• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.65-75
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• 2004

In order to understand the water masses and their distribution in the eastern Yellow Sea from winter to spring, a cluster analysis was applied to the temperature and salinity data of Korea Oceanographic Data Center from 1970 to 1990. From December to April, Yellow Sea Cold Water (YSCW) dominates the eastern Yellow Sea, whereas Eastern Yellow Sea Mixed Water (MW) and Yellow Sea Warm Water (YSWW) are found in the southern part of the eastern Yellow Sea. MW appears at the frontal region around $34^{\circ}N$ between YSCW in the north and YSWW in the south. On the other hand, Tshushima Warm Water (TWW) is found around Jeju Island and the South Sea of Korea. These water masses are relatively well-mixed throughout the water column due to the winter monsoon. However, the water column begins to be stratified in spring due to increased solar heating, the diminishing winds and fresh water discharge, and the water masses in June may be separated into surface, intermediate and bottom layers of the water column. YSWW advances northwestward from December to February and retreats southeastward from February to April. This suggests a periodic movement of water masses in the southern part of the eastern Yellow Sea from winter to spring. YSWW may continue to move eastward with the prevailing eastward current to the South Sea from April to June. Also, the front relaxes in June, but the mixed water advances to the north, increasing salinity. The salinity is also higher in the nearshore region than offshore. This indicates an influx of oceanic water to the north in the nearshore region of the eastern Yellow Sea in spring in the form of mixed water.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.163-177
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• 2013

An instrumented ferry made two transects per day across two current systems which are the North Korean Cold Current and the East Korean Warm Current over the years 2012-2013 from Gangneung to Ulleungdo in the southwestern East Sea. Seawater properties of these transects were measured with high spatial and temporal resolution for an extended period of time. Here the salinity records from the transects with the oceanographic observation data from East Sea Fisheries Institute of NFRDI, AVISO daily current chart and GOCI Chlorophyll-a image in 2012 and 2013 are used to study the time-series variation of salinity at the surface. The high salinity section with the range of 33.15~34.12 occurred on the transect mainly in the middle of eddy, and western boundary of strong northward current from June to October. We can found low salinity waters in both sides of the high salinity section. It is estimated that the western low salinity waters with the range of 30.58~33.20 accompanied by southward current were derived from the NKCC and the eastern waters with the range of 31.30~33.24 accompanied by northward current were derived from the Tsushima Surface Water. The lowest salinity of NKCC is confirmed in this study as 30.36. It is found that the western waters below 33.00 extended extremely toward the east about 110 km area from Gangneung and toward the south around Jukbyon coastal area as a 5~10 m layer. We can find its volume of low saline waters transport is not neglectable compared with that of Tsushima Current region in the western part of the East Sea. In this study we named it as the North Korean Low Saline Surface Water in summer.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.49-62
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• 2001

Hydrographic surveys were carried out seven times during May 31, 1998 and September 24, 1998 in order to study the physical environments of the coastal area between Narodo Is. and Sorido Is. in the southern sea of Korea (the South Sea) where the occurrence of Cochlodinium polykrikoides red tide is frequently observed in summer. Temperature and salinity of the water column from the surface to the depth of 30 m exhibit large seasonal variations. Mean temperature of the water column increased by 6 and mean salinity of the water column decreased by 2.71 psu during the observation period. Both the freshwater supplied from the adjacent land and the precipitation over the study area cannot account for the observed salinity variations. The influx of the low salinity water from the offshore area is considered to be the main cause for the observed salinity changes. Surface salinity in the study area shows different spatial distribution in the period of outbreaking, mid-stage and disappearance of the red tide. Especially, salinity was abruptly lowered at the stage of disappearance of red tide as compared to salinity of the previous observation period. Vertical structure of water properties also became vertically homogeneous at the disappearance stage, while it was highly stratified in the previous observation. Such changes can only be explained by the inflow of low salinity water from the offshore, which is considered as the most possible cause for the disappearance of the red tide in the study area. This study suggests that exchanges of water, and chemical and biological factors between coastal areas and of shore area in the South Sea need to be studied in association with the general circulation of the South Sea in order for the better understanding of the occurrence and disappearance of the red tide in the coastal area of the South Sea.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.33 no.1-2
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• pp.1-7
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• 1998

In the western Weddell Sea, winter mixed layer is characterized by near-freezing temperature and higher salinity due to brine injection through sea-ice formation. This layer becomes Winter Water being capped by warmer and less saline Antarctic Surface Water during the sea-ice melt-ing season. In this study, Winter Water was preliminarily identified by the oxygen isotopic com-positions. The ${\delta}^{18}$O values of Winter Water show the progressively increasing trend from south to north in the study area. It presumably reflects the enhanced mixing with Antarctic Surface Water due to the extent of influence by low S'"0 value of sea-ice/glacier meltwater. Correlations between salinity and 6'"0 values of seawater can be used to more generally characterize Winter Water with a view to identification. However, the prediction on the degree of mixing from these relationships needs more detailed isotope data, although this study allows the oxygen isotopic composition of seawater as a tracer to identify the water mass.

• ALGAE
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.223-233
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• 2017

Kelp forests and the many vital ecosystem services they provide are threatened as the severity of climate change and other anthropogenic stressors continues to mount. Particularly in the North Pacific, sea surface temperature is warming and glacial melt is decreasing salinity. This study explored the resiliency of early life-history stages of these foundation species through a factorial laboratory experiment. The effects of rising sea surface temperature under low salinity conditions on kelp spore settlement and initial gametophyte growth in Eualaria fistulosa, Nereocystis luetkeana, and Saccharina latissima were investigated. Decreased settlement and growth were observed in these species at elevated temperatures and at low salinity. Eualaria fistulosa spores and gametophytes were the most negatively impacted, compared to the more widely distributed N. luetkeana and S. latissima. These results suggest that N. luetkeana and S. latissima could potentially outperform E. fistulosa under projected conditions. However, despite decreased performance among all species, our findings indicate that these species are largely resilient to temperature changes when exposed to a low salinity, even when the temperature changes are immediate and extreme. By exploring how early life-history stages of several key kelp species are impacted by dual stressors, this research enhances our understanding of how kelp forests will respond to projected and extreme changes in temperature when already stressed by low salinity.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 2018

Objectives: Considered the "national fish" in Korea, the walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) has disappeared in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), a main habitat and fishing ground for the species. The reason for the disappearance is still a matter of controversy. This study was performed to investigate the long-term relationship between the walleye pollock catch and various meteorological and oceanographic factors in these waters. Methods: Fishery data on walleye pollock and data on meteorological and marine environmental factors over the 30 years (1981-2010) were obtained from the official national database. Time series analysis and correlation and regression analyses were performed to study the relationships. Results: Both air temperature and sea surface temperature in the East Sea rose over these 30 years, and the latter became more prominent. Salinity and dissolved oxygen showed a tendency to decrease while concentrations of nutrients such as nitrite nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen showed an increasing tendency. Sea surface temperature, air temperature, atmospheric pressure, and wind grade were negatively correlated with the catch size of walleye pollock (p<0.05), but salinity was positively correlated (p<0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that climate change, especially ocean warming, affected the habitat of walleye pollock. The results also indicate that lower sea surface and air temperatures, milder wind grade, and higher salinity were preferred for the survival of the fish species. It is necessary to pay attention to changes of the ocean ecosystem in terms of environmental pollution as well as seawater temperature.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.165-169
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• 1998

In August 1996, seawater salinity and nutrient distribution were investigated at surface waters in the South Sea of Korea. The low-salinity (< 20.00 psu) waters were observed in the western and southwestern offshore areas of Cheju Island. Relatively low saline (< 30.0 psu) waters occupied most of the survey areas only except in the eastern part. The observed minimum salinity was lower by 11.78 psu than that of the average between 1963 and 1995. The low saline waters appeared in the upper layer of generally 10-20 m deep, and were obriously distinguished from high-salinity (> 32.00 psu) waters, 30 m deep. The low saline waters may originate from the freshwater discharge of vast amount of from Yangtze River during the heavy rainfall season in China. Phosphate concentrations in the surface waters were relatively low and were less variable than those of nitrate and silicate. The maximum concentrations of nitrate and silicate occured in the western and southwestern offshore areas of Cheju Island, where the salinities were the lowest. The concentrations of nitrate and silicate were inversely correlated with salinity, whereas that of phosphate showed a considerable scatter and non-conservative behaviours. This indicates extensive desorption reactions of suspended materials releasing phosphate.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.143-150
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• 2000

Assuming that summer surface waters in the South Sea (northern East China Sea) are formed mostly by a mixing of three source water (Changjiang Discharge Water; Kuroshio Water and Yellow Sea Surface Water) we apply optimum multiparameter (OMP) analysis to calculate the mixing ratio of each source water to a given surface water. Since OMP requires more parameters than the number of water types (three in this study), we utilize two radium isotopes of dissolved $^{226}Ra\;and\;^{228}Ra$ along with temperature and salinity. Parameter values of each source water are deduced from in situ and historical data. Results with three source of waters on the surface waters are quite promising with less than $1\%$ of unanswered portions. Results not only reproduce the measured temperature and salinity faithfully but also discern the water masses of similar T and S according to their source water mixing. Extending OMP analysis to a whole water column obviously requires more parameters because more source waters are involved in the water mass formation. Original OMP routine utilized dissolved oxygen and nutrients. However, they seem to be perturbed too much by biological activities in the case of shallow waters. We discussed the use of other potential parameters. Also the benefit of parameter substitution is briefly introduced for the future OMP application on shallow waters.

• Proceedings of the Korea Committee for Ocean Resources and Engineering Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.481-484
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• 2006

This research compares oyster farming in Gamak Bay which Hiroshima Bay which has nearly similar marine environments. The marine environment of these two waters has similar variations of air temperature, sea surface temperature, precipitation and salinity. However Hiroshima Bay is higher than Gamak Bay in the sea surface temperature and Hiroshima Bay is also higher than Gamak Bay in the salinity. Their oyster farming method is basically similar but it is different in their facilities. We need to take some measures against high mortalities, and in addition, to enhance the rate of seed collection.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.277-288
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• 2005

Spatial distribution and vertical structures of water masses around the Antarctic continental margin are described using synthesized hydrographic data. Antarctic Surface Water (AASW) over the shelf regime is distinguished from underlying other water masses by the cut-off salinity, varying from approximately 34.35 to 34.45 around Antarctica. Shelf water, characterized by salinity greater than the cut-off salinity and potential temperature less than $-17^{\circ}C$, is observed on the Ross Sea, off George V Land, off Wilkes Land, the Amery Basin, and the Weddell Sea, but in some shelves AASW occupies the entire shelf. Lower Circumpolar Deep Water is present everywhere around the Antarctic oceanic regime and in some places it mixes with Shelf Water, producing Antarctic Slope Front Water (ASFW). ASFW, characterized by potential temperature less than about $0^{\circ}C$ and greater than $-17^{\circ}C$, and salinity greater than the cut-off salinity, is found everywhere around Antarctica except in the Bellingshausen-Amundsen sector. The presence of different water masses over the Antarctic shelves and shelf edges produces mainly three types of water mass stratifications: no significant meridional property gradient in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas, single property gradient where ASFW presents, and a V-shaped front where Shelf Water exists.