• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.359-379
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• 2005

In order to understand the spatial and temporal variations of nutrients and factors controlling their distribution in Gwangyang Bay, this study was carried out bimonthly from June 2001 to July 2003, Inorganic silicate and nitrate concentrations ranged from $0.04{\mu}M\;to\;69.5{\mu}M(avg.\;12.9{\mu}M)$, and from $0.12{\mu}M\;to\;42.2{\mu}M\;(avg.\;7.83{\mu}M)$, respectively. Silicate concentrations measured just after the typhoon were the highest with an average of $43.2{\mu}M$ at the surface layer in June 2001, whereas the highest nitrate concentration $(avg.\;37.0{\mu}M)$ was observed in the surface layer in July 2003. River runoff apparently influenced variations in silicate and nitrate concentrations (r=0.701 and 0.728, p<0.000, respectively) as well as salinity (r=-0.628, p<0.000). Phosphate concentrations ranged from $0.24{\mu}M\;to\;5.70{\mu}M\;(avg.\;1.34{\mu}M)$ and were highest at stations 5, 6, and 7, near a fertilizer plant with an average of $2.01{\mu}M$. On the basis of N/P and Si/N molar ratios, limiting nutrients have varied temporary and spatially. During 2001-2002, nitrogen was a limiting nutrient in the study area, and Phosphate was limited when a large volume of freshwater flowed into the bay. Silicate was limited when the high standing crops of phytoplankton occurred in the whole study area throughout 2003, and in the inner bay in February and August 2002. During the study period, factors controlling the distribution of nutrients might be summarized as follows; 1) inflow of freshwater by heavy rain accompanied by typhoons and frequent rainfall in summer, showing high concentrations of silicate and nitrate, 2) release of high phosphate concentrations from the fertilizer plant located in the south of Moydo to adjacent stations, 3) release of nutrients from bottom sediment, 4) magnitude of occurrence of phytoplankton standing crops.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.151-161
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• 2003

The spatiotemporal distribution of resuspended solid on the shelf of the southern Yellow Sea and the northern East China Sea was studied. The sea surface reflectance imageries obtained by remote sensing using satellite at channels of red (620~670nm), green(545~565nm) and blue(459~479nm) from Terra MODIS were used to explain the front of the high concentration suspended solid(SS) on the shelf in the East China Sea. The horizontal distribution of the resuspended solid was depended on the wind force, tidal current and stratification of water. The horizontal distribution areas of the resuspended solid in winter season during January~April, 2002 were three times wider than those in summer season during June~September, 2001.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.429-442
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• 2002

The faunal assembalges of macrobenthos and their habitat conditions on the soft-bottoms around Dokdo(Dok Island) was investigated using a box corer and a van Veen grab in Sept. 1999 and May 2000. The sediments in the slope sites were composed of sand particles and those in Ullneung Basin were mud. The sediments in the shelf sites were in the range of fine to medium sand. The organic content of the slope sediments was in the range of 1 to 2%. The macrobenthos occurred at the slope sites represented by 15faunal groups belonging to 8 phyla, and the major faunal group was polychaetous annelids. They comprised ca. 80.6% in slope sites, and 84.8% in shelf sites. Dominant species in the slope were Exogone verugera(40.9%), Cossura longocirrata (8.4%), Tharyx sp. (6.6%), Scalibregma inflatum (4.9%), Aedicira sp. (4.7%), Aricidea ramosa (3.8%), and Sigambra tentaculata (3.7%). Dominant species in the shelf were Chone sp. (49.3%), Tharyx sp. (18.4%), Ophelina acuminata (6.7%), Chaetozone setosa (3.8%), Glycera sp. (2.6%), and Aedicira sp. (2.4%). The mean densities of macrobenthos in the slope and shelf area were $2,028\;ind./m^2$ and $456\;ind./m^2$, respectively. The trophic composition of benthic polychaete worms in the slope area was different from that in shallow shelf area: surface deposit feeding worms were most abundant in slope area whereas filter feeding worms in shelf area. According to the cluster analysis and MDS plots, the spatial distribution of macrobenthos in Dokdo slope region was related with the sediment properties such as particle size and organic content. In the case of vertical distribution of macrobenthos in slope sites, most faunas concentrated in the upper sediment layer within 2cm depth.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.93-102
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• 2017

Heavy mineral provide an important information for sediment provenance as well as a potential submarine mineral resources. We compared the heavy mineral characteristics between Southeastern Yellow Sea Mud (SEYSM) and Southwestern Cheju Island Mud (SWCIM) surface sediments. We separated heavy minerals from 28 surface sediments in each mudbelt, and then carried out stereo-microscopic, field-emission scanning electron microscopic, energy dispersive spectroscopic and electron probe microanalysis to characterize the type, abundance, mineralogical properties and distribution pattern of heavy mineral. Amphibole and epidote, which are two major heavy minerals, account for more than 70% of total heavy minerals. Zircon and sphene contents are more abundant in SEYSM, whereas apatite and rutile contents are more abundant in SWCIM. Monazite only occurs in some area of SEYSM. Sphene and monazite content decrease to the south in SEYSM. Both garnet-zircon index (GZi) and rutile-zircon index (RuZi) are low in SEYSM but high in SWCIM. Amphiboles in SEYSM primarily correspond to hornblende, however those in SWCIM represent variable composition from pargasite, tshermakite, hornblende to tremolite. Garnets in SEYSM have high Mg and low Ca, but those in SWCIM have low Mg with variable Ca. Different heavy mineral characteristics between SEYSM and SWCIM suggests that sediments in each mudbelt have different provenances. Although this study implies that SEYSM sediment may mostly come from nearby Korean western rivers such as the Keum and Han rivers, this study does not suggest any idea of the source area of SWCIM sediment. Further study is needed to interpret the provenance and transportation mechanism of mudbelt sediments through the heavy mineral research for the river sediments flowing into the Yellow Sea and much more marine sediments.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.64-72
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• 2004

We measured the vertical profiles of $O_2$, H$_2$S, and pH in sediment pore water beneath marine cage fish farms using a microsensor with a 25 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ sensor tip size. The sediments are characterized by high organic material load. The oxygen consumption, hydrogen sulfide oxidation, and sulfate reduction rates in the microzonations (derived from the vertical distribution of chemical species concentration) were estimated by adapting a simple one-dimensional diffusion-reaction model. The oxygen penetration depth was 0.75 mm. The oxic microzonations were divided into upper and lower layers. Due to hydrogen sulfide oxidation within the oxic zone, the oxygen consumption rate was higher in the lower layer. The total oxygen consumption rate integrated with reaction zone depth was estimated to be 0.092 $\mu$mol $O_2$cm$^{-2}$ hr$^{-1}$ . The total hydrogen sulfide oxidation rate occurring within 0.7 mm thickness was estimated to be 0.030 $\mu$mo1 H$_2$S cm$^{-2}$ hr$^{-1}$ , and its turnover time in the oxic sediment layer was estimated to be about 2 minutes. This suggests that hydrogen sulfide was oxidized by both chemical and microbial processes in this zone. The molar consumption ratio, calculated to be 0.84, indicates that either other electron accepters exit on hydrogen sulfide oxidation, or elemental sulfur precipitation occurs near the $O_2$- H$_2$S interface. Total sulfate reduction flux was estimated to be 0.029 $\mu$mol cm$^{-2}$ hr$^{-1}$ , which accounted for more than 60% of total $O_2$ consumption flux. This result implied that the degradation of organic matter in the anoxic layer was larger than in the oxic layer.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.234-248
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• 1998

Seven box cores from the disposal areas located in the southern part of the East Sea (Stations Band B') and in the offshore to the east of Pusan (Stations J and J'), and from their surrounding areas (Stations J2, J6 and H) were collected to investigate the effect of dumped wastes on the foraminiferal assemblages. The species diversity indices [S, H(S), E] of foraminifera and the total number of foraminifera show significant differences between the ocean waste disposal areas and their adjacent areas. Ocean waste disposal areas located in southern part of the East Sea (Stations Band B') show not only smaller number of foraminifera species but also lower values of coarse fraction content in the sediment and the number of benthic and planktonic foraminifera than the surrounding areas. Another ocean disposal area located offshore Pusan (Station J') contains abnormally greater number of planktonic (approximately 300 000 individuals/lO g dried sediment) and benthic (approximately 300, 000 individuals/10 g dried sediment) foraminifera compared to those of the adjacent areas. The waste dumped at Station J' probably acts as a nutrient causing the greater number of foraminifera. Station J shows low species diversity indices [S, H(S)]. The number of benthic foraminifera decreases from the surface to the downcore at Station J, which indicates that Station J is under stress. However, Stations J', J2 and J6 are under stable conditions as evidenced by the greater species diversity indices [S, H(S)] compared to other stations. No foraminifera were found with biological disease or abnormal chambers, which commonly occur in extremely stressed environment, in both the ocean disposal and adjacent areas. The organic matter decay of the wastes dumped in the study areas has not made the bottom water corrosive.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.16-24
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• 2012

To study the seasonal pattern of sediment distribution and the transport tendency in Haeundae nearshore area; i) the grain size texture of surface sediment was examined in June, October, and December of 2007, and March and June of 2008, and secondary, ii) the transport tendency was studied by using a two-dimensional sediment transport model of Gao and Collins (1992), and finally, iii) the bathymetric changes were analyzed by using the data collected in February, May, August, and December of 2007 by Haeundae District Office. Spatial distribution of sediment texture, the tendency of sediment transport as well as the bathymetric change showed significant seasonal variations. From June to December of 2007, the eastern part of the Haeundae area, off Dalmaji Hill showed the coarsening of mean grain size with a prominent transport tendency toward the Haeundae beach. On the contrary, the western part of the area, off Dongbaek Island showed a fining trend of mean grain size, and the transport tendency toward the beach was relatively weakened. From December of 2007 to June of 2008, the mean grain size of Mipo Harbor became finer, and the transport tendency toward the central beach decreased. The mean grain size of Dongbaek Island became coarser, while the tendency increased in the direction of the beach. The areas of significant net accumulation and erosion were depicted based on the bathymetric changes between observation periods. During the period of February to May of 2007, net accumulation was observed on the eastern part of the study area, in front of Mipo Harbor. Erosion was generally occurred throughout the area from May to August of 2007. From August to December of 2007, erosion and accumulation was observed off Mipo Harbor and Dongbaek Island, respectively. The change of sediment facies also suggests the accumulation on the eastern coast during the spring, erosion around the entire coast during the summer, and accumulation on the western coast during the winter. The changes in the accumulation and erosion were most apparent during the summer when several typhoons have passed by, while unnoticeable during the spring.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.43-52
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• 2015

The growth and population dynamics of eelgrass (Zostera marina) due to changes in sediment composition were examined in the lower intertidal zone of the Seomjin Estuary, Korea. We surveyed environmental factors such as water temperature, underwater irradiance, main types and organic content of sediment, tidal exposure, and nutrient concentrations in the water column and sediment pore water, in relation to the shoot density, biomass, morphological characteristics, and growth of Z. marina inhabiting lower intertidal zones. The survey was conducted monthly from May to December of 2004 and 2009. The water temperature showed obvious seasonal trends in both study years. Underwater irradiance was significantly higher in 2009 than in 2004. Tidal exposure was not significantly different between 2004 and 2009. The sediment was muddy-sand in 2004 but became sandy and with a significantly lower organic content in 2009. Water column $NH_4{^+}$ concentrations were significantly higher in 2004 than in 2009. Sediment pore water $NO_3{^-}+NO_2{^-}$ concentrations were significantly higher in 2009 than in 2004. Other nutrient concentrations did not differ significantly between 2004 and 2009. Morphological characteristics, including eelgrass length and leaf width were significantly lower in 2009 than in 2004. Eelgrass shoot height, leaf length, and sheath length showed typical seasonal patterns, increasing in early summer and decreasing in autumn, in both years. Vegetative shoot density was not significantly different between 2004 and 2009, while the biomass of individual plant parts and the total biomass were significantly lower in 2009. Eelgrass leaf productivity did not differ between years, but leaf turnover time was significantly shorter in 2009 than in 2004. Eelgrass downsizing and decreased turnover time in 2009 compared to 2004 indicate more effective adaptations to the stress of long-term changes in sediment composition. Overall, results suggest that changes in sediment composition can be a limiting factor for seagrass growth in the intertidal zone.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.225-236
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• 2003

In order to understand the relationship of depositional environment between fluvial and estuarine-embayment in Han River system, including depositional change in main Han River, more than 250 bottom sediment and 70 suspended sediment were analyzed with hydrologic data. Based on the previous data, the study area can be divided into two environment(fluvial and estuarine-embayment) by Singok underwater dam. The gravelly facies occurs in the South and North Han Rivers and sandy and silty facies occupies in the main Han River. Depositional environment of main Han River changed mainly because of limited sediment transport and hydrological condition. In the estuarine-embayment environment, coarse-grained sediments are dominant in tidal channel and of shore whereas fine and poorly sorted sediments are observed in coastal area. During moderate period, relationship between fluvial-estuarine-embayment system is discontinuou s because of flow restriction by artificial construction such as dam and underwater dam, so that each river system characterizes the individual environment. Fluvial and estuarine system is influenced by tide and, thus, transition zone of estuarine- embayment system moves landward. During flooding period, however, each river system is integrated as continuous depositional system by high discharge and, thus, transition zone of fluvial-estuarine-embayment system moves seaward. For further detailed systems about the lower Singok under-water dam, joint research of South-North Korea should be necessary.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.400-404
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• 1999

The conventional mercury delay method to measure compressional wave velocity of unconsolidated sediment is inconvenient because the signal must be analyzed on the oscilloscope and the mercury column has to be calibrated between measurements. We developed an automated compressional wave velocity measurement technique by connecting an oscilloscope and a PC with a GPIB (General Purpose Interface Bus) card. The GPIB card buses signals from the oscilloscope to the PC where the signal from a sample is analyzed and compared to the input pulse thereby the compressional wave velocity of the sample is computed and recorded automatically. Differences between the mercury delay method and the automated measurement technique are negligible except the slightly greater velocity in the automated measurement technique. We concluded that the new technique can be used to measure the velocity for unconsolidated marine sediment. It also has an advantage to calculate sediment attenuation through the processing of waveform using the spectral ratio technique.