• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.151-171
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• 2017

Most of oceanic current maps in the secondary school science and earth science textbooks have been made on the base of extensive in-situ measurements conducted by Japanese oceanographers during 1930s. According to up-to-date scientific knowledge on the currents in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea (YES), such maps have significant errors and are likely to cause misconceptions to students, thus new schematic map of ocean currents is needed. The currents in the YES change seasonally due to relatively shallow water depths, complex terrain, winds, and tides. These factors make it difficult to construct a unified ocean current map of the YES. Sixteen major items, such as the flow of the Kuroshio Current into the East China Sea and its northward path, the origin of the Tsushima Warm Current and its path into the Korea Strait, the path of Taiwan Warm Current, the Jeju Warm Current, the runoff pattern of the Yangtze River flow, the routes of the northward Yellow Sea Warm Current, the Chinese Coastal Current, and the West Korea Coastal Current off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, were selected to produce the schematic current map. Review of previous scientific researches, in-depth discussions through academic conferences, expert discussions, and consultations for three years since 2014 enabled us to produce the final ocean current maps for the YES after many revisions. Considering the complexity of the ocean currents, we made seven ocean current maps: two representative current patterns in summer and winter, seasonal current maps for upper layer and lower layer in summer and winter, and one representative surface current map. It is expected that the representative maps of the YES, connected to the current maps of the East Sea and the Northwest Pacific Ocean, would be widely utilized for diverse purposes in the secondary-school textbooks as well as high-level educational purposes and even for scientific scholarly experts.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.1385-1395
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• 2010

Harmful dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms have been frequently occurred in coastal areas of the East Sea since 1995. We compared the oceanic conditions in years 1995, 2001 and 2003 when the C. polykrikoides bloom was strong, and in years 1998 and 2004 when the C. polykrikoides bloom was not appeared. We studied temporal and spatial variation of upwelling and geostrophic currents on the western channel of Korean Strait, an entrance of the East Sea. The period and occurrence area of C. polykrikoides bloom was depended on variation of upwelling in summer. In the distributions of geostrophic current, southward current was dominant near the coast in August, 1998 and 2000. Whereas northward current was dominant near and off the coast in August, 1995 and 2003 which the C. polykrikoides bloom was strong. When compared dominant phytoplankton of the coastal areas in each year, Kuroshio indicator species Proboscia alata and Chaetoceros affine were dominant, respectively, in 2001 and 2003 at every stations. However, the dominant species was variable at each coastal area in 1998 and 2000. In 2003, the abundance of Sagitta elegans which is known as the cold water indicator was low, but the abundance of S. enflata, warm water indicator, was very high in Gangneung compared to Sokcho. It seemed that the distribution of S. elegans is restricted by strong warm water current. In conclusion, it was estimated that the distribution of C. polykrikoides bloom in the coastal area of the East Sea was closely related with the strength of East Korea Warm Current and upwelling.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.22-29
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• 2003

Temporal and spatial variability of precipitation (P), evaporation (E), and moisture balance (P-E; precipitation minus evaporation) has been investigated over the tropical ocean during the period from January 1998 to July 2001. Our data were analyzed by the EOF method using the satellite P and E observations made by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) and the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I). This analysis has been performed for two three-year periods as follow; The first period which includes the El Ni${\tilde{n}}$o in early 1998 ranges from January 1998 to December 2000, and the second period which includes the La Ni${\tilde{n}}$o events in the early 1999 and 2000 (without El Ni${\tilde{n}}$o) ranges from August 1998 to July 2001. The areas of maxima and high variability in the precipitation and in the P-E were displaced from the tropical western Pacific and the ITCZ during the La Ni${\tilde{n}}$o to the tropical middle Pacific during the El Ni${\tilde{n}}$o, consistent with those in previous P studies. Their variations near the Korean Peninsula seem to exhibit a weakly positive correlation with that in the tropical Pacific during the El Ni${\tilde{n}}$o. The evaporation, out of phase with the precipitation, was reduced in the tropical western Pacific due to humid condition in boreal summer, but intensified in the Kuroshio and Gulf currents due to windy condition in winter. The P-E variability was determined mainly by the precipitation of which the variability was more localized but higher by 2-3 times than that of evaporation. Except for the ITCZ (0-10$^{\circ}$N), evaporation was found to dominate precipitation by ${\sim}$2 mm/day over the tropical Pacific. Annual and seasonal variations of P, E, and P-E were discussed.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.129-152
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• 2000

The Cheju Current (CC), defined here as a mean eastward flow in the Cheju Strait, mostly carries water of high temperature and salinity originating from the Kuroshio in winter and spring, the Cheju Warm Current Water (CWCW). The strong core of the eastward component of the CC is found close to Cheju Island (Cheju-Do, hereafter) in winter and spring with a peak speed of about 17.0 cm/s. The eastward flow weakens towards the northern Cheju Strait, and a weak westward flow occurs occasionally close to the southern coast of Korea. The volume transport ranges from 0.37 to 0.45 Sv(1 Sv=10$^6$ m$^3$/s) in winter and spring. Seasonal thermocline and harocline are formed in summer and eroded in November. The occurrence of the CWCW is confined in the southern Cheju Strait close to Cheju-Do below the seasonal thermocline in summer and fall, and cold water occupies the lower layer north of the CWCW which is thought to be brought into the area from the area west of Cheju-Do along with the CWCW. Stratification acts to increase both the speed of the CC with a peak speed of greater than 30 cm/s and the vertical shear of the along-strait currents. The strong core of the CC detached from the coast of Cheju-Do and shifted to the north during the stratified seasons. The volume transport in summer and fall ranges 0.510.66 Sv, which is about 1.5 times larger than that in winter and spring. An annual cycle of the cross-strait sea level difference shows its maximum in summer and fall and minimum in winter and spring, whose tendency is consistent with the annual variability of the CC and its transport estimated from the ADCP measurements. Moored current measurements west of Cheju-Do indicate the clockwise turning of the CC, and the moored current measurements in the Cheju Strait for 1530 days show the low-frequency variability of the along-strait flow with a period of about 37 days.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2010

To assess short-term variation of summer phytoplankton community structure in different water masses, phytoplankton and environmental factors were monitored from 31 stations on and off the southern coasts of Korea, from June 18 to June 20 2009. According to multidimensional scaling (MDS) and cluster analysis based on phytoplankton community data from each station, the southern sea was divided into two groups. The first group included stations in the south-eastern region of Jeju Island, which is strongly influenced by the Kuroshio warm current. The second group located along the coastal region of the southern sea, which was mainly comprised of Bacillariophyceae and Crytophyceae. Of these stations, St. 13 and 28 formed a temperature front caused by different hydrological conditions. In particular, nutrients and Chl.a concentrations in these two stations were significantly higher compared to those in the other stations. This indicates that phytoplankton population and subsequent microalgal growth under high nutrient concentrations vary in different water masses. Our results support the theory that phytoplankton community structure in the southern sea of Korea can be influenced on a short-term scale by different water masses and currents.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.289-301
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• 2008

Community structure of heterotrophic protists and their grazing impact on phytoplankton were studied in Northwest Pacific Ocean during October, 2007. The study area was divided into four regions based on physical properties (temperature and salinity) and chlorophyll-a distribution. They were Region I of North Equatorial Currents, Region II of Kuroshio waters, Region III of shelf mixed water, and Region IV of Tsushima warm current from East China Sea. The distribution of chlorophyll-a concentrations and community structure of heterotrophic protists were significantly affected by physical properties of the water column. The lowest concentration of chlorophyll-a was identified in Region I and II, where pico-sized chlorophyll-a was most dominant (>80% of total chlorophyll-a). Biomass of heterotrophic protists was also low in Region I and II. However, Region III was characterized by low salinity and temperature and high chlorophyll-a concentration, with relatively lower pico-sized chlorophyll-a dominance. The Highest biomass of heterotrophic protists appeared in Region III, along with the relatively less important nanoprotists. In Region I, II and IV, heterotrophic dinoflagellates were dominant among the protists, while ciliates were dominant in Region III. Community structure varied with physical(salinity and temperature) and biological (chlorophyll-a) properties. Biomass of heterotrophic protists correlated well with chlorophyll-a concentration in the study area ($r^2=0.66$, p<0.0001). The potential effect of grazing activity on phytoplankton is relatively high in Region I and II. Our result suggest that biomass and size structure of heterotrophic protists might be significantly influenced by phytoplankton size and concentration.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.580-593
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• 1993

The Tsushima Current has been known to branch out from the Kuroshio west of Kyushu and to flow north to the Korea Strait. Then, it has to flow across the isobaths and so needs some driving forces. As the forces, sea level difference between the Korea and Tsugaru Straits, Reynolds stress west of Kyushu and density differences have been suggested, In this paper, their roles have been numerically studied in the barotropic case. Model results show that the Tsushima Current is possible without any above force. The flows just follow isobaths over the East China Sea. They seem to be driven by their own dynamics without any external force. The mechanism is just like outflows from a gap. Model results also show that the flows in this area could be significantly affected by the external forces such as Reynolds Stress. Then the dynamics and flows in real ocean might be complicated. However, the barotropic study tells us that the Tsuahima Currents is basically driven by geostrophic adjustment.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.289-292
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• 2008

Recently, several satellite data analyses projects and numerical weather prediction (NWP) reanalysis projects have produced the ocean surface Latent Heat Flux (LHF) data sets in the global coverage. Comparisons of these LHF data sets showed substantial discrepancies in the LHF values. Recently, the increase of LHF in during 1970s-1990s over the global ocean is shown by the LHF data that have been developed at the Objective Analyzed Air-Sea Fluxes (OAFlux) project. It is interesting to investigate the existence of the increase of LHF over a global ocean in the other LHF products. It is interesting to investigate the existence of the increase of LHF over a global ocean in the other LHF products. In this study, we assessed the consistencies and discrepancies of the inter-annual variability and decadal trend for the period 1988-2005 among six LHF products ((J-OFURO2, HOAPS3, IFREMER, NCEP1,2 and OAFlux) over the global ocean. As results, all LHF products showed a positive trend. In particular, the positive trend in satellite-based data analyses (J-OFURO2, HOAPS3, IFREMER) is larger than that in reanalysis products (NCEP1/2). Also, the consistencies and discrepancies are shown on the spatial patterns of the LHF trends across the six data sets. The positive trend of LHF is remarkable in the regions of western boundary currents such as the Kuroshio and the Gulf Stream in all LHF data sets. But, the discrepancies are shown on the spatial patterns of the LHF trends in tropics and subtropics. These discrepancies are primarily caused by the differences of the input meteorological state variables, particularly for the air specific humidity, used to calculate LHF.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.339-342
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• 2003

Sea level variations and sea surface circulations inthe Korean seas were observed by Topex/Poseidon altimeter data from 1993 through 1997. In sea level variations, the West and South Sea showed relatively high variations with comparison to the East Sea. Then, the northern and southern area in the West Sea showed the range of 20-30cm and 18-24cm, and the northern west of Jeju island and the southern west of Tsushima island in the South Sea showed the range of 15-20cm and 10-15cm, respectively. High variations in the West Sea was results to the inflow in sea surface of Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) and bottom topography. Sea level variations in the South Sea was due to two branch currents (Jeju Warm Current and East Korea Warm Current) originated from Kuroshio Current (KC). In sea surface circulations, there existed remarkably three eddies circulations in the East Sea that are mainly connected with North Korea Cold Current (NKCC), East Korea Warm Current (EKWC) and Tushima Warm Current (TWC). Their eddies are caused basically to the influence of currents in sea surface circulations; Cyclone (0.03 cm/sec) in the Wonsan bay on shore with NKCC, and anticyclone (0.06 cm/sec) in the southwestern area of Ulleung island with EKWC, and cyclone (0.01 cm/set) in the northeastern area of Tushima island with TWC, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.93-108
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• 2019

To investigate the temporal-spatial distribution of picophytoplankton in relation to different water masses in the northern East China Sea (ECS), picophytoplankton abundance were investigated using flow cytometry with environmental factors in 2016-2017. The results from the analysis of flow cytometer data showed that Synechococcus appeared across all seasons, exhibiting its minimum abundance in winter and maximum abundance in summer. Furthermore, high abundance was detected in the surface mixed layer during spring and summer when vertical stratification occurs; in particular, Synechococcus exhibited maximum abundance in thermocline layer, indicating a close correlation to water temperature and thermocline formation. In addition, the abundance of Synechococcus indicated a decrease in the western seas in 2017 compared to 2016 under the strong influence of the Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW). This was determined by the significant influence of the CDW on the abundance of Synechococcus during summer in the northern waters of the ECS. In contrast, Prochlorococcus did not appear during winter and spring, and its distribution was limited during summer and autumn in the eastern seas under the influence of the Kuroshio current. The largest range of Prochlorococcus distribution was confirmed during autumn without the influence of the CDW. Thus, the distribution pattern of each picophytoplankton genus was found to be changing in accordance to the extension and reduction of sea current in different seasons and periods of time. This is anticipated to be a useful biological marker in understanding the distribution of sea currents and their influence in the northern waters of the ECS.