Marine environmental characteristics in the southern part of the east sea

Field observations, numerical simulation, and satellite image data analysis have been carried out in order to understand physical oceanographic characteristics in the southern east sea of Korea. Distributions of water temperature and salinity suggested that this coastal area fairly receives an influence of the effluents from land such as Taehwa River particularly at the surface layer. Tidal amplitudes and its ranges tended to increase in the winter compared to the summer. The currents at ebb tide were rather dominant than those at flood tide, due to Tsushima Current. In addition, a northeastward flow was intensified in the summer whereas a southwestward flow was intensified in the winter, respectively. On the other hand, cold water, frequently appeared in the summer near Ulsan coastal waters turned out to be related to the weakness of Tsushima Current. Furthermore, this cold water seemed to be originated from the North Korean Current which is a tributary of the Liman Current. Consequently, the appearance scale of this cold water is judged to be determined by a dynamical relationship between the North Korean Current and Tsushima Current.