East Korean Warm Current Research Articles

Potential Impact of Late 1980s Regime Shift on the Collapse of Walleye Pollock Catch in the Western East/Japan Sea

Walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogramma) caught in the Korean fishing area dramatically decreased in the late 1980s. To investigate the potential impact of the late 1980s climate regime shift on the collapse of the pollock catch, we developed a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model with data assimilation and a particle tracking model. Data-assimilated reanalysis showed that sea surface temperature increased by approximately 2°C in the spawning area of pollock in the late 1980s. The suitable spawning area in the East Korean Bay decreased due to warming in the late 1980s. Spawned eggs of walleye pollock were tracked using a particle tracking model for 30 days in January and February during 1983–1992. The number of individuals transported to the nursery within the Korean fishing area from the spawning area was reduced by 74% in the late 1980s. The intensified East Korean Warm Current (EKWC) could be responsible for the decreased number of individuals transported to the southern area in the late 1980s. Warming in the Korean fishing area could also cause a decrease in pollock. These oceanic changes might be linked to climate regime shifts in the late 1980s. The warming regime with positive Arctic Oscillation and weakened monsoon intensified the northward flow of the EKWC and accelerated the warming of the spawning and fishing areas in the late 1980s.

Surface Warming Slowdown With Continued Subsurface Warming in the East Sea (Japan Sea) Over Recent Decades (2000–2014)

The long-term surface warming trend in the East Sea (Japan Sea; ES hereafter) stalled from 2000 to 2014 (−0.05°C yr−1, surface warming slowdown), while the subsurface (100–300°m) warming trend continued (+0.03°C yr−1). To address the processes underlying these contrasting trends in surface and subsurface temperature change, the trends in sea-level anomaly, isopycnal depth, and wind pattern were analyzed using monthly mean ocean reanalysis system 4 (ORAS4) data. During this period, the strengthened northwesterly/northerly wind in the central part of ES is supposed to contribute to a negative (positive) wind stress curl to its west (east), corresponding to an anticyclonic (cyclonic) circulation in the west (east). Furthermore, the induced negative wind stress in the west appears to enhance the northward penetration of East Korean Warm Current (EKWC), the slowdown in its eastward meandering around 38° N from the Korea coast, resulting in warm water accumulation in the west with peak warm anomaly at relatively greater depth compared to peak cold anomaly in the east. Overall, these wind-driven changes in transport from west to east, wind stress curl induced horizontal divergence (convergence) and the associated upwelling (downwelling), causes surface warming to slow and subsurface warming to persist during 2000 to 2014.

The Summer/Fall Variability of the Southern East/Japan Sea in the ENSO Period

The summer/fall variability of the upper ocean circulations and properties of the East/Japan Sea occurring during the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) period is investigated by use of the high-resolution HYCOM reanalysis data. From August to November of the La Nina period, the inflow through the Korea/Tsushima Strait is intensified, and so are the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC) and the Nearshore Branch of the Tsushima Warm Current (NBTWC) in the southern East/Japan Sea. The intensified EKWC induces an offshore current anomaly near 36°N, weakening the anticyclonic gyre circulation in Ulleung basin, and the intensified NBTWC leads to weakening of the Offshore Branch of the Tsushima Warm Current (OBTWC). The sea surface temperature begins to increase from the northeastern coast of Japan in August, and its positive anomalies expand to the largest area of southern East/Japan Sea in October and last until November. The positive anomalies of sea surface salinity are mainly observed along the south and east coast of Korea. The cyclonic gyre circulation anomaly in Ulleung Basin is accompanied by the negative SSH anomaly and shallowing of the upper ocean isopycnal lines, which leads to substantial cooling of the subsurface water. The reverse is true in the El Nino period.

Role of cold water and beta-effect in the formation of the East Korean Warm Current in the East/Japan Sea: a numerical experiment

The contributions of bottom cold water and planetary β-effect to the formation of the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC), the western boundary current in the East/Japan Sea (EJS), were evaluated using an idealized three-dimensional numerical model. The model results suggest that the bottom cold water and, to a lesser extent, the planetary β-effect both contribute to the formation of the EKWC. The cold water functions as the bottom of the upper layer, to control the EKWC via conservation of potential vorticity. It is known that cold waters, such as the North Korean Cold Water and Korea Strait Bottom Cold Water often observed during summer along the southwestern coast of the EJS, originate from the winter convection in the northern area. Observational studies consistently show that the EKWC strengthens in summer when the cold water extends further south along the western boundary.

2010년 하계 후포퇴 근해의 수괴분포와 해류

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.

Late Holocene distal mud deposits off the Nakdong delta, SE Korea: evidence for shore-parallel sediment transport in a current-dominated setting

The distal mud deposits (DMDs) off the Nakdong delta represent a subaqueous delta on the inner continental shelf aligned parallel to the southeast coast of Korea and displaying a clinoform geometry. Hydrographically, the coast is characterized by a micro-tidal regime, the strong Korean Coastal Current (KCC) and the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC). Age models and sedimentary facies related to the clinoform geometries are based on high-resolution chirp subbottom profile data and have provided information on shore-parallel sediment transport and accumulation during the late Holocene sea-level highstand. The highest sedimentation rates (6.19–9.17 cm/year) produced steep foresets in the central DMDs at water depths of 35–50 m. Here, vertical burrows are repeatedly truncated by laminated mud packages displaying erosional surfaces. This region represents the main depocenter of the Nakdong subaqueous delta. The topset sediments of the southern DMD at ~40 m water depth closer to the river mouth show relatively low sedimentation rates (0.01–0.12 cm/year). Here, the muds have a predominantly mottled character. Similarly, the foreset sediments of the northern DMD at ~71–80 m water depth with sedimentation rates of 0.10–2.03 cm/year are also predominantly characterized by mottled muds. The spatial dispersal pattern of the DMDs is consistent with the coast-parallel front between the KCC and EKWC along the southeast Korean coast. In addition, the depocenter of the Nakdong subaqueous delta clinoform is affected by the near-bed turbulence generated by episodic storm events.

2006년 하계 울진 연안 해류의 변동성

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.

Eddies in the southwestern East/Japan Sea

Closed loop mesoscale eddies were identified and tracked in the Ulleung Basin of the southwestern Japan/East Sea (JES) using the winding-angle (WA) methodology, for mapping the absolute geostrophic currents into surface streamlines of flow. The geostrophic velocity used here was the sum of the Archiving, Validation and Interpretation of Satellite Oceanographic data (AVISO), time variable velocity and the 1992–2007 mean geostrophic velocity. Local sampling bias was removed using the drifter observations. This WA methodology of deriving the Lagrangian path lines that drifters followed over a 7-day period was validated by individual drifter tracks and it demonstrated closed looping eddy motions. The WA method demonstrated that less than 6% of the closed streamlines appeared when drifters did not show a closed loop in their vicinity, compared to 30% of the excess detection rate by the Okubo–Weiss method of locating closed loop structures. Three groups of eddies were identified: (1) Coastal Cold and Warm Eddies, which appeared in the area between the coast of southern Korea and the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC), when a southward coastal current was present, (2) Frontal Cold and Warm Eddies, which were formed in the region of the seaward extension of the meandering EKWC, north of Ulleung Island and (3) Ulleung Warm Eddies (UWE) and Dok Cold Eddies (DCE), which appeared during meanders of the EKWC, in the Ulleung Basin. No seasonal concentration for eddy generation and eddy population was found. The average radius of eddies was about 38–60 km. These were born, moved in an erratic pattern and then died in the vicinity where the EKWC separated from the coast and formed a large meander. The time-mean large meander formed meridionally concentrated bands of positive and negative relative vorticity. The cyclonic (cold) eddies tend to reside within the band of positive time-mean relative vorticity, and the anticyclonic (warm) eddies reside within the bands of negative relative vorticity. Six UWE and four warm eddies, in the Yamato Basin (about 10% of warm eddies), were sustained longer than a year. Because the large meander of the EKWC appeared to be controlled by topography, and the JES is a nearly enclosed basin with rapid flow-out to the east through the narrow Tsugaru Strait, there was little eddy energy propagation to the west. The warm eddies in the southwestern part of the JES appeared to be interacting very locally with the mean flow.

Characteristics of a Warm Eddy Observed in the Ulleung Basin in July 2005

Oceanographic survey data were analyzed to understand the characteristics of a warm eddy observed in the Ulleung Basin in July 2005. The temperature distribution at 200 db and vertical sections provided evidence of the warm eddy in the Ulleung Basin (UWE05). Based on the 5<TEX>$^{\circ}C$</TEX> isothermal line on 200 db temperature, the major axis was 160 km from southwest to northeast, and the minor axis was 80 km from southeast to northwest. The homogeneous layer in the thermocline of UWE05 had mean values of 10.40<TEX>$^{\circ}C$</TEX> potential temperature, 34.35 psu salinity, and 26.37 kg/m<TEX>$^3$</TEX> potential density (<TEX>${\sigma}_{\theta}$</TEX>) and provided evidence that UWE05 also existed during the winter of 2004-2005. A warm streamer initially flowed along the circumference of UWE05 and mixed with the upper central water. Two northward current cores were found on the western side of the measured current section at the central latitude of UWE05. One was the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC) and the other was the main stream of the western part of UWE05. Geostrophic transport of the upper layer (from the surface to the isopycnal surface of 26.9 <TEX>${\sigma}_{\theta}$</TEX>) was approximately 2.5 Sv in the eastern side of UWE05. However, the measured transport was twice as large as the geostrophic transport. Mass conservation of geostrophic transport was well satisfied in the upper layer. The direct current measurements and geostrophic transport analysis showed that the EKWC meandered around UWE05.

Evidence of Vertical Mixing Caused by High Frequency Internal Waves along the Eastern Coast of Korea

Internal waves and internal tides occur frequently along the eastern coast of Korea. During the spring-tide period in April 2003, the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC) flowed near the Korean East Coast Farming Forecast System (KECFFS; a moored oceanographic measurement system), creating a strong thermocline at the intermediate layer. Weakened stratification and well-mixed water appeared frequently around the KECFFS, with duration of approximately 1 day. The results suggest the following scenario. Baroclinic motion related to the internal tide generated high frequency internal waves around the thermocline. The breaking of those waves then created turbulence around the thermocline. After well-mixed water appeared, a current component with perpendicular direction to the EKWC appeared within the inertial period. The change in stratification around the KECFFS locally broke the geostrophic balance as a transient state. This local vertical mixing formed an ageostrophic current within the inertial period.

Sensitivity of simulated circulation dynamics to the choice of surface wind forcing in the Japan/East Sea

Abstract The circulation sensitivity to the choice of wind-forcing product is investigated with the NRL Layered Ocean Model (NLOM) configured for the Japan/East Sea. Monthly climatologies from seven different wind-stress data sets (and wind-stress curl) are formed from observed and model-derived atmospheric data sets. The resulting maps of wind-stress curl reveal significantly different spatial patterns and magnitudes, even two with largely opposite large-scale patterns of wind-stress curl. These wind sets were used in forcing three sets of simulations, 1/8° linear and 1/8° and 1/32° nonlinear. In addition, seasonally varying straits forcing (inflow through Tsushima balanced by outflow through Tsugaru and Soya) was included in all the simulations, and simulations with straits forcing only were performed. The 1.5-layer linear reduced-gravity simulations include only the lowest order dynamics, mainly Munk β1/3 western boundary layers (due to both wind and straits forcing) and a Sverdrup interior. The nonlinear simulations add bottom topography, multiple internal modes, diapycnal mixing, and ventilation of layer interfaces. At 1/8° resolution, only weak barotropic/baroclinic instabilities occur, but at 1/32° resolution these are much stronger, allowing vigorous transfer of energy from the upper ocean to the abyssal layer via baroclinic instability. This drives much stronger mean abyssal currents that more strongly steer upper-ocean current pathways than at 1/8°, i.e. there is much stronger upper ocean–topographical coupling. The linear model simulates most of the basic features, e.g., the subpolar gyre with all but the straits forcing only, the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC) and its connection to the subpolar front with all but one wind-forcing set, but the remaining wind set gives a continuous Nearshore Branch (NB) of the Tsushima Warm Current along the coast of Honshu. In all of the linear simulations with an EKWC, the separation latitude from the coast of Korea is determined by the latitude (∼41°N) of the Tsugaru Strait outflow (too far north) except for one, which is also too far north. All of the nonlinear simulations include the NB, which is mainly due to isopycnal outcropping. This creates another inflow to outflow pathway, diverting some of the flow from the EKWC and allowing the wind-stress curl to compete better with straits forcing in determining the EKWC separation latitude. Using the 1/8° nonlinear model, three of the wind-forcing sets yield a realistic separation latitude for the EKWC (∼37–38°N) and two more are marginally successful. The two remaining and the simulation with straits forcing only yield EKWC overshoot to ∼40°N. At 1/32° resolution, one of the simulations (one with forcing that gave marginally realistic separation at 1/8°) has a realistic EKWC separation latitude. The three wind products that yielded realistic EKWC separation at 1/8° continue to give realistic separation at 1/32° via the wind-stress curl, but the remainder give realistic separation via upper ocean–topographical coupling. At 1/32° resolution all but one of the simulations showed a strong Yamato Rise impact on the pathway of the subpolar front due to steering by abyssal currents. At 1/8° resolution only two of the eight showed any such impact, one due to abyssal currents driven by vertical mixing in the subpolar gyre. In all the other 1/8° simulations the mean abyssal currents were weak, but in one case weak abyssal currents were aided by a region of strong negative wind-stress curl not seen in the other wind products. In addition, regions of the ventilation of intermediate and deep water in response to each wind set are identified. A series of six 1/32° simulations forced interannually with 6-hourly winds 1979–93 are used to separate the model variability due to wind forcing (deterministic) and flow instabilities (nondeterministic). This analysis indicates that flow instabilities are the dominant source of SSH variability over a large majority of the basin, especially near 37–38°N, where the EKWC separates from the coast, and along the pathway of the subpolar front following the north rim of the Yamato Rise towards the Tsugaru Strait. Wind forcing dominates the SSH variability in the coastal wave guide and over the deep basins and troughs.

Movement and structural variation of warm eddy WE92 for three years in the Western East/Japan Sea

Abstract Approximately three years of longitudinal research (from December 1992 to May 1995) examined movement and structural variation of a specific warm eddy (WE92) in the western East/Japan Sea. WE92, found off the south of Ulleung Island in the East/Japan Sea, moved northward west of Ulleung Island and then eastward along the Polar Front. The intrusion of East/Japan Sea intermediate water and lateral mixing between the warm eddy and intermediate water in the summer and fall of 1993 gradually reduced WE92's diameter (150–170 km) and maximum depth (about 310 m). The East Korean Warm Current (EKWC) and WE92 converged around Ulleung Island, and the EKWC supplied WE92 with high-temperature and high-salinity water. High-salinity water, which flowed into the edge of the warm eddy, gradually expanded into the inner portion of WE92 in summer and fall, before convective mixing occurred in winter. Energy from the EKWC replenished vorticity in the warm eddy, which had been gradually declining. A homogeneous layer (lens) caused by atmospheric cooling in the core of WE92 formed from the surface layer to a maximum depth of ∼250 m throughout the winter. The temperature of the mixed layer at the surface near Ulleung Island was almost homogeneous, averaging approximately 10 °C the first winter and lower than 8 °C in the other two winters. If a warm eddy moves north several times throughout the winter and then moves east, a much lower temperature can be expected in the mixed layer at the eddy's center. The maximum velocity of the warm eddy (30–60 cm/s) nearly equaled that of the EKWC, but the depth of maximum velocity (50–150 m) exceeded that of the EKWC. Based on the effects of the EKWC on WE92, the currents of the warm eddy flowed fastest on the west side of WE92.

The energetic surface circulation patterns of the Japan/East Sea

Abstract In the period of 1988–2001, 226 ARGOS fixed drifters were deployed in the Japan/East Sea (JES). From these and the historical file of temperature at a depth of 100 m, 15 m depth circulation and its variances in relationship to the seasonal mean warm and cold water regions were constructed on 0.5° resolutions. The strongest seasonal currents were: the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC), the Tsushima Current (TC), the North Korean Cold Current (NKCC) and local eastwards intensifications along the sub-polar frontal patterns. The TC and NKCC were observed during summer and drifters passed through the Soya Strait only in summer. The sub-polar front occurred along 40°N in the northeastern JES; a separate front occurred in winter that was associated with the flow of warm water restricted to the southern JES. Small eddy energy was found in the cold water regime and large eddy energy in the warm water regime. Satellite altimeter and drifter tracks were used to mark the Wonsan Eddy found in the East Korean Bay, a yearly late summer occurrence. Mechanical energy flux from the mean circulation to mesoscale eddies occurred in EKWC, TC and the sub-polar front in the eastern JES with eddy kinetic energy doubling time of 15–60 days. The yearly mean circulation east of the Korean coast is organized into a broad, eddy-filled East Sea Current that contains weak anticyclonic gyres in the Ulleung and Yamato Basins. It accelerates toward the Yamato Rise and against the eastern coast of the JES. The published numerical model solutions show several historical circulation features but fail to capture many of the new structures described by the drifter data.

Spatial and temporal aspects of phytoplankton blooms in complex ecosystems off the korean coast from satellite ocean color observations

Complex physical, chemical and biological interactions off the Korean coast created several striking patterns in the phytoplankton blooms, which became conspicuous during the measurements of ocean color from space. This study concentrated on analyzing the spatial and temporal aspects of phytoplankton chlorophyll variability in these areas using an integrated dataset from a Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), Advanced Very High Resolution (AVHRR) sensor, and Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) sensor. The results showed that chlorophyll concentrations were elevated in coastal and open ocean regions, with strong summer and fall blooms, which appeared to spread out in most of the enclosed bays and neighboring waters due to certain oceanographic processes. The chlorophyll concentration was observed to range between 3 and 54 mg m-3 inside Jin-hae Bay and adjacent coastal bays and 0.5 and 8 mg m-3 in the southeast sea offshore waters, this gradual decrease towards oceanic waters suggested physical transports of phytoplankton blooms from the shallow shelves to slope waters through the influence of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) along the Tsushima Strait. Horizontal distribution of potential temperature (θ) and salinity (S) of water off the southeastern coast exhibited cold and low saline surface water (θ 12°C; S>34.4) at 75dBar, corroborating TWC intrusion along the Tsushima Strait. An eastward branch of this current was called the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC), tracked with the help of CTD data and satellite-derived sea surface temperature, which often influenced the dynamics of mesoscale anticyclonic eddy fields off the Korean east coast during the summer season. The process of such mesoscale anticyclonic eddy features might have produced interior upwelling that could have shoaled and steepened the nutricline, enhancing phytoplankton population by advection or diffusion of nutrients in the vicinity of Ulleungdo in the East Sea.

The Dok Cold Eddy

Abstract Current and temperature patterns in the Ulleung Basin of the Japan/East Sea are examined using acoustic travel-time measurements from an array of pressure-gauge-equipped inverted echo sounders moored between June 1999 and July 2001. The focus here is the formation and behavior of a persistent cold eddy observed south of Dok Island, referred to as the Dok Cold Eddy (DCE), and meandering of the Subpolar Front. The DCE is typically about 60 km in diameter and originates from the pinching off of a Subpolar Front meander between Ulleung and Dok Islands. After formation, the DCE dwells southwest of Dok Island for 1–6 months before propagating westward toward Korea, where it deflects the path of the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC). Four such DCE propagation events between January and June 2000 each deflected the EKWC, and after the fourth deflection the EKWC changed paths and flowed westward along the Japanese shelf as the “Offshore Branch” from June through November 2000. Beginning in March 2001, a deep, persistent meander of the Subpolar Front developed and oscillated with a period near 60 days, resulting in the deformation and northwestward displacement of the Ulleung Eddy. Satellite-altimeter data suggest that the Ulleung Eddy may have entered the northern Japan/East Sea. The evolution of this meander is compared with thin-jet nonlinear dynamics described by the modified Korteweg–deVries equation.

Does the Ulleung eddy owe its existence to β and nonlinearities?

A nonlinear theory for the generation of the Ulleung Warm Eddy (UWE) is proposed. Using the nonlinear reduced gravity (shallow water) equations, it is shown analytically that the eddy is established in order to balance the northward momentum flux (i.e., the flow force) exerted by the separating western boundary current (WBC). In this scenario, the presence of β produces a southward (eddy) force balancing the northward momentum flux imparted by the separating East Korean Warm Current (EKWC). It is found that, for a high Rossby number EKWC (i.e., highly nonlinear current), the eddy radius is roughly 2 R d / ε 1 / 6 (here ε ≡ β R d / f 0 , where R d is the Rossby radius), implying that the UWE has a scale larger than that of most eddies ( R d). This solution suggests that, in contrast to the familiar idea attributing the formation of eddies to instabilities (i.e., the breakdown of a known steady solution), the UWE is an integral part of the steady stable solution. The solution also suggests that a weak WBC does not produce an eddy (due to the absence of nonlinearity). A reduced gravity numerical model is used to further analyze the relationship between β , nonlinearity and the eddy formation. First, we show that a high Rossby number WBC which is forced to separate from the wall on an f plane does not produce an eddy near the separation. To balance the northward momentum force imparted by the nonlinear boundary current, the f plane system moves constantly offshore, producing a southward Coriolis force. We then show that, as β is introduced to the problem, an anticyclonic eddy is formed. The numerical balance of forces shows that, as suggested by the analytical reasoning, the southward force produced by the eddy balances the northward flow force imparted by the boundary current. We also found that the observed eddy scale in the Japan/East Sea agrees with the analytical estimate for a nonlinear current.

Distribution of plankton related to the mesoscale physical structure within the surface mixed layer in the southwestern East Sea, Korea

Running title: Plankton distribution related to variations of the Ulleung Warm Eddy Abstract This study investigated the influence of mesoscale physical features on plankton distribution, for the first time, in the southwestern East/Japan Sea using hydrographic data obtained in November 2000, and April and October 2001. Three different types of mesoscale physical features were observed in the upper layer during the three survey periods; 1) the southern front between the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC) and the Ulleung Warm Eddy (UWE) (November 2000), 2) the central part of the UWE with no southern front (April 2001), and 3) the strong EKWC and related subpolar front (October 2001). The chlorophylla (Chla) concentration and zooplankton abundance in the surface mixed layer were affected by the UWErelated nutrient upwelling in the southern front in November 2000 and in the central part of the UWE in April 2001. Further north, the zooplankton abundance was high around the subpolar front in October 2001, while the Chla concentration was high in the southern part. The spatial heterogeneity of the Chla was affected by the variation of netplankton abundance, whereas seasonal differences of the Chla concentration depended on the picoplankton. The results of cluster and principal component analysis show that the zooplankton distribution patterns were associated with the Chla concentration, water density (V t), and no special factors in November 2000, April and October 2001, respectively. These results suggest that the firstly found UWErelated front and nutrient upwelling strongly influenced the mesoscale latitudinal heterogeneity of plankton through physical as well as biological process in the southwestern East/Japan Sea during the study period.

Comparison of RIAMOM and MOM in Modeling the East Sea/Japan Sea Circulation

The seasonal variations in the circulation of the water mass in the East Sea/Japan Sea have been simulated using a free surface primitive ocean model, RIAMOM (RIAM Ocean Model), comparing the results from GFDL-MOM1 (Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Modular Ocean Model, version 1.1, hereafter MOM) with the GDEM (Generalized Digital Environmental Model) data. Both models appear to successfully reproduce the distinct features of circulation in the East Sea/Japan Sea, such as the NB (Nearshore Branch) flowing along the Japanese coast, the EKWC (East Korean Warm Current) flowing northward along the Korean coast, and the NKCC/LCC (North Korean Cold Current/Liman Cold Current) flowing southwestward along Korean/Russian coast. RIAMOM has shown better performance, compared to MOM, in terms of the realistic simulation of the flow field in the East Sea/Japan Sea; RIAMOM has produced more rectified flows on the coastal region, for example, the narrower and stronger NKCC/LCC than MOM has. There is however obvious differences between the model results and the GDEM data in terms of the calculation of the water mass; both models have shown a tendency to overpredict temperature and underpredict salinity below 50m; more diffusive forms of thermocline and halocline have been simulated than noted in GDEM data.

Hydrography around Dokdo

CTD data taken in the Ulleung Basin between 1996 and 2001 are analyzed to understand the hydrography around Dokdo. Major features occurring in the Ulleung Basin such as the path variability of the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC), the location and size of the Ulleung Warm Eddy (UWE) and the position of the Offshore Branch along the Japanese coast all influence the hydrography around Dokdo. The Dokdo area frequently lies in the eastern part of the meandering EKWC and the UWE that results in a filting of isolines sloping upwards to Dokdo in the Ulleung Interplain Gap (UIG) between Ulleungdo and Dokdo. Subsurface water near Dokdo then becomes colder and less saline than water near Ulleungdo. Two cases that are opposite to this general trend are also identified when the Dokdo area is directly affected by the EKWC and by a small scale eddy ffd by the Offshore Branch. High salinity cores and warm waters are then found near Dokdo with isolines sloping upwards to Ulleungdo. Freshening of the East Sea Intermediate Water was observed in the UIG when neither the EKWC nor the UWE was developed in the Ulleung Basin during June-November 2000.

위성원격탐사에 의한 동한난류 주변 해역의 색소농도 공간적 분포 -1980년 5월 관측을 중심으로 -

동한난류 주변 해역의 해색전선과 수온전선의 공간적 분포 특성을 CZCS와 AVHRR 위성자료를 이용하여 살펴보았다. 동한난류 주류의 난수 streamer 주변 해역의 색소농도와 SST의 공간적 분포를 살펴본 결과, 식물플랑크톤의 흡수보다는 황색물질이나 용존유기물질과 같은 부유물질에 의해 높은 색소농도를 나타낸 연안냉수해역, 연안의 부유물질에 의한 영향과 식물플랑크톤에 의한 영향이 혼합된 특성이 나타난 색소농도가 높은 수온전선의 냉수해역, 외해수의 특성과 유사한 순수한 식물플랑크톤의 영향에 의해 색소농도가 높은 난수중첩해역, 식물플랑크톤의 홉수에 의해 지배를 받고 있으나 색소농도가 적은 난수해역, 식물플랑크톤의 흡수에 의한 영향으로 색소농도가 높은 외해해역의 5개 범주로 구분할 수 있었다. 동해안을 따른 연안냉수해역의 높은 색소농도의 확장은 동한난류의 흐름에 크게 영향을 받고 있으며, 동한난류의 난수 내부에 있는 낮은 색소농도와 분리된다. 또한, 동한난류해역 주변의 색소 농도와 SST 사이의 관계는 전체적으로, 색소농도가 높은 곳은 수온이 낮은 곳에 나타나고 있으며, 색소농도가 낮은 곳은 수온이 높은 곳에서 나타났다. 색소농도가 가장 높게 나타난 것은 수온전선해역 냉수쪽에서 가장 높은 550nm 반사와 비교적 높은 443nm 흡수와 일치하는 일반적인 연안수와 같이 식물플랑크톤 단독으로 나타나는 것이 아니라 부유물질과 동시에 나타났다. 그리고, 또 다른 색소농도의 높은 농도가 외해수에서 나타난 것과 유사하게 난수 streamer 내부에서 나타났으며, 이것은 연안의 부유물질의 영향은 거의 받지 않은 식물플랑크톤에 의해 색소농도가 높은 것을 알았다. 동한난류 해역과 같이 색소농도가 높은 해역에서 SST와 색소농도 영상만으로 복잡한 물리 생물학적인 현상에 기인한 모든 현상을 이해하기는 어렵지만, 광범위한 해역에서 이러한 현상을 이해하는데 위성자료는 효과적인 수단으로 판단된다. 또한, 현재 운용중인 NASA의 Seastar에 탑재된 SeaWiFS (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of·view Sensor)에 의한 보다 정확한 식물플랑크톤 색소농도 자료는 현장에서 측정된 관측자료와 더불어 동한난류 해역의 물리<TEX>$\cdot$</TEX>생물학적인 시공간변동을 이해하는데 많은 도움을 줄 것이라 사료된다. Spatial distribution of Phytoplankton Pigment Concentration (PPC) and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) around the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC) was described, using both Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) images and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) images in May, 1980. Water mass in this region can be classified into five categories in the horizontal profile of PPC and SST, nLw (normalized water-leaving radiance) images: (1) coastal cold water region associated with concentrations of dissolved organic material or yellow colored substances and suspended sediments, (2) cold water region of thermal frontal occurred by a combination of phytoplankton absorption and suspended materials, (3) warm water overlay region by the phytoplankton absorption than the suspended materials; (4) warm water region occurred by the low phytoplankton absorption, and (5) offshore region occurred by the high phytoplankton absorption. In particular, the highest PPC (>2.0 mg/m^3) area appeared in the CZCS and AVHRR images with a band shaped distribution of the thermal front and ocean color front region, which is located the coastal cold waters alonB western thermal front of the warm streamer of the EKWC. In this region, the highest PPC occurred by a combination of the high absorption of the phytoplankton (443 nm) and highest reflectance of suspended materials (550 nm). Another high PPC (<TEX>$\simeq$</TEX><TEX>$6\;mg/m^3$</TEX>) appeared in the warm water overlay region inside warm streamer. High phytoplankton pigment concentration of this region was corresponding to the short wavelength of 443 nm, which represented phytoplankton absorption of the CZCS image.