• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.298-317
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• 2019

The physical characteristics of the Ulleung Warm Eddy (UWE) and its relationship with the East Korea Warm Current (EKWC) were analyzed using the CMEMS (Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service) satellite altimetry data and the CTD data of the National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS) near the Ulleung Basin from 1993 to 2017. The distribution of the UWEs coupled with EKWC accounts for 81% of the total number of the UWEs. Only 7% of the total eddies are completely separated from the EKWC. The UWE has the characteristics of high temperature and high salinity water inside of it when it is formed from the EKWC. However, when the UWE is wintering, its internal structure changes greatly. In the winter, surface homogeneous layer of $10^{\circ}C$ and 34.2 psu inside of the UWE is produced by vertical convection from sea-surface cooling, and deepened to a maximum depth of approximately 250 m in early spring. In summer, the UWE changes into a structure with a stratified structure in the upper layer within a depth of 100 m and a homogeneous layer made in winter in the lower layer. 62 UWEs were produced for 25 years from 1993 to 2017. on average, 2.5 UWEs were formed annually, and the average life span was 259 days (approximately 8.6 months). The average size of the UWEs is 98 km in the east-west direction and 109 km in the north-south direction. The average size of UWE using satellite altimetric data is estimated to be 1~25 km smaller than that using water temperature cross-sectional data.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.184-194
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• 2021

Since the construction of a dike in 1983, the water quality in the Bunam Lake has continued to deteriorate due to algal bloom caused by agricultural nutrient loading. Therefore, we evaluated the change in water quality and phytoplankton ecological characteristics in Bunam Lake and Cheonsu Bay, Korea. Water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand (COD), chlorophyll, and phytoplankton community were surveyed in April during the dry season and in July during the rainy reason. As a result, during the dry period, phytoplankton proliferated greatly and stagnated in the Bunam Lake while a very high population of cyanobacteria Oscillatoria spp. (8.61×10⁷ cells L^-1) was recorded. Most of the nutrients, except, nitrate and nitrite, were consumed due to the large growth of phytoplankton. However, during the rainy period, concentrations of ammonia, phosphate, silicate, nitrate, and nitrite, were very high towards the upper station due to the inflow of fresh water. Cyanobacteria Oscillatoria and Microcystis spp. were dominant in the Bunam Lake during the rainy period. Even in the Cheonsu Bay, cyanobacteria dominated due to the effect of discharge and diatoms, such as, Chaetoceros spp. and Eucampia zodiacus, which also proliferated significantly due to increased levels of nutrients. Since the eutrophication index was above 1 in Bunam Lake, it was classified as eutrophic water and the Cheonsu Bay was classified as eutrophic water only during the rainy season. In addition, a stagnant seawater-derived hypoxia water mass was observed at a depth of8m in the Bunam Lake adjacent to the tide embankment and the COD concentration reached 206 mg L^-1 in the bottom layer at B3. Based on this result, it is considered that the water quality will continue to deteriorate if organic matters settle due to continuous inflow of nutrients and growth of organisms while the bottom water mass is stagnant.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.49-59
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• 2022

Total of 325 estuaries in Korea were surveyed to analyze the effect of presence of sluice gate on the estuary environment and fish community from 2016 to 2018. Fish community in closed and open estuaries showed differences generally, and the relative abundance (RA) of primary freshwater species in the closed and migratory species in the open estuaries were high. The result of classifying species by habitat characteristics in closed and open estuaries showed similar tendencies at the estuaries of south sea and west sea. The relative abundances of primary freshwater species in the closed estuaries at the estuaries of south sea and west sea were the highest, but estuarine and migratory species were high in both closed and open estuaries at the estuaries of east sea. Primary freshwater species showed higher abundances in the closed estuaries with reduced salinity due to blocking of seawater since they are not resistant to salt. However, primary freshwater species in open estuaries at east sea was higher than that of the closed estuaries, which is considered to be the result of reflecting the characteristics (tide, sand bar, etc.) of the east sea. Korea Estuary Fish Assessment Index (KEFAI) was showed to be higher at open estuaries than closed in all sea areas (T-test, P<0.001), the highest KEFAI was observed in closed estuaries at south sea, and open estuaries in east sea. Fish community of closed and open estuaries in each sea areas showed statistically significant differences (PERMANOVA, East, Pseudo-F=3.0198, P=0.002; South, Pseudo-F=22.00, P=0.001; West, Pseudo-F=14.067, P=0.001). Fish assemblage similarity by sea areas showed a significant differences on fish community in closed and open estuaries at east sea, south sea, and west sea (SIMPER, Group dissimilarity, 85.85%, 88.36%, and 88.05%). This study provided information on the characteristics and distribution of fish community according to the types of estuaries. The results of this study can be used as a reference for establishing appropriate management plans according to the sea areas and type in the management and restoration of estuaries for future.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.121-128
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• 2008

As an aquatic ecotoxicity test method, a bioassay using the inhibition of sporualtion of the green macroalga, Ulva pertusa, has been developed. Optimal test conditions determined for photon irradiance, pH, salinity and temperature were $100\;{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$, $7{\sim}9$, $25{\sim}35\;psu$ and $15{\sim}20^{\circ}C$, respectively. The validity of the test endpoint was evaluated by assessing the toxicity of four metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) and elutriates of sewage or waste sludge collected from 9 different locations. When the metals were assayed, the $EC_{50}$ values indicated the following toxicity rankings: Cu ($0.062\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$) > Cd ($0.208\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$) > Pb ($0.718\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$) > Zn ($0.776\;mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$). When compared with other commonly used bioassays of metal pollution listed on US ECOTOX database, the sporualtion test proved to be the most sensitive. Ulva sporulation was significantly inhibited in all elutriates with the greatest and least effects observed in elutriates of sludge from industrial waste ($EC_{50}=6.78%$) and filtration bed ($EC_{50}=15.0%$), respectively. The results of the Spearman rank correlation analysis for $EC_{50}$ data versus the concentrations of toxicants in the sludge presented a significant correlation between toxicity and four heavy metals(Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn). The method described here is sensitive to toxicants, simple to use, easy to interpret and economical. It is also easy to procure samples and maintain cultures. The present method would therefore probably make a useful assessment of aquatic toxicity of a wide range of toxicants. In addition, the genus Ulva has a wide geographical distribution and species have similar reproductive processes, so the test method would have a potential application worldwide.