This study conducted sedimentological and geophysical surveys for 3 years (2006-2008) in southern Gyeonggi Bay, Korea to elucidate temporal changes in subaqueous dune morphology on a sand ridge trending northeast to southwest that has been excavated by marine sand mining. The sand ridge (~20 m in height, ~2 km in width and 3~4 km in length) has a steep slope on the NW side and a gentle slope on the SE side, creating an asymmetric profile. Large (10~100 m in length) and very large (>100 m in length) dunes occurring on the SE side of the ridge show a northeastward asymmetrical shape, whereas dunes on the NW side destroyed by marine sand mining display a southwestward asymmetry. The comparison between Flemming (1988)'s correlation and the height-length correlation of this study indicates that tidal current and availability of sand sediment are major controlling factors to the development and maintenance of dunes. Depth and sedimentary characteristics (grain size) are not likely to be major controlling factors, but indirectly influence dune growth by hydrological and sedimentary processes. The length and the height of dunes decrease toward the southeastern trough away from the crest of the ridge. These features result from the decrease of tidal current and sediment availability. The length and the height of dunes on the southeast side decrease gradually over time. This is a result of the interaction between tidal current and the decrease in sediment availability due to sediment extraction by marine sand mining. Marine sand mining has destroyed the dunes directly, causing irregular shapes of shorter length and lower height. The coarse fraction of suspended sediments is transported and deposited very close to the sand pit. By contrast, relatively fine sediments are transported by the tidal current and deposited over a wide range by the settling-lag effect, resulting in a decrease of sediment grain size in the area where suspended sediments are deposited. In addition, marine sand mining, decreases the height of dunes. Therefore, morphological and sedimentological characteristics of dunes around the sand pits will be significantly changed by future sand mining activities.

This study examined extensive patches of floating green macroalgal (Ulva prolifera) mats in the northern East China Sea (ECS) using satellite images from mid May through July 2008 and field observation made during early August 2008 cruise. It was previously reported that the massive macroalgal blooms occurred in the coastal areas of Qingdao in China. During our field survey, researchers noticed widely distributed floating patches of macroalgal mats ranging in size from tens of centimeters to a few hundred meters in diameter. Meteorological data in the northern ECS showed high irradiance, high air-temperature, and predominant southerly winds in summer. In the study area during the survey period, surface waters were characterized by the Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW) mass, which contained high concentrations of nitrate and phosphate. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence of U. prolifera found in the northern ECS was the same as those of U. prolifera sampled from Qingdao blooms, suggesting a possibility that U. prolifera found in two regions would be derived from the same origin. We suggest that U. prolifera in the nearshore Jiangsu Province drifted into the northern ECS and proliferated under favorable meteorological and oceanographic conditions during the summer of 2008.

The principal objective of this paper was to evaluate the steering characteristics of a tandem tracked vehicle, each side of which features two tandem tracks, when crawling on extremely cohesive soft soil. The tandem tracked vehicle is assumed to be a rigid-body with 6-dof. The dynamic analysis program of the tandem tracked vehicle was developed via Newmark's method and the incremental-iterative method. A terra-mechanics model of extremely cohesive soft soil was implemented according to the relationships of normal pressure to sinkage, of shear resistance to shear displacement, and of dynamic sinkage to shear displacement. In order to simplify the characteristics of contact interaction between track segments and cohesive soft soil, the characteristics of soil are equated to the properties of intact soil. In an effort to evaluate the steering characteristics of a tandem tracked vehicle crawling on extremely cohesive soft soil, a series of dynamic simulations were conducted for a tandem tracked vehicle model with respect to the front and rear steering angle, the steering ratio, and the initial velocity.

To characterize ecotoxicological responses to a natural estrogen, $17{\beta}$-estradiol, we evaluated the life-history of the parental ($F_0$) and first generation ($F_1$) of the harpacticoid copepod, Tigriopus japonicus sensu lato. We evaluated the survival of nauplii and copepodites, the number of days until the emergence of copepodites and adult males, the sex ratio, brooding success, and the first brooding day of adult females. No significant differences in the survival rate were noted in response to treatments with different concentrations of $17{\beta}$-estradiol. However, $17{\beta}$-estradiol induced developmental delay and skewed the sex ratio toward males. Copepod development was delayed significantly in the 0.1 and $1\;{\mu}g\;l^{-1}$ $17{\beta}$-estradiol treatment groups relative to the control group, with a more pronounced delay in the $F_1$ group. Body length and biomass were significantly smaller in the $17{\beta}$-estradiol treated groups than in the controls. The male emergence of T. japonicus s.l. was very high in the 10 and $30\;{\mu}g\;l^{-1}$ $17{\beta}$-estradiol treatment group. Furthermore, exposure to $17{\beta}$-estradiol resulted in morphological deformities such as shrinking and swelling of the urosome, twisted setae of the caudal rami, setal loss of swimming legs, abnormal segmentation of antennules, and dwarfism.

This study examines changes in the Arctic sea ice associated with global warming by analyzing the climate coupled general circulation models (CGCMs) provided in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We selected nine models for better performance under 20th century climate conditions based on two different criteria, and then estimated the changes in sea ice extent under global warming conditions. Under projected 21st century climate conditions, all models, with the exception of the GISS-AOM model, project a reduction in sea ice extent in all seasons. The mean reduction in summer (-63%) is almost four times larger than that in winter (-16%), resulting an enhancement of seasonal variations in sea ice extent. The difference between the models, however, becomes larger under the 21st century climate conditions than under 20th century conditions, thus limiting the reliability of sea-ice projections derived from the current CGCMs.

This paper estimates changes in the total factor productivity and technical efficiency change index and the technical change index using the Malmquist productivity index (MPI) in fishery-processed wholesale products over the time period spanning 2006-2008. The model considers a number of employees and operating costs as input factors, and sales and EBIT (earnings before tax and interest) as output factors. The results demonstrate that, between 2006 and 2007, there has generally been no technical progress, although a small improvement in productivity was detected in the sales scale of 10 billion won-50 billion won. Between 2007 and 2008, there was technical progress in the majority of DMU, except within the range of 20 million won-10 billion won. Wilcoxon's rank-sum test, however, demonstrates no statistically significant differences in productivity between the two periods.

Herein, we compared the production rate of UV-absorbing compounds (mycosporine-like amino acids) and carotenoids in two phytoplankton species--Phaeocystis pouchetii and Porosira glacialis--which are the dominant species in Polar Regions under artificial UV radiation conditions. P. pouchetii exposed to UVR and PAR evidenced reductions in the carbon fixation rate, and was not significantly influenced by differing light conditions. However, the concentrations of UV-absorbing compounds and photo-protective pigments of P. pouchetii were increased with increasing exposure time, but P. glacialis maintained constant levels during the UVR exposure experiment. The production rates of MAAs showed a reverse phase between the two phytoplankton species. The carbon fixation rate of P. pouchetii cells was inhibited by exposure to UV radiation, but the production rates of MAAs in P. pouchetii were increased under UV radiation exposure. The carbon fixation rate and production rate of MAAs in P. glacialis were simultaneously inhibited under UV radiation exposure conditions. These results provide us with new information regarding the processes involved in the production of UV-absorbing compounds and photoprotective pigments in two phytoplankton species.

남해 연안에 출현하는 동물플랑크톤 군집의 계절 변화와 주요 분류군의 변동 양상을 파악하기 위해 2005년 5월부터 2006월 2월까지 사계절 동안 실시하였다. 사계절 동안 출현한 동물플랑크톤은 전체 74개 분류군이 출현하였고, 평균 출현 개체수는 2,426~23,793 indiv./$m^3$ 범위였으며, 이 중 N. scintillans가 가장 우점하는 분류군이었다. 동물플랑크톤 주요 분류군은 N. scintillans, A. omorii, A. erythraea, P. parvus s. l, 십각류 유생, Aidanosagitta crassa, 따개비 유생으로 나타났다. 여름철의 동물플랑크톤의 종 다양성 지수는 내만 해역에서 주로 높게 나타났으며, 가을철에 외만에 위치하는 조사해역에서 낮게 나타났다. 이것은 남해 연안의 동물플랑크톤 출현 개체수 변동이 계절에 따른 수온, 염분과 엽록소-a 농도, N. scintillans의 대량 증식에 따라서 변동할 수 있으며, 또한 계절에 따른 대마난류의 세력확장에 따라서 조절될 수 있음을 시사한다.

The Korean Government is trying to construct an ocean research station in Dokdo's water. The station would be the third ocean research station following the Ieodo station and the Gageocho station. Although the new station would served as a scientific research base for peaceful and academic purposes, the construction of the station will almost certainly lead to a diplomatic dispute between Japan and Korea in the near future due to the disputed ownership of the island. In light of the diplomatic protests against the construction of the Ieodo station by the Chinese Government, various domestic and international legal issues which could be raised regarding the construction of the Dokdo station need to be reviewed. Therefore, this article reviews the international legal status of the station and the rights and duties pertaining to its construction, investigates the domestic legal grounds relating to the construction and operation of the marine scientific installation, evaluates the international legal impacts of the construction on the expansion of maritime jurisdiction, the effective control on Dokdo and the negotiations on maritime boundary delimitation, and finally draws conclusions on the future activities of the Korean Government for the construction and operation of the Dokdo Ocean Research Station.

CTD를 이용하여 용존산소의 농도에 대한 연속적인 관측이 이루어지면서 용존산소 농도 분포의 fine structure에 대한 연구가 가능해졌다. 뿐만 아니라 altimeter로부터 해저 퇴적물 표면에 최대한 가까이 까지 관측이 가능해짐에 따라 해저 경계면에서의 용존산소 농도 분포에 대한 정보를 얻을 수 있게 되었다. 지금까지 동해 울릉분지의 용존 산소 농도의 수직 분포는 동해 북부의 일본 분지와는 수심 300 m 이하에서는 수심에 따라 지속적으로 감소하는 형태를 보이는 것으로 알려져 있다. 그러나 2005년부터 2006년까지 6회에 걸쳐 수심이 1000 m보다 깊은 지역에서 해저퇴적물 상부 100 m 이내의 수심까지 용존산소를 관측한 결과, 울릉분지 내의 용존 산소 농도의 수직분포형태는 3가지로 분류된다. 첫 번째는 지금까지 알려진 바와 같이 수심에 따라 지속적으로 감소하는 형태(Type-1), 두 번째는 Type-1과 같은 형태를 보이다가 해저 경계면 근처에서 급격히 산소의 농도가 줄어드는 형태(Type-2), 세 번째는 해저 경계면 상층에 용존산소 농도의 최소층이 존재하는 형태(Type-3)이다. 울릉분지 수심 1000 m 이상되는 지역에서는 분지 전반에 걸쳐 Type-2 형태로 분포하고 Ulleung Interplane Gap을 포함하여 일본 분지와 가까운 지역에서는 Type-1, 독도 인근 해역에서는 Type-3 형태의 분포를 보인다. 표층 퇴적물에서 유기물 분해를 전제로 해저 경계면의 용존 산소 분포를 이용하여 계산된 표층 퇴적물의 산소 소모율은 $0.2{\sim}5.8\;mmol\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$로 실제 퇴적물 배양을 통해 얻은 산소 소모율 약 $1{\sim}9\;mmol\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$(정 등 2009; 이 등 2010b)와 일치하는 것으로 미루어 볼 때, 울릉분지의 전반에 걸쳐 Type-2와 같은 형태의 분포를 보이는 것은 울릉분지의 표층 퇴적물에서 높은 농도를 보이는 유기물의 분해가 일차적으로 중요한 역할을 하는 것으로 판단된다.

Ongoing port baseline surveys are essential for developing ballast water management procedures in order to control unwanted or potentially risky species. Seasonal distributional patterns of marine dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans internationally recognized as harmful species and the related environmental factors were surveyed at Incheon, Gwangyang and Ulsan seaports in Korea from 2007 to 2009. The above three seaports were chosen because of their status as the busiest in Korea and characterized by their different bioregions. Average temperature ranged from $2.08^{\circ}C$ in winter to $26.39^{\circ}C$ in summer at Incheon, $7.22^{\circ}C$ in winter to $25.77^{\circ}C$ in summer at Gwangyang, and $11.59^{\circ}C$ in winter to $21.67^{\circ}C$ in summer at Ulsan during the study period. Average salinity varied from 26.88 in winter to 31.25 in summer at Incheon, 22.83 in winter to 33.41 in summer at Gwangyang, and 30.04 in winter to 33.90 in summer at Ulsan. Noctiluca scintillans appeared consistently at all ports during the study period, indicating its eurythermal and euryhaline nature. The highest abundances (21,813 to 41,753 $inds{\cdot}m^{-3}$) of N. scintillans were observed in May 2008 and 2009 at the outer stations of Incheon port. Abundances of between 10,000 and 30,000 $inds{\cdot}m^{-3}$ were only observed at the innermost station of Ulsan in May, while abundances of between 10,000 and 40,000 $inds{\cdot}m^{-3}$ were frequently observed throughout all stations at Gwangyang during the study period, coinciding with consistently high concentration of chlorophyll-a (hereafter chl-a) ($4.32-8.24\;{\mu}g\;l^{-1}$) compared to other ports. Spatio-temporal variation of chl-a concentration was not significantly correlated with abundances of N. scintillans (p>0.01). However, relatively high chl-a concentrations were consistently recorded along with high abundances of N. scintillans throughout all stations at Gwangyang compared to other ports. Abundances of N. scintillans observed at the three surveyed ports did not significantly (p>0.01) affect the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the surface mixed layer, indicating that the species abundances were not enough to cause reduction of dissolved oxygen during the study period. Presented results indicated that the Gwangyang seaport may provide the most suitable environment for a wide range of N. scintillans blooming compared to other ports.

Inshore tests were performed in order to verify the design concept of deep sea manganese nodule miner at a site near Hupo at East Sea of Korea in June of 2009. Total mining tests of the test miner, named 'Minero$^{(R)}$', together with flexible hose, lifting pump and lifting hose were accomplished. In this study, the performances of three subsystems of testminer (vehicle, pick-up device, and launch-and-recovery device) were analyzed for feasibility assessment of self-propelled remotely controlled miner, and also to compile basic data for designing a pilotminer. Performances of the test miner were defined based on the Functional Requirements of Axiomatic Design. The inshore tests revealed that the test miner generally satisfies the functional performances. Feasibility assessment and reflection on results are discussed within.

Hydrothermal deposits on deep-sea floors are expected to provide potential metal resources for future demands. Korea was recently granted a prospecting licence to undertake exploration for hydrothermal metal deposits in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Kingdom of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean. The Korean Deep Seabed Mining Group (KDSMG), which consists of four Korean companies involved in marine technologies, oil and gas shipping, and smelter industries, has conducted research to evaluate the region's resource potential in cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM) of Korea. Here we present and reflect on the exploration results of these companies and their strategic plans. We also evaluate Research and Development (R&D) progress for the commercial development of seafloor hydrothermal deposits. Our own strategies and prospects for the commercial development of this potential resource are also outlined. We do acknowledge that other potentially important information regarding the amount of ore body, the inside structure, and the metal yields have not yet been clarified sufficiently. As such it is necessary to address these problems through experimental R&D and surveys.

Since 2000 fry releasing programs in Korea have significantly expanded in order to support the commercial fishing industry through recruitment enhancement of targeted species. Here we investigate the economic effectiveness of the Olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) fry releasing program in Korean waters. The market survey method was used in our analyses. Results show that the B/C ratio, as an indicator of economic evaluation, is 2.56 in the East Sea region, 9.45 in the South Sea region, and 1.34 in the West Sea region, which indicates that the fry releasing program is economically feasible but the economic effectiveness varies from region to region.

The securing of raw material is an important requirement for economic development. Many countries, including Korea, actively seek out a stable supply of minerals such as manganese. Manganese nodules are rock concretions on the sea bottom formed of concentric layers of iron and manganese hydroxides around a core and include several strategic minerals necessary for economic development. In particular, the manganese nodule development project (MNDP) plays an important role in the Korean national economy. This study attempts to apply input-output (I-O) analysis in investigating the economic impacts of the MNDP in the Korean national economy. A static I-O framework was employed, focusing on four topics in its application; the production-inducing impacts, the value-added-inducing impacts, the employment-inducing impacts and R&D-inducing impacts of MNDP investments on other sectors. To this end, several versions of the demand-driven models are utilized. In addition, inter-industry linkage analysis is performed to obtain information on the forward and backward linkage effects of industries, including MNDP, to quantify the strength of causation among these industries.