• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.44 no.1
• /
• pp.69-82
• /
• 2022

The Ross Sea, Antarctica plays an important role in the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) which is the densest water mass in global thermohaline circulation. Of the AABW, 25% is formed in the Ross Sea, and sea ice formation at the polynya (ice-free area) developed in front of ice shelves of the Ross Sea is considered as a pivotal mechanism for AABW production. For this reason, monitoring the Ross Sea variations is very important to understand changes of global thermohaline circulation influenced by climate change. In addition, the Ross Sea is also regarded as a natural laboratory in investigating ice-ocean interactions owing to the development of the polynya. In this article, I introduce characteristics of the Ross Sea described in previous observational studies, and investigate variations that have occurred in the Ross Sea in the past and those taking place in the present. Furthermore, based on these observational results, I outline variations or changes that can be anticipated in the Ross Sea in the future, and make an appeal to researchers regarding the importance and necessity of continuous observations in the Ross Sea.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers Conference
• /
• 2001.08a
• /
• pp.1-5
• /
• 2001

• Atmosphere
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.115-129
• /
• 2019

Surface winds over the ocean influence not only the climate change through air-sea interactions but the coastal erosion through the changes in wave height and direction. Thus, demands on a reliable projection of future changes in surface winds have been increasing in various fields. For the future projections, climate models have been widely used and, as a priori, their simulations of surface wind are required to be evaluated. In this study, we evaluate the climatological mean surface winds over the Korean Waters simulated by five regional climate models participating in Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) for East Asia (EA), an international regional climate model inter-comparison project. Compared with the ERA-interim reanalysis data, the CORDEX-EA models, except for HadGEM3-RA, produce stronger wind both in summer and winter. The HadGEM3-RA underestimates the wind speed and inadequately simulate the spatial distribution especially in summer. This summer wind error appears to be coincident with mean sea-level pressure in the North Pacific. For wind direction, all of the CORDEX-EA models simulate the well-known seasonal reversal of surface wind similar to the ERA-interim. Our results suggest that especially in summer, large-scale atmospheric circulation, downscaled by regional models with spectral nudging, significantly affect the regional surface wind on its pattern and strength.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.32 no.4
• /
• pp.379-386
• /
• 2010

This study examines changes in the Arctic sea ice associated with global warming by analyzing the climate coupled general circulation models (CGCMs) provided in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We selected nine models for better performance under 20th century climate conditions based on two different criteria, and then estimated the changes in sea ice extent under global warming conditions. Under projected 21st century climate conditions, all models, with the exception of the GISS-AOM model, project a reduction in sea ice extent in all seasons. The mean reduction in summer (-63%) is almost four times larger than that in winter (-16%), resulting an enhancement of seasonal variations in sea ice extent. The difference between the models, however, becomes larger under the 21st century climate conditions than under 20th century conditions, thus limiting the reliability of sea-ice projections derived from the current CGCMs.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.267-275
• /
• 2013

This study projected the future ocean wave climate changes based on global climate change scenario using the coupled climate model HadGEM2-AO according to the emission scenarios and using regional wave model. Annual mean significant wave height (SWH) is linked closely to annual mean wind speed during the forthcoming 21st Century. Because annual mean speed decreased in the western North Pacific, annual mean SWH is projected to decrease in the future. The annual mean SWH decreases for the last 30 years of the 21st century relative to the period 1971-2000 are 2~7% for RCP4.5 and 4~11% for RCP8.5, respectively. Also, extreme SWH and wind speed are projected to decrease in the future. In terms of seasonal mean, winter extreme SWH shows similar trend with annual extreme SWH; however, that of summer shows large increasing tendency compared with current climate in the western North Pacific. Therefore, typhoon intensity in the future might be more severe in the future climate.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.195-203
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the optimal $CO_2$ emission in the maximum economic yield (MEY), maximum sustainable yield (MSY), and open access (OA) using a bioeconomic model. The results are as follows; in the case of $E_{MEY}$, $E_{MSY}$, and $E_{OA}$ levels, $CO_2$ emissions are estimated at $150,704,746CO_2/kg$, $352,211,193CO_2/kg$, and $301,409,492CO_2/kg$ respectively. We show that the $E_{MEY}$ is more efficient than the other levels. That is, the level of $E_{MEY}$ signifies the optimal economic fishing usage as the most economically efficient usage for large purse seine fishery catching mackerel species. The emission of $CO_2$ in $E_{MEY}$ is the lowest level. Also, the impacts of climate changes such as ocean temperature increase, ocean acidification, and the combined impact thereof show that the biomass of mackerel decreases.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.313-324
• /
• 2008

In order to understand the variation of ENSO-related oceanic environments in the tropical and North Pacific Ocean, spatio-temporal variations of sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) and sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) are analyzed from distributions of complex empirical orthogonal functions (CEOF). Correlations among warm pool variation, southern oscillation index, and ocean surface currents were also examined with respect to interannual variability of the warm pool in western tropical Pacific. Spatio-temporal distributions of the first CEOF modes for SSTA and SSHA indicate that their variabilities are associated with ENSO events, which have a variance over 30% in the North Pacific. The primary reasons for their variabilities are different; SST is predominantly influenced by the change of barrier layer thickness, while SSH fluctuates with the same phase as propagation of an ENSO episode in the zonal direction. Horizontal boundary of warm pool area, which normally centered around $149^{\circ}E$ in the tropics, seemed to be expanded to the middle and eastern tropical regions by strong zonal currents through the mature phase of an ENSO episode.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.38 no.4
• /
• pp.271-286
• /
• 2016

We evaluate the temperature and salinity fields in the East Sea reproduced by the global ocean reanalysis data using HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM for short). Temporal correlation of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) change between HYCOM and the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature (GHRSST) are higher in summer than winter. Though distributions of temperature and salinity in the HYCOM are similar to those from historical data (World Ocean Atlas 2013 V2), salinity in the HYCOM is lower (highter) in the region where the salinity is high (low). Temperature fields in the Ulleung basin of HYCOM are quite similar to those derived from Pressure-recording Inverted Echo Sounder (PIES), such as the correlation coefficient is higher than 0.7. This indicates that the HYCOM represents well the circulation and meso-scale phenomena in the Ulleung basin.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.73-84
• /
• 2010

A terrestrial LiDAR was used to acquire precise and high-resolution topographical information of Malipo beach, Korea. Terrestrial LiDAR and RTK-DGPS (VRS) were mounted on top of a survey vehicle and used to scan 20 times stop-and-go method with 250 m spacing intervals at ebb tides. In total, 7 measurements were made periodically from 2008 to 2009 and after each beach replenishment event. We carried out GIS-based 3D spatial analysis such as slope and volume calculations in order to assess topographical changes over time. In relation to beach replenishment, comparative analysis of each volume change revealed them to be similar. This result indicates that the terrestrial LiDAR measurements are accurate and can be used to analyze temporal topographical changes. In conclusion, the methodology employed in this study can be used efficiently to exercise coastal management through monitoring and analyzing beach process such as erosion and deposition.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.328-333
• /
• 2019

During the winter of 2017/2018, significantly low water temperatures were detected around the western and southern coasts of Korea (WSCK). In this period, sea surface temperature (SST) in the Korea Waters was about $2^{\circ}C$ lower than mean temperature. Using the real-time observation system, we analyzed the temporal variation of SST during this period around the western and southern coasts. Low water temperature usually manifested over a period of about 10 ~ 20 days. The daily Arctic oscillation index was also similarly detectable with the variation of SST. From the cross-correlation function, we compared two periodic variations, which were SST around the WSCK and the Arctic oscillation index. The cross correlation coefficients between both variations were approximately 0.3 ~ 0.4. The time lag of the two time series was about 6 to 7 days. Therefore, significantly low water temperatures during winter in the Korean coastal areas usually became detectable 6 to 7 days after the negative peak of Arctic oscillation.