• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.150-159
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• 2008

The marine litter generated as by-products of human activities and economic development enters to the sea through rivers or stream Indirectly, and through sea-based activities directly. It is commonly comprised of materials that degrade very slowly, such as various plastic products, polystyrene, glass, rubber, metal, wood, derelict fishing nets, wire, rope and so on. Such litter is found in the water column and on the seafloor as well as coastal areas In the Northwest Pacific region. It causes injury or death of human and other living organisms and also accident or damage of the vessel. It is not only a problem of country but also regional and/or global problem because it is transported by currents and winds from one country to another. In this regard, Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) Marine Litter Activity (MALITA) project had been carried out during 2006-2007 biennium and NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI) has been also continuously implemented in the 2008-2009 biennium as next phase step of MALITA. MERRAC, one of four Regional Activity Centres (RACs) of NOWPAP, has developed monitoring guidelines, sectoral guidelines, and brochures related to sea-based marine litter and port reception facilities and services through MALITA project. Based upon these output, MERRAC will continuously implement relevant activities of RAP MALI in order to help to establish and improve a regional mechanism to deal with the sea-based marine litter problem. This paper aims to introduce MERRAC activities under MALITA and RAP MALI, and to suggest several recommendations to reduce marine litter in the NOWPAP region.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.39 no.1 s.176
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• pp.83-93
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• 2006

The Kita-Yamato Trough is characterized by a SW-NE trending narrow graben between the Yamato Bank and the Kita-Yamato Bank in the central East Sea/Japan Sea (ES/JS). Core 20EEZ-1 was obtained in the flat summit of a small ridge from the southwest Kita-Yamato Trough. The sedimentation was mainly controlled by the supply of hemipelgic sediments and substantial tephras from explosive volcanic eruptions of the Quaternary volcanoes. The aim of this study is to reconstruct the tephrostratigraphy from the marine sediments collected from the Kita-Yamato Trough and to provide the atmosphere and ocean conditions during the explosive volcanic eruptions. According to the detailed tephrostratigraphy and lithofacies records, the core sediments were deposited during the last marine isotope stage (MIS) 7. The core consists of four lithofacies, idetified as, oxidized mud (OM), crudely laminated mud (CLM) and bioturbated mud (BM), interbedded with coarse-grained tephra (TP). The major element geochemistry and stratigraphic positions of seven tephra layers suggest that they originated from the Aira caldera in Kyushu area among the Japanese islands (AT tephra; 29.24 ka), unknown submarine volcano in the south Korea Plateau (SKP-I; MIS 3, SKP-II; MIS 4, SKP-IV; boundary between MIS 6 and MIS 5e, SKP-V; MIS 6, respectively), and the Baegdusan volcano in the Korean Peninsula (B-KY1; ca. 130 ka, B-KY2; ca. 196 ka). The absence of tephras originated trom Ulleung Island in core 20EEZ-l suggest that the tephras had not been transported into the Kita-Yamato Trough by atmosphere conditions during the eruptions. On the other hand, the B-KYI and the B-KY2 tephras derived from the Baegdusan volcano were founded in the Kita-Yamato Trough by a presence of prevailing westerly winds during the eruptions. Furthermore, the SKP tephras were characterized by the transport across the air-water interface, causing quickly thrust of raising eruption plumes from subaqueous explosive eruptions. Surface currents may play an important role in controlling the distribution patterns of the SKP tephras to distal areas. The tephrostratigraphic study in the Kita-Yamato Trough provides the important chronostratigraphic marker horizons and the detailed atmosphere and ocean conditions during the explosive eruptions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.143-156
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• 2015

In order to understand the dynamic characteristics of water column environments in the Western Pacific seamount area (approximately $150.2^{\circ}E$, $20^{\circ}N$), we investigated the water mass and the behavior of water column parameters such as dissolved oxygen, inorganic nutrients (N, P), and chlorophyll-a. Physico-chemical properties of water column were obtained by CTD system at the nine stations which were selected along the east-west and south-north direction around the seamount (OSM14-2) in October 2014. From the temperature-salinity diagram, the main water masses were separated into North Pacific Tropical Water and Thermocline Water in the surface layer, North Pacific Intermediate Water in the intermediate layer, and North Pacific Deep Water in the bottom layer, respectively. Oxygen minimum zone (OMZ, mean $O_2$ $73.26{\mu}M$), known as dysoxic condition ($O_2<90{\mu}M$), was distributed in the depth range of 700~1,200 m throughout the study area. Inorganic nutrients typified by nitrite + nitrate and phosphate showed the lowest concentration in the surface mixed layer and then gradually increased downward with representing the maximum concentration in the OMZ, with lower N:P ratio (13.7), indicating that the nitrogen is regarded as limiting factor for primary production. Vertical distribution of water column parameters along the east-west and south-north station line around the seamount showed the effect of bottom water inflowing at around 500 m deep in the western and southern region, and concentrations of water column parameters in the bottom layer (below 2,500 m deep) of the western and southern region were differently distributed comparing to those of the other side regions (eastern and northern). The value of Excess N calculated from Redfield ratio (N:P=16:1) represented the negative value throughout the study area, which indicated the nitrogen sink dominant environments, and relative higher value of Excess N observed in the bottom layer of western and southern region. These observations suggest that the topographic features of a seamount influence the circulation of bottom current and its effects play a significant role in determining the behavior of water column environmental parameters.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.177-184
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• 1991

We have investigated geographical distribution and physico-chemical properties of water masses or water types at mid-bottom depth in the neighbouring sea of Cheju Island in August 1986. In 50m layer the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water(YSBCW) below $12^{\circ}C$ was observed in the northwestern area of Cheju Island, while the Tsushima Warm Water(TWW) with relatively high temperature$(>16^{\circ}C)$ and salinity more than 34.0 in its southeastern area extended as far as the coast of about 15km. Also, 50m layer at the outside stations of its southwestern area indicated relatively cold water temperature$(11-30^{\circ}C)$, probably due to southward transport of the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water(YSBCW . The Yellow Sea Warm Water(YSWW), the mixed water of the YSBCW and the TWW, ranged $13^{\circ}C$ to $16^{\circ}C$ in water temperature and was appeared mainly in the coastal and intermediate area of Cheju Island. And the relatively cold water in the southwestern area and the Tsushima Warm Water were more extensively distributed in 50m layer than the deeper layer. Horizontal distributions of nitrate and phosphate showed a pattern similar to that of water temperature. As it were, the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water had the highest concentration of nutrients, while southwestern outside stations had the lowest nutrient contents. Especially, the concentration of nitrate in the latter was remarkably low compared with the value at the other stations. It may be attributed to intensive vertical mixing by collision of the northward driven Tn with the southward driven YSBCW. Also, it was particular that the Tsushima Warm Water indicated relatively high silicate content corresponding to that of the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water. Based on the data of $\Delta Si/\Delta P$ ratio, it seems that the mid-bottom waters in this study area are younger than the surface or intermediate water in the Korean East Sea.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.536-555
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• 2021

Sea-surface wind is an important variable in ocean-atmosphere interactions, leading to the changes in ocean surface currents and circulation, mixed layers, and heat flux. With the development of satellite technology, sea-surface winds data retrieved from scatterometer observation data have been used for various purposes. In a complex marine environment such as the Korean Peninsula coast, scatterometer-observed sea-surface wind is an important factor for analyzing ocean and atmospheric phenomena. Therefore, the validation results of wind accuracy can be used for diverse applications. In this study, the sea-surface winds derived from ASCAT (Advanced SCATterometer) mounted on MetOp-A/B (METeorological Operational Satellite-A/B) were validated compared to in-situ wind measurements at 16 marine buoy stations around the Korean Peninsula from January to December 2020. The buoy winds measured at a height of 4-5 m from the sea surface were converted to 10-m neutral winds using the LKB (Liu-Katsaros-Businger) model. The matchup procedure produced 5,544 and 10,051 collocation points for MetOp-A and MetOp-B, respectively. The root mean square errors (RMSE) were 1.36 and 1.28 m s^-1, and bias errors amounted to 0.44 and 0.65 m s^-1 for MetOp-A and MetOp-B, respectively. The wind directions of both scatterometers exhibited negative biases of -8.03° and -6.97° and RMSE values of 32.46° and 36.06° for MetOp-A and MetOp-B, respectively. These errors were likely associated with the stratification and dynamics of the marine-atmospheric boundary layer. In the seas around the Korean Peninsula, the sea-surface winds of the ASCAT tended to be more overestimated than the in-situ wind speeds, particularly at weak wind speeds. In addition, the closer the distance from the coast, the more the amplification of error. The present results could contribute to the development of a prediction model as improved input data and the understanding of air-sea interaction and impact of typhoons in the coastal regions around the Korean Peninsula.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.62-69
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• 2017

In order to assess the potential environmental factors in the vicinity of a fish cage farm, we investigated the biotic and abiotic factors during a short-term period in summer 2016 in two inner stations of Tongyeong Obi. High water temperature on August 10^th was apparent among the full depth of up to 29℃, which might have been related to the abnormally high temperatures of large amounts of the Changjiang River discharge along the Tongyeong coast. The concentration of nitrate+nitrite, ammonium, phosphate, and silicate ranged from 0.08 to 5.11 μM, 0.08 to 34.62 μM, 0.01 to 1.15 μM, and 1.46 to 31.79 μM, respectively. The nutrients were mainly supplied by precipitation and leaching from the bottom sediments in the fish culture farm area. It was not retained for a long duration because of the phytoplankton consumption and diffusion by water currents. The chlorophyll a concentration varied from 0.49 ㎍ l^-1 to 7.39 ㎍ l^-1. At that time, Chaetoceros debilis, C. pseudocurvisetus, and Pseudo-nitzschia delicatissima were rapidly proliferated and reached the level of 4.74 × 10⁹ cells l^-1. In particular, the lowest dissolved oxygen was recorded at 4.52 ㎍ l^-1 at the bottom layer after bloom. Therefore, even though phytoplankton blooms in summer have frequently occurred in a fish culture farm area, the oxygen-deficient environments were not found in neither the surface nor bottom layers, which implied that the water masses might be well exchanged from the mouth of the northwest and southeast between Obi and Mireuk Island in the study area.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2024

An analysis of the coastal water temperature in the Tongyeong waters, the eastern sea of the South Sea of Korea, revealed that the water temperature rose sharply before the typhoon made landfall. The water temperature rise occurred throughout the entire water column. An analysis of the sea surface temperature data observed by NOAA(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) satellites, indicated that sea water with a temperature of 30℃ existed in the eastern waters of the eastern South Sea of Korea before the typhoon landed. The southeastern sea of Korea is an area where ocean currents prevail from west to east owing to the Tsushima Warm Current. However, an analysis of the satellite data showed that seawater at 30℃ moved from east to west, indicating that it was affected by the Ekman transport caused by the typhoon before landing. In addition, because the eastern waters of the South Sea are not as deep as those of the East Sea, the water temperature of the entire water layer may remain constant owing to vertical mixing caused by the wind. Because the rise in water temperature in each water layer occurred on the same day, the rise in the bottom water temperature can be considered as owing to vertical mixing. Indeed, the southeastern sea of Korea is a sea area where the water temperature can rise rapidly depending on the direction of approach of the typhoon and the location of high temperature formation.