• 한국항해학회지
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.49-70
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• 1984

Spatial and temporal variations of hydrography and currents are investigated in the Southeastern Sea of Korea during October 1982. The distribution of the water mass of high salinity (>34.40${\textperthousand}$) and low dissolved oxygen concentration (<5.0ml/l) indicates that the Tsushima current flows northward as it passes the Western Channel of the Korea Strait. The cold water (<$6.0^{\circ}c$) with low salinity (<$34.20{\textperthousand}$) and high dissolved oxygen concentration (>6.0ml/l) reaches the bottom of the western channel of the Korea Strait after flowing southward leaning against the slope rather than following the deepest part of the Channel. Repeated sections in the Korea Strait show a remarkable change of hydrographic structure over a period of 4 days ; both warn and cold waters are intensified, particularly in the eastern part of the strait toward the Tsushima Island.

• 한국지구과학회지
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• 제26권7호
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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.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제34권1호
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• pp.37-51
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• 2012

We investigated the distribution and species composition of zooplankton in relation to hydrographical characteristics in the Korea Strait during the winter (February) and summer (July) of 2009. Satellite images of sea surface temperatures and in situ CTD data showed that the southeastern water zone (St3-5) off Jeju Island was strongly influenced by the Tsushima Current during both the winter and summer, whereas the Changjiang Diluted Water, characterized as water with relatively low salinity, was evident in the coastal waters of Jeju Island during the summer. During winter, zooplankton abundance was significantly higher than in the summer, with dominance by copepods, ostracods, siphonophorans, appendicularians, and nauplii. In both seasons, copepods represented >70% of the total zooplankton population. Calanus sinicus, a large calanoid copepod, was dominant in near the coast, and that may be associated with the intrusion of low salinity water (i.e., the Changjiang Diluted Water) along the coast. The abundance of P. parvus s.l. and A. omorii, known as neritic copepods, was mainly associated with the Korea Southern Coastal Water. Foraminiferans, Ostracods, O. plumifera, and P. aculeatus were concentrated in the southeastern water off Jeju Island during both seasons; showing their association with the Tsushima Current, which is characterized warm, high salinity water. Our results suggest that the distribution, abundance, and species composition of zooplankton are highly influenced by different water masses in the Korea Strait.

• 한국해양학회지
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• 제4권2호
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• pp.71-82
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• 1969

By use of the oceanographic data from 1932 to 1941 and from 1960 to 1967, the general properties of the cold water in the Korea Strait are discussed. This water characterized with temperatures 3-10$^{\circ}C$ and salinities 34.0-34.4 originates from the Japan Sea and begins to flow out in summer along the bottom about 8 to 18 miles southeast of Ulgi in Ulsan. It usually reaches the Pusan- Tsushima section and rarely to the west of the southernmost part of Tsushima. As it flows out, it shows rising trend along the coast of Korea and sometimes upwelling occurs in the vicinity of Ulsan. It seems that the cold water forms an under current along the bottom in summer and autumn in the western channel of the Korea Strait.

• 한국해양학회지
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• 제9권1_2호
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• pp.10-18
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• 1974

The cold water mass around the southeast coast of the Korean Peninsula is analyzed by using CSK data from 1966 through 1970. It is shown that this water mass flows down from the region offshore of Jukbyun to the area of Youngil Bay along the 100meter contour line of bottom topography. In ordinary summer conditions when the current velocity in the Korea Strait is usually above about 50cm/sec and the wind direction is southwest, the cold water ascends to the surface and makes the surface temperature gradient large, unless disturbed by a tropical cyclon. The bottom water of the Korea Strait is formed by the stratification after the Tsushima intermediate water and the Japan Sea intermediate water have been mixed. In winter the Tsushima intermediate water with high salinity sinks rapidly around the inlet of the Japan Sea and prevents the Japan Sea intemediate water from entering the Korea Strait.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제35권2호
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• pp.127-134
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• 2013

In this study we investigated changes in the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) under the global warming scenario RCP 4.5 by analysing the results from the World Climate Research Program's (WCRP) Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Among the four models that had been employed to analyse the Tsushima Warm Current during the 20th Century, in the CSIRO-Mk3.6.0 and HadGEM2-CC models the transports of the Tsushima Warm Current were 2.8 Sv and 2.1 Sv, respectively, and comparable to observed transport, which is between 2.4 and 2.77 Sv. In the other two models the transports were much greater or smaller than the observed estimates. Using the two models that properly reproduced the transport of the Tsushima Warm Current we investigated the response of the current under the global warming scenario. In both models the volume transports and the temperature were greater in the future climate scenario. Warm advection into the East Sea was intensified to raise the temperature and consequently the heat loss to the air.

• 한국해양공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국해양공학회 2001년도 추계학술대회 논문집
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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.

• 해양환경안전학회:학술대회논문집
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• 해양환경안전학회 2003년도 추계학술발표회
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• pp.167-174
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• 2003

Oceanic conditions of the Tsushirm Wann Current (1WC) region in the southern area if the East Sea (the Japan Sea) are examined using data obtained from a CREAMS (Circulation Research if the East Asian Marginal Seas) cruise in June 1996. In 1990s, a lower temperature appears in $19\%$ and in this period, two branch of the TWC exist and the first branch of the TWC flows inshore if the Japanese coastal region compared to tfr1t in the other years, especially in the sfr1llower water layer at less th:1n about 2mm. The TWC cored with the higher salinity (>34.6 psu) is clearly observed over the continental shelf zone in the Japanese coastal region and offshore and identified by geostrophic calculation Intrusion if the TWC into the East Sea through the Korea Strait (the Tsushima Strait) makes the density structure in the water column change and the water mass in the TWC region is unstable based on Brunt- Vaisala frequency.

• 한국환경과학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국환경과학회 2003년도 International Symposium on Clean Environment
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• pp.165-170
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• 2003

A significant surface net heat loss appears around the Kuroshio and the Tsushima Warm Current regions. The area where the surface heat loss occurs should require heat to be supplied by the current to maintain the long-term annual heat balance. Oceanic heat advection in these regions plays an important role in the heat budget. The spatial distribution of the heat supply by the Tsushima Warm Current near the surface was examined by calculating the horizontal heat supply in the surface layer of the East/Japan Sea, directly from historical sea surface temperature and current data. We have also found a simple estimation of the effective vertical scale of heat supply by the current to compensate net heat loss using the heat supplied by the current in the surface 10m layer. The heat supplied by the current for the annual heat balance was large in the Korea/Tsushima Strait and along the Japanese Coast, and was small in the northwestern part of the East/Japan Sea. The amount of heat supplied by the current was large in the northwestern part and small in the southeastern part of the East/Japan Sea. These features suggest that the heat supplied by the Tsushima Warm Current is restricted to near the surface around the northeastern part and extends to a deeper layer around the southeastern part of the East/Japan Sea.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• 제39권3호
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• pp.169-179
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• 2017

The "GeoDrifter" is a newly-developed surface drifter with high temporal resolution. It is the first time that high-frequency drifters have been deployed in the East/Japan Sea. The purpose of this study is to introduce the phenomena experienced by these drifters flowing along with the Tsushima Current across the East/Japan Sea, focusing on high-frequency variability, and to discuss them in comparison with previous observations. The observed basin-scale circulation of the Tsushima Current generally coincides well with the known schematic circulation. The GeoDrifter trajectories also show inertial oscillations almost everywhere in the oceanic regions of the East/Japan Sea, strong semi-diurnal tidal currents in the western part of Korea Strait, diurnal currents much stronger than semi-diurnal currents in the upstream region of the Nearshore Branch off the Japanese coast, and many warm eddies in the Yamato Basin, all comparable to the observational results reported in the previous studies. An interesting point is that the semi-diurnal tidal currents undergo a great spatial variation in the western part of the Korea Strait. The observed features that cannot be explained are, among others, strong counter-clockwise motions with oscillating period about 51 hours appearing in the upstream region of the Nearshore Branch off the Japanese coast and the different tidal behaviors between upstream and downstream regions of the latter.