• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.204-212
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• 2005

Recognition has emerged that nutrient inputs from the submarine discharge of fresh, brackish, and marine groundwaters into the coastal ocean are comparable to the inputs via river discharge. The coastal areas of the Korea peninsula and adjacent seas exhibit particular importance in the role of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), in terms of the magnitude of SGD and associated continental material fluxes. For example, in the southern sea of Korea, SGD transports excess nutrients into the coastal regions and thus appears to influence ecosystem changes such as the outbreak of red tides. Around volcanic island, Jeju, which is composed of high permeability rocks, the amount of SGD is higher by orders of magnitude relative to the eastern coast of North America where extensive SGD studies have been conducted. In particular, nutrient discharge through SGD exerts a significant control on coastal ecosystem changes and results in benthic eutrophication in semi-enclosed Bang-du bay, Jeju. In the entire area of the Yellow Sea, tile submarine discharge of brackish groundwater and associated nutrients are found to rival the river discharges into the Yellow Sea, including those through Yangtze River, Han River, etc. In the eastern coast of the Korea peninsula, SGD is significantly higher during summer than winter due to high hydraulic gradients and due to wide distribution of high permeability sandy zones, faults, and fractures. On the other hand, in the estuarine water, downstream construction of the dam in the Nakdong River, SGD was highest when the river discharge was lowest (but water level of the dam was highest). This suggests that even though there is no visible freshwater discharge into this estuary, the discharge of chemical species is significant through SGD. On the basis of the results obtained from the coastal areas of the Korea peninsula, SGD is considered to be an important pathway of continental contaminants influencing tidal-flat ecosystems, red tides, and coral ecology. Thus, future costal management should pay great attention to the impact of SGD on coastal pollution and eutrophication.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.193-202
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• 2006

The Consultative Meeting of the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other matter, 1972 (London Convention 1972) has requested to International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environmental Protection Committee to collaborate and help clarify a boundary issue between International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Shops, 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978 (MARPOL) and the London Convention concerning 'dumping' versus 'discharges' during normal operations of ships in 2004, and subsequently established a Joint London Convention/MEPC Correspondence Group. The Contracting Parties to London Convention expressed their environmental concerns on the broad interpretation of the "cargo-associated wastes" by the States, which could be discharged by ships under MARPOL. Regulatory regimes for the cargo residues appear to vary among states. Some countries require fur ships to discharge their cargo wastes into the port reception facility and IMO also recommends doing so. This paper examines the related current national and international legal texts for the regulation of disposal of wastes from ships in order to analyze the current global concern on the marine pollution associated with waste discharge during operations of ships. In particular, we attempt to evaluate the likely marine environmental consequences arising from the disposal of cargo residue using an hypothetical case for the coal cargo residue among bulk cargos in this paper, since location, magnitude and frequency of the discharge of coal cargo residues into the sea adjacent to Korean Peninsula are not readily available. The cargo residues may be discharged to the sea according to MARPOL 73/78; however, its marine environmental consequences can be significant depending upon the characteristics and amounts of wastes to be discharged. Also the public tolerance of the environmental consequences would be widely different among nations. Multilateral environmental agreements, in general, more strictly apply their rules if there are other options to disposal at sea, i.e. port reception facility in this case. Therefore, port reception facilities for the wastes generated by ships are recommended to be further constructed in major national ports in order to reduce the risk of environmental damages during the operations of ships.