• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.161-169
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• 2000

A seasonal circulation in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea and its possible cause have been studied with CSK data during 1965-1989. Water mass distributions are clear in winter, but not in summer because the upper layer waters are quite influenced by atmosphere. To solve the problem, a water mass analysis by mixing ratio is used for the lower layer waters. The results show that the distribution of Tsushima Warm Current Water expands to the Yellow Sea in winter and retreats to the East China Sea in summer. It means that there is a very slow seasonal circulation between the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea: Tsushima Warm Current Water flows into the Yellow Sea in winter and coastal water flows out of the Yellow Sea in summer. By the circulation, the front between Tsushima Warm Current Water and coastal water moves toward the shelf break in summer so that the flow is faster in the deeper region. The process eventually makes the transport in the Korea Strait increase. The Kuroshio does not seem to influence the process. A possible mechanism of the process is the seasonal change of sea surface slope due to different local effects of surface heating and diluting between the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1997

Surface current fields in the eastern East China Sea (ECS) were constructed by analyzing trajectories of 58 satellite-tracked surface drifters released during 1991-1996. Composite trajectories and 20-minute-by-20-minute box-averaged current vectors show that the basic current pattern composes of: the Kuroshio main stream, which turns eastward toward the Tokara Strait; a northward branch current of the Kuroshio on the ECS outer shelf deeper than 100 m; and an anticyclonic circulation in the northern Okinawa Trough west of Kyushu. The northward branch current sharply changes its direction to the northeast when it crosses a line connecting Cheju Island, Korea and Goto Islands, Japan. The basic pattern of current field changes slightly from winter to summer, and the main axis of the Tsushima Current in the Korea Strait is found to shift seasonally. The drifter experiment does not support the claim that the Yellow Sea Warm Current is separated from the northward branch current on the outer shelf southeast of Cheju Island. We suggest that the use of the term 'Tsushima Current' be limited to the northeast channel flow in the Korea Strait. The new term 'Kuroshio Branch Current' is suggested for the northward branch current on the outer shelf south of Cheju-do, which is separated from the Kuroshio.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 1981

The seasonal variations of surface current patterns in the Japan Sea were drawn out from the results of drift bottle experiments, current measurements and hydrographic observations during 1979∼1980. The North Korean Cold Current(NKCC) and the East Korean Warm Current(EKWC) were common features of circulation in the eastern sea of Korea. The intrusion of NKCC along the Korean coast became strong in summer(average velocity of 47.4cm/sec off Jumunjin and 23.4cm/sec near Jugbyeon) when the Tsushima Current was strong. But there was no indication of the NKCC in November 1979. Dynamic topography(August & November 1979) and satellite picture(November 1979) seemed to show the topographic steering of EKWC beginning off Janggigab. Drift bottles arrived at the Japaness coast were affected significantly by the strong Tsushima Current in summer and by the predominant northwesterlies in winter instead of weak current.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• v.2
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• pp.672-675
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• 2006

The geostrophic current component is estimated from the sea surface velocity observed by the long-range High-Frequency Ocean Radar (HF radar) system in the upstream of the Kuroshio, by comparing with geostrophic velocity determined from along-track T/P and Jason-1 altimetry data. However, the sea surface velocity of the HF radar (HF velocity) contains not only the geostrophic current but also the ageostrophic current such as tidal current and wind-driven Ekman current. Tidal current component is first extracted by the harmonic analysis of the time series of the HF velocity. Then, the Ekman current is further estimated from daily wind data of IFREMER by applying the least-square method to the residual difference between the HF velocity and the altimetry geostrophic velocity. As a result, the Ekman current in the HF velocity is estimated as 1.32 % of the wind speed and as rotated 45$^{\circ}$ clockwise to the wind direction. These parameters are found almost common in the Kuroshio area and in the Open Ocean. After these corrections, the geostrophic velocity component in the HF velocity agrees well with the altimetry geostrophic velocity.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.219-228
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• 2002

Based on the five-year (October 1992 through September 1997) Topex/Poseidon altimeter measurements, we describe the statistical characteristics of the eddy variability in the East Sea in terms of sea surface height anomaly, slope variability, and eddy kinetic energy (EKE). The sea surface height anomalies in the East Sea are produced with standard corrections from Topex/Poseidon measurements. In order to eliminate the high frequency noise in the sea surface height anomaly data, the alongtrack height anomaly data was filtered by about 40 km low-pass Lanczos filter based on Strub et al. (1997) and Kelly et a1. (1998). We find that there exists a distinct spatial contrast of high eddy variability in the south and low eddy energy in the north, bordering the Polar Front. In the northwestern area $(north\;of\;39^{\circ}N\;and\;west\;of\;133^{\circ}E)$ from the Polar Front where the eddies frequently appear, the EKE is also considerabel. The high kinetic energy in the southern East Sea reveals a close connection with the paths of the Tsushima Warm Current, suggesting that the high variability in the south is mainly generated by the baroclinic instability process of the Tsushima Warm Current. This finding is supported by other studies (Fu and Zlontnicki, 1989; Stammer, 1997) wh.ch have shown the strong eddy energy coupled in the major current system. The monthly variation of the EKE in both areas of high and low eddy variability shows a strong seasonality of a high eddy kinetic energy from October to February and a relatively low one from March to September. The sequential pattern of wind stress curl shows resemblance with those of monthly and seasonal EKE and the two sequences have a correlation of 0.82 and 0.67, respectively, providing an evidence that wind stress curl can be the possible forcing for the monthly and seasonal variation of the EKE in the East Sea. The seasonality of the EKE also seems to correlate with the seasonality of the Tsushima Warm Current. There also exists the large spatial and interannual variabilities in the EKE.

• Geosciences Journal
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.989-1000
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• 2018

The provenance of the Central Yellow Sea Mud (CYSM) in the Yellow Sea has been attracted a great deal of attention over the last three decades, but a consensus is not yet reached. In this study, 101 surface sediment samples collected from the CYSM were investigated to determine provenance and transport mechanisms in the area using the clay minerals and major element components. The Huanghe sediments are characterized by higher smectite, but the Changjiang sediments are more abundant illite contents. Western Korean rivers contain more kaolinite and chlorite than do Chinese rivers. The Chinese rivers have higher $Fe_2O_3$, MgO, and CaO than the Korean rivers at the same $Al_2O_3$ concentration. Therefore, the clay minerals and major element concentrations can be useful indicator for the source. Based on our results, we suggest that the surface sediments in CYSM were composed mainly of Changjiang sediments, mixed a partly with sediments from the Huanghe and the western Korean rivers. Although the northwestern part of CYSM is proximate to the Huanghe, the contents of smectite and CaO were extremely low. It could be evidence that the Huanghe materials do not enter directly into the CYSM due to the Shandong Peninsula Front. Considering the oceanic circulation in the Yellow Sea, the Changjiang sediments could be transported eastward with the Changjiang Diluted Water and then mixed in CYSM via the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC). Huanghe sediments could be provided by coastal currents (Shandong Coastal Current and Yellow Sea Coastal Current) and the YSWC. In addition, sediments from western Korean rivers might be supplied into the CYSM deposit via the Korean Coastal Current, Transversal Current, and YSWC.

• Proceedings of the Korea Committee for Ocean Resources and Engineering Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.103-107
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• 2001

The major studies of an ocean circulation of the East/Japan Sea related to evaluate the feasibility and utilization of deep ocean water are reviewed. The major feature of surface current system of the East/Japan Sea is an inflow of the Tsushima Warm Current through the Korea/Tsushima Strait and the outflow through the Tsugaru and Soya Straits. The Tsushima Warm Current has been known to split into two or three branches in the southern region of the East/Japan Sea. In the cold water region of the East/Japan Sea, the North Korean Cold Current turns to the east near 39$^{\circ}$N after meeting the East Korean Warm Current, then flows eastward. The degree of penetration depends on the strength of the positive wind stress curl, according to the ventilation theory. Various current meter moorings indicate strong and oscillatory deep currents in various parts of the basin. According to some numerical experiments, these currents may be induced by pressure-topography or eddy-topography interaction. However, more investigations are needed to explain clearly the presence of these strong bottom currents. This study concludes the importance of topographical coupling, isopycnal outcropping, different wind forcing and the branching of the Tsushima Warm Current on the circulation of the East/Japan Sea.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.714-724
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• 2005

The East Sea, a semi-enclosed marginal sea with shallow straits in the northwest Pacific, is marked by the nearly geographic isolation and the low sea surface salinity during the last glacial maximum (LGM). The East Sea might have the only connection to the open ocean through the Korea Strait with a sill depth of 130 m, allowing the paleo-Tsushima Water to enter the sea during the LGM. The low paleosalinity associated with abnormally light $\delta^{18}O$ values of planktonic foraminifera is interpreted to have resulted from river discharge and precipitation. Nevertheless, two LGM features in the East Sea are disputable. This study attempts to estimate volume transport of the paleo-Tsushima Water via the Korea Strait and further examines its effect on the low sea surface salinity (SSS) during the lowest sea level of the LGM. The East Sea was not completely isolated, but partially linked to the northern East China Sea through the Korea Strait during the LGM. The volume transport of the paleo-Tsushima Water during the LGM is calculated approximately$(0.5\~2.1)\times10^{12}m^3/yr$ on the basis of the selected seismic reflection profiles along with bathymetry and current data. The annual influx of the paleo-Tsushima Water is low, compared to the 100 m-thick surface water volume $(about\;79.75\times10^{12}m^3)$ in the East Sea. The paleo-Tsushima Water influx might have changed the surface water properties within a geologically short time, potentially decreasing sea surface salinity. However, the effect of volume transport on the low sea surface salinity essentially depends on freshwater amounts within the paleo-Tsushima Water and excessive evaporation during the glacial lowstands of sea level. Even though the paleo-Tsushima Water is assumed to have been entirely freshwater at that time period, it would annually reduce only about 1‰ of salinity in the surface water of the East Sea. Thus, the paleo-Tsushima Water influx itself might not be large enough to significantly reduce the paleosalinity of about 100 m-thick surface layer during the LGM. This further suggests contribution of additional river discharges from nearby fluvial systems (e.g. the Amur River) to freshen the surface water.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.972-980
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• 2004

Cathodic protection is being widely used to protect steel structures in sea water environment, In order to protect steel structures completely, the flow condition of sea water surrounding with this structures and the surface condition of the structures must be considered for a desirable design of cathodic protection. In this study, the optimum protection potential and current density were investigated in terms of cathodic current density, surface condition and a flow condition of sea water. The optium protection potential of the cleaned specimen was -770 mV(SCE) and below. However in the case of the rusted specimen, its potential was -700 mV(SCE) and below, which was somewhat positive than the cleaned one irrespective of flow condition. The optimum cathodic protection current density for both the cleaned and rusted specimens was 100 mA/$\textrm{m}^2$, however, on the flow condition, 200 mA/$\textrm{m}^2$ to be supplied for cathodic protection of steel structures completely for both cleaned and rusted specimens.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.148-158
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• 2004

In the adjacent seas of Cheju Island, the oceanographic conditions show low salinity surface waters starting in May. This water flows from the southeast part of the China Coastal Water, which flows southeastward along the Great Yangtze Sand Bank until April, with the help of southeasterly winds and flows from the adjacent sea off Cheju Island. In May, the Tsushima Warm Current and the low salinity surface water fluctuate in short and long-term periods as influenced by Yellow Sea Cold Water, which flows to the bottom layer at the western entrance of Cheju Strait. Temperature and salinity fronts in the northeastern sea area of U Island are formed in the boundary area between the Tsushima Warm Current, which expands towards Cheju Island from the southeastern sea area of Cheju Island and Hows out from the eastern entrance of the strait. Seasonally, additional oceanographic conditions, such as coastal counter-currents, which flow southward, appears within limited areas in the adjacent eastern and western seas of Cheju Island.