• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.457-467
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• 2019

To investigate the long-term variation characteristics of nutrients in the east coast of Korea, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and nutrients were measured at three stations of Sokcho, Jukbyeon and Gampo coasts for five years from 2013 to 2017. For five years, the water temperature of the East Sea coast was in the range of $1.2{\sim}28.8^{\circ}C$, the salinity was in the range of 30.63~34.79 and the dissolved oxygen (DO) was in the range of 3.53~7.64 mL/L. Distribution and variation of the water environment factors in the study area were determined by the vertical stratification of water column and distribution of water temperature. The high DO concentration in Sokcho coast From 2015 to August 2016 is presumed to be the result of the southward inflow of North Korean Cold Water (NKCW). Concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN, $NH_4-N+NO_2-N+NO_3-N$) ranged $0.11{\sim}24.19{\mu}M$, phosphate concentration ranged $0.01{\sim}1.75{\mu}M$, and silicate ranged $0.17{\sim}32.80{\mu}M$. The N:P ratio was in the range of 0.7~54.3 (mean 15.2) and the N:P slope was in the range of 11.67~13.75. The N:P ratios in this study were lower than the Redfield ratio (16), indicating that nitrate did act as a limiting factor in phytoplankton growth. The correlation ($R^2$) of total N:P ratio was as high as 0.95, indicating that the effect of the surrounding land or non-point sources was not significant. In conclusion, the spatial and temporal variation of nutrients in the east coast of Korea was determined by the vertical mixing of water mass with thermocline and mainly affected by physical factors such as influx of external water masses and coastal upwelling, and the influences from inflows from the land were minimal.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.647-658
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• 2018

The aim of this study is to investigate the seasonal changes of phytoplankton communities based on the environmental changes in a dense oyster farming area (Hansan-Geoje Island) from June to December 2016. The water temperature varied from $14^{\circ}C$ to $28.8^{\circ}C$ and its salinity ranged from 29.4 to 34.2 psu. Nitrate+nitrite was kept at c.a. $3.0{\mu}M$ on the surface layer from June to July, below the concentration limit in August and early September, and then gradually increased from late September. Ammonia was high on July 20 and August 10, and its seasonal characteristics were not clear. Phosphate ranged from 0.01 to $0.7{\mu}M$ on the surface layer, and its seasonal changes were similar to those of nitrate+nitrite. Mean silicate concentrations were $10.7{\mu}M$ on the surface and $15.7{\mu}M$ in the bottom layer, and it was not acted as a limiting factor for the growth of phytoplankton. Among the phytoplankton community, Bacillariophyceae, Dinophyceae and Cryptophyceae was 61.2%, 22.5%, and 13.6%, respectively. In late June, dinoflagellate Prorocentrum donghaiense was dominant in the outer waters(St. T1), later on, Cryptomonas spp. and Chaetoceros spp. were dominant, respectively. From late September to October, diatoms Pseudo-nitzschia spp. and Chaetoceros spp. were stimulated under non-stratified condition after the typhoon. In December, A. sanguinea was found to be $1.7{\times}10^5cells\;L^{-1}$. Seasonally, relative high phytoplankton biomass may be favorable to maintain high production of filter feeder oyster in the dense oyster farming areas of Hansan and Geoje Island.