• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.243-251
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• 2012

Real-time monitoring for environmental factors(temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, etc.) and carbonate components( pH and $fCO_2$) was conducted during 5-6th of July, 2012 at a seaweeds farm in Gijang, Busan. Surface temperature and salinity were ranged from $12.5{\sim}17.6^{\circ}C$ and 33.7~34.0, respectively, with highly daily and inter-daily variations due to tide, light frequency(day and night) and currents. Surface $fCO_2$ and pH showed a range of $381{\sim}402{\mu}atm$ and 8.03~8.15, and chlorophyll-a concentration in surface seawater ranged 0.8~5.8 ${\mu}g\;L^{-1}$. Environmental and carbonate factors showed the highest/lowest values around 5 pm of 5th July when the lowest tidal height and strongest thermocline in the water column, suggesting that biological production resulted in decrease of $CO_2$ and increase of pH in the seaweed farm. Processes affecting the surface $fCO_2$ distribution were evaluated using a simple budget model. In day time, biological productions by phytoplankton and macro algae are the main factors for $CO_2$ drawdown and counteracted the amount of $CO_2$ increase by temperature and air-sea exchange. The model values were a little higher than observed values in night time due to the over-estimation of physical mixing. The model suggested that algal production accounted about 14-40% of total $CO_2$ variation in seaweed farm.