• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제32권3호
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• pp.213-228
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• 2010

In late 2010, the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Administration proposed a national monitoring project involving the deployment of 8 realtime ocean data buoys. The area occupied by the buoy-array, located south of the Ieodo Ocean Research Station, can be regarded as a kind of gateway to Korean waters with respect to warm currents and the shipping industry. The acronym for the project, KOGA (Korea Ocean Gate Array) was derived from this aspect. To ensure the success of the project, international cooperation with the neighboring countries of China and Japan is highly desirable. Once KOGA is successfully launched and the moored buoys start to produce data, the data will be applied to various areas such as data assimilation for operational oceanography, circulation dynamics, biogeochemical studies, satellite observations, and air-sea interactions. The aim of this paper is to provide suggestions for KOGA planning and applications.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제30권4호
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• pp.407-418
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• 2008

Seawater samples were collected at discrete depths from five stations across the polar front in the Drake Passage (Antarctic Ocean) by the $20^{th}$ Korea Antarctic Research Program in December, 2006. Nitrate concentrations of seawater increase with depth within the photic zone above the depth of Upper Circumpolar Deep Water (UCDW). In contrast, ${\delta}^{15}N$ values of seawater nitrate decrease with depth, showing a mirror image to the nitrate variation. Such a distinct vertical variation is mainly attributed to the degree of nitrate assimilation by phytoplankton as well as organic matter degradation of sinking particles within the surface layer. The preferential $^{14}{NO_3}^-$ assimilation by the phytoplankton causes $^{15}{NO_3}^-$ concentration to become high in a closedsystem surface-water environment during the primary production, whereas more $^{14}{NO_3}^-$ is added to the seawater during the degradation of sinking organic particles. The water-mass mixing seems to play an important role in the alteration of ${\delta}^{15}N$ values in the deep layer below the UCDW. Across the polar front, nitrate concentrations of surface seawater decrease and corresponding ${\delta}^{15}N$ values increase northward, which is likely due to the degree of nitrate utilization during the primary production. Based on the Rayleigh model, the calculated ${\varepsilon}$ (isotope effect of nitrate uptake) values between 4.0%o and 5.8%o were validated by the previously reported data, although the preformed ${\delta}^{15}{{NO_3}^-}_{initial}$ value of UCDW is important in the calculation of ${\varepsilon}$ values.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• 제37권2호
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• pp.69-79
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• 2014

Soil organic carbon (SOC) in the Arctic is vulnerable to climate change. However, research on SOC stored in the high Arctic regions is currently very limited. Thus, this study was aimed at understanding the distribution and characteristics of SOC with respect to geomorphology and vegetation in Svalbard. In August 2011, soil samples were collected near the Vestre Lov$\acute{e}$nbreen moraine. Sampling sites were chosen according to altitude (High, Mid, and Low) and differences in levels of vegetation establishment. Vegetation coverage, aboveground biomass, and SOC contents were measured, and density-size fractionation of SOC was conducted. The SOC content was the highest in the Mid site ($126.9mg\;g^{-1}$) and the lowest in the High site ($32.1mg\;g^{-1}$), although aboveground biomass and vegetation coverage were not different between these two sites. The low SOC content measured at the High site could be related to a slower soil development following glacial retreat. On the other hand, the Low site contained a high amount of SOC despite having low vegetative cover and a high ratio of sand particles. These incompatible relationships between SOC and vegetation in the Low site might be associated with past site disturbances such as runoff from snow/glacier melting. This study showed that geomorphological features combined with glacier retreat or melting snow/glacier effects could have affected the SOC distribution and vegetation establishment in the high Arctic.

• 한국해양생명과학회지
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• 제6권1호
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• pp.1-8
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• 2021

In marine ecosystems, the biosynthesis and catabolism of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) by marine bacteria is critical to microbial survival and the ocean food chain. Furthermore, these processes also influence sulfur recycling and climate change. Recent studies using emerging genome sequencing data and extensive bioinformatics analysis have enabled us to identify new DMSP-related genes. Currently, seven bacterial DMSP lyases (DddD, DddP, DddY, DddK, DddL, DddQ and DddW), two acrylate degrading enzymes (DddA and DddC), and four demethylases (DmdA, DmdB, DmdC, and DmdD) have been identified and characterized in diverse marine bacteria. In this review, we focus on the biochemical properties of DMSP cleavage enzymes with special attention to DddD, DddA, and DddC pathways. These three enzymes function in the production of acetyl coenzyme A (CoA) and CO₂ from DMSP. DddD is a DMSP lyase that converts DMSP to 3-hydroxypropionate with the release of dimethylsulfide. 3-Hydroxypropionate is then converted to malonate semialdehyde by DddA, an alcohol dehydrogenase. Then, DddC transforms malonate semialdehyde to acetyl-CoA and CO₂ gas. DddC is a putative methylmalonate semialdehyde dehydrogenase that requires nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and CoA cofactors. Here we review recent insights into the structural characteristics of these enzymes and the molecular events of DMSP degradation.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제43권2호
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• pp.53-63
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• 2021

Changes in a marine environment have a broad socioeconomic implication on fisheries and their relevant industries so that there has been a growing demand for the medium-range (months to years) prediction of the marine environment Using a medium-range ocean prediction model (Ocean Mid-range prediction System, OMIDAS) for the northwest Pacific, this study attempted to assess seasonal difference in the mid-range predictability of the sea surface temperature (SST), focusing on the Korea seas characterized as a complex marine system. A three-month re-forecast experiment was conducted for each of the four seasons in 2016 starting from January, forced with Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2) forecast data. The assessment using relative root-mean-square-error was taken for the last month SST of each experiment. Compared to the CFSv2, the OMIDAS revealed a better prediction skill for the Korea seas SST, particularly in the Yellow sea mainly due to a more realistic representation of the topography and current systems. Seasonally, the OMIDAS showed better predictability in the warm seasons (spring and summer) than in the cold seasons (fall and winter), suggesting seasonal dependency in predictability of the Korea seas. In addition, the mid-range predictability for the Korea seas significantly varies depending on regions: the predictability was higher in the East Sea than in the Yellow Sea. The improvement in the seasonal predictability for the Korea seas by OMIDAS highlights the importance of a regional ocean modeling system for a medium-range marine prediction.

• 자원환경지질
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• 제48권5호
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• pp.371-377
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• 2015

강우의 산소 및 수소안정동위원소는 물순환 연구에서 수분의 이동 및 강우와 지하수계의 상호작용을 이해하는 데에 사용되어 왔다. 종유석 및 빙하의 안정동위원소를 이용하여 과거의 기후 및 기상을 이해하는 데에 이용되고 있으며, 이러한 과거지시자를 설명하기 위한 전지구순환모델의 기초자료로 이용되고 있다. 동위원소 분석기기의 발전으로 인해 이전보다 고해상도 연구가 점차 가능해 지고 있으며, 강우안정동위원소 역시 고해상도 연구에 대한 필요성이 제기되고 있다. 이번 연구에서는 해안에서 강우안정동위원소의 변동을 관찰하기 위하여 자동시료채취장치를 개발하여 강우량에 따라 5-15분 간격으로 강우시료를 채취하였다. 강우동위원소의 변동은 연구기간동안 최대 -5.7(-40.1)‰, 최소 -10.8(-74.3)‰ 값을 보였으며, 연구기간동안 강우안정동위원소의 산소와 수소의 선형관계의 기울기는 6.8이며, 이를 강우사상으로 분리하면 각각 5.1, 4.2, 7.9, 7.7이다. 이는 첫 두 강우가 내리면서 증발이 일어났음을 지시하며, 시간이 갈수록 증발이 더 이상 일어나지 않았음을 의미한다. 이러한 안정동위원소의 분화는 여러 물순환 연구에 시사하는 바가 크며, 앞으로 강우안정동위원소를 이용한 연구를 수행할 때 강우의 고해상도 분석이 필요할 것으로 판단된다.

• 대기
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• 제25권3호
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• pp.461-472
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• 2015

The sudden stratospheric warming (SSW), which is characterized by an abrupt increase of polar stratospheric temperature by several tens of degrees in a week, has been known to affect tropospheric weather and climate on sub-seasonal time scale in the boreal winter. Such downward coupling has been often examined in North Atlantic and Europe, but rarely examined in East Asia. In this study, by applying the two definitions of SSW to the reanalysis data, the possible impacts of the SSW events on the surface air temperature (SAT) and tropospheric circulation in East Asia are analyzed. It is found that Eurasian continent, including Siberia and the Northeast Asia, tends to experience anomalously cold SAT for up to sixty days after the SSW events. The resulting SAT anomalies largely resemble those associated with negative Artic Oscillation. However, over East Asia, SSW-related SAT change is weak and not statistically significant. Only during the extreme SSW events when the downward coupling between the stratosphere and troposphere is strong, East Asia exhibits significantly cold SAT anomalies. This relationship is presented by grouping SSW events into those followed by cold SAT anomalies over East Asia and those by warm anomalies for varying threshold values of the SSW events.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.325-334
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• 2008

A biogeochemical model was used to estimate air-sea $CO_2$ exchange over the East China Sea. Since fresh water discharge from the Changjiang River and relevant chemistry were not considered in the employed model, we were not able to produce accurate results around the Changjiang River mouth. This factor aside, the model showed that the East China Sea, away from the Changjiang River mouth, takes approximately $1.5{\sim}2\;mole\;m^{-2}yr^{-1}$ of $CO_2$ from the atmosphere. The model also showed that biological factors modify the air-sea $CO_2$ flux by only a few percent when we assumed that biological activity increased two-fold. Therefore, we can argue that the biological effect is not strong enough over this area within the framework of the current phosphate-based biological model. Compared to the preindustrial era, in 1995 the East China Sea absorbed $0.4{\sim}0.8\;mole\;m^{-2}yr^{-1}$ more $CO_2$. If warming of the sea surface is considered, in addition to the increase in atmospheric $CO_2$ concentration, by 2045 the East China Sea would absorb $0.2{\sim}0.4\;mole\;m^{-2}yr^{-1}$ less $CO_2$ compared to the non-warming case.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제25권4호
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• pp.447-457
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• 2003

In order to understand the distribution of changes of geochemical characteristics in surface sediments according to various environmental changes around the artificial Lake Shihwa, surface sediments were sampled at $13{\sim}15$ sites form 1997 to 1999 and analyzed by C/S analyzer, ICP/MS and AAS. The average $S/C_{org}$ ratio was 0.35 in the surface sediments, which is similar to 0.36, the characteristic ratio of marine sediments. Heavy metal contents and enrichment factors in the surface sediments tended to be decreasing from the head to the mouth of the Lake Shihwa. With the deposition of fine-grained sediments in the central part of lake, anoxic water column induced the sulfides compounds with Cu, Cd and Zn. Metals such as Al, Fe, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Cd except for Mn and Pb showed relatively high correlation coefficients among them. The contents of Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Cd in the surface sediments of the lake were two to five times higher than those in the lake before dike construction and also in outer part of the dike. These are mainly due to the Input of untreated industrial and municipal waste-waters into the lake, and the accumulation of heavy metals by limitation of physical mixing. Although metal contents of the surface sediments at the sites near the water-gate due to outer seawater inflow tended to be lower than those during the desalination, heavy metals were deposited in areas around the new industrial complex in the evidence of spatial distribution of heavy metals in the sediments. This is mainly due to the input of untreated waste-waters from tributaries.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제37권4호
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• pp.327-332
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• 2015

Isotopic compositions of ice and meltwater play a very crucial role in paleoclimate studies based on ice cores and water resources research conducted in alpine hydrogeology. Better understanding of variations in the stable isotopic compositions of water is required since changes from ice to liquid water are gaining more attention due to recent climate change. In this work, a melting experiment was designed and conducted to investigate how the isotopic compositions of ice vary with time by heat sources, such as solar radiation. We conducted the melting experiment for 22 hours. The discharge rate rose to a maximum value after 258 minutes and gradually declined because we fixed the heat source. The isotopic compositions of meltwater increased linearly or to a second degree polynomial. The linear relationship between oxygen and hydrogen has a slope of 6.8, which is less than that of the Global Meteoric Water Line (8) and higher than a theoretical value (6.3). The deuterium excess decreased when ${\delta}D$ or ${\delta}^{18}O$ increases or vise versa since the slope of the relationship for ice-liquid exchange is less than 8. These findings and the apparatus of the melting experiments will make a helpful contribution to the studies of stable isotopes and the melting process in temperate and polar regions.