• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.431-436
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• 2001

Variations in phytoplankton concentrations result from changes of the ocean color caused by phytoplankton pigments. Thus, ocean spectral reflectance for low chlorophyll waters are blue and high chlorophyll waters tend to have green reflectance. In the Korea region, clear waters and the open sea in the Kuroshio regions of the East China Sea have low chlorophyll. As one moves even closer In the northwestern part of the East China Sea, the situation becomes much more optically complicated, with contributions not only from higher concentration of phytoplankton, but also from sediments and dissolved materials from terrestrial and sea bottom sources. The color often approaches yellow-brown in the turbidity waters (Case Ⅱ waters). To verify satellite ocean color retrievals, or to develop new algorithms for complex case Ⅱ regions requires ship-based studies. In this study, we compared the chlorophyll retrievals from NASA's SeaWiFS sensor with chlorophyll values determined with standard fluorometric methods during two cruises on Korean NFRDI ships. For the SeaWiFS data, we used the standard NASA SeaWiFS algorithm to estimate the chlorophyll_a distribution around the Korean waters using Orbview/ SeaWiFS satellite data acquired by our HPRT station at NFRDl. We studied In find out the relationship between the measured chlorophyll_a from the ship and the estimated chlorophyll_a from the SeaWiFs satellite data around the northern part of the East China Sea, in February, and May, 2000. The relationship between the measured chlorophyll_a and the SeaWiFS chlorophyll_a shows following the equations (1) In the northern part of the East China Sea. Chlorophyll_a =0.121Ln(X) + 0.504, R²= 0.73 (1) We also determined total suspended sediment mass (55) and compared it with SeaWiFS spectral band ratio. A suspended solid algorithm was composed of in-.situ data and the ratio (L/sub WN/(490 ㎚)L/sub WN/(555 ㎚) of the SeaWiFS wavelength bands. The relationship between the measured suspended solid and the SeaWiFS band ratio shows following the equation (2) in the northern part of the East China Sea. SS = -0.703 Ln(X) + 2.237, R²= 0.62 (2) In the near future, NFRDI will develop algorithms for quantifying the ocean color properties around the Korean waters, with the data from regular ocean observations using its own research vessels and from three satellites, KOMPSAT/OSMl, Terra/MODIS and Orbview/SeaWiFS.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.8-13
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• 2000

Monthly mean chlorophyll concentration in the East Sea was estimated from the ocean color observed by the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) on Nimbus-7 satellite which had performed various remote sensing missions from 1979 to 1986. The areas of high chlorophyll concentration were found in the sea between Siberia coast and Sakhalin Island, in the Donghan Bay and in the Ulleung Basin. In the southwestern East Sea, especially in the area near Ulleung Island, the yearly maximum chlorophyll concentration occurred in December. The chlorophyll concentration in Ulleung Basin in December was about two times higher than during spring bloom in April. The early winter bloom occurred in the warm side of the front that was formed between warm water from the East China Sea and nutrition rich cold water from the northern East Sea.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.642-647
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• 2011

In order to analyze the influence of floating marine debris (FMD) in the East China Sea (ECS), a sighting survey was conducted from July 1st to July 14th, 2009 navigating about 966 km using a training vessel "Kaya (1,737 ton)" of Pukyong National University. The sampled zones are divided into 5 transect by observation day during the survey days and again specified with 45 segments per unit hour on the survey routes. The results of distribution of FMD are as follows: 1. The quantities of FMD at the central China Sea(CE) and northern part of Taiwan(NT) were found as total mean of 90.8 ea/hr, 56.7 ea/hr, respectively, and also 36.8 ea/hr, western part of Kyushu district(WJ), 10.7 ea/hr, 8.0 ea/hr, western(OK1) and northern part(OK2) of Okinawa, respectively. 2. Temporal variation of FMD is represented by depicting the sinusoidal curve as shape as tide in CE and OK1. 3. The higher sea surface temperature (SST) is as likely as if Kuroshio current exists strongly, the less quantities are decreased. On the other hand, the coastal zone of ECS and near of Yellow Sea are increased by lower SST.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.429-435
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• 2019

The drifters of the Global Drifter Program were deployed in the northern East Sea for two years from March 2015 to compare and validate currents estimated from sea-level measurements with the SARAL/AltiKa altimetry satellite mission, specially designed to accurately measure sea level in the near-coastal area. The collocated (less than 20 km apart) directly measured current from GPS locations every 30 minutes and the currents normal to the satellite tracks show a similar correlation in the area shallower than 200 m depth as the open ocean and it makes it possible to investigate the time variations of the current along the coast in the northern East sea, where direct observations of current are scarce. The Liman Current along the Siberian coast is found to be southward all year round, but the North Korean Cold Current flows southward only in the summer. The North Korean Cold Current south of the Musudan cape mostly flows to the south, but the current direction depends on the presence of an eddy around the coast of Musudan cape.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.505-515
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• 2020

The Yellow Sea and northern East China Sea contain a transgressive sand layer. Numerous sedimentary studies have been carried out in these sand deposits using seismic exploration and core sediment techniques, but few mineralogical studies have been reported. The major purposes of this study are to describe the distributions of heavy minerals throughout the Yellow sea and northern East China Sea and to identify the provenance of coarse sediments using the mineral chemistry. Eight heavy mineral species were identified in the study area (epidote, amphibole, garnet, zircon, sphene, rutile, apatite, and monazite). The study region was divided into six areas (areas A to F) based on heavy mineral distributions and sampling locations. In mineral chemistry, the amphiboles present are classified as edenite and hornblende in the calcic amphibole group, and the garnets are identified primarily as almandine in the pyralspite group. A combined data set of heavy mineral distributions and mineral chemistry showed clear differentiation of the characteristics of the six classified areas, enabling determination of provenance and sedimentary environment. Area A and B in the eastern Yellow Sea were originated from the Korean peninsula, and these regions showed different heavy mineral characteristics by tidal current and coastal current. In addition, monazite was only found in the area B and could be used as an indicator from the southwestern Korean peninsula. Area D and E in the western Yellow Sea showed the characteristics of sediments originating from the Huanghe, and sediment in the area E was derived from the Changjiang. Area C in the northern East China Sea appeared to have Changjiang-origin sediment, and abundant apatite indicated that area C was formed close to the Last Glacial Maximum.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.257-263
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• 2003

Oceanographic features around Korean waters related to the global change were studied by analysis of the longterm variation of water temperature, dissolved oxygen, sea level of the surface layer with 1$^{\circ}C$ temperature, spatial position of the subpolar front in the East Sea/Japan Sea (the East sea hereafter) and the Wolf Sunspot Number. With the global warming, the temperature of Korean waters has been increased 0.5∼1.0$^{\circ}C$ for 33years (1968∼2000). In case of the dissolved oxygen in the East Sea has been decreased 0.46$m\ell$/$\ell$. Year to year vertical fluctuations of the monthly anomalies of the surface layer with 1$^{\circ}C$water in the East Sea have predominant periods with 15years as the longterm variation of Arctic climate, 12 and 18years as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation. Spatial position of the subpolar front in the East Sea moved to northern part of the sea from the southern part of the sea with the increasing sea surface temperature. The relationship between the number of Wolf Sunspot and the anomalies of sea surface temperature was very closer after the late of 1980s than those before the early of 1980s in Korean waters.

• Ocean Science Journal
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.125-137
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• 2006

Nutrients, chlorophyll-a, particulate organic carbon (POC), and environmental conditions were extensively investigated in the northern East China Sea (ECS) near Cheju Island during three seasonal cruises from 2003 to 2005. In spring and autumn, relatively high concentrations of nitrate ($2.6{\sim}12.4\;{\mu}mol\;kg^{-1}$) and phosphate ($0.17{\sim}0.61\;{\mu}mol\;kg^{-1}$) were observed in the surface waters in the western part of the study area because of the large supply of nutrients from deep waters by vertical mixing. The surface concentrations of nitrate and phosphate in summer were much lower than those in spring and autumn, which is ascribed to a reduced nutrient supply from the deep waters in summer because of surface layer stratification. While previous studies indicate that upwellings of the Kuroshio Current and the Changjiang (Yangtze River) are main sources of nutrients in the ECS, these two inputs seem not to have contributed significantly to the build-up of nutrients in the northern ECS during the time of this study. The lower nitrate:phosphate (N:P) ratio in the surface waters and the positive correlation between the surface N:P ratio and nitrate concentration indicate that nitrate acts as a main nutrient limiting phytoplankton growth in the northern ECS, contrary to previous reports of phosphate-limited phytoplankton growth in the ECS. This difference arises because most surface water nutrients are supplied by vertical mixing from deep waters with low N:P ratios and are not directly influenced by the Changjiang, which has a high N:P ratio. Surface chlorophyll-a levels showed large seasonal variation, with high concentrations ($0.38{\sim}4.14\;mg\;m^{-3}$) in spring and autumn and low concentrations ($0.22{\sim}1.05\;mg\;m^{-3}$) in summer. The surface distribution of chlorophyll-a coincided fairly well with that of nitrate in the northern ECS, implying that nitrate is an important nutrient controlling phytoplankton biomass. The POC:chlorophyll-a ratio was $4{\sim}6$ times higher in summer than in spring and autumn, presumably because of the high summer phytoplankton death rate caused by nutrient depletion in the surface waters.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.1425-1435
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• 2011

Time-series change in Gyeongpo beach shoreline was illustrated using DGPS(Differential Global Positioning System, resolution < 0.6m) observation from April, 2009 to April, 2010. The shoreline was subdivided into 12 areas, and westward and eastward movement of shoreline position at each area was calculated. In general, the shoreline moved toward sea during summer, and it moved toward land during winter. The southern and northern part of the shoreline had different pattern in time-series. The shoreline in the southern part moved toward sea during summer and moved toward land during winter, but time-series pattern of the shoreline in the northern part was more complicated than that in the southern part. Pattern of time-series change in the northern part was made up of three different types; the first is that the shoreline moves continuously toward land, and the second thing is that the shoreline's movement is the opposite to the southern part, and the third thing is that the shoreline maintains a state of equilibrium without any great fluctuation. The total length of the shoreline was the largest during winter and the smallest during summer. In general, time-series change in the shoreline had positive(+) relationship with sea surface pressure and wind speed.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.714-724
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• 2005

The East Sea, a semi-enclosed marginal sea with shallow straits in the northwest Pacific, is marked by the nearly geographic isolation and the low sea surface salinity during the last glacial maximum (LGM). The East Sea might have the only connection to the open ocean through the Korea Strait with a sill depth of 130 m, allowing the paleo-Tsushima Water to enter the sea during the LGM. The low paleosalinity associated with abnormally light $\delta^{18}O$ values of planktonic foraminifera is interpreted to have resulted from river discharge and precipitation. Nevertheless, two LGM features in the East Sea are disputable. This study attempts to estimate volume transport of the paleo-Tsushima Water via the Korea Strait and further examines its effect on the low sea surface salinity (SSS) during the lowest sea level of the LGM. The East Sea was not completely isolated, but partially linked to the northern East China Sea through the Korea Strait during the LGM. The volume transport of the paleo-Tsushima Water during the LGM is calculated approximately$(0.5\~2.1)\times10^{12}m^3/yr$ on the basis of the selected seismic reflection profiles along with bathymetry and current data. The annual influx of the paleo-Tsushima Water is low, compared to the 100 m-thick surface water volume $(about\;79.75\times10^{12}m^3)$ in the East Sea. The paleo-Tsushima Water influx might have changed the surface water properties within a geologically short time, potentially decreasing sea surface salinity. However, the effect of volume transport on the low sea surface salinity essentially depends on freshwater amounts within the paleo-Tsushima Water and excessive evaporation during the glacial lowstands of sea level. Even though the paleo-Tsushima Water is assumed to have been entirely freshwater at that time period, it would annually reduce only about 1‰ of salinity in the surface water of the East Sea. Thus, the paleo-Tsushima Water influx itself might not be large enough to significantly reduce the paleosalinity of about 100 m-thick surface layer during the LGM. This further suggests contribution of additional river discharges from nearby fluvial systems (e.g. the Amur River) to freshen the surface water.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.132-136
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• 2014

Five sea cucumbers were collected from Gisamun and Gonghyeonjin of Gangwon-do, in the East Sea, Korea from 27 December 2009 to 14 November 2012. These specimens were classified as Synallactes nozawai Mitsukuri, 1912 belonging to the family Synallactidae of order Aspidochirotida based on morphological characteristics. The family, genus and species are recorded for the first time from Korea. The distinct morphological characteristics of this species are as follows: body flexible, with thin gelatinous body wall; presence of numerous tubercles along dorsal ambulacra table of body wall consisted of three- or four-armed disk and a spire-form pillar. This species usually inhabits the deep sea and is distributed in the Northwest Pacific from northern Japan to Bering Sea.