Seasonal Variations of Water Quality in the Coastal Sea of Jungmun Resort Complex in Jeiu Island

제주도 중문관광단지 연안해역 수질의 계절변동

This study has been carried out to find the water Quality in coastal sea of fungmun area, southern Jeju Island. In-situ observations and water sampling had been made every month from July 1997 to June 2000. The distributions of water temperature and salinity over the study area have been 13.8~27.0℃ and 30.0~34.7‰, respectively. Salinity is showed low salinity from June to September (rainy season) because of rain. Tsushima Warm Waters (TWW) as ≥15℃ and ≥34‰ influence the adjacent sea around Jeju Island all year round. Yangtse Coastal Waters (YCW) influence the surface layer around Jeju from June to September and so strong stratification (termocline, halocline) resulted at the depth of between 20~30m at outer-sea. However the stratification does not happen even in summer at inner-sea, which seem to be caused due to vertical mixing by wind, waves and tides. A water mass of high value of water temperature and salinity (respectively 14.1~17.7℃, 33.9~34.1‰) stayed at the lower layer in outer-sea all the year round. It is probably formed by mixing between TWW and YSBCW(Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water). The mean value of DO was the lowest in summer and the highest in winter. COD and TH were the highest in summer and the lowest in winter. However, TP showed the lowest value in summer season, because the mean value of N/P ratio was over 16. The mean of N/P ratio was under 16 in other seasons. The phosphate would be a limiting factor in the growth of phytoplanHon in summer. Nitrate would be a limiting factor in other seasons. Distribution of chlorophyll a did not show any seasonal change in the study period, but especially increased during April and May in the first year(1998) and the second year(1999) all over the study area, which suggested that phytoplankton inhabitation distributed widely in the study area. The space averaged values were the highest for TIN in rainy season and lower for TP in rainy season than in other seasons. It suggests that river runoff influences the inner-sea.