• 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.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.143-156
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• 2014

We reviewed investigation status on turbidity plume in the statement of marine environmental survey(2008 to 2012) associated with marine sand extraction projects. The survey statement from seven marine sand extraction sites (extraction area of Southern EEZ, extraction area of Western EEZ, relocation zone in the Western EEZ, sea area under jurisdiction of Taean-gun, sea area under jurisdiction of Ansan City, and two discrete sea areas under jurisdiction of Ongjin-gun) in the nearshore and offshore of Korea showed that in situ observations were carried out for the dispersion and transport of suspended sediments on two areas (One is a extraction area in the EEZs, the other is an area of coastal sites). However, sampling station and range have not been selected considering physical, geographical factors (tide, wave, stratification, water depth, etc.) and weather conditions (wind direction and velocity, fetch, duration, etc). Especially turbidity plumes originating from three sources, which include suspended sediments in overflow(or overspill) discharged from spillways and reject chutes of dredging vessel, and resuspended sediments from draghead at the seabed, may be transported to a far greater distance outside the boundary of the extraction site and have undesirable impacts on the marine environment and ecosystem. We address that behaviour of environmental pollutants such as suspended solids, nutrients, and metals should be extensively monitored and diagnosed during the dispersion and transport of the plume. Finally we suggest the necessity to supplement the current system of the sea area utilization consultation and establish the combined guidelines on marine sand extraction to collect basic data, to monitor cumulative effects, and to minimize environmental damages incurred by the aftermath of sand extraction.