• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.65-75
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• 2004

In order to understand the water masses and their distribution in the eastern Yellow Sea from winter to spring, a cluster analysis was applied to the temperature and salinity data of Korea Oceanographic Data Center from 1970 to 1990. From December to April, Yellow Sea Cold Water (YSCW) dominates the eastern Yellow Sea, whereas Eastern Yellow Sea Mixed Water (MW) and Yellow Sea Warm Water (YSWW) are found in the southern part of the eastern Yellow Sea. MW appears at the frontal region around $34^{\circ}N$ between YSCW in the north and YSWW in the south. On the other hand, Tshushima Warm Water (TWW) is found around Jeju Island and the South Sea of Korea. These water masses are relatively well-mixed throughout the water column due to the winter monsoon. However, the water column begins to be stratified in spring due to increased solar heating, the diminishing winds and fresh water discharge, and the water masses in June may be separated into surface, intermediate and bottom layers of the water column. YSWW advances northwestward from December to February and retreats southeastward from February to April. This suggests a periodic movement of water masses in the southern part of the eastern Yellow Sea from winter to spring. YSWW may continue to move eastward with the prevailing eastward current to the South Sea from April to June. Also, the front relaxes in June, but the mixed water advances to the north, increasing salinity. The salinity is also higher in the nearshore region than offshore. This indicates an influx of oceanic water to the north in the nearshore region of the eastern Yellow Sea in spring in the form of mixed water.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.149-157
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• 1999

Surface sediment samples collected from the eastern half of the Yellow Sea proper in 1998 were analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), ubiquitous pollutants. Total PAHs concentrations varied from 1.0 to $320.5ng\;g^{-1}$ dw. Relatively high concentrations of PAHs were found in the muddy central part of the Yellow Sea. Sedimentary total PAHs concentrations in the Yellow Sea proper were similar to those of Californian offshores and the central Mediterranean Sea, albeit an order of magnitude lower than the Yellow Sea nearshore areas. Phenanthene/Anthracene concentration ratio of PAHs in bottom sediments suggested that pyrolytic PAHs might be dominant over petrogenic ones in the eastern Yellow Sea. Downcore depth distributions of PAHs from the relatively undisturbed core samples of the central Yellow Sea showed decreasing PAHs concentrations with core depths and suggested that the Yellow Sea has been increasingly exposed to PAH for decades. Annual total PAH flux to these sediments was estimated to be $166{\mu}gm^{-2}yr^{-1}$ in the central part of the Yellow Sea for the recent decade.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.520-532
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• 2015

In order to understand the Holocene sea level changes in the eastern Yellow Sea, the west coast of Korea, and to compare the rates of sea level rise in each period of time, the geological proxy records for pre-instrumental era and measurement data for the present day were combined and analysed. The sea level in the Yellow Sea rose fast with a rate of about 10 mm/yr during the early Holocene, and decelerated down to 1 mm/yr since the mid to late Holocene. The rising rates of sea level in the 20th century were slightly higher than those in the late Holocene. The present-day rates of sea level rise, known as the 'rapid' rise, are in fact much lower or similar, compared to the early to mid Holocene sea levels in the study area. Recent tide-gauge data show that sea level rise in the eastern Yellow Sea has been accelerating toward the 21st century. These rising trends coincide well with global rising patterns in sea level. Additionally, the present-day rising trends of sea level in this study are correlated with increased rates of carbon dioxide concentrations and sea surface temperatures, further indicating a signal to global warming associated with the human effect. Thus, the sea level changes induced by current global warming observed in the eastern Yellow Sea and world's oceans can be considered as 'Anthropocene' sea level changes. The changes in sea level are based on instrumental measurements such as tide-gauges and satellite altimetry, meaning the instrumental era. The Holocene changes in sea level can thus be reconstructed from geological proxy records, whereas the Anthropocene sea-level changes can be solely based on instrumental measurements.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.155-168
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• 2011

Coastal boundary current flows along the eastern boundary of the Yellow Sea and its speed was about 0.l m/s during the summer 2007. In order to find major factors that affect the coastal boundary current in the eastern Yellow Sea, three-dimensional numerical model experiments were performed. The model simulation results were validated against hydrographic and current meter data in the eastern Yellow Sea. The eastern boundary current flows along the bottom front over the upper part of slopping bottom. Strength and position of the current were affected by tides, winds, local river discharge, and solar radiation. Tidal stirring and surface wind mixing were major factors that control the summertime boundary currents along the bottom front. Tidal stirring was essential to generate the bottom temperature front and boundary current. Wind mixing made the boundary current wider and augmented its north-ward transport. Buoyancy forcing from the freshwater input and solar radiation also affected the boundary current but their contributions were minor. Strong (weak) tidal mixing during spring (neap) tides made the northward transport larger (smaller) in the numerical simulations. But offshore position of the eastern boundary current's major axis was not apparently changed by the spring-neap cycle in the mid-eastern Yellow Sea due to strong summer stratification. The mean position of coastal boundary current varied due to variations in the level of wind mixing.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.299-306
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• 2009

Fish fauna in the eastern Yellow Sea was determined using samples collected by an otter trawl from September 1999 to November 2001. The fish consisted of 97 species belonging to 80 genera and 50 families. The major taxa were the Perciformes (40 spp.), Pleuronectiformes (17 spp.), Scorpaeniformes (11 spp.) and Clupeiformes (10 spp.). Larimichthys polyactis, Engraulis japonicus, Liparis tanakai, Pampus echinogaster, Lophius lituron and Collichthys niveatus were predominated in abundance in the study area. The composition of the fish fauna has changed during the last three decades.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.41-52
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• 1998

A seasonal circulation pattern in the eastern Yellow Sea (EYS) is suggested from the water mass analysis and geostrophic calculation using the hydrographic data collected by National Fisheries Research and Development Institute during the years of 1970 to 1990. This research focuses on the presence of inflow of warm (and saline) waters into EYS in summer. EYS is divided into two regions in this paper: the west coast of Korea (WCK) and the central Yellow Sea (CYS). In CYS, waters are linked with warm waters near Cheju Island in winter, but with cold waters from the north in summer (in the lower layer). It is not simple to say about WCK because of the influences of freshwater input and tidal mixing. Nevertheless, water mass analysis reveals that along WCK, waters have the major mixing ratios (40-60%) of warm waters in summer, while the dominant mixing ratios (50-90%) of cold waters in winter. Such a seasonal change of water mass distribution can be explained only by seasonal circulation. In winter, warm waters flow northward into CYS and cold waters flow southward along WCK. In summer, warm waters flow northward along WCK and cold waters flow southward into CYS. This circulation pattern is supported by both statistical analysis and dynamic depth topography. Accordingly, Yellow Sea Warm Current may be defined as the inflow of warm waters to CYS in winter and to WCK in summer.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 1976

Each term of heat badget equation in the eastern Yellow Sea was calculated and the variation in relation to meteorological condition was shown for the period from September 1973 to February 1974, At Mal-do near Gunsan the maximum heat exchange occurred at the last ten days of December (--522 1y/day), while at Sunmi-do near Incheon it occurred at the middle ten days of November (--665 1y /day), The contribution of the sensible heat to total heat exchange increased rapidly, while the effect of cloudiness decreased to be negligible in winter. The values of the heat exchange fluctuated considerably with the periodic occurrence of the cold Siberiaa air mass. The mean evaporation heat estimated indirectly from the aerological data was 32 ly/day at the northern part and 269 ly/dlY at the southern part of the Yellow Sea in December 1973.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.179-191
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• 2018

In order to determine the distribution characteristics of the heavy metals in surface sediments of the eastern Yellow Sea, heavy metal concentrations (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, Mn, As, Ni, Co, Li, Fe and Al) together with grain size and total organic carbon (TOC), were analyzed. The concentrations of all heavy metals, with the exception of Pb, Mn and As in some stations, were relatively high in the central area of the Yellow Sea and tended to decrease toward the Korean coast. A significant relationship between grain size and concentrations of heavy metals suggested that they were mostly controlled by quartz dilution effect. However, at some stations, Pb, Mn and As exhibited different distribution patterns. For Pb, the differences were caused by petrogenetic influences (feldspar) in coarse-grained sediments. In the case of Mn, biogenetic influences ($CaCO_3$) affected distribution patterns. As was distributed differently because of the existence of a heavy mineral (pyrite). A comparison with previous data (collected in 2000) shows that the heavy metal concentration in the eastern Yellow Sea has not increased over the past fifteen years. The sedimentary environment of dumping sites in the Yellow Sea has not been significantly improved during this period. The results of the pollution assessment revealed that the concentrations of heavy metals in the study area were lower than lower criteria (TEL, MSQ-1) in Korean and Chinese sediment quality guidelines. The enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index ($I_{geo}$) and ecological risk index (ERI) of Cu, Pb, Zn and Cr were higher in the central area of the Yellow Sea.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.237-246
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• 1992

In order to examine controlling factors on primary productivity and assimilation Number of phytoplankton, chlorophyll-a concentrations, light intensity, temperature, salinity and transparency were measured in the Kyonggi Bay and in the mid0eastern coast of Yellow Sea from March 1989 to October 1990. Chlorophyll-a concentration of phytoplankton ranged from 0.91 to 4.30 ug/; in the Kyonggi Bay, and from 0.78 to 4.97 ug/l in the mideastern coast of Yellow Sea. Daily averaged primary productivities and annual primary productivities of phytoplankton ranged from 37.23 to 1104.44 (averaged 361.54) mgC/m$^2$/day, 131.96hC/m$^2$/yr in the mid0eastern coast of Yellow Sea, respectively. Assimilation Number of phytoplankton ranged from 1.47 to 28.28 mgC/mg chl-a/hr in the Kyonggi Bay, and of phytoplankton in the Kyonggi Bay was higher than that of the mid0eastern coast of Yellow Sea. Light utilization efficiencies (a) in the P-I curve ranged from 0.03 to 0.93 [mgC/mg chl-a/hr]/[ue/m$^2$/sec]in the Kyonggi Bay, and from 0.01 to 0.62 [mgC/mg chl-a/hr]/[ue/m$^2$/sec] in the mid-eastern coast of Yellow Sea. Their results indicated that phytoplankton in the Kyonggi Bay utilized light more efficiently than those of the mid0eastern coast of Yellow Sea. The average values of I/SUB k/ were 48.15 ue/m$^2$/sec in the Kyonggi Bay, and 120.37 uE/m$^2$/sec in the mid-eastern coast of yellow Sea. It means the phytoplankton populations in the Kyonggi Bay seem to be adapted to lower light intensity than those of the mid-eastern coast of Yellow sea.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.111-123
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• 2012

To understand the phytoplankton community in the eastern part of the Yellow Sea (EYS), in the summer, field survey was conducted at 25 stations in June 2009, and water samples were analyzed using a epifluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry and HPLC method. The EYS could be divided into four areas by a cluster analysis, using phytoplankton group abundances: coastal mixing area, Anma-do area, transition water, and the central Yellow Sea. In the coastal mixing area, water column was well mixed vertically, and phytoplankton was dominated by diatoms, chrysophytes, dinoflagellates and nanoflagellates, showing high abundance ($>10^5\;cells\;l^{-1}$). In Anma-do coastal waters characterized by high dominance of dinoflagellates, high phytoplankton abundance and biomass separated from other coastal mixing area. The southeastern upwelling area was expanded from Jin-do to Heuksan-do, by a tidal mixing and coastal upwelling in the southern area of Manjae-do, and phytoplankton was dominated by benthic diatoms, nanoflagellates and Synechococcus group in this area. Phytoplankton abundance and biomass dominated by pico- and nanophytoplankton were low values in the transition waters and the central Yellow Sea. In the surface of the central Yellow Sea, high dominance of photosynthetic pigments, 19'-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin and zeaxanthin implies that haptophytes and cyanobacteria could be the dominant group during the summer. These results indicate that the phytoplankton communities in the EYS were significantly affected by the formation of tidal front, thermal stratification, and coastal upwelling showing the differences of physical and chemical characteristics during the summer.