• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 2023

The East Sea, one of the regions where the most rapid warming is occurring, is known to have important implications for the response of the ocean to future climate changes because it not only reacts sensitively to climate change but also has a much shorter turnover time (hundreds of years) than the ocean (thousands of years). However, the processes underlying changes in seawater characteristics at the sea's deep and abyssal layers, and meridional overturning circulation have recently been examined only after international cooperative observation programs for the entire sea allowed in-situ data in a necessary resolution and accuracy along with recent improvement in numerical modeling. In this review, previous studies on the physical characteristics of seawater at deeper parts of the East Sea, and meridional overturning circulation are summarized to identify any remaining issues. The seawater below a depth of several hundreds of meters in the East Sea has been identified as the Japan Sea Proper Water (East Sea Proper Water) due to its homogeneous physical properties of a water temperature below 1℃ and practical salinity values ranging from 34.0 to 34.1. However, vertically high-resolution salinity and dissolved oxygen observations since the 1990s enabled us to separate the water into at least three different water masses (central water, CW; deep water, DW; bottom water, BW). Recent studies have shown that the physical characteristics and boundaries between the three water masses are not constant over time, but have significantly varied over the last few decades in association with time-varying water formation processes, such as convection processes (deep slope convection and open-ocean deep convection) that are linked to the re-circulation of the Tsushima Warm Current, ocean-atmosphere heat and freshwater exchanges, and sea-ice formation in the northern part of the East Sea. The CW, DW, and BW were found to be transported horizontally from the Japan Basin to the Ulleung Basin, from the Ulleung Basin to the Yamato Basin, and from the Yamato Basin to the Japan Basin, respectively, rotating counterclockwise with a shallow depth on the right of its path (consistent with the bottom topographic control of fluid in a rotating Earth). This horizontal deep circulation is a part of the sea's meridional overturning circulation that has undergone changes in the path and intensity. Yet, the linkages between upper and deeper circulation and between the horizontal and meridional overturning circulation are not well understood. Through this review, the remaining issues to be addressed in the future were identified. These issues included a connection between the changing properties of CW, DW, and BW, and their horizontal and overturning circulations; the linkage of deep and abyssal circulations to the upper circulation, including upper water transport from and into the Western Pacific Ocean; and processes underlying the temporal variability in the path and intensity of CW, DW, and BW.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.417-426
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• 2023

Rapid climate change has resulted in glacial retreat and increased meltwater inputs in the Antarctic Peninsula, including King George Island where Marian Cove is located. Consequently, these phenomena are expected to induce changes in the water column light properties, which in turn will affect phytoplankton communities. To comprehend the effects of glacial retreat on the marine ecosystem in Marian Cove, we investigated on phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll-a, chl-a) and various environment parameters in this area in December 2021 and January 2022. The average temperature at the euphotic depth in January 2022 (1.41 ± 0.13 ℃) was higher than that in December 2021 (0.87 ± 0.17 ℃). Contrastingly, the average salinity was lower in January 2022 (33.9 ± 0.10 psu) than in December 2021 (34.1 ± 0.12 psu). Major nutrients, including dissolved inorganic nitrogen, phosphate, and silicate, were sufficiently high, and thus, did not act as limiting factors for phytoplankton biomass. In December 2021 and January 2022, the mean chl-a concentrations were 1.03 ± 0.64 and 0.66 ± 0.15㎍ L^-1, respectively. The mean concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM) was 24.9 ± 3.54 mgL^-1 during the study period, with elevated values observed in the vicinity of the inner glacier. However, relative lower chl-a concentrations were observed near the inner glacier, possibly due to high SPM load from the glacier, resulting in reduced light attenuation by SPM shading. Furthermore, the proportion of nanophytoplankton exceeded 70% in the inner cove, contributing to elevated mean fractions of nanophytoplankton in the glacier retreat marine ecosystem. Overall, our study indicated that freshwater and SPM inputs from glacial meltwater may possibly act as main factors controlling the dynamics of phytoplankton communities in glacier retreat areas. The findings may also serve as fundamental data for better understanding the carbon cycle in Marian Cove.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.56 no.11
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• pp.751-764
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• 2023

Gangwon State is centered on the Taebaek Mountains with very different climate characteristics depending on the region, and localized heavy rainfall is a frequent occurrence. Heavy rain disasters have a short duration and high spatial and temporal variability, causing many casualties and property damage. In the last 10 years (2012~2021), the number of heavy rain disasters in Gangwon State was 28, with an average cost of 45.6 billion won. To reduce heavy rain disasters, it is necessary to establish a disaster management plan at the local level. In particular, the current criteria for heavy rain warnings are uniform and do not consider local characteristics. Therefore, this study aims to propose a heavy rainfall warning criteria that considers the threshold rainfall for the advisory areas located in Gangwon State. As a result of analyzing the representative value of threshold rainfall by advisory area, the Mean value was similar to the criteria for issuing a heavy rain warning, and it was selected as the criteria for a heavy rain warning in this study. The rainfall events of Typhoon Mitag in 2019, Typhoons Maysak and Haishen in 2020, and Typhoon Khanun in 2023 were applied as rainfall events to review the criteria for heavy rainfall warnings, as a result of Hit Rate accuracy verification, this study reflects the actual warning well with 72% in Gangneung Plain and 98% in Wonju. The criteria for heavy rain warnings in this study are the same as the crisis warning stages (Attention, Caution, Alert, and Danger), which are considered to be possible for preemptive rain disaster response. The results of this study are expected to complement the uniform decision-making system for responding to heavy rain disasters in the future and can be used as a basis for heavy rain warnings that consider disaster risk by region.