• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.187-195
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• 2002

The characteristics of surface circulation in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are discussed by analyzing a great deal of current data observed by 142 sets of mooring buoy and 58 sets of drifters trajectories collected in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea through domestic and abroad measurements. Some major features are demonstrated as bellow: 1) Tsushima Warm Current flows away from the Kuroshio and has multiple sources in warm half year and comes only from Kuroshio surface water in cold half year. 2) Taiwan Warm Current comes mainly from the Taiwan Strait Water in warm half year and comes from the intruded Kuroshio surface water and branches near 27N in cold half year. 3) The Changjiang Diluted Water turns towards Cheju Island in summer and flows southward along the coastal line in winter. 4) The study sea area is an eddy developing area, especially in the southern area of Cheju Island and northern area of Taiwan.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2004

The Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) and the Yellow Sea Cold Bottom Water (YSCBW) are two protruding features, which have strong influence on the community structure and distribution of zooplankton in the Yellow Sea. Both of them are seasonal phenomena. In winter, strong north wind drives southward flow at the surface along both Chinese and Korean coasts, which is compensated by a northward flow along the Yellow Sea Trough. That is the YSWC. It advects warmer and saltier water from the East China Sea into the southern Yellow Sea and changes the zooplankton community structure greatly in winter. During a cruise after onset of the winter monsoon in November 2001 in the southern Yellow Sea, 71 zooplankton species were identified, among which 39 species were tropical, accounting for 54.9 %, much more than those found in summer. Many of them were typical for Kuroshio water, e.g. Eucalanus subtenuis, Rhincalanus cornutus, Pareuchaeta russelli, Lucicutia flavicornis, and Euphausia diomedeae etc. 26 species were warm-temperate accounting for 36.6% and 6 temperate 8.5%. The distribution pattern of the warm water species clearly showed the impact of the YSWC and demonstrated that the intrusion of warmer and saltier water happened beneath the surface northwards along the Yellow Sea Trough. The YSCBW is a bottom pool of the remnant Yellow Sea Winter Water resulting from summer stratification and occupy most of the deep area of the Yellow Sea. The temperature of YSCBW temperature remains ${\leq}{\;}10^{\circ}C$ in mid-summer. It is served as an oversummering site for many temperate species, like Calanus sinicus and Euphaisia pacifica. Calanus sinicus is a dominant copepod in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea and can be found throughout the year with the year maximum in May to June. In summer it disappears in the coastal area and in the upper layer of central area due to the high temperature and shrinks its distribution into YSCBW.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.161-169
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• 2000

A seasonal circulation in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea and its possible cause have been studied with CSK data during 1965-1989. Water mass distributions are clear in winter, but not in summer because the upper layer waters are quite influenced by atmosphere. To solve the problem, a water mass analysis by mixing ratio is used for the lower layer waters. The results show that the distribution of Tsushima Warm Current Water expands to the Yellow Sea in winter and retreats to the East China Sea in summer. It means that there is a very slow seasonal circulation between the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea: Tsushima Warm Current Water flows into the Yellow Sea in winter and coastal water flows out of the Yellow Sea in summer. By the circulation, the front between Tsushima Warm Current Water and coastal water moves toward the shelf break in summer so that the flow is faster in the deeper region. The process eventually makes the transport in the Korea Strait increase. The Kuroshio does not seem to influence the process. A possible mechanism of the process is the seasonal change of sea surface slope due to different local effects of surface heating and diluting between the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.41-52
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• 1998

A seasonal circulation pattern in the eastern Yellow Sea (EYS) is suggested from the water mass analysis and geostrophic calculation using the hydrographic data collected by National Fisheries Research and Development Institute during the years of 1970 to 1990. This research focuses on the presence of inflow of warm (and saline) waters into EYS in summer. EYS is divided into two regions in this paper: the west coast of Korea (WCK) and the central Yellow Sea (CYS). In CYS, waters are linked with warm waters near Cheju Island in winter, but with cold waters from the north in summer (in the lower layer). It is not simple to say about WCK because of the influences of freshwater input and tidal mixing. Nevertheless, water mass analysis reveals that along WCK, waters have the major mixing ratios (40-60%) of warm waters in summer, while the dominant mixing ratios (50-90%) of cold waters in winter. Such a seasonal change of water mass distribution can be explained only by seasonal circulation. In winter, warm waters flow northward into CYS and cold waters flow southward along WCK. In summer, warm waters flow northward along WCK and cold waters flow southward into CYS. This circulation pattern is supported by both statistical analysis and dynamic depth topography. Accordingly, Yellow Sea Warm Current may be defined as the inflow of warm waters to CYS in winter and to WCK in summer.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.65-75
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• 2004

In order to understand the water masses and their distribution in the eastern Yellow Sea from winter to spring, a cluster analysis was applied to the temperature and salinity data of Korea Oceanographic Data Center from 1970 to 1990. From December to April, Yellow Sea Cold Water (YSCW) dominates the eastern Yellow Sea, whereas Eastern Yellow Sea Mixed Water (MW) and Yellow Sea Warm Water (YSWW) are found in the southern part of the eastern Yellow Sea. MW appears at the frontal region around $34^{\circ}N$ between YSCW in the north and YSWW in the south. On the other hand, Tshushima Warm Water (TWW) is found around Jeju Island and the South Sea of Korea. These water masses are relatively well-mixed throughout the water column due to the winter monsoon. However, the water column begins to be stratified in spring due to increased solar heating, the diminishing winds and fresh water discharge, and the water masses in June may be separated into surface, intermediate and bottom layers of the water column. YSWW advances northwestward from December to February and retreats southeastward from February to April. This suggests a periodic movement of water masses in the southern part of the eastern Yellow Sea from winter to spring. YSWW may continue to move eastward with the prevailing eastward current to the South Sea from April to June. Also, the front relaxes in June, but the mixed water advances to the north, increasing salinity. The salinity is also higher in the nearshore region than offshore. This indicates an influx of oceanic water to the north in the nearshore region of the eastern Yellow Sea in spring in the form of mixed water.

• Journal of information and communication convergence engineering
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.58-60
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• 2004

Sea level variations and sea surface circulations in the Korean seas were observed by Topex/Poseidon altimeter data from 1993 through 1997. In sea level variations, the West and South Sea showed relatively high variations with comparison to the East Sea. Then, the northern and southern area in the West Sea showed the range of 20∼30cm and 18∼24cm, and the northern west of Jeju island and the southern west of Tsushima island in the South Sea showed the range of 15∼20cm and 10∼15cm, respectively. High variations in the West Sea were results to the inflow in sea surface of Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) and bottom topography. Sea level variations in the South Sea were due to two branch currents (Jeju Warm Current and East Korea Warm Current) originated from Kuroshio Current (KC). In sea surface circulations, there existed remarkably three eddies circulations in the East Sea that are mainly connected with North Korea Cold Current (NKCC), East Korea Warm Current (EKWC) and Tushima Warm Current (TWC). Their eddies are caused basically to the influence of currents in sea surface circulations; Cyclone (0.03 cm/see) in the Wonsan bay off shore with NKCC, and anticyclone (0.06 cm/see) in the southwestern area of Ulleung island with EKWC, and cyclone (0.01 cm/see) in the northeastern area of Tushima island with TWC, respectively.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.879-881
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• 2003

Sea level variations and sea surface circulations in the Korean seas were observed by Topex/Poseidon altimeter data from 1993 through 1997. In sea level variations, the West and South Sea showed relatively high variations with comparison to the East Sea. Then, the northern and southern area in the West Sea showed the range of 20${\sim}$30cm and 18${\sim}$24cm, and the northern west of Jeju island and the southern west of Tsushima island in the South Sea showed the range of 15${\sim}$20cm and 10${\sim}$15cm, respectively. High variations in the West Sea was results to the inflow in sea surface of Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) and bottom topography. Sea level variations in the South Sea was due to two branch currents(Jeju Warm Current and East Korea Warm Current) originated from Kuroshio Current (KC). In sea surface circulations, there existed remarkably three eddies circulations in the East Sea that are mainly connected with North Korea Cold Current (NKCC), East Korea Warm Current (EKWC) and Tushima Warm Current(TWC). Their eddies are caused basically to the influence of currents in sea surface circulations; Cyclone (0.03 cm/sec) in the Wonsan bay off shore with NKCC, and anticyclone (0.06 cm/sec) in the southwestern area of Ulleung island with EKWC, and cyclone (0.01 cm/sec) in the northeastern area of Tushima island with TWC, respectively.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.74-82
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• 1982

The study on the variation coefficient of water temperature and salinity was comducted during the year from 1968 to 1980 in the Southern Sea of Korea. The results obtaland from the study as followes; 1. The variation coefficient of water temperature and salinity wewe large either at the front area or the thermocline and malocline area. 2. The variation coefficient of water temperature was the largest at the time when the power was strong ty each water mass(The largest value in Tsushima and Yellow Sea Warm Current area was occurred at the 50m layer in the Summer, and that in the South Korean Coastal Water area and the Southern Part of Yellow Sea was at all layer in the Winter). 3. The variation coefficient of salinity was the largest at the surface layer in warm current area that was influenced by the low salinity of the East China Coastal Water in the Summer ,and that of salinity in the South Korean Coastal Water area and Soutern Part of Yellow Sea was nearly half of the value of the warm current area.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.327-339
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• 2003

During the winter in February 1998, January and April 1999, interdisciplinary research was conducted in a large area including the South Sea of Korea and northern East China Sea to examine distribution and structure. Water masses identified from the observed data are Warm Water originated from Tsushima Warm Current, Yellow Sea Cold Water (Northern or Central Cold Water) and Korean Southern Sea Cold Water. In the southern Yellow Sea, Warm Water originated from Tsushima Warm Current, flowing into the Cheju Strait after turning around the western Cheju Island, makes a front of '┍' shape, which is bounded by the Yellow Sea Central Cold Water in the southern part of Daeheuksan Island and by the Yellow Sea Northern Cold Water in the eastern part of the Yangtze Bank. This front changes its corner shape and position with strength of the warm water extension toward northwestern Yellow Sea. The position and structure of the fronts off the southwestern tip of the Korean peninsular and near the Yangtze Bank varies with observation period. In the front in the South Sea of Korea, cold coastal water which if formed independently due to local cooling, ,sinks along the sloping bottom. We explained the processes of variations in the distribution and structure of these winter fronts in terms of up-wind and down-wind flow by the seasonal monsoon, heat budget through the sea surface and density difference across the fronts.

• Journal of Marine Life Science
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.14-21
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• 2019

This review paper discussed the decadal fluctuations in the catch of the common squid, Todarodes pacificus (T. pacificus) by focusing on migration and distribution patterns. Since 1980s, changes in T. pacificus catches were due to climate regime shift in Korean waters. Fluctuation patterns of catches were different between the East Sea and the Yellow Sea. Generally PDO (Pacific Decadal Oscillation) phase shows a negative correlation with strength of warm current to the East Sea. In 1980s when PDO was positive phase (+), T. pacificus catch was higher in the Yellow, but it was lower in the East Sea. In 1990s when PDO was negative phase (-), T. pacificus catch showed opposite trend compared with 1980s. Such spatial and decadal fluctuations of T. pacificus catch were due to its northward migration along with the warm current or southward movement against the current. In the East Sea, strong (weak) warm current period, the current path has been shifted toward the East Sea coast of Korea (central East Sea or the coast of Japan). It has a correlation with PDO. In the positive PDO phase (1980s), the fishing ground was located on the eastern side of Ulleungdo, whereas during negative PDO phase (1990s), they were situated near the southeastern coast of the Korean peninsula. In the 1980s, volume transport passing into the Yellow Sea increased, whereas volume transport in the East Sea decreased. This is one of major reason increasing T. pacificus larvae in the Yellow Sea.