• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.317-326
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• 2003

In order to improve our knowledge of the characteristics of organic compounds in coastal waters, water samples were collected from the Incheon coastal region, the Hyungsan River in Youngil Bay and the Busan coastal region. Also, mooring was carried out near the Kanghwa Island and Seo Island. In this study, the relationship between the total organic carbon (TOC) and salinity, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and salinity were evaluated and determined. Riverine end-member of TOC into the Korean coastal area and its COD estimated from these relationships were 5.32 mg C/l and 8.87 mg O$_2$/l, respectively. The oxidation efficiency of COD to TOC estimated using the high-temperature catalytic oxidation method was about 47％. The linear relationship between TOC and COD was derived as COD (mg O$_2$/l)=0.61${\times}$TOC (mg C/l) -0.03, (R$^2$=0.66). Therefore, it is possible to estimate total organic carbon using this equation from previously reported chemical oxygen demand.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.291-297
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• 2010

In the summer of 2008 (August 4-14), vertical and horizontal distributions of inorganic nutrients and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were measured in the southwestern East Sea. Concentrations of DOC were determined for the first time in the southwestern East Sea using the high-temperature combustion oxidation (HTCO) method, and results were compared with those measured by another laboratory. Concentrations of DOC ranged from 58 to 104 ${\mu}M$ in the upper 200 m, showing a typical decreasing pattern with depth. Generally, concentrations of DOC were relatively lower, with higher nutrient concentrations, in the upper layer of the coastal upwelling zone. Concentrations of DOC ranged from 54 to 64 ${\mu}M$ in the deep Ulleung Basin (200-1500 m), and were higher than those in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In association with rapid vertical ventilation of the euphotic, this difference indicates a larger accumulation of semi-labile DOC in the deep East Sea than in the major oceans. A correlation between apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) and DOC in the deep ocean of the East Sea revealed that only a small portion (<10%) of the sinking DOC, relative to the sinking particulate organic carbon (POC), contributes to microbial degradation. Our results present an important data set of DOC in the East Sea, which plays a critical role in carbon cycle modeling and sequestration.