• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.353-360
• /
• 2006

A 33-km long sea dyke is being constructed in the Saemangeum area mid-west of Korea to reclaim a surface area of 40,100 ha which includes well-developed tidal flat and two river estuaries. The northern part of the dyke was closed on 10 June 2003, while the southern part was recently closed on 21 April 2006 by plugging two opening gaps of 2.7 km in length. In this study, firstly we review the outlines of key national projects which described marine environments in the Saemangeum area and secondly we present a summary of remarkable changes in marine environments after the closure of the northern dyke, based on marine environmental data collected during 2002-2005. Details in each discipline of the marine environments are presented both in other papers of this special volume and in a series of annual reports of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and fisheries.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.183-188
• /
• 2005

Using data from Argo floats collected in the Southern Ocean, we describe water mass prop erties and flow fields at intermediate levels (1000m and 2000m levels). Water mass properties from Argo floats, which are consistent with those from previous hydrographic surveys, reflect the movement of the floats well even without quality control on the Argo data. Since the flow fields from the Argo floats do not cover the entire Southern Ocean, we could not obtain a general circulation pattern, especially at the 2000m level. We, however, can confirm the general eastward tendency due to ACC largely following the topography.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.237-243
• /
• 2006

The ages of sandfish, Arctoscopus japoninis sampled from the eastern sea of Korea, were determined by the transverse section method of otoliths. Ages were assigned to every individual according to the number of opaque zones, and then fitted to the von Bertalanffy growth equation. Estimated equations were $L_t=25.90(1-e^{-0.2976(t+0.4447)})$ for females and $L_t=21.38(1-e^{-0.2917(t+1.2087)})$ for males, where t is age (year) and $L_t$, is body length (mm) at age t. These two equations were significantly different and the body length of females calculated from the equation was larger than that of males except at 1 year old.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.313-318
• /
• 2002

The basic magnetic properties are reported for Eocene andesite and granitic andesite collected from the King Sejong Station and Marsh Runway at King George Island, South Shetland Islands Antarctic Peninsula. Samples A (andesite), B (granitic andesite) and D (granitic andesite) carry stable component of natural remanent magnetization (NRM), but sample C (andesite) unstable URM. These NRM stabilities are consistent with the domain structures estimated by the ratios of $J_R/J_s\;and\;H_{RC}/H_C$ values. On the basis of their Curie temperature, we infer magnetite as the main magnetic carrier for samples A B and C and titanomagnetite for sample D. Our study reveals that samples A and B are suitable for paleomagnetic investigations, whereas sample D is not.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.215-223
• /
• 2002

Symbiosis of chemoautrophic bacteria with the members of hydrothermal vent and cold seep communities in the deep-sea were examined by histology using transmission electron microscopy; Bathymodiolus spp. from Sagami Bay, the Iheya Ridge and the North Fiji Basin; and Ifremeria nautilei from the North Fiji Basin. Two species of Bathymodiolus, each from Sagami Bay and the Iheya Ridge harbored methane-oxidizing symbionts within their gill tissues. Vent gastropod Ifremeria nautilei from the hydrothermal vents of the North Fiji Basin housed two types of symbionts; one sulfur-oxidizing type and the other methane-oxidizing type. The occurrence of chemosynthetic symbionts in these organisms were expected before-hand based on the ecological observations of their habit. The other members of these groups from world oceans and the recent advances in the symbiosis of the vent and seep communities were reviewed.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.257-267
• /
• 2003

Deep-sea bottom photographs acquired in the Clarion-Clipperton fracture zone of the northeast equatorial Pacific were analyzed to reveal the controlling processes for the spatial variation of manganese nodule. The results show that regional-scale occurrence variations of manganese nodule are mainly controlled by primary productivity of surface water, sedimentation rate, and water depth (or carbonate compensation depth). As a result, the diagenetic accretion on nodules increases toward southwest while hydrogenetic accretion increases toward northeast. Considering the northwestward movement of Pacific Plate, this regional-scale variation of manganese nodule occurrence seems to be affected by oceanic environment during the active growth period (Oligocene-Miocene) of Pacific Plate.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.303-314
• /
• 2003

The initiation of Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooming in the South Sea of Korea occurs in the sea near Naro-Do in late August. In this paper, the relationships of this annual occurrence with the environmental conditions are presented. In early summer, the winds in the sea near Naro-Do are southwesterly and the upwelling occurs in the near-shore area. The favorable winds to the upwelling are relaxed in August and the downwelling favorable northeasterly winds set in around late August. The change of wind direction causes the onshore transport of warm-and-fresh off-shore water into the sea near Naro-Do and a front between near-shore water and off·shore water is formed. Along the front, downwelling occurs and the environmental conditions for the diatom become unfavorable. When the typhoon and storm bring well-mixed East China Sea water into the sea near Naro-Do in September, the conditions for the dinoflagellates become unfavorable and blooming of C. polykrikoides disappears.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.331-337
• /
• 2006

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) were analyzed in surface water samples from the Saemangeum environment. IBP was the most abundant among 10 OPs analyzed, and accounted fur over 95% of total amount of OPs. Concentrations of IBP measured in Mangyeong River water and surface seawater ranged from 670 to 1100ng/l and from 45 to 1000 ng/l, respectively. In general, a decreasing trend of OP concentrations towards open sea was observed. The concentrations of IBP and salinity demonstrated a strong correlation $(r^2=0.96)$. This indicates that IBP showed conservative behavior in the study area, and seawater dilution is a major factor affecting distribution and variation of OPs in the Sammgem environment.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.287-293
• /
• 2015

A species of edible Scyphomedusae jellyfish has been used as food by the local people in Ganghwado, Korea since the 1990s. In order to identify this jellyfish, we collected specimens in Ganghwado during September 2013, and compared these specimens with original descriptions made by Kishinouye (1890). Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) sequences of these specimens were compared with those of Rhopilema esculentum retrieved from GenBank. Our specimens were also compared with jellyfish collected in China, previously confirmed as R. esculentum, based on morphological characters and DNA sequences. Using these two methods, the jellyfish specimens caught in Ganghwado were correctly identified as R. esculentum, a species new to Korean waters. This edible jellyfish has been named 'Gisusik-Yonghaepari' as Korean name.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.369-383
• /
• 2015

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the demands for developing marine science technology to reduce fatalities caused by marine accidents. For this purpose, we analyzed the contents of about 77,000 news articles posted for a month after the tragedy of the Sewol (April 16~May 15) to identify keywords and then we used the Social Network Analysis (SNA) for each keyword. The findings of the analysis show that there are five networks and that each one reveals different aspects about technology development to prepare for marine accidents. Based on these findings, we categorized three kinds of demands for technology development from the perspective of marine science technology: provision of the information about the marine environment, development of equipment and technology to overcome extreme environments, and the establishment of a field support system.