• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.99-111
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• 2022

Together with the development of measurement techniques, radiocarbon (¹⁴C) has been increasingly used as a key tool to investigate carbon cycling and associated biogeochemistry in the ocean. In this paper, the current status of radiocarbon studies in the East Sea (Japan Sea) is reviewed. Previously, spatiotemporal distribution and change of the water masses in the East Sea from 1979 to 1999 were investigated by using the ¹⁴C in the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). Researches on sinking particulate organic carbon (POC) revealed that POC in the deep ocean has more complex and heterogeneous origins than we expected. In particular, since 2011, Korean researchers have been collecting sinking particle samples for more than 10 years, so it is expected that ¹⁴C of POC will provide important information to understand carbon cycling in relation to climate change. Although the quantity of ¹⁴C data published in the East Sea is still limited, the importance and the future direction of using ¹⁴C to understand the biogeochemical mechanisms of carbon cycling and its role as a carbon reservoir in the East Sea are detailed herein.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.145-166
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• 2021

For several decades, sediment traps have served as one of the key tools for constraining the biological carbon pump (BCP), a process that vertically exports particulate organic carbon (POC) and associated biogenic materials from marine primary production in surface waters to the deep ocean interior. In this paper, I introduced the general methods, the current status of global sediment trap studies, and importance of it to understand the deep ocean carbon cycling. Recent studies suggest that sinking POC in the deep ocean are more complex and spatio-temporally heterogeneous than we considered. Especially researches those studied resuspended and laterally transported particles are presented. Researches that used organic (radiocarbon; ¹⁴C) and inorganic (Al) tracers to understand the oceanic POC cycling and the significance of resuspended particles are reviewed, and the importance of radiocarbon study by using MICADAS (Mini radioCarbon Dating Systems) is emphasized.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.291-297
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• 2010

In the summer of 2008 (August 4-14), vertical and horizontal distributions of inorganic nutrients and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were measured in the southwestern East Sea. Concentrations of DOC were determined for the first time in the southwestern East Sea using the high-temperature combustion oxidation (HTCO) method, and results were compared with those measured by another laboratory. Concentrations of DOC ranged from 58 to 104 ${\mu}M$ in the upper 200 m, showing a typical decreasing pattern with depth. Generally, concentrations of DOC were relatively lower, with higher nutrient concentrations, in the upper layer of the coastal upwelling zone. Concentrations of DOC ranged from 54 to 64 ${\mu}M$ in the deep Ulleung Basin (200-1500 m), and were higher than those in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In association with rapid vertical ventilation of the euphotic, this difference indicates a larger accumulation of semi-labile DOC in the deep East Sea than in the major oceans. A correlation between apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) and DOC in the deep ocean of the East Sea revealed that only a small portion (<10%) of the sinking DOC, relative to the sinking particulate organic carbon (POC), contributes to microbial degradation. Our results present an important data set of DOC in the East Sea, which plays a critical role in carbon cycle modeling and sequestration.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.969-979
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• 2020

A numerical simulation was conducted on perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in the Gwangyang Bay using a multi-box model to estimate the transport of organic chemicals in the coastal environment. The results of the sensitivity analysis on dissolved PFOS and PFOS in Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) indicate that they were most significantly influenced by the adsorption rate, desorption rate, and sinking velocity coefficients. PFOS in phytoplankton was found to be sensitive to bio-concentration and the excretion rate. The results of the mass balance indicate that the standing stocks of PFOS in water, POC, and phytoplankton are 345.55 g, 63.76 g, and 0.11 g, respectively, in the inner part and 149.90 g, 27.51 g, and 0.05 g, respectively, in the outer part. Considering flux in the inner part, adsorption to POC had the highest value among transition paths. The next highest were desorption, outflow to the outer part, and inflow to the inner part. Outflow into the open sea was found to have the highest value for the outer part.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.109-124
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• 2014

In order to understand the carbon cycle in the Amundsen Sea of the Southern Ocean, the export fluxes of particulate organic carbon from the euphotic zone to deep water estimated using ${\psi}$/${\psi}$ disequilibrium method. Seawaters in 14 water columns were collected during February and March 2012, and analyzed for total and dissolved ${\psi}$, and particulate organic carbon. Total ${\psi}$ activities in the water column showed deficiency and excess relative to those of ${\psi}$ depending on the water depth. Deficiency of total ${\psi}$ in the euphotic zone showed mirror images both with chlorophyll-a and fluorescence, and was consistent with the loss of nitrate, which indicated the effect of biological activity. In addition, deficiency of total ${\psi}$ from deep water was associated with the increase of total dissolvable Fe/Mn concentration. Excess total ${\psi}$ activity presented below the euphotic zone might be related to particulate ${\psi}$ concentrated in this water depth. Mean export flux of ${\psi}$ estimated using the steady state model was $867{\pm}246dpmm^{-2}day^{-1}$. Mean export flux of particulate organic carbon, which were estimated by the product of total ${\psi}$ flux and ratio of POC/${\psi}$ ($7.08{\pm}4.27{\mu}molCdpm^{-1}$) in the sinking particles, was $5.9{\pm}3.9mmolCm^{-2}day^{-1}$. These fluxes were similar levels to those in the Weddell Sea during February and March 2008. Export ratios (ThE) relative to the primary production in the euphotic zone were in the range of 3-54% (av. 28%).

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2009

Export fluxes of particulate organic carbon were estimated for the first time by using $^{234}Th/^{238}U$ disequilibrium in the southwestern East Sea during August 2007. They were calculated by multiplying POC/$^{234}Th_p$ ratios of sinking particles (larger than 0.7 ${\mu}m$) obtained from 150-200 m water depths to $^{234}Th$ fluxes that were estimated by integrating $^{234}Th/^{238}U$ disequilibrium from surface to 100 m water depth. Export fluxes ranged from 14 to 505 mg C $m^{-2}$ $day^{-1}$, with the highest value at station A2 and the lowest value at station D4. Primary production was well correlated with export flux, indicating that it was a major factor controlling export flux. Export flux in the East Sea was generally higher than those estimated in the open ocean and similar to or somewhat higher than those in the continental marginal seas. Export flux/primary production (EF/PP) ratios varied from 0.29 to 0.62, with an average of 0.43 and were somewhat higher in the basin area than in the coastal area. EF/PP ratio in the East Sea was rather similar to those estimated in the North Sea and Chukchi Sea, but much higher than those in the Labrador Sea, Barents Sea, and Gulf of Lions. Therefore, the East Sea is one of the major areas where a large amount of organic carbon produced in the euphotic zone sinks into the deep layer below 200 m water depth.