Stratification Variation of Summer and Winter in the South Waters of Korea

한국남해의 여름과 겨울철 성층변동

In order to calculate the strength and to. see the variation af the stratification in the Southern Waters af Korea, the stratification parameter defined as potential energy anomaly (PEA, $V(J/m^3)$) introduced by Simpson and Hunter (1974) was used The data used in this paper were observed in August 1999 and February 2000 by National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI). Also to know the effects af the temperature and the salinity an the stratification respectively, averaged temperature and salinity were used in the process af calculation the parameter. V is generally high in the offshore. However, in February, V in the onshore is higher than that of the offshore due to the vertical temperature gradient caused by the expansion of South Korean Coastal Waters (SKCW). In the summer, the increase af the atmospheric heating, the temperature inversion phenomenon act an the stratification as the buoyancy forcing. In most cases, the effects of the temperature on the stratification is stronger than that of the salinity. The temperature effect is predominantly due to the extent af the intrusion of Tsushima Warm Current into the study area. However, at stations where V is high the effect af the salinity is also significant. In the winter, V is very low due to the decrease of the buoyancy forcing, but same stations show the relatively high V due to the expansion of SKCW and Tsushima Warm Current.