• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.327-339
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• 2003

During the winter in February 1998, January and April 1999, interdisciplinary research was conducted in a large area including the South Sea of Korea and northern East China Sea to examine distribution and structure. Water masses identified from the observed data are Warm Water originated from Tsushima Warm Current, Yellow Sea Cold Water (Northern or Central Cold Water) and Korean Southern Sea Cold Water. In the southern Yellow Sea, Warm Water originated from Tsushima Warm Current, flowing into the Cheju Strait after turning around the western Cheju Island, makes a front of '┍' shape, which is bounded by the Yellow Sea Central Cold Water in the southern part of Daeheuksan Island and by the Yellow Sea Northern Cold Water in the eastern part of the Yangtze Bank. This front changes its corner shape and position with strength of the warm water extension toward northwestern Yellow Sea. The position and structure of the fronts off the southwestern tip of the Korean peninsular and near the Yangtze Bank varies with observation period. In the front in the South Sea of Korea, cold coastal water which if formed independently due to local cooling, ,sinks along the sloping bottom. We explained the processes of variations in the distribution and structure of these winter fronts in terms of up-wind and down-wind flow by the seasonal monsoon, heat budget through the sea surface and density difference across the fronts.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.618-623
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• 1999

A relationship between SST (Sea Surface Temperature) fronts and formation of fishing grounds was examined using the data on fishing conditions obtained from 41 Korean purse-seiners during the period of 1991 to 1996. Good fishing grounds observed in the southern sea of Korea and the nothern area of the East China Sea were yearly found around the frontal zone and around the marginal area of Tsushima Current which was the periphery of fronts, Also, there were several fishing grounds, which are not related to the fronts. They can be classified into the following four types : The first type was found in the warm water pocket located in the western area of Cheju Island in winter. The second type was made in a intensive bending of isobathytherm with a higher temperature in the main stream of Tsushima Current between Cheju Island and the Goto Islands in winter. The third type was formed by the topographical vortex motion near the Tsushima Island in winter and spring. The fourth type was found at the area of the reflow Sea Warm Current in southwest sea of Korea between the costal front zone and the Yellow Bottom Cold Waters in summer and autumn.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.145-151
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• 2016

Temperature variability at the upper layer related to climate regime shifts in the Korean waters was illustrated using water temperature, climate index. Three major climate regime shifts (CRS) in 1976, 1988 and 1998 in north Pacific region had an significant influence on the major marine ecosystems structure pattern. Three marginal seas around Korean peninsula; East Sea, East China Sea and Yellow Sea also got important impact from this kind of decadal shift. We used 10m sea water temperatures in four regions of Korean waters since 1950 to detect major fluctuation patterns both seasonally and also decadal shift. 1988 CRS was occurred in all of the study areas in most seasons however, 1998 CRS was only detected in the Yellow Sea and in the southern part of the East Sea. 1976 CRS was detected in all of the study area mainly in winter. After 1998 CRS, the water temperature in the southern part of the East Sea, East China Sea and Yellow Sea were going into decreased pattern; however, in the northern part of the East Sea, it was further shifted to increasing pattern which was started from 1988 CRS period.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.907-916
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to compare community structure of larval fish species in the northern East China Sea during normal meteorological conditions in autumn 2009, during the El Ni$\tilde{n}$o period in 2009-2010, and during the La Nina period in 2010. Fifty taxa were recorded during the study period; the most dominant species were Benthosema pterotum and Gobiidae spp. In October 2008 during the normal period, warm water from the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) intruded more into the surface and middle layers, and cold water affected by the Yellow Sea Cold Water (YSCW) intruded into the bottom layer. In October 2009 during the El Ni$\tilde{n}$o period, intrusion of the China Coastal Water (CCW), which has low salinity (<32.2 psu), was more apparent than intrusion of the TWC or YSCW. In October 2010 during the La Nina period, intrusion of the TWC and CCW was relatively weak, resulting in the lowest temperature and highest salinity observed during the study period in the eastern part of the study area. Hierarchical cluster, one-way ANOSIM (analysis of similarities), and SIMPER (similarity-percentages procedure) analyses provided two main results. First, the abundance of the most dominant larval fish species in autumn of the normal period was greater than that in autumn of the El Ni$\tilde{n}$o/La Nina periods, resulting in a significant difference in ichthyoplankton community structure between the periods. The abundance of Benthosema pterotum increased in the normal period, possibly influenced by the intrusion of cold water from the YSCW; the abundance of species residing in Korean waters (e.g., Gobiidae spp.) probably decreased during the El Ni$\tilde{n}$o/La Nina periods. The second finding was that the abundance of subtropical larval fish in autumn of the normal period was generally larger than that during autumn of the El Ni$\tilde{n}$o/La Nina periods. This could have been induced by the stronger intrusion of warm water from the TWC during the normal period. Although differences in oceanographic conditions between El Ni$\tilde{n}$o and La Nina periods were observed, the differences in ichthyoplankton community structure between the two periods were not significant.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2011

The Yellow Sea Cold Water (YSCW) is formed by cold and dry wind in the previous winter, and is known to spread southward along the central trough of the Yellow Sea in summer. Water characteristics of the YSCW and its movement in the northern East China Sea (ECS) are investigated by analyzing CTD (conductivity-Temperature-Depth) data collected from summertime hydrographic surveys between 2003 and 2009. By water mass analysis, we newly define the North Western Cold Water (NWCW) as a cold water mass observed in the study area. It is characterized by temperature below $13.2^{\circ}C$, salinity of 32.6~33.7 psu, and density (${\sigma}_t$) of 24.7~25.5. The NWCW appears to flow southward at about a speed less than 2 cm/s according to the geostrophic calculation. The newly defined NWCW shows an interannual variation in the range of temperature and occupied area, which is in close relation with the sea surface temperature (SST) over the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea in the previous winter season. The winter SST is determined by winter air temperature, which shows a high correlation with the winter-mean Arctic Oscillation (AO) index. The negative winter-mean AO causes the low winter SST over the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, resulting in the summertime expansion and lower temperature of the NWCW in the study area. This study shows a dynamic relation among the winter-mean AO index, SST, and NWCW, which helps to predict the movement of NWCW in the northern ECS in summer.

• Atmosphere
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.577-598
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• 2016

Observational and numerical studies have been carried out to understand the cause and development processes of the heavy rainfall over the middle Korean Peninsula during 0300 LST-1500 LST 29 June 2011 (LST = UTC + 0900). The heavy rainfall event occurred as the synoptic-scale ridge extended from Western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH) was maintained over East Asia. Observational analysis indicates that the heavy rainfall is mainly due to scattered convective systems, formed over the Yellow Sea, traveling northeastward across the middle peninsula without further organization into larger systems during 0300 LST-0800 LST, and mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) over the Yellow Sea, transformed into a squall line, traveling eastward during 0800 LST-1500 LST. Organization of convective systems into MCSs can be found over the area of mesoscale trough and convergence zone in the northern end of the low-level jet (LLJ) after 0600 LST. Both observational and numerical investigations indicate that a strong LLJ extended from the East China Sea to the Yellow Sea plays an essential role for the occurrence of heavy rainfall. The strong LLJ develops in between the WPSH and a pressure trough over eastern China. Numerical experiments indicate that the land-sea contrast of solar heating of surface and latent heating due to convective developments are the major factors for the development of the pressure trough in eastern China. Numerical study has also revealed that the mountainous terrain including the mountain complex in the northern Korean Peninsula contributes to the increase of rainfall amount in the middle part of the peninsula.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.8-31
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• 2023

To understand the distribution and formation mechanism of benthic foraminiferal assemblages, grain size analysis, ¹⁴C radiocarbon dating, and benthic foraminifera analysis were conducted on thirty-two surface sediments collected from the continental shelf of the northern East China Sea, respectively. Surface sediment was composed of sandy mud~muddy sand facies with an average of 52.04% of sand, 13.72% of silt, and 34.20% of clay. These sedimentary facies are palimpsest sediment. Benthic foraminifera was classified into a total of 48 genera and 104 species, including agglutinated foraminifera, calcareous-hyaline, and calcareous-porcelaneous foraminifera. The production rate of agglutinated foraminifera increased toward the Yangtze River area while that of planktonic foraminifera increased toward Jeju Island. Dominant species are Ammonia ketienziensis, Bolivina robusta, Eggella advena, Eilohedra nipponica, Pseudorotalia gamardii, Pseudoparrella naraensis. ¹⁴C radiocarbon datings of Bolivina robusta and Pseudorotalia gamardii with the highest production rate were 2,360±40 yr B.P. and 2,450±40 yr B.P., respectively. In the result of cluster analysis, three assemblages composed of P. gaimardii, B. robusta, and A. ketienziensis-P. naraensis were classified broadly. P. gaimardii assemblage is thought to be formed from about 2.5 yr B.P. at the sea area of the Yangtze River to 50 m in water depth affected by fresh water. B. robusta assemblage is thought to be formed from about 2.4 yr B.P. at the sea area of Jeju Island to 50~100 m affected by offshore water. And then, A. ketienziensisP. naraensis assemblage was formed in the northwest sea area (Central Yellow Sea Mud). These distributions and composition of benthic foraminiferal assemblages formed from about 2.5 yr B.P. in the northern East China Sea are thought to be due to the change of benthic ecology environment that occurred by the sea level increase during the late Holocene.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.421-437
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• 2010

Surface particulate organic carbon (POC) concentration estimated from Maximum Normalized Difference Carbon Index (MNDCI) algorithm using SeaWiFS data is used to determine spatial and temporal variations of the Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW) in the East China Sea. 10-year monthly POC concentrations (1997-2007) show clearly seasonal variations. Inter-annual variation of POC in whole and three different areas separated by standard deviation is not linearly correlated with the Changjiang River discharge that has decreased after 1998. To determine more detailed spatial and temporal POC variations, we used empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis in summer (Jun.-Sep.) from 2000 to 2007. First mode is spatially and temporally correlated with the area influenced by the Changjiang River discharge. Second mode is temporally less sensitive with the Changjiang River discharge but spatially correlated with north-south patterns. Relatively higher POC variations during 2000 and 2003 were shown in the southern East China Sea. These patterns during 2004 and 2007 moved to the northern East China Sea. This phenomenon is better related to spatial variations of wind-direction than the amount of Changjiang River discharge, which is verified from in-situ measurement.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.960-968
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• 2015

This study examined the spatiotemporal distribution of demersal fish aggregations in the Northern East China Sea by conducting a trawl survey with hydroacoustic devices. A bottom trawl was used for this survey and fish density was determined from the catch data. Acoustic data were collected at frequencies of 38 and 200 kHz from November to December 2014 and converted into the nautical area scattering coefficient (NASC, $m^2/n{\cdot}mile^2$). In the catch data analysis, the range of catch per unit area by station was $26-8,055kg/km^2$ and for the acoustic data, that of the NASC was $0.45-34.80m^2/n{\cdot}mile^2$. The values were significantly correlated. The combined results of both surveys found that the density was highest at St. 5 ($33^{\circ}$ 10.3', $126^{\circ}$ 23.3') and lowest at St. 8 ($33^{\circ}$ 20.7', $127^{\circ}$ 36.3'). The application of hydroacoustic methods offers a new approach for estimating the biomass of demersal fish aggregations.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.696-700
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• 2004

In the Korean seas, Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Thermal Fronts (TF) were analyzed temporally and spatially during 8 years from 1993 to 2000 using NOAA/AVHRR MCSST. As the result of harmonic analysis, distributions of the mean SST were $10~25^{\circ}C,$ and generally SST decreased as latitude increased. SST increased in the order as following; the South Sea $(20\~23^{\circ}C),$ the East Sea $(17\~19^{\circ}C)$, and the West $Sea(13\~16^{\circ}C).$ Annual amplitudes and phases were $4\~11^{\circ}C,\;210\~240^{\circ}$ and high values were shown as following; the West Sea $(A1,\;9\~11^{\circ}C),$ the Northern East Sea $(A5,\;8\~9^{\circ}C),$ the Southern East Sea $(A4,\;6\~8^{\circ}C),$ the South Sea $(A3,\;6\~7^{\circ}C),$ the East China Sea $(A2,\;4\~7^{\circ}C)$ and phases; $A3\;(238\~242^{\circ}),\;A4\;(235\~240^{\circ}),\;A5\;(225\~235^{\circ}),\;Al\;(220\~230^{\circ}),\;A2\;(210\~235^{\circ}),$ respectively, Both of them were related inversely except the area A2, therefore the rest areas were affected by seasonal variations. TF were detected by Soble Edge Detection Method using gradient of SST. Consequently, TF were divided into 4 fronts; the Subpolar Front (SPF) based on the Cold Water Mass (low SST and salinity Subartic Water), resulting from the North Korea Cold Current (NKCC) and the East Sea Proper Cold Water in the middle and low layer, and the Warm Water Mass (high SST and salinity Subtropical Water), resulting from the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) in area A4 and 5, the Kuroshio Front (KF) based on the Kuroshio Current (KC) and shelf waters in the East China Sea (ESC) in A2, and the South Sea Coastal Front (SSCF) based on the South Sea Coastal Water (SSCW) and TWC in A3. Also, the Tidal Front was weakly appeared in AI. TF located in steep slope of submarine topography. Annual amplitudes and phases were bounded in the same place, and these results should be considered to influence of seasonal variations.