• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.293-303
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• 2006

The topography of the sea floor and textural characteristics of surface sediments are documented in areas off sectors 1,2, and 4 of the Saemangeum dyke and inside the dyke. These were investigated during the years 2002 to 2005, when the dyke construction almost came to an end, and were compared with natural topographic analogs before the dyke construction from the maritime maps of 1982 and 1994. Along and across the dyke are a number of erosional troughs formed by intensified currents during the dyke construction. The sea floor off sector 4 has undergone gradual accumulation of sands moving from the north by currents varying in direction from normal to parallel to the dyke. This is in a strong contrast with a slight erosional environment prevailing over the sea floor before dyke construction. off sectors 1 and 2, a topography with an alterative pattern of erosional troughs and sand shoals develops normal to the dyke. Eroded materials from the troughs seem to have added to the sand shoals. As a result, the troughs, former natural tidal channels, have become increasingly deeper, whereas the sand shoals have become somewhat shallower. The sea floor inside the dyke has also been remarkably shallower with expanding tidal flats due to trapping by the dyke of continuous sediment input from the Dongjin and Mangyeong rivers. Sands, all of which are considered to have originated originally from the two rivers, dominate the entire Saemangeum area.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 2004

The abundance, biomass and distribution of phytoplankton, bacterioplankton and heterotrophic protists in the Bering Sea were investigated from July to August 1999. Chlorophyll a concentrations in the surface waters ranged from 0.16 to $3.79{\mu}g\;l^{-1}$ Nano-phytoplankton were found to constitute from 63 to 98% of the total phytoplankton biomass, and were clearly the dominant primary producers. The biomass of bacterioplankton in the surface layers varied from 1.46 to $20.2{\mu}g\;C\;l^{-1}$ and accounted for 30% of the total phytoplankton biomass. The biomass of bacterioplankton integrated over a depth of 0 to 100m averaged 65.4% of the total phytoplankton biomass. The surface biomass of heterotrophic protists ranged from 1.2 to $27.4{\mu}g\;C\;l^{-1}$, and was within the same order of magnitude as that of bacterioplankton. Of the total biomass of heterotrophic protists in the upper 100m of the water column, 65% was attributed to protists in the nano-size class. The results of this study suggest that bacteria and nano-protists are important components of the planktonic community in the Bering Sea during the summer season. The abundance of bacterioplankton and planktonic protists decreased from the western to northeastern and eastern regions of the Bering Sea. The abundance of these organisms also decreased with depth. The available evidence suggests that variation in the abundance and distribution of these organisms may be affected by water currents and vertical temperature variation in the Bering Sea.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.325-330
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• 2016

Partial high frequency bands were allocated to the operation of ocean surface radars that monitor the sea surface currents and waves in WRC-12. On that basis, government-related organizations revised the table of domestic frequency allocation. In order to study radio environments in the allocated bands for ocean radar, tests of the radio signal spectrum were carried at 7-sites using the receiver of the ocean surface radar system operated with a shutdown of the transmitter for 10-60 min. The results showed that no serious radio noises occur at 25 and 43 MHz bands, indicating a good radio environment for the ocean surface radar operation. However, at 13 MHz band, it was difficult to generate stable and confidential data from the ocean surface radar because serious radio noises occurred continuously.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.77-100
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• 2024

Circulation, tides, currents, harmful algal blooms, water quality, and hypoxic conditions in Jinhae-Masan Bay have been extensively studied. However, these previous studies primarily focused on short-term variations, and there was limited detailed investigation into the physical mechanisms responsible for ocean circulation in the bays. Oceanic processes in the bays, such as pollutant dispersal, changes on a seasonal time scale. Therefore, this study aimed to understand how the circulation in Jinhae-Masan Bay varies seasonally and to examine the effects of tides, winds, and river discharges on regional ocean circulation. To achieve this, a three-dimensional ocean circulation model was used to simulate circulation patterns from 2016 to 2018, and sensitivity experiments were conducted. This study reveals that convective estuarine circulation develops in Jinhae and Masan Bays, characterized by the inflow of deep oceanic water from the Korea Strait through Gadeoksudo, while surface water flows outward. This deep water intrusion divides into northward and westward branches. In this study, the volume transport was calculated along the direction of bottom channels in each region. The meridional water exchange in the eastern region of Jinhae Bay is 2.3 times greater in winter and 1.4 times greater in summer compared to that of zonal exchange in the western region. In the western region of Jinhae Bay, the circulation pattern varies significantly by season due to changes in the balance of forces. During winter, surface currents flow southward and bottom currents flow northward, strengthening the north-south convective circulation due to the combined effects of northwesterly winds and the slope of the sea surface. In contrast, during summer, southwesterly winds cause surface seawater to flow eastward, and the elevated sea surface in the southeastern part enhances northward barotropic pressure gradient intensifying the eastward surface flow. The density gradient and southward baroclinic pressure gradient increase in the lower layer, causing a strong westward inflow of seawater from Gadeoksudo, enhancing the zonal convective circulation by 26% compared to winter. The convective circulation in the western Jinhae Bay is significantly influenced by both tidal current and wind during both winter and summer. In the eastern Jinhae Bay and Masan Bay, surface water flows outward to the open sea in all seasons, while bottom water flows inward, demonstrating a typical convective estuarine circulation. In winter, the contributions of wind and freshwater influx are significant, while in summer, the influence of mixing by tidal currents plays a major role in the north-south convective circulation. In the eastern Jinhae Bay, tidally driven residual circulation patterns, influenced by the local topography, are distinct. The study results are expected to enhance our understanding of pollutant dispersion, summer hypoxic events, and the abundance of red tide organisms in these bays.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.50-55
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• 1999

Gao and Collins method (two-dimensional sediment transport trend-vector model) using grain-size parameters (mean grain size, sorting coefficient, and skewness) calculated by the statistical moment method is introduced to understand semi-quantitatively the sandy and surficial sediment transport trends on a coast of the East Sea. The result is the sediment transport vectors which indicate transport paths of surficial sediment by wave-induced currents. The corresponding morphological feature is a spit developed at the mouth of the Nam¬dae stream, which is a resultant sediment transported by longshore current and is blocking the circulation of ocean. After this, it is thought that seasonal research and hydrodynamic measurements are needed for verification of the results.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.56-66
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• 2008

Subtidal surface currents are derived from HF radar measurements in the Saemangeum coastal ocean of the Yellow sea in July 2002 and from September to November 2004. The surface current field is analyzed to examine the effect of wind, river plume and coastline change on the spatial distribution and temporal variation of the surface currents. In July 2002, average wind speed was 0.5 m/s and freshwater discharge from the Keum River was $0.88{\times}10^7\;ton/day$. Temporal mean currents ($\overline{U}$) flow to the northwest with speed of $7{\sim}10\;cm/s$ near the Keum River estuary, to the west as fast as 13 cm/s near the opening gap of the Saemangeum $4^{th}$ dyke, and to the northwest off the Gogunsan-archipelago. This flow pattern is a result of the Keum River plume dispersal and tide-residual currents from the opening gap of the Saemangeum $4^{th}$ dyke. Time series of spatially-averaged current (<$U-\overline{U}$>) direction is highly (r=0.98) correlated with wind direction. From September to November 2004, the opening gap of the Saemangeum $4^{th}$ dyke was closed, northwesterly wind blew with speed of 2.5 m/s on average and the Keum River discharge was $1.19{\times}10^7\;ton/day$. Temporal mean current field ($\overline{U}$) has weak surface flow in most of the coastal ocean and relatively strong currents flow to the southwest with speed of 10 cm/s along the shape coastline of the Gogunsan-archipelago and the Saemangeum $4^{th}$ dyke. The strong flow is generated by the prevailing northwesterly wind which pushes the Keum River plume toward the Saemangeum $4^{th}$ dyke. The residual currents from the opening gap of the Saemangeum $4^{th}$ dyke disappeared and correlation coefficient between time series of spatially-averaged current () direction and the wind direction is 0.69.