Dynamics of the Physical and Biogeochemical Processes during Hypoxia in Jinhae Bay, South Korea

Abstract

ABSTRACT Lee, J.; Kim, S.-g., and An, S., 2017. Dynamics of the physical and biogeochemical processes during hypoxia in Jinhae Bay, South Korea. Bottom-water hypoxia occurs during the summer in Jinhae Bay, a semienclosed embayment in South Korea, and can have detrimental effects on marine ecosystems around the region. Measurements of the oxygen demand in the bottom water and sediments and time-series measurements of hydrographic characteristics were conducted in Jinhae Bay in 2015. Variations in dissolved oxygen (DO) can be divided into three distinct time periods. During period I (late March to late May), bottom DO decreased linearly with thermocline development. During period II (late May to late August), hypoxia persisted. During period III (after late August), bottom DO increased as the thermal stratification began to break down. The seasonal bottom-water oxygen concentration was significantly correlated with the temperature difference between surface and bottom water, indicating that hypoxia developm...