• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.1116-1123
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• 2021

Oil spilled in seawater undergoes physical and chemical changes as well as biological degradation through various weathering processes, such as evaporation, diffusion, dispersion, emulsification, dissolution, oxidation, and sedimentation. Evaporation is one of the most immediate and prompt weathering processes, and it has the greatest influence on majority of pollutants. In this study, the evaporation characteristics of different oil samples were studied; the volatilization characteristics of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel were compared at average seawater (25 ℃) and near-equator (35 ℃) temperatures. The oil samples were pre-treated and then collected at regular intervals. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis was performed, and the changes in the amount of the hydrocarbons were calculated.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.185-205
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• 2010

Climate change vulnerability assessment based on local conditions is a prerequisite for establishment of climate change adaptation policies. While some studies have developed a methodology for vulnerability assessment at the national level using statistical data, few attempts, whether domestic or overseas, have been made to develop methods for local vulnerability assessments that are easily applicable to a single city. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to develop a conceptual framework for climate change vulnerability, and then develop a general methodology for assessment at the regional level applied to a single coastal city, Mokpo, in Jeolla province, Korea. We followed the conceptual framework of climate change vulnerability proposed by the IPCC (1996) which consists of "climate exposure," "systemic sensitivity," and "systemic adaptive capacity." "Climate exposure" was designated as sea level rises of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 meter(s), allowing for a simple scenario for sea level rises. Should more complex forecasts of sea level rises be required later, the methodology developed herein can be easily scaled and transferred to other projects. Mokpo was chosen as a seaside city on the southwest coast of Korea, where all cities have experienced rising sea levels. Mokpo has experienced the largest sea level increases of all, and is a region where abnormal high tide events have become a significant threat; especially subsequent to the construction of an estuary dam and breakwaters. Sensitivity to sea level rises was measured by the percentage of flooded area for each administrative region within Mokpo evaluated via simulations using GIS techniques. Population density, particularly that of senior citizens, was also factored in. Adaptive capacity was considered from both the "hardware" and "software" aspects. "Hardware" adaptive capacity was incorporated by considering the presence (or lack thereof) of breakwaters and seawalls, as well as their height. "Software" adaptive capacity was measured using a survey method. The survey questionnaire included economic status, awareness of climate change impact and adaptation, governance, and policy, and was distributed to 75 governmental officials working for Mokpo. Vulnerability to sea level rises was assessed by subtracting adaptive capacity from the sensitivity index. Application of the methodology to Mokpo indicated vulnerability was high for seven out of 20 administrative districts. The results of our methodology provides significant policy implications for the development of climate change adaptation policy as follows: 1) regions with high priority for climate change adaptation measures can be selected through a correlation diagram between vulnerabilities and records of previous flood damage, and 2) after review of existing short, mid, and long-term plans or projects in high priority areas, appropriate adaptation measures can be taken as per this study. Future studies should focus on expanding analysis of climate change exposure from sea level rises to other adverse climate related events, including heat waves, torrential rain, and drought etc.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.552-561
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• 2023

The seafloor topography of Gomso Bay on the west coast of Korea was investigated using subtidal bathymetry and tidal-flat altimetry. Gomso Bay consists of 80% tidal flats and 20% subtidal zone, and is divided into an outer bay and an inner bay by the Jujincheon esturary channel. The outer bay tidal flat, has few tidal channels, has a concave topographic profile, and is characterized by the development of chenier and intertidal sand bars, giving it the appearance of gently sloping, dissipative beaches. The inner bay tidal flat has wide upper and middle tidal flats with a well-developed tidal channel system without cheniers. Moreover, the topographical cross-section between these tidal channels is convex upward, and shows the characteristics of a depositional environment greatly influenced by tidal channels and tidal action. An analysis of the horizontal movement of the tidal flat environment over the past 37 years investigating changes in the iso-depth lines in the Gomso-Bay tidal flat between 1981 and 2018 revealed that the Gomso-Bay tidal flat retreated gradually landward. As a result of analyzing the erosion and sedimentation characteristics of Gomso Bay, assuming that most of the water depth changes were due to changes in the elevation of the sea floor and sea level, an average of 1 cm (0 mm/y) of sediment was eroded in the outer bay over the past 37 years (1981-2018), In the inner bay, an average of 50 cm (14 mm/y) was deposited. Notably, the high tidal flats of the outer bay were largely eroded. Monitoring photographs of the coast showed that most of the erosion of the high tidal flats in the outer bay occurred in a short period around 1999 (probably 1997-2002), and that the erosion resulted from the erosion of sand dunes and high-tide beaches caused by temporarily greatly raised high tide levels and storms.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.80-95
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to establish an effective protection and management system for World Heritage (WH) nomination of Southwestern Coast Tidal Flat (SCTF) by proposing a model of protection and management. SCTF has a potential to become a representative best practice to achieve a sustainable development for human society. SCTF has a potential Outstanding Universal Values (OUVs) for WH nomination, thus a harmony between human and nature for wise use of natural resources needs to be pursued. It is required to present the system of SCTF's protection and management and to analyze present status of the regions in the Tentative List by comparing the case which were already inscribed as WH. For better protection of nominated areas, SCTF should expand an area for protection with additional designation. For the management system, two separate management systems such as the Department of Culture & Tourism and the Department of Oceans & Fisheries need to be reconciled. Because of this overlapping management structure, the management of the nominated sites has been inefficient and long-term management plan is lacking. Therefore, it is necessary to integrate conflicting management system of each local government and make a long-term, integrated management plan. To make an efficient and sustainable protection and management, it is essential to set up a collaboration system by integrating various stakeholders such as central and local governments, academic organizations, local residents, and NGOs. As in the case of Wadden Sea, the combined community system of the stakeholders mentioned above should be established. Because it is essential for local residents to understand a basic concepts for protection and management, it is necessary to establish capacity-building of local people. The protection and management structure should be set up by bottom-up processes, that is the proper structure shoud be based on thorough research on local society as well as thorough communication with local residents to make relevant laws and policies. This study also propose the proper plan for better conservation and management of SCTF.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.500-509
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• 2021

This study investigated the characteristics of a macrobenthos community and sediment environment and assessed the health of tidal flats along the west coast of Korea. A survey was conducted from Ganghwa-do to Mokpo, Jeollanam-do in April (spring) and August (summer) 2017, and April (spring) 2018. The sediment grain sizes in the Chungcheongnam-do region were coarser, and the sediment in the Gyeonggi-do·Incheon, Jeollanam-do, and Jeollabuk-do regions were finer. A total of 140 macrobenthic species were collected from this study and using a cluster similarity analysis of the macrobenthos community, they were divided into four groups. Group2 was associated with Manila clam farm stations, and Ruditapes phillipinarum, Nephtys polybranchia and Lumbrineris nipponica were dominant. Group4 included some sites with finer sediment composed relatively, and Eteone longa and Nemertea unid. appeared at a high frequency. From the health assessment of the western tidal flat, the ISEP and BHI indices had a "High status," and the AMBI index had a "Good status." In conclusion, the tidal flats along the west coast of Korea have good ecological health. However, pollution indicator species such as Theora lata and Capitella capitata have appeared in some areas. Therefore, periodic administration and interventions are necessary to prevent deterioration of the tidal flat environment.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.87-102
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• 2022

To clarify the spatial distribution pattern of macrozoobenthos in Korean coastal waters in the summer season and investigate the relationship between community structure and benthic environmental factors, field surveys on community structure and benthic environmental factors were conducted at 117 stations in August 2017. A total of 613 macrobenthic species were identified, with the mean density of 1,228 ind./m² and the mean biomass (wet weight) of 110.9 g WW/m². Rich biodiversity was found at stations near Wando and along the coast of the East Sea, and there is a trend that stations with greater biodiversity also showed higher mean density as well. The dominant species in all the coastal areas in Korea was Heteromastus filiformis, which were found at most of the stations during the survey. The relatively deep areas in the East Sea were dominated by Magelona johnsoni and Maldane cristata, which were the third and ninth dominant species in the study areas, respectively. Pseudopolydora kempi and Rhynchospio sp. were observed only at the station located in the Nakdong River estuary. From the cluster analysis the stations could be clustered into three station groups with more similar faunal composition. Group A was located in the eastern coast, characterized with deep water depth and low levels of sand contents, while Group B was located in the southern coast, characterized by shallow depth of water and high content of mud and organic matter. Lastly, Group C was in the western coast, demonstrating low levels of mud content and organic matters. The biodiversity of macrobenthic species in the study area showed high positive correlation coefficients with benthic environmental factors such as sorting, clay, silt, and contents of organic matter in sediments, but negatively correlated with the sand contents. Major dominant species, Theora lata and Eriopisella sechellensis, both showed negative correlation coefficients with the sand contents, but a relatively high positive correlation with the levels of organic contents.It can be concluded that the spatial distribution patterns of macrobenthic organisms in Korean coastal waters are affected by depth, sediment type, and contents of organic matters.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.83-92
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• 2004

A continuous monitoring of textural characteristics of surface sediments, sedimentation rates and beach profile was carried out to investigate the seasonal variations of sedimentary processes in the Imjado beach, southwestern coast of Korea for two years. The beach profiles consist of steep beach face and relatively flat middle and low tide beaches. The slope of the beach face increases in summer and decreases in winter, in good accordance with the standard beach cycle. Ridge and runnel systems are well developed in the middle and low tide beaches during the summer, but these structures are replaced by mega-ripples during the winter. The sediments are fining southward as well as landward. The mean grain-size tends to be increasingly coarser during seasons of autumn and winter on the north beach and during seasons of winter and spring on the south one. In addition, the sediments are eroded on the north beach and accumulated on the south one as a whole. These are probably due to southward transportation of the sediments as long-shore current (NE-SW) runs around the coastal line of the beach. However, the seasonal variations in accumulation rates are very complex and irregular. It is considered that the Imjado beach represents in non-equilibrium state, as a result of coastal and submarine topographic changes by artificial agents and sea-level uprising associated with global warming.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.186-194
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• 2020

In this study, spectral analysis was conducted to identify environmental factors af ecting short-term changes in water temperature in the East, West and South coasts of Korea. The data used in the spectrum analysis is the 2016 summer water temperature, air temperature, tide level and wind data provided by Korea Hydrographic & Oceanographic Agency. In power spectrum results, peaks of water temperature and tide level were observed at same periods in West Sea (Incheon, Pyeungteak, Gunsan and Mokpo) and South Sea (Wando, Goheung, Yeosu, Tongyeong and Masan) where mean tidal range was more than 100 cm. On the other hand, periodicity of water temperature did not appear in East Sea and Busan where the mean tidal range was small. Coherence analysis showed that water temperature was highly correlated with tide in West Sea and three stations(Wando, Goheung and Tongyeong) of South Sea. Especially, correlation between water temperature and tide level in Wando and Tongyeong presented 0.96 at semi-diurnal period. Water temperature in Yeosu seems to have influenced by tide and inflow of fresh water. In Masan, water temperature is influenced by south wind, tide and inflow of fresh water. In East Sea, influence of tide on water temperature is small due to current and small tidal range. As a result of comparing the time series graph, stations where the correlation between water temperature and tide is high show that relatively cold water was inputted at flood tide and flow out at ebb tide. short-term variation of water temperature was affected by tide, but long-term variation over a month was affected by air temperature.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.353-365
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• 2020

The quantitative increase in maritime transport for domestic and foreign trade is one of the main reasons for the increase in marine pollution accidents. Despite the implementation of relevant laws in each country to prevent and mitigate marine pollution accidents caused by ships, human negligence (carelessness, intention, etc.) by ship workers has been reported as the biggest cause of marine pollution accidents. One of the most effective ways to reduce marine pollution accidents caused by ships is to reduce human negligence through systematic education and training of ship workers. Therefore, this study aimed to review the appropriateness of the statutory education and training curriculum for ship marine pollution prevention managers in accordance with domestic laws and regulations such as the 「Marine Environment Management Act」 and suggest improvement measures. To this end, we compared and analyzed the legal training·general education courses related to the prevention of marine pollution and marine disasters in Japan, where the laws and systems are similar to Korea, and investigated the cases of legal training for experts in land pollution prevention in Korea.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.149-157
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• 1998

Seasonal changes of topography, sediment grain size and accumulation rate in the Gomso-Bay tidal flat, west coast of Korea, have been studied in order to understand the seasonal accumulation pattern and preservation potential of the tidal-flat sediments. Seasonal levelings across the tidal flat show that the landward movement of both intertidal sand shoals and cheniers accelerates during the winter and typhoon periods, but it almost stops in summer when mud deposition is instead predominant at the middle and upper tidal flats. Seasonal variations of mean grain size were largest on the upper part of middle tidal flat where summer mud layers were eroded during the winter and typhoon periods. Measurements of accumulation depths from sea floor to basal plate reveal that accumulation rates were seasonally controlled according to the elevation of tidal-flat surface. The upper tidal flat where the accumulation rate of summer was generally higher than that of winter was characterized by a continuous deposition throughout the entire year, whereas in the middle tidal flat, sediment accumulations were concentrated in winter relative to summer and were intermittently eroded by typhoons. The lower tidal flat were deposited mostly in winter and eroded during summer typhoons. Can cores taken across the tidal flat reveal that sand-mud interlayers resulting from such seasonal changes of energy regime are preserved only in the upper part of the deposits and generally replaced by storm layers downcore. Based on above results, it is suggested that the storm deposits by winter storms and typhoons would consist of the major part of the Gomso-Bay sediments.