• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.171-183
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• 2023

Estuarine wetlands, which form a distinctive brackish water zone, serve as important habitats for organisms that have adapted to and thrive in this environment. Nonetheless, excessive development and utilization result in artificial disruptions that alter the distinctive functions and attributes of estuarine wetlands. To collect the basic data for the conservation of estuarine wetlands with excellent ecosystems, we investigated the vegetation distribution characteristics and biota status of the Taehwagang River Estuarine Wetland. Data from vegetation surveys have shown that 25 plant communities of six physiognomic vegetation types, including willow vegetation, lotic and lentic herbaceous vegetation, floating/submerged vegetation. In the upper reaches, where topographical diversity was high, various types of wetland vegetation were distributed. In terms of biodiversity, a total of 696 species, including 7 endangered wildlife species, were identified. Due to good ecological connectivity, tidal rivers are formed, brackish water species including various functional groups are distributed around this section. The inhabitation of various water birds, such as diving and dabbler ducks, were confirmed according to the aquatic environment of each river section. The collection of ecological information of the Taehwagang River Estuarine Wetland can be used as a framework for establishing the basis for conservation and management of the estuarine ecosystem and support policy establishment.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.13-21
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• 2023

In this study, the coastal airborne chlorides were investigated in the Incheon Port, South Korea. Monthly measurements of coastal airborne chlorides were taken for a total of 2 years from September 2021 to August 2023 at 15 locations in North, South, and New Port. We analyzed the distribution characteristics of airborne chloride based on port facilities and measurement environments, as well as the reduction characteristics of the airborne chloride with respect to coastal distance. As a result, the monthly distribution range of the airborne chloride in the North, South, and New Port varied similarly, ranging from 0.4 to 3.3 mdd. Due to the influence of seasonal winds considering the direction of the coastline, both the North Port and South Port had higher the airborne chloride in winter, while the New Port had higher content in summer. The airborne chlorides were higher at locations inside an inland sea compared to those outside an inland sea. This is because the wind coming from the sea passed through the inland sea. Even in the same region with identical coastal distances, there were variations in airborne chloride levels depending on the height above the ground. In tidal zone, the monthly airborne chlorides were significantly higher in the lower part than in the upper part. The rate of decrease equation of airborne chlorides for each port based on the distance from the coastline was derived, and the results showed that as the distance from the coastline increased, the rate of decrease in airborne chlorides was the highest for New Port and the lowest for South Port.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.166-175
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• 2010

Seasonal variation in species composition of estuarine fauna in the Han River estuary was determined by analyzing monthly samples collected on the intertidal flat of Ganghwa Island by a fence net from April to December 2009. Total number of species was 57: 34 species of fishes, 20 species of crustacean, 2 species of cephalopods and 1 species of jellyfish. Of a total of 57 species, Portunus trituberculatus (57.2%), Palaemon gravieri (7.1%), Collichthys lucidus (7.0%), Hemigrapsus sanguineus (6.2%) and Exopalaemon carinicauda (4.7%) were predominated in abundance. Diverse species were occurred in spring and autumn, and abundance was high in autumn. Chelon haematocheilus, Synechogobius hasta, Co ilia nasus, P. gravieri and E. carinicauda were classified as the brackish residence species. P. trituberculatus, C. lucidus, Mugil cephalus and Cynoglossus joyneri were coastal migratory species which use the estuary as nursing and feeding grounds. Diadromous species (such as Takifogu obscurus, Anguilajaponica and Eriocheir sinensis) and freshwater fish (Carassius auratus) were also collected.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.727-743
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• 1996

To know the floristic composition, vortical distribution and community structure of marine benthic algae inhabiting in the intertidal and subtidal zones of Yongil Bay, east coast of Korea, the study has performed using the quadrat method along a transect line from July, 1995 to June, 1996. In this area, a total of 144 species including 2 new red algae to Korea was found: 5 blue-green, 18 green, 20 brown and 101 red algae. The representative species throughout the year were Ulva pertusa, Gelidium amansii and Symphyocladia latiuscula. Dominant species were Sargassum thunbergii in spring, U. pertusa in summer and autumn. In winter, Chondrus ocellatus and Monostroma grevillei occurred dominantly. The standing crop exhibited mean value as $185.8g/m^2$ dry weight. Maximum value was recorded in spring $(267.3g/m^2)$ and minimum was observed in winter $(93.7g/m^2)$. Shannon's species diversity (H') and evenness (J') as maximum value were recorded in spring, whereas minimum values were shown in winter. Vertical distribution, rerognized by cluster analysis based on relative coverage of the species, could be divided into two or three algal groups except spring. In general, green algae (M. grevillei, Capsosiphon fulvescens, U. pefusa, Enteromorpha compressa) and brown algae (Sargassum fulvellum, S. thunbergii) were represented in the upper and middle zone and red algae (G. amansii, C. ocellatus, S. latiuscula, Crateloupia okamurae, Pachymeniopsis eilliptica) in the lower zone. The algal community varied according to season and environmental conditions. Particularly, seasonal variation of vortical distribution seemed to be affected primarily by water temperature. Also seasonal tidal level and tolerance of algal species to desiccation appeared to be associated with it in this area.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.199-213
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• 2008

Saemangeum salt-water Lake has been created by the completion of the sea-dike in April 2006. To monitor the water qualities of the lake during the sea-dike construction, salinity, SS, nutrients(DIN, DIP, DISi), and chlorophyll-$\alpha$ was analyzed for the surface water from 1999 to 2007. Due to the dike construction, weaker tidal current and lesser resuspension of bottom sediment resulted in the marked decrease of the concentrations of SS in the lake water. Consequently the clearer lake water has provided better condition for primary production with deeper penetration of sunlight into the water column and sufficient nutrient content in the water. Finally the chlorophyll-$\alpha$ content became approximately double in the concentration after the dike construction. Highly stimulated algal production with the marked decrease of the concentrations of SS was decreased the concentration of DIP in the surface water. On the other hand the concentration of DIN and DISi in surface water was increased after dike construction due to the expansion of the freshwater and the supply from bottom layer. As a result, the lake revealed an extremely high NIP ratio and a DIP-limited ecosystem. The lake has been transformed from a typical coastal ecosystem to a brackish one. Since the dike completion, the lake has shown a similar change pattern to the Geum River estuary. Due to the salt-wedge intrusion of seawater, it is highly probable to expect the formation of low-oxygen zone at the bottom layer near the river-mouth area of the lake during the summer. Therefore we need a continuous sentinel monitoring of bottom water qualities in the near future.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.513-523
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• 2017

We evaluated the viability of phytoplankton along the salinity gradient in the flood and ebb tides of spring tide of February and the ebb tide of neap tide of March 2017 in the Seomjin River Estuary. Additional laboratory experiments were also conducted to determine the reason of the pH changes along the salinity gradient using the field natural sample in February. In field, saltwater was well mixed at downstream vertically and the salinity gradient was horizontally appeared toward upstream of freshwater zone. There were strong negative correlations between salinity and nutrient (nitrate + nitrite R=0.99, p<0.001, and silicate R=0.98, p<0.001), implying that those two nutrients of freshwater origin were gradually diluted with mixing the saltwater. On the other hands, relatively high phosphate concentration was kept in the stations of saltwater over 15 psu, indicating that it was caused by resuspended sediments of Gwangyang Bay and downstream by tidal water mixing.Among phytoplankton community structure in winter, Eucampia zodiacus have occupied to be c.a. 70 % in the most stations. Based on the field survey results for survivability of phytoplankton by phytoPAM instrument, there was positive correlations between salinity and chlorophyll a (R=0.82, p<0.001) and, salinity and active chlorophyll a (R=0.80, p<0.001), implying that the dominant marine diatom species may have significantly damaged in low salinity conditions of upstream. Also, maximum mortality rate of phytoplankton caused by low salinity shock was appered to be 75% in the upstream station. In particular, the pH in spring tides of February had tended to increase with high phytoplankton accmulated stations, suggesting that it was related with absorption of $CO_2$ by the photosynthesis of dominant diatom. In laboratory experiments, phytoplankton mass-mortality caused by low salinity shock was also occurred, which is confirmed with reducing the photosynthetic electron transport activity. Following the phytoplankton mass-mortality, bacteria abundance was significantly increased in 24 hours. As a result, the mass-proliferating bacteria can produce the $CO_2$ in the process of biodegradation of diatoms, which can lead to pH decrease. Therefore, marine phytoplankton species was greatly damaged in freshwater mixing area, depending on along the salinity gradient that was considered to be an important role in elevating and reducing of pH in Seomjin River Estuary.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.524-540
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• 2013

After the construction of the Geum River estuary dam, we investigated the ecological property of phytoplankton community with physicochemical property in 9 stations of Geum River estuary 4 times seasonally in 2010 about the environmental changes through the change of phytoplankton. Physicochemical property seems to show eutrophication which developed from the tendency of accruing of the nutrients (those involved in intermittency of freshwater which flows from the dike and the surrounding cities), caused by the changing of tidal flow, the decreasing of the inflow of seawater after the construction of the Geum River estuary dam (dike). A total of 233 species of species composition of phytoplankton emerged, showing a highly increased result compared to that of the former research. The reason for the increase in number is considered as a phenomenon resulting from the mix of blackish and freshwater marine species in the flow of intermittency of freshwater discharge. Also, the standing crops of phytoplankton considerably increased compared to when the dike had not yet been built. Highly affected by the discharge of occasional freshwater, the diatoms of blackish water zone dominated in spring and winter, while freshwater species appeared to dominate in summer and autumn. The species diversity showed over 2.0 except in winter season. After a cluster analysis, the result showed that the Geum River estuary was influenced by runoff from cities like Gunsan, the sewage which flows from Gyeongpo River, and the intermittency of freshwater discharge from the Geum River estuary dam.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.129-136
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• 1970

As an attempt to determine if the morphological differences between the southern and western oysters are due simply to the local ecological factors or are based on their fundamental genetic nature, oyster seeds produced in 1968 at Tong-Young, Ye-Chun, and Ko-Hung on the south coast and at Kan-Wol-Do on the west coast were cross-transplanted during May of 1969 to compare their growth. The spats were placed in plastic baskets which permitted free water flow through and the baskets hung from a wooden rack located at a tidal zone of less than I hour exposure at a depth chosen to keep the baskets submerged in water at all times. Twice a month the growth of the spats were measured along with the air and water temperature and salinity. The early summer spats, which were $17-240\%$ larger, in size, than the late summer spats at the time of cross-transplantation, grew more slowly than the late summer spats when exposed to identical environmental conditions, shortening the initial gap to a $5-20\%$ level as the first year of the growth phase came to an end in December. The growth of the Kan-Wol-Do spats lagged considerably behind the southern spats at all localities tested, whereas there were no significant differences among the latter groups. This suggests that the morphological differences between southern and western Pacific oysters in Korea are a manifestation of genetic variety and that Pacific oysters cultured along the south coast are of an identical variety as they are commonly believed to be. The seasonal changes in temperature and salinity even during rainy season in both the southern and western coastal areas are well within the range suitable for successful spawning, and spat fall. However, since the results were based on twice-a-month measurements with no data covering the critical period before and after spawning, they can only serve to indicate at best the general pattern of changes in the environmental conditions of each growing area.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.149-159
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• 2017

We investigated the mineralogical and chemical characteristics of oyster shell as the possible substitute for the limestone used as an absorbent of $SO_2$ gas. The oyster shells from Taean and Tongyeong were used for the comparison with limestone and those from Boyreong and Yeosu were additionally investigated. XRD results show that all shells are composed of calcite with the exception of the myostracum layer attached to adductor muscle and ligament, which is composed of aragonite. The marine sediments as impurities exist on the surface of shells or as inclusions in the shells. Calcite is the main mineral composition of the shell of barnacle which is also one of the impurities. The oyster shell is composed of three main layers; prismatic, foliated, and chalk. The oyster shell from Tongyeong with the largest shell size, has the smallest thickness of prismatic and foliated layers which contain protein called conchiolin, whereas that from Taean with the smallest shell size has the largest prismatic and foliated layers. The sizes of those two layers of the shells from Boryeong and Yeosu are larger than that from Tongyeong but smaller than Taean. Those differences are supposed to be due to the different growth environments because the oysters from Tongyeong are cultured under the sea while those from Taean are in the tidal zone. The oyster shells generally show higher amount of sulfur and phosphorus than limestone, mainly due to the composition of protein. Some elements such as Mg show significant variations in different layers. As for trace elements, Li shows much higher amount in oyster shells than limestone, suggesting the influence of the composition of the sea water on the formation of the oyster shells.