• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.69-91
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• 1993

A total of 76 surface sediment samples, collected from the Korean west coast and the eastern Yellow Sea areas, were analyzed for their elemental composition in order to understand the geochemical characteristics of these deposits. The analyzed elements included 9 major elements (Al, Fe, Na, K, Mg, Ca, Ti, P, Mn), 8 minor elements (Sr, Ba, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn), organic carbon and calcium carbonate. Contents of most analyzed elements, excluding K and Ba, were generally low compared to those of average crust. Contents of most elements, except K and Ca, also correlated with sediment grain size, though the degree of relationship varied widely from one element to another. For fine-grained sediments, a distinction could be made between those in the central Yellow Sea and those in the Keum Estuary based on their characteristic elemental composition: the former were rich in Fe, Na, K, Mg, Ca and V, and the latter in Mn, Co and Ni. The element/aluminium ratios, on the other hand, showed that the central Yellow Sea muds were enriched in Fe, Mg, V, Ni, Cu and Zn and depleted in K, Mn, Ba and Sr relative to the mud located near the Korean Peninsula. Based on the analysis of these results, as well as of the influences of particular mineral phases or pollution effects, we could suggest geochemical criteria which can be used in distinguishing muds from the two different sources, the Keum River and the Yellow River: the former by the higher Mn content and the latter by the higher Mg and V contents, relative to each other.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.393-400
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• 2011

The mass transport is very complicated at the area which has the macro tide and complex geometry such as Gyeonggi bay. Especially, the long period current has a strong influence on the estuarine ecosystem and the long-term distribution of substances. The long period current is caused by several external forcing, whose unique characteristic varies spatially and temporally. The variation characteristics of long period current is analysed and its generation mechanism is studied. The tidal nonlinear constituents such as overtide and compound tide are generated due to nonlinear interaction and it causes mean sea level setup. The tidal wave propagating up into estuary is transformed rapidly by decrease of cross-sectional area and depth. Therefore the mean sea level is getting rise toward upriver. The high and low tide level is similar between down-river(Incheon) and up-river(Ganghwa) during neap tide when the tidal deformation is decreased. The tidal phase difference between two tidal stations causes a periodic fluctuation of sea level difference. The low water level of Ganghwa station during spring tide does not descend under EL(-)2.5 m, but the low water level of Incheon fall down under EL(-)4.0 m. The variation of tidal range and its sea level are increased during spring tide. It is found that the long period current $M_{sf}$ is quite similar to that of sea level difference between the two tidal stations. It means that the sea surface inclination caused by the spatial difference of tidal deformation is important forcing for the generation of long period current.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.473-490
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• 2015

There are diverse sea areas within the coverage of GOCI which is observed around the Korea at one-hour intervals. It includes not only very clear ocean of East Sea, but also extremely turbid waters of the Yangtze River estuary. In this study, we analyzed the different optical characteristics of various sea areas using absorption coefficients of phytoplankton, Suspended Particulate Matter(SPM), Dissolved Organic Matter(DOM). Totally 959 sets of bio-optical and marine environmental data were obtained from 2009 to 2014 around the sea area of Korea. The East Sea, South Sea, East China Sea and offshore part of Yellow Sea showed similar pattern having high levels of contribution of phytoplankton and DOM. On the other hands, the coastal part of Mokpo and Gyeonggi Bay showed opposite pattern having high levels of contribution of SPM and DOM. As a result of the algorithm performance for chlorophyll-a(Chl-a) and SPM, Chl-a is mostly overestimated and SPM is mainly tended to be underestimated. Large amount of errors are induced by the SPM rather than the chl-a and DOM. These errors are primarily founded in the coastal waters having relatively high levels of $a_{SPM}$ contribution of more than 60%.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.377-383
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• 2000

The composition of primary minerals of sand fractions and secondary minerals of clay fractions were investigated on the polder soils developed from alluvio-marine deposits near to Sapgyo-lake, constructed a sea dike across river estuary located in the west coast. The effects of a topographical sequence on the physico-chemical properties and mineralogical characteristics were evaluated using XRD, DTA, and TG with the chemical composition of $H^+$ saturated clays. Soils located on the seashore side were more silt fraction, higher pH and exchangeable cations than the others. The dominant minerals of soil parent materials are in the order of quartz, feldspars, micas, chlorite and amphibole. According to the greater distance from the lake, the amount of 1:1 minerals increased, but 2:1 minerals decreased. The dominant clay minerals of polder soils are kaolinite, vermiculite and illite. Hydroxy interlayer minerals are abundant in the clay fractions derived from the soil parent materials which have relatively low soil pH.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2021

Fish community characteristics was investigated in Namyang Lake and tributaries in Han River basin, Korea from April to October 2015. During the period, there were 5,672 individuals of 20 species appeared from tributaries (St. 1~St. 6) and dominant species were Pseudorasbora parva (33.5%). Also 5,672 individuals of 20 species appeared in Namyang Lake (St. 7~St. 9) and dominant species were Carassius auratus (32.2%). There were 5 species of endemic species with Rhodeus uyekii, Acanthorhodeus gracilis, Squalidus japonicus coreanus, Abbottina springeri and Odontobutis interrupta from Namyang Lake watershed. The frequency of endemic species were higher tributaries (18.5%) than Namyang Lake (15%). Exotic species were 3 species with Carassius cuvieri, Lepomis macrochirus, and Micropterus salmoides. there were appeared more frequently Namyang Lake (15.0%) than tributaries(7.4%).

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.237-246
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• 2022

Owing to their high bioproductivity and unique physical environment, estuarine wetlands are gaining importance in national biodiversity management and habitat conservation. With regard to conservation and management of estuarine wetlands, this study analyzed the ecological characteristics of Gahwacheon Estuarine Wetland, an open estuary with various habitat types. Data from vegetation and biotic surveys have shown that 12 plant communities of five physiognomic vegetation types, including lentic herbaceous vegetation, halophytic herbaceous vegetation, and chasmophytic herbaceous vegetation. Due to the discharge of Namgang Dam and the effect of the tide, vegetation are distributed along the narrow waterside area. In terms of biodiversity, a total of 715 species, including 12 endangered wildlife species, were identified. Species diversity was relatively high in sections I and III where various riverbed structures and microhabitats were distributed. Due to the effect of the brackish water area following the inflow of seawater, endangered wildlife of various functional groups were also found to be distributed, indicating the high conservation value of that area. The collection of ecological information of the Gahwacheon Estuarine Wetland can be used as a framework for establishing the basis for conservation and management of the estuarine ecosystem and support policy establishment.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.118-126
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• 2009

Benthic diatoms are very important primary producers in understanding estuary ecosystems and their productions are largely varied by their photo-physiological characteristics. The short-term effects of increased temperature on the photosynthetic and photo-physiological characteristics of cultured different species of benthic diatoms (Navicula sp., Nitzschia sp., Cylindrotheca closterium, and Pleurosigma elongatum) were investigated by measuring their PSII-fluorescence kinetics using a Diving-PAM. Photosynthesis versus irradiance curves were measured every two hours at six different temperatures (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and $35^{\circ}C$) for twenty-four hour. The effective quantum yield of PSII ($\Phi_{PSII}$) for most of the species showed a decreasing trend with increased temperature. The relative maximum electron transport rate (rETRmax) was significantly increased up to the optimum temperature level and then sharply decreased. Relative to the values of other parameters, the maximum light use coefficient ($\alpha$) was not substantially changed at lower temperature levels (<$30^{\circ}C$) but significantly decreased only at higher temperatures (30 and $35^{\circ}C$). The light saturation coefficient ($E_K$) mirrored the rETRmax temperature response. In regards to the temperature acclimation abilities of the four species with time, Navicula sp. and C. closterium acclimated to short-term changes in temperature through their photo-physiological adjustments.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.617-636
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• 2015

The Mokpo coastal waters receive discharges from three artificial lakes(Youngsan, Youngam, Geumho) and other terrigenous freshwater inflows(streams, sewage treatment effluent, fresh groundwater), which exhibit very high concentrations of nutrients and/or organic matters. To understand spatial distributions of nutrients(DIN, DIP, DSi) and other water quality parameters(Chl-a, water temperature, salinity, DO, COD, SS), field surveys were conducted at 10 stations in the Mokpo harbor and adjacent estuaries on May, July, September, and November 2008 within 10 days following discharge events from artificial lakes. In this study, the freshwater flow rate influxed by the operation of sea dike sluice had significant influence on water qualities of the Mokpo coastal waters, although nutrient concentrations in other freshwater sources such as streams, sewage treatment effluent, and fresh groundwater were much higher. As a result of statistical analysis, DIN, COD, and Chl-a had a negative correlation with salinity. Therefore it was shown that discharge extents, time, and nutrients from the Youngsan lake were major impact factors dominating the spatial characteristics of nutrients and other water quality parameters in the Mokpo harbor and adjacent waters. However, despite non-discharge from the Youngsan Lake on September of this investigated period, it was observed that the nutrient addition was taking place in the lower layer of the estuary suggesting nutrient supply through different pathways. This result has emphasized the need to implement the combined assessment about the cumulative impacts on the Youngsan Estuary environment and ecosystem due to freshwater inputs derived from the artificial lakes as well as other terrigenous inflows, or benthic releases.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.1-22
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• 2012

The classification scheme of estuaries can be divided into two categories: qualitative classification based on geomorphic characteristics and quantitative classification based upon the physical properties of water body. While simple and intuitive scheme of the former is difficult to quantify, the latter is not easy to apply due to the lack of data. A classification scheme based on morphological convergence is very promising because it only requires easily accessible data such as width and depth of channels, as well as it can characterize estuaries in terms of tidal propagation. Thus, this paper examines the classification scheme based on estuarine morphological convergence using depth and width data obtained from 19 major Korean estuaries. Morphological convergence for each estuary was estimated with the estuarine length, width and depth data to get the convergence parameters, which includes the degree of funneling ${\nu}$ and the dimensionless estuarine length $y_0$. The transfer function ${\xi}({\nu},ky)$ is then deduced analytically from 1D depth-integrated hydrodynamic momentum equation and continuity equation for estuarine shapes. Tidal response of each estuary is finally calculated using ${\nu}$, $y_0$ and ${\xi}({\nu},ky)$ for comparison and classification. The 19 Korean estuaries were classified into three groups: tidal amplitude-dominated estuaries with standing wave-like tidal response (group 1), current-dominated estuaries with progressive wave-like tidal response (group 2), and the intermediate group (group 3) between groups 1 and 2. The sensitivity analysis revealed that uncertainties in determining the estuarine length can have a critical effect upon the results of classification, which indicates that the reasonable determination of the estuarine length is of critical importance. Once the estuarine length is feasibly determined, depth-convergence can be neglected without any negative effect on the classification scheme, which has an important ramification on the wide applicability of the classification scheme.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.42-55
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• 2008

To evaluate the accuracy of currents measured by HF radar in the coastal sea off Keum River estuary, we compared the facing radial vectors of two HF radars, and HF radar-derived currents with in-situ measurement currents. Principal component analysis was used to extract regression line and RMS deviation in the comparison. When two facing radar's radial vectors at the mid-point of baseline are compared, RMS deviation is 4.4 cm/s in winter and 5.4 cm/s in summer. When GDOP(Geometric Dilution of Precision) effect is corrected from the RMS deviations that is analyzed from the comparison between HF radar-derived and current-metermeasured currents, the error of velocity combined by HF radar-derived current is less than 5.1 cm/s in the stations having moderate GDOP values. These two results obtained from different method suggest that the lower limit of HF radar-derived current's accuracy is 5.4 cm/s in our study area. As mentioned in previous researches, RMS deviations become large in the stations located near the islands and increase as a function of mean distance from the radar site due to decrease of signal-to-noise level and the intersect angle of radial vectors. We found that an uncertain error bound of HF radar-derived current can be produced from the separation process of RMS deviations using GDOP value if GDOP value for each component is very close and RMS deviations obtained from current component comparison are also close. When the current measured in the stations having moderate GDOP values is separated into tidal and subtidal current, characteristics of tidal current ellipses analyzed from HF radar-derived current show a good agreement with those from current-meter-measured current, and time variation of subtidal current showed a response reflecting physical process driven by wind and density field.