• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.63-93
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• 2023

This study aims to examine the history of naming the strait between the Yellow and East China Seas and the East Sea to suggest a consistent nomenclature and to demarcate the geographic region of the strait. Although the strait is internationally known as 'Korea Strait', it is commonly referred to as the 'South Sea' in Korean common usage. This review ultimately recommends the use of 'Korea Strait' as an appropriate geographical name for this area. To support this recommendation, the historical boundaries typically assigned to the Korea Strait were investigated. We also analyzed the evolution of geographical labels assigned to Korea Strait and to the Western and Eastern Channels (labels given to the two maritime areas surrounding Tsushima). Resources for this analysis included historic maps and charts, International Hydrographic Organization Special Publications (S-23), and maps published in the Ocean Science Journal (OSJ) and Journal of Oceanography (JO), which are two international journals representing Korean and Japanese sources, respectively, from 2005 to 2021. In these two international journals, the most frequently used names assigned to the strait of interest were Korea Strait (appearing 42.9% of OSJ maps, and 7.5% of JO maps), and Tsushima Strait (appearing 60.4% of JO maps, and 0% of OSJ maps). Other names were South Sea and Korea Strait/Tsushima Strait. On maps in the two reviewed journals, the boundaries of Korea Strait were defined explicitly or implicitly in five different ways: a broad region between the Yellow and East China Seas and Ulleung Basin (Type 1), the region between Ulleung Basin and Tsushima (Type 2), the western channel of the strait (Type 3-1), the eastern channel of the strait (Type 3-2), and both the western and eastern channels of the strait (Type 4). Overall, Type 1 was the most frequently used boundary, taking up 71.4% of OSJ and 60.4% of JO maps. Lastly, we suggest in this paper that the current flowing through Korea Strait from the East China Sea to the East Sea should be labeled the 'Korea Strait Warm Current' to indicate its full path through the strait. Currently, this current is internationally referred to as the 'Tsushima Warm Current', which does not link well to the commonly used geographic name of the strait.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.393-403
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• 2016

A steady, strong southward flow was observed in the lower layer beneath the Tsushima Warm Current in the deepest trough of the Korea Strait. Known as the Korea Strait Bottom Cold Water (KSBCW), this bottom current had a mean velocity of 24 cm/s and temperatures below 8–10℃. The direction of the bottom current was highly stable due to the topographic effects of the elongated trough. To determine the path of the southward bottom current, ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) data from 14 stations between 1999 and 2005 were examined. Persistent southward flows with average speeds of 4–10 cm/s were observed at only three places to the north of the strait where the bottom depths were 100–124 m. The collected data suggest a possible course of the southward bottom current along the southeast Korean coast before entering the deep trough of the Strait.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1021-1032
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• 1997

Satellite-tracked drifters deployed in the East Sea since 1991 are used to study the Tsushima Current (TC). It is found that the TC is a steady current with a mean speed of 10 cm/s before it enters the East Sea. Only during the summer, the TC flows along Honshu Island with a mean speed of $30\~40\;cm/s$ and then exits through the Tsugaru Strait. In fall and winter, the TC does not follow the coast along Honshu Island but it enters into the interior of the East Sea before it reaches the Tsugaru Strait. The water that passes the West Channel of the Korea Strait mostly comes from the western East China Sea and spreads into the interior of the East Sea. It also forms the large eddies in the southern East Sea. The outflow through the Tsugaru Strait comes from the interior of the East Sea in all seasons except summer. The mean speed of the Tsugaru Strait outflow is about 60 cm/s. The largest current variability is found in the eastern central area of the East Sea, south of sub-polar front.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.1033-1043
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• 1997

In order to understand the generation mechanism of the Ulleung Eddy, we carried out a series of numerical experiments using the nonlinear 11/2 - layer model allowing the inflow of the Tsushima Current. According to our numerical results, the Ulleung Eddy was generated due to the inflow variations of the Tsushima Current. Its inflow through the Korea Strait was deflected to the east due to the Coriolis force and the nonlinear self advection. Thus, an anticyclonic motion was formed at the north of the Korea Strait. The inflow became a coastal boundary current, and finally flowed out model ocean through the eastern exit. When the speed of inflow decreased slowly, the eddy- like motion at the north of the Korea Strait changed into an enclosed anticyclonic eddy of about 200 km in diameter. The Ulleung Eddy became circular shape due to the nonlinear self advection, then changed into elliptical shape in meridional direction because of the blocking effect of the western boundary.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.200-209
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• 1984

On the basis of oceanographic observation conducted in summer 1982, the flow pattern of the Tsushima Warm Current definitely showed two branches with high surface velocity more than 70 cm/sec in the western channel of Korea Strait. One of the branches, the East Korea Warm Current, found about 8 km off Pusan flows northward along the east coast of Korea and the other branch, located at about 20km off Pusan flows east after passing the Korea Strait. The branching of two flows already occurred before the Tsushima Warm Current reaches the Pusan Tsushima section, and the volume transport and the widths of the two branches are not much different from each other. The number of branches may be controlled by the width of western channel and the flow of two branches may also be related to the variation of layer depth and the widening ratio of widths between the western channel and the Japan Sea (East Sea).

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.193-205
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• 2008

A model of the current and seasonal volume transport in the East China Sea was used to investigate the origin of the Tsushima Warm Current (TSWC). The modeled volume transport field suggested that the current field west of Kyushu ($30^{\circ}-32^{\circ}N$) was divided into two regions, R1 and R2, according to the bottom depth. R1 consisted of the Taiwan Warm Current (TWWC) region and the mixed Kuroshio-TWWC (MKT) water region, while R2 was the modified Kuroshio water (MKW) region west of Kyushu. The MKW branched from the Kuroshio and flowed into the Korea/Tsushima Straits through the Cheju-Kyushu Strait, contributing 41% of the annual mean volume transport of the TSWC. The TWWC and MKT water flowed into the Korea/Tsushima Straits through the Cheju-Kyushu and Cheju Straits, contributing 32% and 27% of the volume transport, respectively. The maximum volume transport of the MKW was 53% of the total volume transport of the TSWC in November, while the maximum volume transport of the water in the R1 region through the Cheju-Kyushu Strait was 41% in July. Hence, there were two peaks per year of volume transport in the TSWC.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.99-108
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• 1999

With sectional data obtained in September of 1987, 1988 and 1989 by quadrireciprocal ADCP measurement and CTD cast, the current structure, volume transport and vorticity in the Western Channel of the Korea Strait were studied. The characteristics of Tsushima Current water persisted throughout the summer especially in the homogeneous water of temperature $14-16^{\circ}C$ located at the depth of 50-100m below seasonal termocline. Thickness and velocity of the homogeneous layer are about 10-170m and 20-60cm/s. and the relative vorticity for this layer is shown to be nearly constant and it is smaller than the planetary vorticity. Potential vorticity of $2.70-7.10{\times}10^{-6}m^{-1}s^{-1}$ is found to be dependent mainly on planetary rather than on the relative vorticities. The Tsushima Current water represented by the homogeneous layer R14-16^{\circ}C$ may keep the potential vorticity at the area of strong current in the Strait. The ADCP current structure is similar to geostrophic current and the core of the current with the speed of 30-50cm/s is situated in the middle layer over the deep trough. With large tidal fluctuation the volume transport has mean value of 1.17sv which was about 40% larger than that of geostrophic calculation.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.45-51
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• 2003

Recent observations reveal that the Tsushima Current has a double-cored structure downstream of the Tsushima Island. To explain this, a simple analytical model is proposed based on the assumption of small lateral eddy viscosity. This model suggests that an otherwise uniform current becomes to have a stream core immediately after it enters a channel due to the action of lateral friction. The core is initially broad but becomes sharper downstream. The speed at which the core develops depends on the intensity of lateral eddy viscosity. Likewise, a single-cored stream changes rapidly to a double-cored stream when it passes through an island located in the center of the channel. When the stream leaves the island behind, the reverse process from the double-to single-cored structures takes place. In this case, however, the double-cored structure is retained for a significant distance from the island. Overall, this model suggests that the double-cored structure of the Tsushima Current observed downstream of the Tsushima Island Is created by the lateral friction exerted by the Tsushima Island.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.299-304
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• 1983

A tongue-like warm water which is a part of the Tsushima Warm Current appears whole year around in the east entrance of the Jeju Strait. Because of this warm water, the current direction flowing into the Jeju Strait from its west area seems to be changed in the Jeju Strait. Therefore the intermediate and bottom water of the Jeju Strait may greatly influence the formation of the coastal water in the South Coast of Korea. Since this tongue-like warm water is stronger in winter than in summer in its formation, Tsushima Warm Current comes closer to the South Coast of Korea in winter and its north boundary frequently approaches close to the coast of Geomun Island and Sori Island.

• 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.