• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.23 no.12
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• pp.2015-2028
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• 2014

We analyzed with HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) analysis photosynthetic pigments and environmental factors, microscopic observations of the phytoplankton and zooplankton in the seawater every month from February 2009 to November 2010 in Haengam Bay. The level of dissolved inorganic nutrients was the highest between July and September, when freshwater influx was at its peak, whereas chlorophyll a levels were the highest in April and August. Also, phytoplankton pigment concentration increased when dissolved inorganic nutrients are carried into nearshore waters by rainfall runoff. Based on identification of phytoplankton and photosynthetic pigments results, diatoms were mainly dominant while dinoflagellate populations increased at July and August 2009, May 2010. The zooplankton communities are dominated in terms of Noctiluca scintillans. The contribution of Noctiluca scintillans in 2010 accounts for approximately 77.3% of the total zooplankton. Distribution patterns over time of zooplankton in the seasonal distribution of phytoplankton showed a different pattern.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.61-67
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• 2015

The occurrence of 'algal bloom', caused by the mass proliferation of phytoplankton, causes serious problems in streams and lakes in Korea. Therefore, in this study, the phytoplankton filter-feeding trait of Unio douglasiae, a type of freshwater clam, was used to reduce the algal bloom in outdoor water tanks during the summer. This involved the construction of a U. douglasiae cultivation apparatus, wherein 1,000 clams were divided into 8 rectangular baskets arranged in the shape of an empty square. The control tank was manufactured in exactly the same shape within the water tank, but without the addition of clams. The algal bloom-reducing effect of U. douglasiae was confirmed by the measurement of (and comparing between) the water quality at the center and periphery of the test and control cultivation apparatus. Water quality measurements included the measurement of water temperature, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen (DO) content, and chlorophyll-${\alpha}$ concentrations; the water quality was measured twice a month between June and November 2014.The results of these analyses did not show a significant difference in water quality (temperature, pH, turbidity, DO) between the center and periphery of the test and control tanks. However, the chlorophyll-${\alpha}$ concentration was observed to be much lower at the center of the test tank compared to that at the center and periphery of the control tank, as well as at the periphery of the test tank. This was believed to be a result of the U. douglasiae surrounding the center of the test tank, which prevented the influx of plankton from the periphery. Accordingly, the results of these analyses suggest the possibility that U. douglasiae cultivation could reduce the proliferation of algal blooms in lakes and streams during the summer. In particular, these results indicate possible improvements in U. douglasiae activity (reduction in algal blooms) by their effective arrangement in the water bodies.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.264-276
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• 2021

Background: Salt marshes provide a variety of ecosystem services; however, they are vulnerable to human activity, water level fluctuations, and climate change. Analyses of the relationships between plant communities and environmental conditions in salt marshes are expected to provide useful information for the prediction of changes during climate change. In this study, relationships between the current vegetation structure and environmental factors were evaluated in the tidal flat at the southern tip of Ganghwa, Korea, where salt marshes are well-developed. Results: The vegetation structure in Ganghwa salt marshes was divided into three groups by cluster analysis: group A, dominated by Phragmites communis; group B, dominated by Suaeda japonica; and group C, dominated by other taxa. As determined by PERMANOVA, the groups showed significant differences with respect to altitude, soil moisture, soil organic matter, salinity, sand, clay, and silt ratios. A canonical correspondence analysis based on the percent cover of each species in the quadrats showed that the proportion of sand increased as the altitude increased and S. japonica appeared in soil with a relatively high silt proportion, while P. communis was distributed in soil with low salinity. Conclusions: The distributions of three halophyte groups differed depending on the altitude, soil moisture, salinity, and soil organic matter, sand, silt, and clay contents. Pioneer species, such as S. japonica, appeared in soil with a relatively high silt content. The P. communis community survived under a wider range of soil textures than previously reported in the literature; the species was distributed in soils with relatively low salinity, with a range expansion toward the sea in areas with freshwater influx. The observed spatial distribution patterns may provide a basis for conservation under declining salt marshes.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.49-62
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• 2001

Hydrographic surveys were carried out seven times during May 31, 1998 and September 24, 1998 in order to study the physical environments of the coastal area between Narodo Is. and Sorido Is. in the southern sea of Korea (the South Sea) where the occurrence of Cochlodinium polykrikoides red tide is frequently observed in summer. Temperature and salinity of the water column from the surface to the depth of 30 m exhibit large seasonal variations. Mean temperature of the water column increased by 6 and mean salinity of the water column decreased by 2.71 psu during the observation period. Both the freshwater supplied from the adjacent land and the precipitation over the study area cannot account for the observed salinity variations. The influx of the low salinity water from the offshore area is considered to be the main cause for the observed salinity changes. Surface salinity in the study area shows different spatial distribution in the period of outbreaking, mid-stage and disappearance of the red tide. Especially, salinity was abruptly lowered at the stage of disappearance of red tide as compared to salinity of the previous observation period. Vertical structure of water properties also became vertically homogeneous at the disappearance stage, while it was highly stratified in the previous observation. Such changes can only be explained by the inflow of low salinity water from the offshore, which is considered as the most possible cause for the disappearance of the red tide in the study area. This study suggests that exchanges of water, and chemical and biological factors between coastal areas and of shore area in the South Sea need to be studied in association with the general circulation of the South Sea in order for the better understanding of the occurrence and disappearance of the red tide in the coastal area of the South Sea.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.131-140
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• 2006

Suspended particulate matter and organic carbon were measured in the Mankyoung river estuary in February, May, July and August 2003. There was a large variance in river discharge between the dry season of February and May and the wet season of July and August. The influx of dissolved organic carbon into the estuary was $8.16{\times}10^2tonC\;month^{-1}$ in the dry season and $5.77{\times}10^3tonC\;month^{-1}$ in the wet season. The influx of particulate organic carbon was $9.37{\times}10^2tonC\;month^{-1}$ and $3.14{\times}10^4tonC\;month^{-1}$ in the dry and wet seasons, respectively. Especially, dissolved organic carbon in the northern part of the site inside the dike was increased in July when torrential rainfall was high. In the research, the distribution of dissolved organic carbon showed conservative behavior with the salinity gradient in the estuary, suggesting that physical mixing between seawater and freshwater dominates the distribution pattern of the dissolved organic carbon in the system. However 60 to 90% of the particulate organic carbon introduced into the estuary was removed from the surface water at the upper estuarine mixing zone of low salinities, showing non-conservative behavior similar with suspended particulate matte r. The completion of the Saemangum Dike is likely to inhibit the exchange of materials between open sea and the Mankyoung estuary. This suggests that the oxidation of organic carbon in the bottom of the estuary may exhaust dissolved oxygen in the confined environment.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.36 no.2 s.103
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• pp.181-190
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• 2003

An investigation was conducted on the aquatic environment of the Okchon Stream watershed six times from May to September 2002. The results of investigation revealed that variation of environmental factors were quite significant for each stream and reach, showing a significant difference between running water and stagnant water. Aquatic nutrients were relatively low in the upstream, gradually increasing as the influx of treated wastewater into the stream increased. This suggests that the point source definitely affected the nutrient content of the stream. In particular, the variations of SRP and $NH_4$ were very distinct in the watershed compared to other nutrients. Thus, it can be considered as a major factor in evaluating the effect of treated wastewater. Immediately after the influx of treated waste-water, the average content of SRP rose to 919.3 ${\mu}g$ P/l. This was a very effective level in the watershed, suggesting that the percentage of the nutrients in the water was controlled by the content of P. The constant supply of treated wastewater was found to be a critical factor in triggering the increase in chl-a in the embayment of the stream. With the proliferation of the blue-green algae, the content of chl- a ranged 234.5${\sim}$1,692.2 ${\mu}g/l$. The maximum standing crops exceeded $1.0{\times}10^6$ cells/ml in August, which was more than 200 times the level for red tide in the freshwater. This result was well reflected in other environmental factors, with 100% of AFDM/TSS reflecting the severity of water pollution by algae. Therefore, the reduction of P and N con-tents in the treated wastewater is critical in improving the aquatic environment of the stream as well as water quality management for the reservoir.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.78-85
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• 2008

We estimated the pollutant loads for the last 3 years based on the daily discharge at the Nakdong River dam(barrage) and spatiotemporal characteristics of seawater quality in the Nakdong river estuary to investigate the correlation between the pollutant load inflow rate and seawater quality. The main results from this research are summarized as follows. (1) The total discharge at the Nakdong River dam dam the last 11 years has been $224,576.8{\times}10^6m^3/day$. The discharge figures show that the maximum discharge occurs in August with $52,634.2{\times}10^6 m^3/day$ (23.4% of the year's volume), followed by July and Sep. in that order with 23.1 and 17%, respectively. (2) The pollutant load influx from the Nakdong River dam was composed of 307,591.3COD-kg/day, 128.746.1 TN-kg/day, and 107,625.8 TP-kg/day. (3) The surface temperature in the Nakdong River estuary was about $2.137^{\circ}C$ higher than that of the lower layer. The salinity of the lower layer was 2.209%o higher than that of the ocean surface. The salinity of the ocean surface decreased by up to 19.593%o due to the inflow of the discharge at the Nakdong River dam. (4) DO, COD, TN, and SS concentration levels tended to be higher at the ocean surface than in lower layers, whereas the reverse was true for TP. (5) The water mass at the ocean's surface and in the lower layers during the drought and flood seasons tended to be separated by the difference in densities due to the freshwater inflow.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.65-75
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• 2000

The roles of environmental factors affecting on heterotrophic bacterial distribution at Hangam Bay and Masan Bay in which occurred frequently red tide, during June to November 1996 were investigated. The aquatic environment of Masan Bay and Haengam Bay showed difference in the contents of inorganic nutrients. Haengam Bay may be defined as nitrogen limited aquatic environment. On the other hand, Masan Bay appeared to the appropriate N/P molar ratio of mean 15.9 during the periods of study. By the results of simple regression, chlorophyll a showed significant correlation with precipitation (r=0.813, P<0.05) and phosphorus (r=0.846, P<0.05) at Haengam Bay, but not showed significant correlation with parameters at Masan Bay. The heterotrophic bacteria showed significant correlation with many environmental parameters at Masan Bay (Precipitation, r=0.990, P<0.01 : NO₃-N, r=0.901, P<0.05 : Dissolved inorganic nitrogen, r=0.899, P<0.05 ; N/P molar ratio, r=0.952, P<0.05 : Salinity, r: -0.934, P<0.05) than Haengam Bay (SiO₃-Si, r=0.960, P<0.01). By the results of multiple regression, the chlorophyll a was varied with only 2 factors in Masan Bay (R²=0.100) and 3 factor in Haengam Bay (R²=0.903). The major factor which affected to chlorophyll a was SiO₃-Si (R²%=67.8) in Masan Bay, and -N/P (R²%=37.6) in Haengam Bay. The heterotrophic bacteria were varied with 4 factors in Masan Bay (R²=100) and 2 factor in Haengam Bay (R²%=0.878). The major factor, which affected to heterotrophic bacteria, was SiO₃-Si (R²%=42.3) and salinity (R²%=32.1) in Masan Bay, and SiO₃-Si (R²%=76.3) in Haengam Bay. Resultingly, the influx of freshwater in Masan and Haengam Bay was enriched in inorganic nutrients, and plays an important role in the change of heteroterophic bacteria and chlorophyll a during early summer to autumn.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.77-100
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• 2024

Circulation, tides, currents, harmful algal blooms, water quality, and hypoxic conditions in Jinhae-Masan Bay have been extensively studied. However, these previous studies primarily focused on short-term variations, and there was limited detailed investigation into the physical mechanisms responsible for ocean circulation in the bays. Oceanic processes in the bays, such as pollutant dispersal, changes on a seasonal time scale. Therefore, this study aimed to understand how the circulation in Jinhae-Masan Bay varies seasonally and to examine the effects of tides, winds, and river discharges on regional ocean circulation. To achieve this, a three-dimensional ocean circulation model was used to simulate circulation patterns from 2016 to 2018, and sensitivity experiments were conducted. This study reveals that convective estuarine circulation develops in Jinhae and Masan Bays, characterized by the inflow of deep oceanic water from the Korea Strait through Gadeoksudo, while surface water flows outward. This deep water intrusion divides into northward and westward branches. In this study, the volume transport was calculated along the direction of bottom channels in each region. The meridional water exchange in the eastern region of Jinhae Bay is 2.3 times greater in winter and 1.4 times greater in summer compared to that of zonal exchange in the western region. In the western region of Jinhae Bay, the circulation pattern varies significantly by season due to changes in the balance of forces. During winter, surface currents flow southward and bottom currents flow northward, strengthening the north-south convective circulation due to the combined effects of northwesterly winds and the slope of the sea surface. In contrast, during summer, southwesterly winds cause surface seawater to flow eastward, and the elevated sea surface in the southeastern part enhances northward barotropic pressure gradient intensifying the eastward surface flow. The density gradient and southward baroclinic pressure gradient increase in the lower layer, causing a strong westward inflow of seawater from Gadeoksudo, enhancing the zonal convective circulation by 26% compared to winter. The convective circulation in the western Jinhae Bay is significantly influenced by both tidal current and wind during both winter and summer. In the eastern Jinhae Bay and Masan Bay, surface water flows outward to the open sea in all seasons, while bottom water flows inward, demonstrating a typical convective estuarine circulation. In winter, the contributions of wind and freshwater influx are significant, while in summer, the influence of mixing by tidal currents plays a major role in the north-south convective circulation. In the eastern Jinhae Bay, tidally driven residual circulation patterns, influenced by the local topography, are distinct. The study results are expected to enhance our understanding of pollutant dispersion, summer hypoxic events, and the abundance of red tide organisms in these bays.