacial marine transgression and the reconstructing of paleoenvironmental changes in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea during the Holocene. AMS $\^$14/C ages indicate that the northern East China Sea and the southern Yellow Sea began to have been flooded at about 13.2 ka BP which is in agreement with the initial marine transgression of the central Yellow Sea (core CC-02). $\delta$$\^$18/O and $\delta$$\^$13/C records of benthic foraminifera Ammonia ketienziensis and $\delta$$\^$13/Corg values provide information on paleoenvironmental changes from brackish (estuarine) to modem marine conditions caused by globally rapid sea-level rise since the last deglaciation. Termination 1 (T1) ended at about 9.0-8.7 ka BP in the southern and central Yellow Sea, whereas T1 lasted until about 6.8 ka BP in the northern East China Sea. This time lag between the two seas indicates that the timing of the post-glacial marine transgression seems to have been primarily influenced by the bathymetry. The present marine regimes in the northern East China Sea and the whole Yellow Sea have been contemporaneously established at about 6.0 ka BP. This is strongly supported by remarkably changes in occurrence of benthic foraminiferal assemblages, $\delta$$\^$18/O and $\delta$$\^$13/C compositions of A. ketienziensis, TOC content and $\delta$$\^$13/Corg values. The $\delta$$\^$18/O values of A. ketienziensis show a distinct shift to heavier values of about 1$\textperthousand$ from the northern East China Sea through the southern to central Yellow Sea. The northward shift of $\^$18/O enrichment may reflect gradually decrease of the bottom water temperature in the northern East China Sea and the Yellow Sea.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.87-95
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• 2024

The giant jellyfish, Nemopilema nomurai, is an endemic species found in Northeast Asian waters and their population structures, such as size and genetics, and their environmental characteristics were investigated. N. nomurai was obtained from the Yellow and Northern East China Seas during the summers of 2006, 2007, and 2009. In the northern Yellow Sea, small-sized jellyfish were found to be dominant and towards the southern seas, the size of the jellyfish increased. In the northern East China Sea, only one mode of jellyfish was found in May, and the number of modes increased up-to five in July. However, at the center of the Yellow Sea, one or two modes were found in July, 2007. Thus, different jellyfish populations were present in the northern East China Sea and the Yellow Sea. However, based on first appearance and a cohort analysis using the bell diameter, the jellyfish population in the northern Yellow Sea might be recognized as a distinct group that differed from those found in the northern East China Sea. Furthermore, mitochondrial DNA sequences (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) of N. nomurai were, determined and compared with genetic structures obtained from jellyfish in the Yellow Sea. The genetic diversity of N. nomurai was highest in the regions around the northern East China Sea and at the center of the Yellow Sea and was the lowest around the northern Yellow Sea. Thus, N. nomurai populations in the Yellow Sea and northern East China Sea might be different concerning their seeding places.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.141-148
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• 2008

In order to investigate the effect of inflow of Yangze river on the distribution of chlorophyll-${\alpha}$, the results of serial oceanographic observation during 2000-2005 were used. The oceanographic conditions in the northern East China Sea is influenced by the Tsushima Warm Current and low saline water derived from the Yangze river. The distributions of these water masses vary significantly by the season in the northern East China Sea. The sea surface temperature and salinity were stable and concentrations of chlorophyll-${\alpha}$ were low in the eastern part of $126^{\circ}E$. On the contrary, the salinity was significantly influenced by the low saline water derived from Yangze river with the high concentrations of chlorophyll-${\alpha}$. It is suggested that the low saline water inflowed from the Yangze river affects high concentrations of chlorophyll-${\alpha}$ in the northern East China Sea in summer.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.52-61
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• 2007

Temporal and spatial variations of sea water largely affect on the pattern of underwater sound propagation. Acoustic environmental changes and their effects on underwater sound propagation in the northern part of the East Sea, which have been poorly studied mainly due to lack of observations, are investigated by analyzing the hydrographic data acquired since 1993. Severe changes in acoustic environments are associated with various physical processes such as deep convection, thermal fronts, and eddies in the northern part of the East Sea. Spatio-temporal variations of sound speed field and the layer of the maximum sound speed are categorized into six typical cases. Using a sound source of 5 kHz, acoustic transmission losses are calculated range-independently for the six typical cases. Significant differences among the patterns of transmission loss in the six cases suggest that a different tactics are required when we operate in the northern part of the East Sea.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.219-228
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• 2012

Tintinnid species distribution has been monitored in the northern East China Sea (ECS) in the summer of 2006 through 2011. This is used to understand the water mass movements in the northern ECS. The warm oceanic tintinnid species had largely spread in 2007 in the area, indicating that there was greater warm water extension into the northern ECS. However the extension of neritic water within the Changjiang diluted water mass has strengthened in 2008 and 2010 because the neritic species distribution had relatively grown in both years. These annual results based on the biological indicators of tintinnid species are well matched with the salinity change in the area. The warm oceanic species, Dadayiella ganymedes had frequently occurred over the study years and had shown a significant relationship with the salinity change. This is valuable as a key stone species for monitoring the intrusion of the Kuroshio within the northern ECS. Information from tintinnid biological indicators can support physical oceanography data to confirm ambiguous water mass properties.

• Atmosphere
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.51-66
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• 2015

This study was conducted to perform various sensitivity experiments using WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model in order to determine the effects of terrains of the Korean Peninsula and the land-sea thermal contrast on the formation and development of the convergent cloud band for the cases of 1 February 2012. The sensitivity experiments consist of the following five ones: CNTL experiment (control experiment), and TMBT experiment, BDMT experiment and ALL experiment that set the terrain altitude of Taeback Mountains and Northern mountain complex as zero, respectively, and the altitude of the above-mentioned two mountains as zero, and LANDSEA experiment that set to change the Korean Peninsula into sea in order to find out the land-sea thermal contrast effect. These experiment results showed that a cold air current stemming from the Siberian high pressure met the group of northern mountains with high topography altitude and was separated into two air currents. These two separated air currents met each other again on the Middle and Northern East Sea, downstream of the group of northern mountains and converged finally, creating the convergent cloud band. And these experiments suggested that the convergent cloud band located on the Middle and Northern East Sea, and the cloud band lying on the southern East sea to the coastal waters of the Japanese Island facing the East Sea, were generated and developed by different dynamical mechanisms. Also it was found that the topography of Taeback Mountains created a warm air advection region due to temperature rise by adiabatic compression near the coastal waters of Yeongdong Region, downstream of the mountains. In conclusion, these experiment results clearly showed that the most essential factor having an effect on the generation and development of the convergent cloud band was the topography effect of the northern mountain complex, and that the land-sea thermal contrast effect was insignificant.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.187-198
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• 2018

The monthly salinity maps from Aquarius satellite covering the entire East Sea were produced to analyze the low-salinity water appearing in fall every year. The low-salinity water in the northern East Sea began to appear in May-June, spreading southward along the coast and eastward north of the subpolar front. Low-salinity water from the East China Sea entered the East Sea through the Korea Strait from July to September and was mixed with low-salinity water from the northern East Sea in the Ulleung Basin. The strength of the low-salinity water from the East China Sea was dependent on the strength of the southerly wind of the East China Sea in July-August. The salinity reaches a minimum in September with a distribution parallel to the latitude of $37.5^{\circ}N$. In October, low salinity water is distributed along the mean current path and subpolar front and the entire East Sea is covered with the low salinity water in November. Water with salinity larger than 34 psu starts to flow into the East Sea through the Korea Strait in December and it expands gradually northward up to the subpolar front in January- February.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.193-204
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• 2007

In order to find out the annual variations in the marine ecosystem of the East China Sea, temperature, salinity, nutrients, chlorophyll-a, suspended solids, and suspended particulate organic carbon were extensively investigated in the northern East China Sea during the Summer of 2003 and 2006. During the Summer of 2003, the northern East China Sea was not significantly affected by the input of fresh waters from the Changjiang River. During the Summer of 2006, however, fresh waters of the Changjiang River intruded into the western part of the study area where temperature, nitrate, and phosphate in the surface waters were higher than in the other areas, and salinity, silicate, and suspended solids in the surface waters were lower. As a result of the increase in nitrate and phosphate concentrations, concentrations of chlorophyll-a and suspended particulate organic carbon increased in the western part compared with the other areas. However, the depth-integrated chlorophyll-a concentrations measured during the Summer of 2003 were rather similar to those during the Summer of 2006, and not considerably different from those measured in the East China sea during the Summer of 1994 and 1998. Therefore, the depth-integrated chlorophyll-a concentrations have not significantly changed in the East China Sea over the last 12 years. The lower concentrations of silicate and suspended solids in the western part may be related to construction of the Three-Gorges Dam since the concentrations of silicate and suspended solids in fresh waters of the Changjiang River have significantly decreased after construction of the Three-Gorges Dam in June 2003.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1171-1179
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• 2009

The solitary ascidian, Halocynthia aurantium, which is commonly called the sea peach because of its coloration and general shape, is a valuable organism of benthic marine population in the northern region of the East Sea, Korea. It is seldom found at a depth of less than 10 meters and the sea peach is frequently observed in large populations between 20 and 100 meters. It appears to prefer attachment to vertical rocks faces and artificial cement blocks exposed to the currents. Mass mortality and reduction of resources in sea peach, H. aurantium, were occurred in the benthic area of the northern region of the East Sea because of the rapid fluctuation of environmental factors such as temperature and salinity due to mass rainfall in summer and going up north of a strong warm current in winter. Therefore, we examined the effects of temperature and salinity on embryonic development of fertilized eggs, tadpole larva to metamorphosis, and attachment to siphon development. Laboratory-raised larvae were studied using a two-factorial experimental design with four levels of temperature(8, 12, 16 and $20^{\circ}C$) and four levels of salinity(20, 25, 30 and 34 psu). The ascidian larvae of H. aurantium survived environmental conditions between temperature of $8{\sim}20^{\circ}C$ and salinity of 25~34 psu and exhibited positive growth at $8{\sim}16^{\circ}C$ and 30~34 psu. Fertilized eggs have not developed at lower salinity of 20 psu irrespective of temperature range tested and have showed an abnormal development at the salinity of 25 psu between higher temperatures of 20 and $24^{\circ}C$. This result suggests that temperature increase and salinity reduction depending on environmental fluctuation may have significant impacts on population variation of H. aurantium in the northern region of the East Sea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2016

Field observation for oceanic conditions and paralarvae of the common squid, Todarodes pacificus in Korean waters were sampled with the Bongo net (diameter: 60 cm, mesh size: $333{\mu}m$) by using oblique tow method with the oceanographic research vessel (Tamgu 12 and Tamgu 20) around Korean waters (middle of the Yellow Sea, northern part of the East China Sea, East Sea) in 2013 and 2014 was carried out. The observation in the Yellow Sea and the northern part of the East China Sea was done in August, 2013 and in the East Sea it was repeated at seven times from June, 2013 to September, 2014. The paralarvae in August of 2013 was not found in the Yellow Sea and one paralarvae was found in the northern part of the East China Sea. In the East Sea, 39 paralarvae during whole observation period were found, mantle length of paralarvae was from 1.7 to 13.5 mm. Surface water temperature in the Yellow Sea was $30^{\circ}C$, and cold water mass lower than $10^{\circ}C$ was occupied in the deep layer than 30 m. In the northern part of the East China Sea, surface water temperature was $31^{\circ}C$, and higher water temperature above $20^{\circ}C$ was found in deeper than 50 m. In the East Sea, optimum temperature for survival, $15-24^{\circ}C$, was existed shallower than 75 m.