• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.283-296
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• 2009

Oceanographic survey data were analyzed to understand the characteristics of a warm eddy observed in the Ulleung Basin in July 2005. The temperature distribution at 200 db and vertical sections provided evidence of the warm eddy in the Ulleung Basin (UWE05). Based on the 5$^{\circ}C$ isothermal line on 200 db temperature, the major axis was 160 km from southwest to northeast, and the minor axis was 80 km from southeast to northwest. The homogeneous layer in the thermocline of UWE05 had mean values of 10.40$^{\circ}C$ potential temperature, 34.35 psu salinity, and 26.37 kg/m$^3$ potential density (${\sigma}_{\theta}$) and provided evidence that UWE05 also existed during the winter of 2004-2005. A warm streamer initially flowed along the circumference of UWE05 and mixed with the upper central water. Two northward current cores were found on the western side of the measured current section at the central latitude of UWE05. One was the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC) and the other was the main stream of the western part of UWE05. Geostrophic transport of the upper layer (from the surface to the isopycnal surface of 26.9 ${\sigma}_{\theta}$) was approximately 2.5 Sv in the eastern side of UWE05. However, the measured transport was twice as large as the geostrophic transport. Mass conservation of geostrophic transport was well satisfied in the upper layer. The direct current measurements and geostrophic transport analysis showed that the EKWC meandered around UWE05.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.33-39
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• 2013

A drilling exploration in deep sea is being processed to develop new energy resource in the world. In 2007, the presence of the gas hydrate had been confirmed during the UBGH1 (Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Expedition 1) in the Ulleung Basin. Geotechnical properties of the deep marine sediment are important factors for assessing the safety of gas production facility and productivity from the hydrate bearing sediment. In this study, comprehensive laboratory tests are conducted to investigate the geotechnical engineering characteristics of the deep marine sediments recovered from the hydrate occurrence regions during the UBGH2 (Ulleung Basin Gas Hydrate Expedition 2) in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea, Korea. The index properties of the specimens including the specific gravity, atterberg limits, specific surface, and particle size distribution are measured, and these are compared to the results reported by previous studies. A zero-lateral strain cell, which houses bender elements, is used to determine stress-dependant characteristics and shear wave velocities with the vertical effective stresses. Furthermore, the hydraulic conductivity is calculated based on the consolidation test results.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.95-104
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• 2000

Depths to four seismic sequence boundaries and the thickness of each sequence were estimated and mapped based on multi-channel seismic data in the Ulleung Basin. These depth-structure and isopach maps were incorporated into the interpretation of gravity and magnetic anomaly maps. The sediment thickness ranges from 3,000 m to 4,000 m in the central basin, while it reaches 6,000 m locally along the southwestern, western, and southeastern margins. The acoustic basement forms a northeast-southwest elongated depression deeper than 5000 m, and locally deepens up to 7,500 m in the southwestern and western margins. Low gravity anomalies along the western and southern margins are associated with basement depressions with thick sediment as well as the transitional crust between the continental and oceanic crusts. Higher gravity anomalies, dominant in the central Ulleung basin, broaden from southwest toward northeast, are likely due to the shallow mantle and a dense crust. A pair of magnetic elongations in the southeastern and northwestern margins appear to separate the central Ulleung basin from its margin. These magnetic elongations are largely dominated by intrusive or extrusive volcanics which occurred along the rifted margin of the Ulleung basin formed during the basin opening. The crust in the central Ulleung Basin, surrounded by the magnetic elongations, is possibly oceanic as inferred from the seismic velocity. The oceanic crust can be mapped in the central zone where it widens to 120 km from the southwest toward northeast. Bending of the crustal boundary in the southern part of the Ulleung Basin suggests that the Ulleung Basin has been deformed by a collision of the Phillipine plate into the Japan arc.

• Proceedings of the KSEEG Conference
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• 2000.04b
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• pp.140-142
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• 2000

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.625-636
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• 2010

The geophysical characteristics and geological structure of the northeastern part of the Ulleung Basin were investigated from interpretation of geophysical data including gravity, magnetic, bathymetry data, and seismic data. Relative correction was applied to reduce errors between sets of gravity and magnetic data, obtained at different times and by different equipments. The northeastern margin of the Ulleung Basin is characterized by complicated morphology consisting of volcanic islands (Ulleungdo and Dokdo), the Dokdo seamounts, and a deep pathway (Korea Gap) with the maximum depth of -2500 m. Free-air anomalies generally reflect the topography effect. There are high anomalies over the volcanic islands and the Dokdo seamounts. Except local anomalous zones of volcanic edifices, the gradual increasing of the Bouguer anomalies from the Oki Bank toward the Ulleung Basin and the Korea Gap is related to higher mantle level and denser crust in the central of the Ulleung Basin. Complicated magnetic anomalies in the study area occur over volcanic islands and seamounts. The power spectrum analysis of the Bouguer anomalies indicates that the depth to the averaged Moho discontinuity is -16.1 km. The inversion of the Bouguer anomaly shows that the Moho depth under the Korea Gap is about -16~17 km and the Moho depths towards the Oki Bank and the northwestern part of Ulleung Island are gradually deeper. The inversion result suggests that the crust of the Ulleung Basin is thicker than normal oceanic crusts. The result of 20 gravity modeling is in good agreement with the results of the power spectrum analysis and the inversion of the Bouguer anomaly. Except the volcanic edifices, the main pattern of magnetization distribution shows lineation in NE-SW. The inversion results, the 2D gravity modeling, and the magnetization distribution support possible NE-SW spreading of the Ulleung Basin proposed by other papers.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.41 no.5 s.116
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• pp.623-629
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• 2006

At present, 3 names about undersea features in the East Sea - Korean Plateau, Tsushima Basin, Syun-yo Bank - are listed on Gazetteer Any explanations are not given for registration of these names. Just it seems that the names written on International marine chart(INT 511) were recorded to Gazetteer. Furthermore Tsushima Basin and Syun-yo Bank have no oceanographic, geologic reason and geographical relevance, and the names should be replaced by Ulleung Basin and Isabu Tablemount, respectively, that is deeply related to geographical relevance and genetic origin.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.87-93
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• 2001

Velocity anisotropy of unconsolidated sediments in the Ulleung Basin, East Sea were studied by using 22 piston cores. Velocity anisotropy shows about 0.4 and 1.2％ in the Plain and Slope sediments, respectively. Horizontal velocity is greater than vertical velocity. It is resulted in positive anisotropy. Thus, bedding must be regarded as the principal cause of acoustic anisotropy in the Ulleung Basin sediments. The differences of the value are different from 5 m/s to 18 m/s in the Plain and Slope area, respectively. The relationships between physical properties and velocity anisotropy are clearly grouped. This result suggests that the slope sediments are probably affected by sedimentological (esp. physical properties) changes resulting from diagenesis.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.239-243
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• 2007

Presence of bottom water nitrite in the Ulleung Basin was remarkable because it is totally unexpected phenomenon at such an oxygen-rich environment. Yet no scientific explanation was set forward. Of several plausible explanations, following the Ockham's suggestion, a leaching of nitrite as an intermediate product of denitrification in the top sediment at the slope is most agreeable to given environmental settings. There seems no complementary process to make up the loss of N in the Ulleung Basin, which seems contribute to the characteristically low N:P ratio in the deep waters. If warming proceeds that weakens the thermohaline circulation, a current biological pump may stall and the phytoplankton assemblage might replaced drastically. If so this will pause an utmost challenge to the ecosystem of the East/Japan Sea. Still there remains a contradictory sedimentary signature that requests further explanation regarding the N (or organic C)-cycle such as extraordinarily high organic carbon content despite abundant oxidants in the overlying waters.

• 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.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.145-150
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• 2003

16 APEX floats, autonomous profiling floats deployed as part of the Array for Real-time Geostrophic Oceanography (ARGO) program, are used to understand the currents at 800 m underwater in the southwestern East Sea. The flow penetrates into the Ulleung basin (UB) through two paths： an extension of the southward flowing the North Korean Cold Water along the east coast of Korea and between Ulleung Island and Dok island. Flows at 800 m are observed range 0.2 to 4.29 cm/sec and the variability in the north in the DB is stronger than that in the south. The eddy kinetic energy is found a few $cm^{2}$ $S^{-2}$. In the UB, cyclonic flows from 0.3 - 1.6 cm/see are observed with the bottom topography.