• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.145-153
• /
• 2005

I reviewed an ecological and environmental significance of microbial carbon respiration coupled to dis-similatory reduction of fe(III) to Fe(II) which is one of the major processes controlling mineralization of organic matter and behavior of metals and nutrients in various anaerobic environments. Relative significance of Fe(III) reduction in the mineralization of organic matter in diverse marine environments appeared to be extremely variable, ranging from negligible up to $100\%$. Cenerally, Fe(III) reduction dominated anaerobic car-bon mineralization when concentrations of reactive Fe(III) were higher, indicating that availability of reactive Fe(III) was a major factor determining the relative significance of Fe(III) reduction in anaerobic carbon mineralization. In anaerobic coastal sediments where $O_2$ supply is limited, tidal flushing, bioturbation and vegetation were most likely responsible for regulating the availability of Fe(III) for Fe(III) reducing bacteria (FeRB). Capabilities of FeRB in mineralization of organic matter and conversion of metals implied that FeRB may function as a useful eco-technological tool for the bioremediation of anoxic coastal environments contaminated by toxic organic and metal pollutants.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.210-224
• /
• 2003

Sulfate reduction is a microbiological process which occurs ubiquitously in anaerobic marine environment. Sulfate reducing bacteria play a significant role in anaerobic decomposition of organic matter and regeneration of inorganic nutrients which supports the primary production in the water column (i.e., benthic-pelagic coupling) and, in special case, could be responsible for the harmful algal bloom in the coastal marine environment. Summary of the sulfate reduction rates reported in various marine sedimentary environments revealed that supply of organic substrates and presence of various electron acceptors (i.e., $O_2$, NO$_{3}$$^{[-10]}$ , Fe(III) and Mn(IV), etc.) for other aerobic and anaerobic respiration directly affect the sulfate reduction rate and relative significance of sulfate reduction in organic matter mineralization. Significance of temperature, macrophytes and bioturbation is discussed as factors controlling supply of organic substrates and distribution of electron acceptors. Finally, we suggest studies on the anaerobic microbiological processes associated with biogeochemical element cycles in the coastal environments of Korea where massive operation of organic enriched fish cage farm, frequent occurrence of toxic algal bloom and hypoxia and conservation of tidal flat are of major environmental issues.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.273-279
• /
• 2007

In order to estimate the sedimentation rates of continental shelf and slope of Ulleung Basin in the Southwestern East Sea, $^{210}Pb,\;^{226}Ra\;and\;^{137}Cs$ were simultaneously measured by a well-type high purity germanium(HPGe) gamma detector. $^{137}Cs$ was used to determine whether the sediment were affected by bioturbation or not, and to judge the accuracy of estimated sedimentation rates. The estimated sedimentation rates decreased exponentially from slope to basin - 0.6 cm/yr in the continental shelf, $0.3{\sim}0.4$ cm/yr in the slope, and below 0.2 cm/yr in the margin of Ulleung basin. From our and other research results, we suggest followings about sediment transport of the study area. The sediment particles were transported by coastal current from south to north through the Korea Straight. And much of them were accumulated in the shelf area. And then, the rest of sediment particles were deposited in the lower slope and the southwest margin of the basin. Also the excess $^{210}Pb$ profiles indicate that the depositional processes in the study area may have been very complicate.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.1-17
• /
• 2019

In this study, the surveys were carried out from October (2016) to October (2017) along the tidal flat of Geunso Bay, Taean Peninsula of the western edge of Korea. The sampling trips were carried out for a total of 16 times, once or twice a month. In order to investigate the monthly variation of the microphytobenthos (MPB) biomass, community composition and photo-physiology were analyzed by HPLC (High performance liquid chromatography). The total chlorophyll a (TChl a) concentrations used as an indicator of biomass of MPB in the upper 1 cm sediment layer ranged from 40.4 to $218.9mg\;m^{-2}$ throughout the sampling period. TChl a concentrations showed the maximum level on $24^{th}$ of February and remained high throughout March after which it started to declined. The biomass of MPB showed high values in winter and low values in summer. The monthly variations of Phaeophorbide a concentrations suggested that the low grazing intensity of the predator in the winter may have partly attributed to the MPB winter blooming. As a result of monthly variations of the MPB community composition using the major marker pigments, the concentrations of fucoxanthin, the marker pigment of benthic diatoms, were the highest throughout the year. The concentrations of most of the marker pigments except for chlorophyll b (chlorophytes) and peridinin (dinoflagellates) increased in winter. However, the concentrations of fucoxanthin increased the highest, and the relative ratios of the major marker pigments to TChl a except fucoxanthin decreased during the same period. The vertical distribution of Chl a and oxygen concentrations in the sediments using a fluorometer and an oxygen micro-optode Chl a concentrations decreased with oxygen concentrations with increasing depth of the sediment layers. Moreover, this tendency became more apparent in winter. The Chl a was uniformly vertical down to 12 mm from May to July, but the oxygen concentration distribution in May decreased sharply below 1 mm. The increase in phaeophorbide a concentration observed at this time is likely to be caused by increased oxygen consumption of zoobenthic grazing activities. This could be presumed that MPB cells are transported downward by bioturbation of zoobenthos. The relative ratios (DT/(DD+DT)) obtained with diadinoxanthin (DD) and diatoxanthin (DT), which are often used as indicators of photo-adaptation of MPB, decreased from October to March and increased in May. This indicated that there were monthly differences in activity of Xanthophyll cycle as well.