• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.203-224
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• 2012

Definition of estuary and its administrative boundaries is needed for the practical management of estuarine environment. However, the majority of Korean estuaries are lack of scientific data required for defining the administrative boundaries. For this reason, a systematic way to set the boundaries has not been developed so far. This study proposed adaptive and comprehensive criteria in defining the boundary of an estuary based on the available data which includes physiochemical, geographical and topographical characteristics and regional data such as land uses and socio-economic conditions. An estuary boundary is defined with a sequential manner. First of all, according to the estuarine circulation pattern, 463 estuaries in Korea were classified into open estuaries and closed estuaries. Then an individual belonging to each type of estuary is defined an water zone boundary considering the physiochemical, geographical and topographical characteristics and land uses. Finally, a land zone boundary is set along the catchment. According to the proposed criteria, we have delineated 274 estuarine management zones in Korea on a trial basis and found that it was possible to set a boundary reasonably considering the difference of level of available data and regional characteristics in each estuary.