• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.298-317
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• 2019

The physical characteristics of the Ulleung Warm Eddy (UWE) and its relationship with the East Korea Warm Current (EKWC) were analyzed using the CMEMS (Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service) satellite altimetry data and the CTD data of the National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS) near the Ulleung Basin from 1993 to 2017. The distribution of the UWEs coupled with EKWC accounts for 81% of the total number of the UWEs. Only 7% of the total eddies are completely separated from the EKWC. The UWE has the characteristics of high temperature and high salinity water inside of it when it is formed from the EKWC. However, when the UWE is wintering, its internal structure changes greatly. In the winter, surface homogeneous layer of $10^{\circ}C$ and 34.2 psu inside of the UWE is produced by vertical convection from sea-surface cooling, and deepened to a maximum depth of approximately 250 m in early spring. In summer, the UWE changes into a structure with a stratified structure in the upper layer within a depth of 100 m and a homogeneous layer made in winter in the lower layer. 62 UWEs were produced for 25 years from 1993 to 2017. on average, 2.5 UWEs were formed annually, and the average life span was 259 days (approximately 8.6 months). The average size of the UWEs is 98 km in the east-west direction and 109 km in the north-south direction. The average size of UWE using satellite altimetric data is estimated to be 1~25 km smaller than that using water temperature cross-sectional data.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.225-242
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• 2012

This is the first attempt to produce simultaneous surface current field from satellite altimeter data for the entire East Sea and to provide surface current information to users with formal description. It is possible to estimate surface geostrophic current field in near real-time because satellite altimeters and coastal tide gauges supply sea level data for the whole East Sea. Strength and location of the major currents and meso-scale eddies can be identified from the estimated surface geostrophic current field. The mean locations of major surface currents were explicated relative to topographic, ocean-surface and undersea features with schematic representation of surface circulation. In order to demonstrate the practical use of this surface current information, exemplary descriptions of annual, seasonal and monthly mean surface geostrophic current distributions were presented. In order to objectively classify surface circulation patterns in the East Sea, empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis was performed on the estimated 16-year (1993-2008) surface current data. The first mode was associated with intensification or weakening of the East Korea Warm Current (EKWC) flowing northward along the east coast of Korea and of the anti-cyclonic circulation southwest of Yamato Basin. The second mode was associated with meandering paths of the EKWC in the southern East Sea with wavelength of 300 km. The first and second modes had inter-annual variations. The East Sea surface circulation was classified as inertial boundary current pattern, Tsushima Warm Current pattern, meandering pattern, and Offshore Branch pattern by the time coefficient of the first two EOF modes.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.354-363
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• 1995

Temporal change of a warm eddy off Sogcho was studied using satellite infrared images from January to lune 1992 and its structure was investigated by the observations in Hay. There were two kinds of event for eddy formation. IR images in January indicated that the eddy Haying a horizontal dimension of about 200km was first formed by an injection of warm water. After some deformation and cooling processes the second restrengthening event took place in late March when a warm filament began to penetrate northward and circumvented the preexisting eddy. This eddy became a complete ring-shape with cooled water arrested inside from April to May. The maximum thickness of the isothermal subsurface layer with temperature of $10.0-10.4^{\circ}C$ was about 170m. Except that the current velocity was about 80cm/sec near the axis of the last Korea Warm Current close to Sogcho, the interior of the eddy had an anticyclonic motion with overall swirl velocity of 30-50cm/sec. Velocity rapidly decreased vertically below the main thermocline.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.345-352
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• 2010

The objective of this paper is to explore the short-term variability of water temperature and chlorophyll a (Chl-a) derived from in-situ and satellite data (NOAA, Sea WiFS and QuikScat) in the upwelling region of the southeastern part of Korean Peninsula in June and August, 2007. Particularly we focused on the spatial variability of sea surface temperature(SST) and Chl-a in the East Korean Warm Current region. In the results of the in-situ data, the peaks of Chl-a in june was shown at a depth of 50m The peaks of Chl-a in August was shown at a depth of 10m at the stations 4 and 5 near the land, and a depth of 30m at the other stations. The Chl-a concentrations in August were also lower than those in june except for station 5. As a result, the peaks of Chl-a in August occurred at a depth of 20~40 m shallower than those of Chl-a in june. This indicates that the nutrient-rich water within the mixed layer depth may be immediately supplied by the coastal upwelling, which is due to the southerly component of wind. The relationship between SST and Chl-a showed a negative correlation, and the high concentration of Chl-a occurred in the cold water area. The southerly wind and the East Korean Warm Current influenced a remarkable offshore movement of the cold water and Chl-a near the coastal area.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.192-202
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• 2024

Ocean reanalysis data are extensively used in ocean circulation and climate research by integrating observational data with numerical models. This approach overcomes the spatial and temporal limitations of observational data and provides high-resolution gridded information that considers the physical interactions between ocean variables. In this study, I extended the previously produced 12-year (2011-2022) Northwest Pacific regional ocean reanalysis data to create a long-term reanalysis dataset (K-ORA22E) with a horizontal resolution of 1/24° spanning 30 years (1993-2022). These data were analyzed to diagnose long-term ocean climate change in the Korean marginal seas. Analysis of the K-ORA22E data revealed that the axis of the Kuroshio extension has shifted northward by approximately 6 km per year over the past 30 years, with a significant increase in sea surface temperature north of the Kuroshio axis. Among the waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula, the East Sea exhibited the most significant temperature increase. In the East Sea, the temperature increase was more pronounced in the middle layer than in the surface layer, with the East Korea Warm Current showing a rate two to three times higher than the global average. In the central Yellow Sea, where the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water appears, temperatures increased over the long-term, but decreased along the west and south coasts of the Korean Peninsula. These spatial differences in long-term temperature changes appear to be closely related to the heat transport pathways of warm water from the Kuroshio Current. High-resolution regional ocean reanalysis data, such as the K-ORA22E produced in this study, are essential foundational data for understanding long-term variability in the Korean marginal seas and analyzing the impacts of climate change.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.29-38
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• 1989

It has been believed that the circulation in the Japan Sea involves separation of current from the Korean coast and formation of a cold cyclonic gyre in the north. To explain this, a simple quasi-geostrophic linear model is considered. The model is basically of an inflow-outflow system. The local forcings, wind and air-sea heat exchange together with damping (both mechanical and thermal), are imposed upon. The results show that only the buoyancy damping due to perturbations from local thermal adjustment can cause the separation and the gyre. Various types of circulation patterns are possible depending on the intensity of the thermal forcing.

• Proceedings of the Acoustical Society of Korea Conference
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• autumn
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• pp.417-420
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• 2004

동해는 크게 북한한류계수의 지배적인 영향을 받는 북부해역, 동한난류계수의 지배적인 영향을 받는 남부해역과 이들이 만나서 극전선이 형성되는 중부해역 등 세 해역으로 구분할 수 있고 이러한 환경에서의 해군 함정의 대잠탐지환경은 같은 동해라 하더라도 크게 다를 것으로 예상된다. 본 연구에서는 저주파 거리종속 모델인 RAM 을 이용하여 평균해황 하에서 각 해역에서의 전달손실 값을 비교하였다. 음원을 수심 100m, 수신기 수심을 10m와 100m로 설정하여 실험을 하였으며 아울러 평균해황이 아닌 일정시기에 관측한 순간해황 자료를 통한 모델결과도 같이 분석하였다. 실험결과, 연안에 위치한 음원으로부터 음파가 외해로 전달됨에 따라 냉난수대간의 수온전선 영향을 받게되며 수온전선을 통과하면서 남부해역에서의 음파는 중부 및 북부해역 보다 난류의 영향을 더 많이 받게된다. 따라서 북부보다는 중부해역이, 중부보다는 남부해역에서의 전달손실값이 더 커지게 된다. 특히 이러한 경향은 북한한류계수가 발달하여 난류와 수온전선이 형성되는 8월에 더 큰 것으로 나타났다.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.200-209
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• 1984

On the basis of oceanographic observation conducted in summer 1982, the flow pattern of the Tsushima Warm Current definitely showed two branches with high surface velocity more than 70 cm/sec in the western channel of Korea Strait. One of the branches, the East Korea Warm Current, found about 8 km off Pusan flows northward along the east coast of Korea and the other branch, located at about 20km off Pusan flows east after passing the Korea Strait. The branching of two flows already occurred before the Tsushima Warm Current reaches the Pusan Tsushima section, and the volume transport and the widths of the two branches are not much different from each other. The number of branches may be controlled by the width of western channel and the flow of two branches may also be related to the variation of layer depth and the widening ratio of widths between the western channel and the Japan Sea (East Sea).

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.105-114
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• 1997

Wind is one of the main forcing contributing the circulation of the East Sea. By using 1.5-layer and 2.5-layer reduced gravity models, circulation in the East Sea is simulated. The bifurcation of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC), the separation of East Korea Warm Current (EKWC) from the east coast of Korea, the Nearshore Branch of TWC, and the cyclonic gyres stretched from the East Korea Bay to the northern half of the East Sea are compared well with the schematic map. The features of the upper and the lower layer are very similar except for those of the central region. The Polar Front is the separating line of two different features. The main feature of northern part of the East Sea, north of the Polar Front is cyclonic gyres, which are composed of three cyclonic gyres in most seasons. North Korean Cold Current (NKCC) and Liman Cold Current (LCC) are the nearshore part of these cyclonic gyres. In the south of the Polar Front the current systems of both layers are anticyclonic in most seasons, except that those of the upper layer in winter and spring are not anticyclonic. Along the coast of Korea and Russia, the velocity structure is barotropic, while that of the central region is baroclinic. The effects due to the seasonal variations of wind stress and local Ekman suction/pumping are studied by imposing the domain with modified wind stress. which is spatial mean with temporal variations and temporal mean with spatial variations. It is found that the local Ekman suction/pumping due to wind stress curl is important to the formation of the cyclonic gyres in the western and the northwestern region of the East Sea.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.175-181
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• 1999

A recurring eddy which located at the terminal end of the Korean East Warm Current was captured on ocean color and sea surface temperature imagery from satellite in spring and autumn. During late April, 1997 thermal infrared imagery from the NOAA AVHRR sensor and ocean color data from the Japanese ADEOS-I OCTS sensor, revealed this feature. The cold core had elevated chlorophyll concentrations, based on OCTS estimates, of greater than 3 mg/m$^3$ while the warmer surrounding waters had chlorophyll concentrations of 1 mg/m$^3$ or less. The elevated cholophyll accociated with this eddy has not been previously described. The eddy is also evident in SST images from autumn, but the SST in the core is warmer than in spring, and the warm jet flowing to the west of the eddy is also warmer is autumn compared to spring. A reccurring eddy and the high chlorophyll_a concentration area which surround around the eddy show on NOAA and SeaWiFS images in March 2, 1998. The eddy forms at the northern extent of the Korean East Warm Current as those waters collide with the cold, south-flowing Liman Current over a topographic shelf about 1500 m deep. This region of the eddy formation appears to have a strong connection with the dynamics of the western part of the polar front eddy field that dominates surface mesoscale structure in the central East (Japan) Sea. Interaction of the eddy with ARGOW tracked drifters, and evidence for its persistence are discussed.