• Atmosphere
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.61-71
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• 2021

The relationship between the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and surface air temperature (SAT) over Korea is re-examined using the long-term observation and reanalysis datasets for the period of December 1958 to February 2020. Over the entire period, Korean SAT is positively correlated with the AO index with a statistically significant correlation coefficient, greater than 0.4, only in the boreal winter. It is found that this correlation is not static but changes on the decadal time scale. While the 15-year moving correlations are as high as 0.6 in 1980s and 1990s, they are smaller than 0.3 in the other decades. It is revealed that this decadal variation is partly due to the AO structure change over the North Pacific. In the period of 1980s-1990s, the AO-related sea level pressure fluctuation is strong and well defined over the western North Pacific and the related temperature advection effectively changes the winter SAT over Korea. In the other periods, the AO-related circulation anomaly is either weak or mostly confined within the central North Pacific. This result suggests that Korean SAT-AO index relationship, which becomes insignificant in recent decades is highly dependent on mean flow change in the North Pacific.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2018

Previous studies have indicated a great regional difference in Sea Level Rise (SLR) in the Pacific and it has been suggested that this is linked to climate variability over the past two decades. In this study, we seek to identify the possible linkage between regional sea level and Pacific climate variability from altimetry-based sea level data (1993-2012) and further investigate how the Pacific sea level has changed spatially and temporally over the past 60 years from long-term sea level reconstruction data (1953-2008). Based on the same method as Zhang and Church (2012), the Inter-annual Climate Index (ICI) associated with the El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o-Southern$ Oscillation (ENSO) and the Decadal Climate Index (DCI) associated with Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) are defined and then the multiple variable linear regression is used to analyze quantitatively the impact of inter-annual and decadal climate variability on the regional sea levels in the Pacific. During the altimeter period, the ICI that represents ENSO influence on inter-annual time scales strongly impacts in a striking east-west "see-saw mode" on sea levels across the tropical Pacific. On the other hand, the decadal sea level pattern that is linked to the DCI has a broad meridional structure that is roughly symmetric in the equator with its North Pacific expression being similar to the PDO, which largely contributes to a positive SLR trend in the western Pacific and a negative trend in the eastern Pacific over the two most recent decades. Using long-term sea level reconstruction data, we found that the Pacific sea levels have fluctuated in the past over inter-annual and decadal time scales and that strong regional differences are presented. Of particular interest is that the SLR reveals a decadal shift and presents an opposite trend before and after the mid-1980s; i.e., a declining (rising) trend in the western (eastern) Pacific before the mid-1980s, followed by a rising (declining) trend from the mid-1980s onward in the western (eastern) Pacific. This result indicates that the recent SLR patterns revealed from the altimeters have been persistent at least since the mid-1980s.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.509-518
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• 2019

Analyses with various Sea Surface Temperature (SST) products indicate that the interannual variability of the area-averaged SST in the East/Japan Sea (EJS) is well correlated to that of Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) during 1979-2018, especially in the autumn. The regression analysis with the wind vectors at 200 hPa, where the strongest jet stream flows, suggests that the long-term variability of the intensity as well as the meridional movement of the jet stream are related to the coupling of the autumn EJS SST and PDO. When the axis of the jet stream moves poleward (equatorward) with its weakening (strengthening), both the EJS SST and North Pacific SST increase (decrease). This suggests that both the intensity and meridional movement of the jet stream are possibly related to the coupling of the autumn EJS SST and PDO. However, effects of a weak jet stream during the summer and the strong East Asian winter monsoon make weak coupling between the EJS SST and PDO.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.281-290
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• 2011

This study examined the change in sea surface temperature (SST) around the Korean peninsula since industrialization at year 1880, and its possible causes using observation based data from the Hadley Center, the Goddard Institute of Space Studies, and National Climate Data Center. Since year 1880, There have been multi-decadal fluctuations with a gradual reduction from 1880 to around 1940, and from 1950-1980. There has then been a marked increase from 1940-1950, and from 1980 to the present. The ocean surface warming is larger during the boreal winter than summer, and greater in the south. The multi-decadal SST fluctuations around the Korean Peninsula are largely consistent with the negative phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), which fluctuates with periods of about 20-50 years. Secondly, the El Ni$\tilde{n}$o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), whose long period component moves along with the PDO, appears to influence the SST near the Korean Peninsula, especially in recent decades. Overall, the SST around the Korean Peninsula has warmed since year 1880 by about $1^{\circ}C$, which is about twice the global-mean ocean surface warming. This long-term warming is aligned with an increase in greenhouse gas concentration, as well as local factors such as the PDO.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2022

Although tropical cyclones with wind speeds weaker than 17 ms^-1 (weak tropical cyclones: WTCs) can cause significant damage, particularly over the Seoul metropolitan area, only a few studies have focused on WTC activity over South Korea. In this study, we found that WTC activity is likely associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). During the negative phases of the PDO, landfall frequency of WTCs increased significantly compared to the positive phases at 95% confidence level. When related to the negative phases of the PDO, a positive relative vorticity anomaly is found in the northern sector of the western North Pacific while a negative relative vorticity anomaly and enhanced vertical wind shear prevail in the southern sector of the WNP. These factors are favorable for the northward shift of the genesis location of tropical cyclones on average, thereby reducing the total lifetime of WTCs. Moreover, a high-pressure anomaly over the Japanese islands would shift a tropical cyclone track westward in addition to the landfall location. Consequently, the effects of the topographical friction and the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water on a tropical cyclone may increase. These conditions could result in a weaker lifetime maximum intensity and landfall intensity, ultimately resulting in WTCs becoming more frequent over South Korea during the negative phases of the PDO.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2019

This review paper discussed the decadal fluctuations in the catch of the common squid, Todarodes pacificus (T. pacificus) by focusing on migration and distribution patterns. Since 1980s, changes in T. pacificus catches were due to climate regime shift in Korean waters. Fluctuation patterns of catches were different between the East Sea and the Yellow Sea. Generally PDO (Pacific Decadal Oscillation) phase shows a negative correlation with strength of warm current to the East Sea. In 1980s when PDO was positive phase (+), T. pacificus catch was higher in the Yellow, but it was lower in the East Sea. In 1990s when PDO was negative phase (-), T. pacificus catch showed opposite trend compared with 1980s. Such spatial and decadal fluctuations of T. pacificus catch were due to its northward migration along with the warm current or southward movement against the current. In the East Sea, strong (weak) warm current period, the current path has been shifted toward the East Sea coast of Korea (central East Sea or the coast of Japan). It has a correlation with PDO. In the positive PDO phase (1980s), the fishing ground was located on the eastern side of Ulleungdo, whereas during negative PDO phase (1990s), they were situated near the southeastern coast of the Korean peninsula. In the 1980s, volume transport passing into the Yellow Sea increased, whereas volume transport in the East Sea decreased. This is one of major reason increasing T. pacificus larvae in the Yellow Sea.

• Atmosphere
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.125-154
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• 2023

Since the Korean Meteorological Society was organized in 1963, the climate dynamics fields have been made remarkable progress. Here, we documented the academic developments in the area of climate dynamics performed by members of Korean Meteorological Society, based on studies that have been published mainly in the Journal of Korean Meteorological Society, Atmosphere, and Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmospheric Sciences. In these journals, the fundamental principles of typical ocean-atmosphere climatic phenomena such as El Niño, Madden-Julian Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation, their modeling, prediction, and its impact, are being conducted by members of Korean Meteorological Society. Recently, research has been expanded to almost all climatic factors including cryosphere and biosphere, as well as areas from a global perspective, not limited to one region. In addition, research using an artificial intelligence (AI), which can be called a cutting-edge field, has been actively conducted. In this paper, topics including intra-seasonal and Madden-Julian Oscillations, East Asian summer monsoon, El Niño-Southern Oscillation, mid-latitude and polar climate variations and some paleo climate and ecosystem studies, of which driving mechanism, modeling, prediction, and global impact, are particularly documented.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1.1-1.12
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• 2018

Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) is one of the commercially important species in Korea as well as other countries of the North Pacific. Korean offshore large purse seine fisheries targeting small pelagic fishes such as chub mackerel have caught T. orientalis temporarily in the east of Jeju Island. The catch of T. orientalis in March through June occupied approximately 60% of the total. The monthly catch around Jeju Island from 2004 to 2013 showed a negative correlation (r = - 0.755, p < 0.01) with the seawater temperature at 50 m and had a significant positive correlation (r = 0.856, p < 0.01) with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation Index (PDOI). The highest catch and catch per unit effort (CPUE) of T. orientalis around Jeju Island occurred either when the seawater temperature ranged between 15 and $16^{\circ}C$ at 50 m or when the catch was taken near the frontal area where two water masses from offshore and coastal areas collide. The length of T. orientalis caught around Jeju Island from 2004 to 2013 ranged from 19 to 193 cm in fork length (FL). The time series of the monthly mean FL of T. orientalis had a negative correlation (r = - 0.592, p < 0.01) with the seawater temperature at 50 m and had a significant positive correlation (r = 0.668, p < 0.05) with PDOI.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.882-889
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• 2022

In this study, to understand the factors influencing the flow change the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC), the correlation between the volume transport the TWC, El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) was analyzed. A calculation of the monthly volume transport of TWC for 25 years (1993-2018) revealed that the seasonal fluctuation cycle was the largest in summer and smallest in winter. Power spectrum analysis to determine the periodicity of the TWC volume transport, Oceanic Niño Undex (ONI), and PDO indicated that the TWC volume transport peaked at a one year cycle, but ONI and PDO showed no clear cycle. Further, to understand the correlation between the TWC transport volume and ONI and PDO, the coherence estimation method was used for analysis. The coherence of ONI and PDO had a high mutual contribution in long-period fluctuations of three years or more but had low mutual contribution in short-period fluctuations within one year. However, the coherence value between the two factors of the TWC volume transport and PDO was 0.7 in the 0.8-1.2 year cycle, which had a high mutual contribution. Meanwhile, the TWC volume transport and PDO have an inverse correlation between period I (1993-2002) and period III (2010-2018). When the TWC maximum transport volume (2.2 Sv or more) was high, the PDO index showed a negative value below -1.0, and the PDO index showed a positive value when the TWC maximum transport volume was (below 2.2 Sv). Therefore, using long-term PDO index data, changes in the TWC transport volume and water temperature in the East Sea coastal area could be predicted.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.61-72
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• 2007

The relationship between North Pacific chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) population and climate variability was investigated in the North Pacific ecosystem. Time-series for the Aleutian Low Pressure, Southern Oscillation, Arctic Oscillation, and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) indices dating back to 1950 are compared with the chum salmon catch using a cross-correlation function (CCF) and cumulative sum (CuSum) of anomalies. The results of CCF and CuSum analyses indicated that there was a major change in climate during the mid 1970s, and that the chum salmon population responded to this climate event with a time-lag. The PDO and chum salmon returns showed a highly significant correlation with a time-lag of 3 years, while the AOI with a time-lag of $6{\sim}7$ years. The favorable environments for fry chum salmon might cause better growth in the coastal areas, but higher growth rate during the early stage does not seem to be related to the improved return rate of spawning adults. Rather, growth in the Okhotsk Sea or the Bering Sea during immature stages has a significant correlation with return rate, which implies the size-related mortality process. The development of a local climate index is necessary to elucidate the effect of climate variability on the marine ecosystem around the Korean Peninsula.