• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.288-302
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• 2017

Accurate measurement of benthic nutrient fluxes (BNF) is a prerequisite for evaluating the effect of sediments on nutrient cycle in the surface water. The intact sediment cores were collected in July 2015 at the midstream of Nakdong River. We identified pre-incubation time (6, 12, 24 hr), dissolved oxygen concentration (90, 70, 50% saturation), diffusive boundary layer thickness (0, 0.6-0.8, 1.2-1.4 mm), and incubation temperature (10, 17, 20, $25^{\circ}C$) as the most important control factors, and measured the BNF fluctuation with the variation of these factors using the laboratory sediment core incubation method. Since the chemical composition, redox condition, hydrodynamic regimes and microbial activities at the sediment-water interface were changed as a result of the alteration of control factors, sediment core incubation should be conducted under as close to the natural conditions of study site as possible, in order to produce the results similar to actual values. Relative percentage differences between two replicates were below 20% in most control factors, which showed satisfactory precision for strict compliance with the experimental conditions and procedures. In the further studies, we will compare the results of core incubation with those of in situ measurements to confirm the accuracy of the sediment core incubation method.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.536-544
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• 2012

It is necessary to study the material circulation of coastal ecosystem according to aquacultural activity in order to induce the sustainable production of aquaculture and the fishery environment for the useful use. Hence, it is essential to make an exact assessment for the sedimentation release flux at the sediment-water interface in the aquafarm. Sediment oxygen demand and dissolved inorganic nitrogen release fluxes were compared using in-situ and laboratory incubational examination. Sediment oxygen demands were 116, 34, and $31\;mmol\;O_2\;m^{-2}\;d^{-1}$ (in-situ incubation), 52, 17, and $15\;mmol\;O_2\;m^{-2}\;d^{-1}$ (Core incubation) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen release fluxes were 7.18, 7.98, and $1.78\;mmol\;m^{-2}\;d^{-1}$ (in-situ incubation), 3.33, 3.74, and $1.96\;mmol\;m^{-2}\;d^{-1}$ (Core incubation) at Tongyeong finfish, Yeosu finfish, and Wando abalone cage farms, respectively. Consequently, in-situ incubation results showed two times higher than laboratory examination. We compared the material flux at the sediment-water interface of each farm and the characteristics between two different kinds of material flux examination.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.635-646
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• 2004

Chronic outbreaks of green tide in the Nakdong estuary toll a heavy socioeconomic cost. The paper investigates the influence of sediments on the nitrogen eutrophication, being claimed as the primary cause of green tide. To measure the flux of nitrate at the sediments-water interface, sediment cores were taken in Jan., Mar., May and Sep., 2000 at Noksan located in the West-Nakdong river estuary. The dissolved oxygen was profiled and then the pore water was extracted in situ. Core samples were analyzed for their textural characteristics. Cores were incubated by a novel technique to measure the fluxes of nitrate $(NO_3^-)$ and ammonia $(NH_4^+)$ at the sediment-water interface. The dissolved oxygen was depleted usually within several millimeters in the top sediments. Nitrate started to decrease drastically at the layer where dissolved oxygen was nearly depleted. Nitrate was also exhausted within several centimeters, followed by ammonia build up rapidly. The flux at the sediments-water interface calculated from the pore water concentrations revealed that nitrate was removed from the water column into the sediments. The sediment incubation experiment confirmed the above result. On the other hand ammonia were released from the sediment to the water column. As the incubation went on, however, the nitrate concentration in the overlying water was dropped below that of a top sediment. Then the flux is reversed, i.e., nitrate was released from the sediments to the water column. The implication is that the sediment can supply nitrate to the water column if it falls below a certain level. Thus it is likely that sediments in the eutrophicated river buffers the nitrate concentration in the water column, which leads to a prolonged green tide.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.39 no.11
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• pp.613-625
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• 2017

For two agricultural reservoirs that are rented for fishing spots, benthic nutrient fluxes experiment were performed two times with two sediments from fishing-effective zone and one sediment from fishing-ineffective zone using laboratory core incubation in oxic and anoxic conditions. During benthic nutrient fluxes experiment, the changes in DO, EC, pH, and ORP in the supernatant were not significantly different between fishing-effective zone and fishing-ineffective zone, and were similar to the sediment-hypolimnetic diffused boundary layer in agricultural reservoir. Except for $NO_3{^-}-N$, more benthic nutrient fluxes of $NH_4{^+}-N$, T-P, and $PO{_4}^{3-}-P$ from sediment to hypolimnetic was measured in anoxic than in oxic conditions (p<0.05). As the DO concentration in hypolimnetic decreases, the microorganism-mediated ammonification is promoted, the nitrification is suppressed, and finally the $NH_4{^+}-N$ diffuses out from sediment to hypolimnetic. Also, the diffusion of T-P and $PO{_4}^{3-}-P$ from sediments to hypolimnetic is accelerated through the dissociation of the phosphorus bound to both organic matters and metal hydroxides. The difference in the benthic nutrient diffusive fluxes between fishing-effective zone and fishing-ineffective zone was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Therefore, it was found that fishing activities did not increase the benthic nutrient diffusive fluxes to a statistically significant level. Due to the short fishing activities of 10 years and the rate-limited diffusion of the laboratory core incubation, the contribution of fishing activities on sediment pollution is estimated to be low. No significant correlation was found between the total amount of nutrients in sediment and the benthic nutrient diffusive fluxes in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Therefore, nutrients input from various nonpoint sources of watersheds are considered to be a more dominant factor rather than fishing activities in water quality deterioration, and both aeration and water circulation in hypolimnetic were required to suppress the anoxic environment in agricultural reservoirs.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.3-10
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• 2000

The main purpose of this study were to estimate the benthic fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) from the sediment and denitrification rates in tidal flats of the Keum river estuary. Sediment specimens were collected by a core sampler from three stations along the Keum river estuary in April, August and December, 1999. The sediments were composed of 1.18 %, 29.34 % and 69.49 % of gravel and sand, sand and silt, respectively. The mean ignition loss of the sediment was found 6.7 % and its Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) was measured -12 mV. The total hydrogen sulfides was determined about 0.26 mg/gㆍdry. The estimated outflux of ammonium was found 11.2 m mole N/m²ㆍday from the sediment, whereas -1.09 m mole N/m²ㆍday of influx was obtained for nitrate and nitrite through the incubation experiment of sediment cores. Total DIN flux was 10.2 m mole N/m²ㆍday outflux from the sediment. From the incubation experiments executed with the flux studies, mean denitrification rate was found 30.6 m mole N₂/m²ㆍday measured by the direct assay of N₂ production technique. On the basis that DIN flux and denitrification rate in sediment of tidal flat of the Keum river estuary are may be effects to control the algal biomass in the coastal environment, it seems inevitable to pay more attention to investigate the flux of DIN and denitrification rate in tidal flat of the Keum river estuary.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.175-184
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• 2014

Weirs are conventional structures that control water level and velocity in streams to facilitate water resource management. Despite many weirs built in streams, there is little information how weirs change hydrology regime and how that translates to sediment and phosphorus (P) responses. This study evaluated the influence of weirs on P retention and mobilization in an urban tributary of the Han River in Korea. Total P concentrations in sediments upstream of weirs were higher than the downstream site, mainly due to the increase of potentially available fractions (labile P and aluminum- and iron-bound P) (p < 0.05). Equilibrium phosphorus concentrations ($EPC_o$) were lower than soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations of stream waters, but there was an increasing trend of sediment $EPC_o$ upstream of weirs compared to the downstream site (p < 0.001) indicating a greater potential for P release upstream of weirs. Sediment core incubation showed that SRP release rates upstream of weirs were higher than the downstream site under anoxic conditions of the water column (p < 0.01), but not under oxic conditions. SRP release rates under anoxic conditions were greater than that measured under oxic conditions. Un-neutral pH and increased temperature could also enhance SRP release rates upstream of weirs. We conclude that weirs can increase P retention within stream sediments and potentially promote significant P releases into waters, which in turn cause eutrophication.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.293-302
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• 2015

This study investigated sediment oxygen consumption rates and geochemical characteristics of sediment in hypoxic area of the Gamak Bay based on the chamber experiments and geochemical analyses. The organic carbon contents of surface sediment in the Gamak Bay showed that the inner bay area has higher organic carbon content than those of the outer bay. They toward the outer bay, contents dropped off. The vertical profiles of calcium carbonate ($CaCO_3$) content at piston core sediment assumed that the hypoxia have been frequently occurred during past century in the northern inner bay. The benthic chamber experiments were conducted in February, May, August and November 2010, 2011 in the hypoxic area of the Gamak Bay. In the sediment incubation experiment with chamber at site C3 in the northern inner bay and site C17 in the southern outer bay, the sediment oxygen consumption rate ranged from $3.98mmol\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$ to $12.43mmol\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$ and $3.28mmol\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$ to $8.18mmol\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$, respectively. When the oxygen was completely depleted, the toxic hydrogen sulfide was released with $1.38mmol\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$ and $1.3mmol\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$, respectively.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.85-96
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• 2023

The study involved the categorization of domestic lakes located in South Korea into three groups based on their salinity levels: upstream reservoirs with salinity less than 0.3 psu, estuarine reservoirs with salinity ranging from 0.3 to 2 psu, and brackish lagoons with salinity exceeding 2 psu. Subsequently, the research assessed variations in the concentrations of total nitrogen (T-N) and total phosphorus (T-P) in the sediment of these lakes using statistical analysis, specifically one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Additionally, a laboratory core incubation test was conducted to investigate the benthic nutrient fluxes in Songji lagoon (salinity: 11.80 psu), Ganwol reservoir (salinity: 0.73 psu), and Janggun reservoir (salinity: 0.08 psu) under both aerobic and anoxic conditions. The findings revealed statistically significant differences in the concentrations of T-N and T-P among sediments in the lakes with varying salinity levels (p<0.05). Further post-hoc analysis confirmed significant distinctions in T-N between upstream reservoirs and estuarine reservoirs (p<0.001), as well as between upstream reservoirs and brackish lagoons (p<0.01). For T-P, a significant difference was observed between upstream reservoirs and brackish lagoons (p<0.01). Regarding benthic nutrient fluxes, Ganwol Lake exhibited the highest diffusive flux of NH₄⁺-N, primarily due to its physical characteristics and the inhibition of nitrification resulting from its relatively high salinity. The flux of NO₃^--N was lower at higher salinity levels under aerobic conditions but increased under anoxic conditions, attributed to the impact of salinity on nitrification and denitrification. Additionally, the flux of PO₄^3--P was highest in Songji Lake, followed by Ganwol Lake and Janggun Reservoir, indicating that salinity promotes the diffusive flux of phosphate through anion adsorption competition. It's important to consider the influence of salinity on microbial communities, growth rates, oxidation-reduction processes, and nutrient binding forms when studying benthic diffusive nutrient fluxes from lake sediments.