• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.166-173
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• 2010

Objectives: On December 7, 2007, the Hebei Spirit oil tanker spilled out 12,547 kl of crude oil on the Yellow Sea 10 km away from the cost of Taean Province, Korea. As the coastline has been contaminated, local residents have been exposed to crude oil. Because the residents were showing many symptoms, we investigated the acute health effects of this oil spill on them. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study consisting of the heavy and moderately oil soaked area in Taean and the lightly oil soaked area in Seocheon. Ten seashore villages were selected from each area, and 10 male and female adults were selected from each village. We interviewed the subjects using a structured questionnaire on the characteristics of residents, the cleanup activities, the perception of oil hazard, depression and anxiety, and the physical symptoms. The odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. The logistic regression model was adjusted for age, gender, education, smoking, the perception of oil hazard and anxiousness. Results: The more highly contaminated the area, the more likely it was for residents to be engaged in cleanup activities and have a greater chance of exposure to oil. The indexes of anxiety and depression were higher in the heavy and moderately oil soaked areas. The increased risks of headache, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, tingling of limb, hot flushing, sore throat, cough, runny nose, shortness of breath, itchy skin, rash, and sore eyes were significant. Conclusions: The results suggest that exposure to crude oil is associated with various acute physical symptoms. Long-term investigation is required to monitor the residents' health.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 2010

A Sanitary survey in an Important shellfish-growing area of Biin Bay in Seocheon-gun Korea, was conducted to evaluate bay conditions and compliance with the bacteriological criteria for areas designated for the production of shellfish for export. Seawater samples were collected monthly at 55 sampling stations established in the survey area from January 2006 to December 2008. Bacteriological water quality did not change in response to a small rainfall (10.0 mm), but it increased abruptly in response to rainfall to 62.5 mm The most probable number (MPN) value for total coliforms and fecal coliforms in 1, 980 seawater samples ranged from <1.8 to >1, 600 MPN/100mL and from <1.8 to 330 MPN/100mL, respectively. The geometric mean and estimated $90^{th}$ percentile value for total coliforms ranged from 2.0 to 10.3 MPN/100mL and from 7.0 to 42.6 MPN/100mL respectively. The geometric mean and estimated percentile value for fecal coliforms ranged from 1.8 to 4.0 MPN/100mL and from 1.9 to 18.3 MPN/100mL, respectively. Accordingly, the bacteriological water quality of Biin Bay met the National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) and Korea Shel1fish Sanitation Program(KSSP) criteria for areas designated for shellfish production for export in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.145-155
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• 2014

Since greenhouse gas emissions increase continuously, the authorities have needed climate change countermeasure for adapting the acceleration of climate change damages. According to "Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth", Korean local governments should have established the implementation plan of climate change adaptation. These guidelines which is the implementation plan of climate change adaptation should be established countermeasure in 7 fields such as Health, Digester/Catastrophe, Agriculture, Forest, Ecosystem, Water Management and Marine/Fisheries. Basically the Korean local governments expose vulnerable financial condition, therefore the authorities might be assessed the vulnerability by local regions and fields, in order to establish an efficient implementation plan of climate change adaptation. Based on this concepts, this research used 3 methods which are LCCGIS, questionnaire survey analysis and analysis of existing data for the multiphasic vulnerable assessment. This study was verified the correlation among 7 elements of climate change vulnerability by 3 analysis methods, in order to respond climate change vulnerability in rural areas, Seocheon-gun. If the regions were evaluated as a vulnerable area by two or more evaluation methods in the results of 3 methods' comparison and evaluation, those areas were selected by vulnerable area. As a result, the vulnerable area of heavy rain and flood was Janghang-eup and Maseo-myeon, the vulnerable area of typhoon was Janghang-eup, Masan-myeon and Seo-myeon. 3 regions (i.e. Janghang-eup, Biin-myeon, Seo-myeon) were vulnerable to coastal flooding, moreover Masan-myeon, Pangyo-myeon and Biin-myeon exposed to vulnerability of landslide. In addition, Pangyo-myeon, Biin-myeon and Masan-myeon was evaluated vulnerable to forest fire, as well as the 3 sites; Masan-myeon, Masan-myeon and Pangyo-myeon was identified vulnerable to ecosystem. Lastly, 3 regions (i.e. Janghang-eup, Masan-myeon and Masan-myeon) showed vulnerable to flood control, additionally Janghang-eup and Seo-myeon was vulnerable to water supply. However, all region was evaluated vulnerable to water quality separately. In a nutshell this paper aims at deriving regions which expose climate change vulnerabilities by multiphasic vulnerable assessment of climate change, and comparing-evaluating the assessments.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.33-45
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• 2020

A number of unconsolidated deposits, consisting of a layer of gravels and silt, are found in Dangjeong-ri, Seocheon-gun in the western coast. From below in the stratigraphic sequence, the gravel layer ranging up to a maximum thickness of about 2 meters is interpreted as being formed by fluvial processes of an old channel (Dangjeong S.), and the overlying silt or sandy silt layer of 2 to 3 thickness meters is assumed to be emerged paleo-tidal sediments which was deposited in low tidal-energy environments. As the results of rock surface IRSL datings, the depositional ages of gravels are confirmed as ca. 78,000 ~ 83,000 years BP, indicating that the layer was formed in response to a high-stand sea level of MIS 5a along the Dangjeongcheon estuary. It is presumed that the relative height of 4.5 meter between the altitude of the stream bed (9.5 m) and the altitude of the bedrock boundary in the gravel layer (14 m) indicates the uplift amount since deposition. Paleo-sedimentary environments and an altitude of paleo-shoreline in the study area will be discussed with additional age dating focused on the silt layer.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.249-256
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• 2012

Disease occurrence and dead cell ratio of Porphyra cultivated at Seocheon area were studied. Seaweed samples were collected monthly at 12 cultivating sites of Porphyra from Nov. 2008 to Mar. 2009. Although disease occurrence was low at the beginning of cultivation at the most of collecting sites, the occurrence increased with time. The most common symptom of Porphyra disease in this area was diatom attachment, followed by white rot disease. Licmophora sp. was the most common species of diatom and its attachment was the highest on November, the beginning of cultivation. Although the occurrence ratios of green spot disease and white rot disease were high on November, chytrid disease was increased at the end of cultivation period. Dead cell ratio of Porphyra thalli was different at each study site and cultivating time, but normally the ratio was high at the end of cultivating season. The changes of dead cell ratio could be related to the nutrition supplement and currents, and the more precise reason of dead cell ratio would be revealed by further research related to cultivating environment conditions.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.160-169
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• 2019

The migration status of waterbirds inhabiting the 10 coastal wetlands in the south and west coasts (Jangbongdo, Muuido, Daecheoncheon estuary, Seocheon tidal flat, Yubudo, Gomso bay, Hauido, Jeungdo, Doam bay, Gangjin bay) was examined from May 2008 to March 2013. For the most dominant taxonomical group, shorebirds accounted for 37.5% of the number of species and 67.1% of the total population, followed in the order of dabbling ducks, herons, and seagulls. The dominate species were Calidris alpina, Larus crassirostris, Limosa lapponica, Charadrius alexandrinus, and Calidris tenuirostris. Shorebirds were observed most at Seocheon Tidal Flats and Yubudo Island, and dabbling ducks were found most in Doam Bay. Diving ducks were observed most at Gangjin Bay and seagulls were seen most frequently at Seocheon Tidal Flats. The ten coastal wetlands of the western and southern coasts were divided into three groups according to the similarity index of waterbirds (Ro). Group 1 was the area where dabbling ducks and diving ducks were dominant, group 2 was the area where shorebirds were dominant, and group 3 was the area where seagulls were dominant. It was evident that there were differences in species composition depending on the regional environments.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2020

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), which has never been recorded in South Korea, appeared on Jeju Island in 2018 and re-emerged in the inland area of Seocheon-gun (South Chungcheong Province) and in Goyang-si (Gyeonggi Province) in the following year. This study aims to report the progress in observing P. falcinellus in the inland areas of South Korea in 2019 and to predict its origin region and future propensity for habitats in the country through literature review. On 5 May 2019, an individual of P. falcinellus with breeding feathers was observed in a farmland in Wolsan-ri, Seocheon-gun. Twelve days later, another one was identified in a farmland in Janghang-dong, Goyang-si, about 173 km north of Wolsan-ri. The observed birds fed and rested in the area and stayed for only a day. The individual birds spotted in South Korea in 2019 are conjectured to have come from either Southeast Asia or Australia, among areas located in East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF). This is because P. falcinellus, a species with excellent dispersal capacity, forms a population in new areas during extreme environmental changes in their current habitats, especially droughts. For 2 years, P. falcinellus was observed to be migrating in spring; however, in the future, they may exhibit the same propensity for breeding and habitats as that of birds migrating in autumn. As it is a conspicuous species, effective detection of their arrival requires a survey system that classifies the country by habitat type and involves periodic and multiple observations by experts and citizens.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.671-687
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• 2022

It has been reported that about 47% of groundwater wells within 10 km from the coastline in the western/southern coastal areas of Korea were affected by seawater. It has been interpreted that the cause of groundwater salinization is seawater intrusion. The Gilsan stream in the Seocheon area was a tidal stream until the Geumgang estuary dam was constructed and operated. Therefore, it is likely that the Gilsan stream catchment was deposited with sediments containing high-saline formation water prior to the use of landfill farmland at this catchment area. The groundwater in this study area showed EC values ranging from 111 to 21,000 µS/cm, and the water quality types were diverse including Ca(or Na)-HCO₃, Ca(or Na)-HCO₃(Cl), Na-Cl(HCO₃), Na-Cl types. It is believed that this diversity of water quality is due to the mixing of seawater and fresh groundwater generated by infiltration of precipitation and surface water through soil and weathered part. In this study, we discussed whether this water quality diversity and the presence of saline groundwater are due to present seawater intrusion or to remnant high-saline pore water in sediments during flushing out process. For this, rain water, surface water, seawater, and groundwater were compared regarding the water quality characteristics, tritium content, oxygen/hydrogen stable isotopic composition, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio. The oxygen/hydrogen stable isotopic compositions indicated that water composition of saline groundwaters with large EC values are composed of a mixture of those of fresh groundwater and surface water. Also, the young groundwater estimated by tritium content has generally higher NO₃ content. All these characteristics showed that fresh groundwater and surface water have continued to affect the high-saline groundwater quality in the study area. In addition, considering the deviation pattern in the diagrams of Na/Cl ratio versus Cl content and SAR (sodium adsorption ratio) versus Cl content, in which two end members of fresh surface-ground water and seawater are assumed, it is interpreted that the groundwater in the study area is not experiencing present seawater intrusion, but flush out and retreating from ancient saline formation water.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2008

The metasedimentary rocks of the Nampo Croup consisting of metaconglomerates, metasandstones, phyllites are exposed in the area of the Daechcon beach and Maryangri, Seocheon-gun. Their typical metamorphic assemblages of Bt-Mus-Grt-Qtz (${\pm}Pl{\pm}Chl$) and Bt-Mus-Qtz (${\pm}Pl{\pm}Chl$) indicate that they have been under intermediate P/T type metamorphism and were metamorphosed to garnet zone grade of amphibolite-facies during the Daebo Orogeny. Pressure-temperature conditions of peak metamorphism estimated from geothermobarometries are $560{\sim}595^{\circ}C$, $6.9{\sim}8.2\;kb$ respectively. The results of K-Ar biotite age determination are $143.2{\pm}3.6\;Ma$, $122.6{\pm}2.4\;Ma$ and $124.8{\pm}2.4\;Ma$ and the last two ages are considered as the results of later-stage thermal perturbation. On the bases of the formation age of Daedong Supergroup of $187{\sim}172\;Ma$ (Han et al., 2006; Jeon et al., 2007) combined with the results of this study, the hypothetical model of tectonometamorphic evolution of the study area during Daebo Orogeny is proposed. Crustal thickening resulted from folding and duplexing of thrusts in the area initiated at around 175 Ma just after sedimentation of Nampo Croup. And then rapid cooling by normal faulting due to crustal extention followed immediately after the peak metamorphism to the closure temperature of biotite.

• ALGAE
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.249-265
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• 2014

As with land crops, cultivated algae are affected by various diseases ranging from large outbreaks of a disease to chronic epiphytes, which may downgrade the value of the final product. The recent development of intensive and dense mariculture practices has enabled some new diseases to spread much faster than before. A new disease is reported almost every year, and the impact of diseases is expected to increase with environmental change, such as global warming. We observed the incidence of diseases in two Pyropia sea farms in Korea from 2011 to 2014, and estimated the economic loss caused by each disease. Serious damage is caused by the oomycete pathogens, Pythium porphyrae and Olpidiopsis spp., which decreased the productivity of the Pyropia sea farms. In Seocheon sea farms, an outbreak of Olpidiopsis spp. disease resulted in approximately US $1.6 million in loss, representing approximately 24.5% of total sales during the 2012-2013 season. The damage caused by green-spot disease was almost as serious as oomycete diseases. An outbreak of green-spot disease in the Seocheon sea farms resulted in approximately US $1.1 million in loss, representing 10.7% of total sales in the 2013-2014 season in this area. However, the causative agent of green-spot disease is still not confirmed. "Diatom felt" is regarded as a minor nuisance that does not cause serious damage in Pyropia; however, our case study showed that the economic loss caused by "diatom felt" might be as serious as that of oomycete diseases. Bacteria and cyanobacteria are indigenous members of epiphytic microbial community on Pyropia blades, but can become opportunistic pathogens under suitable environmental conditions, especially when Pyropia suffers from other diseases. A regular acid wash of the Pyropia cultivation nets is the most common treatment for all of the above mentioned diseases, and represents approximately 30% of the total cost in Pyropia sea farming. However, the acid wash is ineffective for some diseases, especially for Olpidiopsis and bacterial diseases.