• 한국해양학회지
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.146-155
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• 1986

Zooplankton samples of upper 50m layer in May, 1985 and of various depth intervals depending on thermal structure in October, 1985 were analyzed. Standing stock represents mean of 538inds/㎥ in spring and 267 inds/㎥ and 508inds/㎥ of whole column mean and surface layer in fall, respectively. A total of 55 and 104taxa is identified in each season and accumulated data list at least 123 species inhabiting in the study area. Copepods dominate in the zooplankton community, followed by protozoans and appendicularians in both seasons. In surface layer, distribution of subtropical species and standing stock seems to illuminate the effects of the Tsushima Current and the North Korean Cold Watermass in cold season, whereas only standing stock shows discernable variation in warm season. Concerning whole water column, depth of permanent thermocline bottom, at about 120m in fall 1985, plays significant role as a barrier to the distribution of mesopelagic cold water species. Serial sampling in October, 1985 does not reveal any perceivable diel vertical migration, which is considered to confirm the earlier suggest that owing to the lack of true abyssal species zooplankton biomass of deeper gayer is very poor, so that diel vertical migration of the East Sea is weak.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.59-61
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• 2014

We conducted eight surveys in the northern East China Sea (ECS) in winter (February - April), summer (July), and autumn (October) 2004-2009, to investigate the seasonal distribution of T. pacificus. A total of 482 paralarvae, ranging in mantle length (ML) from 1.0 - 17.0 mm, were collected at 73 out of 181 stations. There were higher numbers of paralarvae during the winter and summer months than in the autumn. There was significant seasonal variation in the paralarval mantle lengths; mantle lengths were longer in winter (April) than in summer (July). The position of oceanic fronts in the study area played an important role in restricting paralarval distribution along the inshore edge of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC). When the TWC expanded to western Jeju Island in winter and autumn, the paralarval distribution range extended to include western Jeju Island. However, when the TWC was located southeast of Jeju Island in the summer, paralarvae were distributed along the frontal zone off southeast Jeju Island. Sites at which paralarval mantle length was <2.0 mm ML indicated that the spawning ground were likely to be within the northern ECS in winter and summer, but north of the study area in autumn.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.411-426
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• 2010

The seasonal variations in the zooplankton community of the southern coastal waters of Korea were investigated seasonally in May, August, November 2005, and February 2006. A total of 74 taxa were sampled, with an average abundance ranging from 2,426~23,793 indiv./$m^3$, among which Noctiluca scintillans predominated. Noctiluca scintillans, Acartia omorii, Acartia erythraea, Paracalanus parvus s. l., Centropages abdominalis, Tortanus forcipatus, and Pseudevadne tergestina were the most abundant species detected. Zooplankton diversity was high around the inner regions during the summer, but it was relatively low in the stations located in the outer regions in the autumn. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) revealed significant differences in the structures of the zooplankton community among the three regions. Our results showed that the seasonal variations in zooplankton communities in the southern coastal waters of Korea were attributable to seasonal changes in temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a concentrations, and N. scintillans blooms; additionally, this particularly study area might have been specifically influenced by the appearance of the Tsushima Warm Current.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.30-36
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• 2022

We collected a total of four butterfly ray specimens (Gymnura japonica, 213.4-695.0 mm in total length) in Korea from 2016 to 2021 and investigated their morphological and molecular characteristics in order to clarify their taxonomic status. These features are summarized as follows. Disc lozenge-shaped, 1.8-2.0 times broader than long. Tail very short, post-cloaca length 23.9-28.2% in disc width. Snout short, no rostral cartilage. Clasper short, no hook. Dorsal surface uniform yellow or brownish grey, with or without rounded light yellow spots. An analysis of 434 base-pair sequences of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I showed that all four specimens corresponded to G. japonica from Japan (Kimura-2-parameter distance = 0-0.2%), suggesting that the color patterns found may be due to intraspecific color variation. G. japonica resembles Gymnura poecilura but differs in that it has a shorter tail length to disc width (23.9-28.2% in G. japonica vs. 40.1-48.3% in G. poecilura). This study revealed that G. japonica occurred in areas affected by the Tsushima Warm Current, tentatively suggesting that G. japonica may be an indicator species for monitoring marine ecosystem changes due to climate change.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.135-147
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• 2011

Zooplankton is an important constituent in assessing ecosystem responses to global warming. The northern East China Sea is an important ecosystem for carbon cycling with a net sink of carbon dioxide. Despite their importance as a major component in carbon cycling, relatively little is known about zooplankton biomass structure and its regulating factors in the northern East China Sea. This study examined zooplankton biomass distribution pattern in the region from multiple cruises encompassing various seasons between 2004 and 2009. Results showed that zooplankton biomass exhibits less cross-shelf gradient in general with declining biomass to the eastern shelf towards the Tsushima Current Water. Size-fractionated biomass showed that the 1.0~2.0 mm size group, mostly copepods, dominated zooplankton biomass, comprising 38 to 48% of total biomass. Smaller zooplankton (0.2~1.0 mm) biomass, consisting mainly of Paracalanus spp, a particle eating herbivorous copepod, was positively related to chlorophyll-a concentration, but no relationship was established for larger zooplankton (1.0~5.0 mm). Spatially-averaged mean total zooplankton biomass was also highly related to chlorophyll-a concentration. These result suggest that the long-term trend of zooplankton biomass increase in this region is partly accounted for by the increases of phytoplankton biomass and productivity underway in the region. However, the underlying mechanisms of how sea surface warming in the study area leads to increased phytoplankton biomass and productivity remains unclear.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.10 no.1 s.20
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• pp.61-67
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• 2004

This study described relationships between fluctuation of fishing conditions for common squid and oceanic conditions in the East Sea from 1990 to 1999. Annual catches of common squid have been higher since the late 1980s compared to the period of the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. These catches fluctuations might be related to the effect of regime shifts. Monthly catches of common squid appear the timing of a large catch from September to December and a poor catch from March to May. The monthly catches are also the highest in October and are the lowest in April. Annual stable fishing grounds for coefficient of variation below 1.0 are formed in waters around Guryongpo and Ullung Island Based on optimum water temperature for catch, $16^{\circ}C$, optimum water depth for catch shallow going north. It indicates that the optimum water depth of fishing work different of each area Fishing ground formation and horizontal water temperature appear the minimum $10{\sim}14^{\circ}C$ in April, the maximum $10{\sim}20^{\circ}C$ in October. If seem, that seasonal fluctuation of fishing ground is related to the extension of the Tsushima warm current in the East Sea.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.237-249
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• 1995

To understand the cross-sectional structures of temperature, salinity and current across the Korea Strait, field measurements were carried out for the period of May 2 to 20, 1994. Using the R/V Tam Yang, detailed CTD profiles and ADCP records were obtained and used to examine the mean and variability field on two time scales (15 days and 25 hours). A sharp coastal front in the middle of the Korea Strait exists across which two different water masses, i.e., warm and saline water in the eastern side and cold and less saline water in the western side are neighboring. We observed highly variable field of T and S apparently caused by the westward movement of warm and saline water mass. Short-term fluctuations of T and S in the middle layer are remarkable and their importance was analysed as the first Eigen mode accounting for more than 50% of total variances. The currents in th Korea Strait are strongly influenced by tidal currents with spring and neap variation whose maximum speed ranges 80-90 and 60-70 cm/s respectively near the central portion of the channel. Strong southward tidal current could even mask the Tsushima Current completely. Results of harmonic analysis show that the magnitudes of semidiurnal, diurnal and mean components of currents are comparable to each other at spring and neap tide conditions. The volume transport across the western channel of the Korea Strait were estimated to be 2.1 Sv at neap tide condition and 3.4 Sv at spring tide condition.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.26-34
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• 1982

The East China Sea and the Yellow Sea are abundant in nutritions because of river inflows and are important as the nursery and spawning grounds of demersal and pelagic fishes. The remarkable thermal front between the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water and the Tsushima Warm Current is formed in this region, and the fluctuation of this front may affect the variation of the yellow croaker fishing ground. To investigate the mechanism of the yellow croaker fishing ground, the distribution ana seasonal change of the fishing ground are examined by using catch of stow net fishery (Fisheries Research and Development Agency, 1970-1979) and the water temperature data (Japan Hydrographic Association, 1978). The main fishing ground of yellow croaker was nine sea areas (rectangle of 30' latitude by 30' longitude) located at 40-150 nautical miles west and southwest of Jeju Island, the area of which occupies no more than $11\%$ of all fishing grounds, and it appeared that about $70\%$ of total catch of ten years was concentrated in this area. The main fishing periods were from March to May and September to October. The coefficients of variation of the catch for the main fishing ground were from 0.8 to 2.1 and the condition of all fishing grounds was generally unstable. The mean CPUE was 27kg/haul at the main fishing ground, while it was the largest on boundary area of the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water. It was found that the seasonal movement of fishing ground is related to the expansion and reduction of the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water ($10^{\circ}C$).

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.83-99
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• 2005

To evaluate environmental charateristics of the South Sea and East China Sea on summer, water and sediment quality were measured in June 2001-2003. Surface layer was affceted by Warm water originated from the high temperature and salinity-Tsushima Warm Current, on the other hand, Yellow Sea Cold Water was spread to the bottom layer in the south-western part of the Jeju island, and salinity at stations near the Yangtze River was decreased below 29psu because of a enormous freshwater discharges. Thermocline-depth was formed at about 10m, and chlorophyll maximum layer was existed in and below the thermocline. COD(Chemical Oxygen Demand), TN(Total Nitrogen), and TP(Total Phosphorus) concentrations showed seawater quality grade II in surface layer of the most area, but concentrations of such as COD, Chl. a, TSS(Total Suspended Solid), and nutrients were greatly increased in the effect area of Yangtze River discharges. Correlations between dissolved inorganic nitrogen, Chl. a and salinity were negative patterns strongly, in contrast, those of inorganic phosphorus, COD and Chl. a were positive, which indicates that phytoplankton biomass and phosphorus are considered as important factors of organic matter distribution and algal growth, respectively. in the study area. The distribution of ignition loss, COD, and $H_2S$ of surface sediment were in the ranges of 2.61-8.81%, $0.64-11.86mgO_2/g-dry$, and ND-0.25 mgS/g-dry, respectively, with relatively high concentration in the eastern part of the study area. Therefore, to effective and sustainable use and management of this area, continuous monitoring and countermeasures about major input sources to the water and sediment, and prediction according to the environmental variation, are necessary.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.69-79
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• 2009

Major and trace elements were analyzed in three core sediments to investigate geochemical characteristics of East Sea sediments and provenance changes during late Quaternary in Ulleung Basin. Comparing with Yellow and South Sea sediments, contents of major elements were generally similar while contents of trace elements were significantly different. Furthermore, within this basin, there were some variabilities in trace element compositions. In the western slope sediments (WS), Mo was enriched over 6 times as much as other sites. On the other hand, Zr, Nb, Hf and Ta were enriched in basin sediments (Basin), and Ca and Cs were enriched in southern slope sediments (SS). After excluding elements derived from biogenic, authigenic and diagenetic origins, the lithogenic elements (K, Ti, Cs, Zr, Nb, Hf and Ta) could be classified into three groups from the comparison of element/Al ratios among cores. The first group consisted of elements (K and Ti) that showed the nearly similar element/Al ratios among three cores. The second group contained Cs which showed significant difference between two slope sediments. The third group elements (Zr, Nb, Hf and Ta) showed highly enriched in basin relative to both slope areas. The depth profiles of metal/Al ratios in basin sediments provided the following interpretation for the compositions of sediment and their variation. From 10,000 yr B.P. to 7,000 yr B.P. two lithogenic components (volcanic ashes and western slope sediments) were mixed and deposited in the basin. After 7,000 yr B.P., however, southern slope sediments were mixed with volcanic ashes and deposited in basin area. This event of source change is nearly close to inflow period of the Tsushima Warm Current to Ulleung Basin. Thus, it might be suggested that element geochemistry in Ulleung basin sediment indicate the change of current system in the study area.