• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 2024

This study was conducted to provide the basic information on environment effects on appearance of ichthyoplankton in the Yeongsan River Estuary in Spring and Summer from 2018 to 2020. Data were obtain from the database of 'Coastal Ecosystem' in "National Survey of Marine Ecosystem." Among the abundance ichthyoplankton species, the Gobiidae spp. dominated, accounting for 85% of the total abundances with the secondary dominant species being the Parablennius yatabei, representing 3% of the abundances. Cluster analysis results revealed a composition differentiated between spring and summer. The Yeongsan River Estuary is known to be significantly influenced by the opening and closing of estuarine gates. In this study, the fluctuation in the number of occurrence groups and abundance among the years and season is attributed to the phenomenon of high water temperature period and the freshwater discharge.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.99-106
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• 2020

To investigate effect of variation in physiochemical conditions due to river discharge on phytoplankton, field surveys were conducted in the Seomjin and Yeongsan River estuaries from April to November 2016. The concentrations of DIN and DSi in Seomjin River estuary were gradually low as distance from upstream. On the other hands, the concentrations of DIN and DSi in Yeongsan River estuary were critically high at upstream, due to which is characterized as semi-enclosed eutrophic area. A total of 12 phytoplankton pigments were analyzed, and the distribution of each taxa was investigated using indicator for each phytoplankton taxa. Fucoxanthin, an indicator pigment of diatoms, showed an average of 0.61±1.00 ㎍ l^-1 and 0.76±1.22 ㎍ l^-1 in the Seomjin and Yeongsan River estuaries, respectively. Concentration of fucoxanthin was more than twice that of other pigments except chlorophyll a., indicating that diatoms were dominant taxa. Peridinin, an indicator pigment of dinoflagellate, showed some similar tendency to the microscopic observation, but mismatch results were also present, indicating a technical limitation of pigment analysis. Chlorophyll b, alloxanthin, and zeaxanthin, which are indicator pigments of green algae, cryptomonads, and cyanobacteria, were detected in both estuaries even though those taxa were not detected in microscopic observation. This indicates that the two estuaries were affected by freshwater species. Here, we can suggest that phytoplankton composition in estuary was directly influenced by the inflow from upstream. In particular, the phytoplankton population dynamics in Yeongsan River estuary was greatly associated with a large-scale artificial dyke, especially in summer rainy season. On the other hands, the seasonal and horizontal distribution of phytoplankton in Seomjin River estuary has changed along the salinity gradients and inflow-related changes.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.113-123
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• 2023

Humic substances are refractory organic compounds that are relatively low in biological activity but known to stimulate phytoplankton growth in estuarine and marine environments. The effect of humic substances on phytoplankton growth was investigated in the seawater zone of the Yeongsan River estuary where an episodic anthropogenic freshwater is discharged, affecting its water properties directly. Water samples and data of water properties were collected at three stations (Sts. A-C) along the channel of the seawater zone in February, May, August and November, 2009. The collected water samples were incubated after humic acids (HA) were added in mesocosm experiments. Phytoplankton (chlorophyll-a) were fractionated into net- (> 20 ㎛) and nano-size (< 20 ㎛) to examine the response of phytoplankton according to size. Their response to HA treatment was assessed by repeated measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA). The experiments showed that phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll-a) significantly increased after HA were added at the stations near the sea dike. Especially, nano-sized chlorophyll-a concentrations increased significantly throughout the seasons. This indicates that understanding the behavior of refractory organic matters such as humic substances is required to better manage altered estuarine ecosystems including the Yeongsan River estuary which are affected by episodic discharge of freshwater from sea dikes.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.13-27
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• 2022

The Yeongsan River estuary was altered by a sea dike built in 1981 and the sluice gates in the dike were extended recently in 2014. The construction has caused changes in water properties and hydrodynamics and also produced disturbances including hypoxia and algal blooms. We analyzed the water quality and chlorophyll-a data (2009-2018) collected seasonally at 3 stations (Sts. 1-3) along the channel of the estuary by the Marine Environmental Monitoring System. Variations in water quality and chlorophyll-a (an index of phytoplankton biomass) were examined and their stressors were also identified by statistics including correlation and multivariate principal component analyses (PCA). The water quality was mainly affected by freshwater discharge from the dike. Salinity, nutrients and chlorophyll-a were especially affected by the discharge and the effect enhanced during summer and at the upper region near the sea dike decreasing downstream. Three factors were extracted for each station in the PCA accounting for 66.07-72.42% of the variations. The first was an external factor associated with freshwater discharge and the second and third were seasonal or biological factors. The results indicate that the water quality is more affected by short-termed and episodic events such as freshwater discharge than seasonal events and the influence of freshwater discharge on water quality is more extensive than that previously reported. This suggests that the boundary of the estuary should be extended to take into account the findings of this study and a management strategy linked to the freshwater zone is required to manage the integrity and water quality of the Yeongsan River estuary.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.580-588
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• 2019

The flow of the middle and downstream of the Yeongsan River is stagnant by two weirs of Seungchon and Juksan and the estuary dam and maintained in freshwater. In this study, the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code-National Institute of Environment Research(EFDC-NIER) model was applied to the Yeongsan River to simulate water flow, temperature, and salinity stratification. The EFDC-NIER model is an improved model which can simulate multi-functional weirs operation, multiple algal species, and the vertical movement mechanism of algal based on the EFDC model. The simulation results for the water level, water temperature, velocity, and salinity reproduced the observed values well. The mean absolute error(MAE) of the model calibration in the annual variations of the water level was 0.1-0.3 m, water temperature was 0.8-1.7 ℃, velocity was 4.5-7.1 cm/sec, and salinity was 1.5 psu, respectively. In the case of scenario simulation for the full opening of the estuary dam, the water level of the estuary dam was directly impacted by the tide so it was predicted to rise - 1.35 m to 0.2 m on average sea level. The velocity was also predicted to increase from 2.7 cm/sec to 50.8 cm/sec, and the flow rate to increase from 53 ㎥/sec to 5,322 ㎥/sec.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.212-224
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• 2011

The Yeongsan River estuary, located in the south west coast, was a typical estuary before a dike was constructed in December 1981. After the construction, the water quality and plankton communities are expected to change. We investigated the change of phytoplankton community and environmental properties in the Yeongsan River estuary by comparing the data collected recently with the results reported before and/or shortly after the construction. Concentrations of $NH_4$-N were significantly increased in the freshwater zone. Concentrations of DO at the surface, $NO_2+NO_3$ and $NH_4$-N were increased while the concentrations of $PO_4$ at the surface were decreased in the seawater zone. The number of green algae species was decreased in the freshwater zone. The number of diatom species was decreased while the numbers of green algae and dinoflagellates were increased in the seawater zone. This study can provide information for better management of the Yeongsan River estuary since no comparison study has been documented between the phytoplankton community before and after the construction of the dike in the estuary.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.72-80
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• 2020

A sea dike in the Yeongsan River estuary was constructed in 1981 to supply water and reclaim tidal flats for agriculture, separating the estuary into the freshwater and seawater zones. However, the sluice gates are frequently opened and freshwater is discharged in summer when more rainfall is recorded than other seasons, then converting the estuary to brackish water system. In this study, the direct effect of freshwater discharge was investigated by monitoring daily variation in water properties and phytoplankton size structure before and after the freshwater discharge events from 2013 to 2015. Freshwater discharge resulted in a sharp decrease in salinity and dissolved oxygen (DO) at surface water whereas it increased the turbidity of water column. However, salinity did not decrease sharply in 2014 when freshwater was discharged one day before the monitoring and salinity remained low prior to the monitoring. Levels of nutrients especially dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) increased after the discharge and this contributed to potential limitation of nutrients such as P or Si rather than N in the estuary. Freshwater discharge also caused the changes in phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a) and size structure although their responses were different between years. The changes may affect growth of grazers and thus structure of marine food web by alternating food availability in the Yeongsan River estuary.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.88-102
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• 2017

Long-term changes in bathymetry and grain size of surface sediments were investigated for understanding depositional sedimentary environments in the channelized Yeongsan River Estuary, Korea. The results revealed that an average depth of the estuary had decreased up to 2.1 m from 1982 to 2006, while it had increased to 0.3 m from 2006 to 2012. The rapid decrease of the water depth from 1982 to 2006 was due to the vast deposition of mud caused by the change of water course and flow velocity after the estuary was dammed. Meanwhile the increase of the water depth from 2006 to 2012 may be associated with multiple erosional processes, including a dredging at the southern part of the estuary and other erosions from the dike sluice expansion work. Considering the water-depth change and tidal-level variation in the study area, an depositional rate in the estuary is estimated to be 8~9 cm/yr for the last 2 decades (1982~2006). The sediments of Yeongsan River Estuary are largely composed of silt-clay mixtures: overall, silt is distributed mainly in the shallow area of the estuary edge, while clay is confined to the deep area of the estuary center. Mean grain size of the sediments is 6.0 Ø on average in 1997, 7.8 Ø on average in 2005 and 7.7 Ø on average in 2012, respectively, suggesting that the sediments became finer due to the increase of silt and clay contents in 1997~2005. Furthermore, several lines of evidences, including the comparison between the amounts of the sediment influx discharged from the Yeongsan River and the sediments in the estuary, and the changes in distribution pattern of silt and clay contents implying that they moved from offshore to estuary dike, indicate that the mud sediments are originated mainly from the offshore, not from the river.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2015

In this study, when seawall or harbor gate is installed for coastal disaster prevention, a two-dimensional water analysis in the bay is carried out to consider the flood amount of river inflow and effect of harbor gate. The Yeongsan river and the port Mokpo area are selcected for the study region. Then, by analyzing the hydraulic characteristics of flood flow of the Yeongsan river, we analysed the compatibility of the results in the two-dimensional hydrodynamic model. A tw-odimensional water analysis were conducted for the four cases considering whether a harbor gate is installed or not, and whether the inland water boundary condition is considered or not, also with open sea boundary condition. The results of the two-dimensional water analysis shows that water level change near the port Mokpo area is mainly caused by the discharge of the estuary barrage of the Yeongsan river because the harbor gate was installed. In addition, it is revealed that the volume of reservoir created by the harbor gate and the estuary barrage is too much small compared to the volume of the discharge from the Yeongsan river. Therefore, when the harbor gate is installed in the open sea, we concluded that a flexible management between the harbor gate and the estuary barrage of the Yeongsan river is required. A initial water level of the bay and outflow from the harbor gate are proposed for disaster prevention in the coastal area of port Mokpo.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.368-377
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• 2012

This study evaluated the water quality of Yeongsan River by multivariate analysis using the data collected during 2001~2010. Water quality in Yeongsan River could be explained up to 75.2% by four factors, which were included in loading of nutrients (32.021%) and organic matters (17.453%), seasonal variation (14.775%) and microbes (10.951%). The results of cluster analysis were classified into three groups by factor 1 and 2, which has different water quality characteristics. Group 1 included sampling stations located in the upper stream and estuary dyke of Yeongsan River, group 2 included Gwangju 1 and Gwangsan affected by domestic sewage of Gwangju-cheon, and group 3 included sampling stations located in the midstream around the livestock farm and farmland.