• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.138-150
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• 2003

In the mid-west coast of Korea where Mankyung and Dongjin rivers discharge fresh water, Saemangeum tidal dyke of 33 km long is under construction to reclaim the very shallow estuary region of 41,000ha. Main source of freshwater in this coastal area is Keum River locating closely north of the dyke. At present, the dyke connected with Gogunsan-Gundo separates this area into three regions; northwestern, southwestern and eastern (Saemangeum) region of the dyke, and the water in Saemangeum region is exchanged through one gap in the northern dyke and two gaps in the southern dyke. We have observed distributions and structures of temperature and salinity to examine the summer circulation related with low-salinity water in this coastal area in 1998 and 1999. In the surface layer off the northern dyke a tongue-like distribution of low-salinity extends 60 km long from Keum River estuary mouth to the northwest, forming plume front bounded by offshore water. In the inner region of Saemangeum dykes salinity distributions show that two river waters are merged together and the low salinity water is deflected toward northern gap of the dyke. In the surface layer off the southern dyke we observed small tongue-like distribution of another low-salinity water extending to the north from Gomso Bay. Based on the analysis of distributions of low-salinity water and frontal structures, we can suggest an anticlockwise circulation of coastal water around the dyke, composed by the estuarine water outgoing from the inner region of the dyke through the northern dyke's gap and the inflow through two gaps of southern dyke from offshore. After completing the dyke construction, this coastal circulation around the dyke will be, however, changed because fresh water discharge of Mankyung and Dongjin rivers will be routed artificially and directly into the area offshore of the southern dyke.