• 한국해양학회지
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.136-145
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• 1986

Biotope analysis(UPGM) of the data on the total benthic foraminferal assemblage (Kim and Han, 1982) collected from the southeastern sea off the Korean Peninsula shows that foraminiferal assemblages are related to the water masses prevailing in the study area. South Proper facies is governed by the Tsushima Warm Current, and Southern Deep facies is influenced by the cold water mass moved down along the bottom. Northern Nearshore facies is governed by the North Korea Cold Current, and North Proper facies is affected by the North Korea Cold Current and Japan Sea Proper Water. It is also evident that the upper part of the study area is under the influence of the North Korea Cold Current rather than the East Korea Warm Current which flows northward along/or off the right side of the study area. Planktonic foraminiferal occurrence also supports this biotope analysis.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.61-73
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• 2016

Water mass distribution and currents were investigated off the east coast of Korea near the Hupo Bank using the CTD and ADCP data from June to August 2010. The typical water masses were: (1) Tsushima Surface Water (TSW) from the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC) in the surface layer, (2) a shallow thermocline at 20-30 m depth, (3) Tsushima Middle Water (TMW) of high salinity (>34.2) below the pycnocline, (4) North Korean Cold Water (NKCW) of low salinity (<34.05) and low temperature (<4°C) in the lower layer. In June, a double eddy was observed in which a cold filament intruded cyclonically from the south around a pre-existing cold-core eddy. A burst of strong southward current was recorded in mid-August due to a warm filament from the meandering EKWC. Current in the N-S direction was predominant due to topographic effects, and the direction of the northward EKWC was frequently reversed in its direction due to the eddy-filament activity, whereas the influence of the wind was not noticeable. The vertical structure of the current was of a two-layer system, with the northward EKWC in the upper layer and weak southward flows corresponding to the North Korean Cold Current (NKCC) in the deeper layer.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.21-31
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• 2008

Analyzing the results of East Sea Regional Ocean Model using a 3-dimensional variational data assimilation scheme, we investigated spatial and temporal variability of the North Korean Cold Current (NKCC) in the East Sea. The climatological monthly mean transport of the NKCC clearly shows seasonal variation of the NKCC within the range of about 0.35 Sv ($=0^6m^3/s$), which increases from its minimum (about 0.45 Sv) through December-January to March, decreases during March and May, and then increases again to the maximum (about 0.8 Sv) in August-September. The volume transport of the NKCC shows interannual variation of the NKCC with the range of about 1.0 Sv that is larger than seasonal variation. The southward current of the NKCC appears often not only in summer but in winter as well. The width of the NKCC is about 35 km near the Korean coast and its core is located under the East Korea Warm Current. The North Korean Cold Water (NKCW), characterized by low salinity and low temperature, is located both under the Tsushima Warm Water and in the western side of the maximum southward current of the NKCC that means the NKCC advects the NKCW southward along the Korean coast. It is revealed that the intermediate low salinity water, formed off the Vladivostok in winter, flows southward to the south of $37^{\circ}N$ through $2{\sim}3$ paths; one path along the Korean coast, another one along $132^{\circ}E$, and the middle path along $130^{\circ}E$. The path of the intermediate low salinity varies with years. The reanalysis fields suggest that the NKCW is advected through the paths along the Korean coast and along $130^{\circ}E$.

• Proceedings of the Korea Committee for Ocean Resources and Engineering Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.103-107
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• 2001

The major studies of an ocean circulation of the East/Japan Sea related to evaluate the feasibility and utilization of deep ocean water are reviewed. The major feature of surface current system of the East/Japan Sea is an inflow of the Tsushima Warm Current through the Korea/Tsushima Strait and the outflow through the Tsugaru and Soya Straits. The Tsushima Warm Current has been known to split into two or three branches in the southern region of the East/Japan Sea. In the cold water region of the East/Japan Sea, the North Korean Cold Current turns to the east near 39$^{\circ}$N after meeting the East Korean Warm Current, then flows eastward. The degree of penetration depends on the strength of the positive wind stress curl, according to the ventilation theory. Various current meter moorings indicate strong and oscillatory deep currents in various parts of the basin. According to some numerical experiments, these currents may be induced by pressure-topography or eddy-topography interaction. However, more investigations are needed to explain clearly the presence of these strong bottom currents. This study concludes the importance of topographical coupling, isopycnal outcropping, different wind forcing and the branching of the Tsushima Warm Current on the circulation of the East/Japan Sea.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.415-424
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• 1998

Twently seven speices of marine bryozoans from Namhaedo Island and its adjacent waters were identified. Among them, Hippothoa distans is new to Korean fauna and seven species are added as new to Namhaedo Island fauna. Twenty three species of them have been found also in Chejudo Island waters, which is affected by the Tsushima Current. Ten species have been found in the East Sea which is affected by both the Tsushima Warm Current and the North Korea Cold Current. So it is clear that the Namhaedo Island sea area is influenced by both the Tsushima Warm Current and the North Korea Cold Current.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.399-406
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• 2010

Based on the Results of Annual Monitoring Report of Korean Marine Environment in 2006, it was shown that the coastal area of the East Sea around Korean peninsula could be clearly divided into two parts: the area of upwelling and the North Korean Cold Current. In the upwelling area, the chlorophyll-a and nutrients were increased by the influence of the decrease of temperature and the increase of salinity. These mean that the appearance of cold water due to the upwelling causes nutrient rich water and also resulted in the high productivity.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.393-403
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• 2016

A steady, strong southward flow was observed in the lower layer beneath the Tsushima Warm Current in the deepest trough of the Korea Strait. Known as the Korea Strait Bottom Cold Water (KSBCW), this bottom current had a mean velocity of 24 cm/s and temperatures below 8–10℃. The direction of the bottom current was highly stable due to the topographic effects of the elongated trough. To determine the path of the southward bottom current, ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) data from 14 stations between 1999 and 2005 were examined. Persistent southward flows with average speeds of 4–10 cm/s were observed at only three places to the north of the strait where the bottom depths were 100–124 m. The collected data suggest a possible course of the southward bottom current along the southeast Korean coast before entering the deep trough of the Strait.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.505-510
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• 2008

To understand the oceanographic characteristics of Hupo coastal waters as regards the East Korean Warm Current and the North Korean Cold Current, current direction and velocity were investigated by deploying a current meter in Hupo coastal waters during the summer and fall of 2007. Wind data were obtained from the homepage of the Korea Meteorological Administration. Water temperature was measured using a temperature meter attached to the current meter and a mini log. During summer, a south wind prevailed, while during the fall the wind blew from the north. Cold surface waters occurred on a large scale in summer, while in the fall, warm bottom water occurred frequently. After mid-November, when the surface water was cooler than $15^{\circ}C$, there was no difference in water temperature between the surface and bottom layers.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.33-40
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• 1982

The oceanographical condition of the southeastern area off Korea is inverestigated in the point of view of the fluctuation of the thermal front. although the fearure of the front is somewhat complicate, it can be classified intl three types. the first type is elongated toward north with the narrow cold water belt inside the front. The second type is almost parallel with the latitude of 36 N and the third type is the irregular one in which the cyclonic cold water mass and the anticyclonic warm water mass develop equally. The north-south directed fronts are strengthened either by the supply of the warm Daema Current (Tsushima Current in Japanese) of by the appearance of the cold North Korean Water along the coast. In the first type the thermocline inclines up toward the coast when the southward component of the wind is weakened. On the other hand, in the second typr the homogeneous and medium warm water spreads up to the coast and the latitude of 36 N, the second type front is formed.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.165-177
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• 2014

In an effort to investigate the structure and variability of the coastal current in the East Sea, a moored ADCP observation was conducted off Uljin from late May to mid-October 2006. Owing to the transition of season from summer to autumn, the features of the current and wind can be divided into two parts. Until mid-August (Part-I), a southward flow is dominant at all depths with a mean alongshore velocity of 4.2~8.9 cm/s but northward winds are not strong enough to reverse the near-surface current. During Part-II, a strong northward current occurs frequently in the upper layer but winds are predominantly southward including two typhoons that have deep-reaching influence. Profile of mean velocity has three layers with a northward velocity embedded at 12~28 m depth. The near-surface current of Part-II significantly coheres with winds at 4-8 day periods with a phase lag of about 12 hours. The modal structure of the current obtained by EOF analysis is: (1) Mode-1, having 83.6% of total variance, represents the current in the same direction at all depths corresponding to the southward North Korean Cold Current (NKCC). (2) Mode-2 (11.7%) reveals a two-layer structure that can be explained by the northward East Korean Warm Current (EKWC) in the upper layer and NKCC in the lower. (3) Mode-3 (2.6%) has three layers, in which the EKWC is reversed near the surface by opposing winds. This mode is particularly similar to the mean velocity profile of Part-II.