Biomonitoring of coastal pollution status using protozoan communities with a modified PFU method

Structural and functional parameters of protozoan communities were assessed as indicators of water quality in Korean coastal waters in the summer of 2000. A modified polyurethane foam unit (PFU) method, named the bottled PFU (BPFU) system, was used in order to carry out the bioassessment. Both parameters suggested that biomonitoring using the BPFU system was more effective than the conventional PFU method in offshore areas. The species number collected by the BPFU system generally decreased as pollution intensity increased at three main stations and was greater than that collected using the PFU method (paired t-test, t = 4.83, p < 0.0001). The Margalef diversity index coincided well with the water conditions. The diversity index values calculated from the BPFU system were also significantly higher than those from the PFU method (paired t-test, t = 5.37, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, the functional parameters, i.e. S(eq),G and T90%, correlated with the pollution status and could thus clearly discriminate the different classes of water quality.     

Dinosaur tracks from the Cretaceous of South Korea: Distribution, occurrences and paleobiological significance

Abstract   Abundant dinosaur fossils including dinosaur footprints, eggs and nests, teeth and bones have been found from the Cretaceous non-marine deposits of Korea. Among them, dinosaur tracks are the most distinctive, and some track sites are among the most famous in the world. Until now, 27 dinosaur track localities have been discovered from the Cretaceous strata in the Gyeongsang Basin and several small basins. Ornithopod tracks are most abundant at most Korean track sites, and most of them are identified as Caririchnium ; that is, large ornithopod footprints with wide hoof impressions. Most theropod tracks are found in Neungju Basin and they consist of various types of small or medium-sized bird-like footprints, and other large footprints. Sauropod tracks are also abundant in the Gyeongsang Basin. The sauropod tracks vary in size, shape, and pattern of trackway, and suggest that diverse sauropods existed in this area. These diverse tracks in South Korea suggest that various dinosaurs flourished at the margins of lakes distributed in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula during the Cretaceous.     

The sediment-water interface increment due to the complex burrows of macrofauna in a tidal flat

The architecture of macrofaunal burrows and the total area of the sediment-water interface created by biogenic structure were investigated in the Donggeomdo tidal flat on the west coast of Korea. Resin casting methods were applied to recover burrows of four dominant species, Macrophthalmus japonicus, Cleistostoma dilatatum, Perinereis aibuhitensis, and Periserrula leucophryna, and whole burrows within the casting area at three sites in different tidal levels.P. leucophryna excavated the largest burrow in terms of a surface area among them. In the case of whole burrow casting, the space occupied by the biogenic structure was extended into deeper and expanded more greatly at the higher tidal level. In the uppermost flat, the burrow wall surface area within sediment was more extensive than the sediment surface area. Increased oxygen supply through the extended interface could enhance the degradation rates of organic carbon and also change the pathways of degradation. Quantifying the relationship between the extended interface and mineralization rate and pathway requires more extensive study.     

Surface current variability in the Keum River Estuary (South Korea) during summer 2002 as observed by high-frequency radar and coastal monitoring buoy

High-frequency (HF) radar observations of surface currents were conducted for 3 months during summer 2002 in the Keum River estuary. A comparison between HF radar-derived currents and directly measured ones form a buoy showed that the regression slope is close to 1 and the correlation coefficient greater than 0.86, with an RMS difference less than 13 cm/s which is less than 17% of the tidal current. This fairly good agreement allows us to use HF radar observation in investigating the surface flow and circulation in this tidal-current-dominant coastal-plume area. To examine the spatial variation in tidal current characteristics, as well as currents associated with non-tidal forcing, the HF radar-derived currents were separated into tidal and sub-tidal frequency currents. The overall pattern of M₂-current ellipse distribution in the study area showed a counterclockwise rotation, with the offshore maximum current direction to the northeast. Eccentricity, the direction of maximum current, and the phase of net motion of the ellipse changed near the estuary mouth and near the gap of the Saemangeum reclamation tide dyke due to the complex coastal geometry and the out-flowing jet during the ebb period.     

Flow and transport modeling in the sea-breeze. Part I: A modifiedE — ∈ model with a non-equilibrium level 2.5 closure

In order to overcome shortcomings of the conventionalE — model and to develop a more general model applicable to the variety of atmospheric conditions observed, for example, during a land-sea breeze cycle, a modifiedE — model is proposed. The model is a simplified form of an algebraic stress model including wall proximity effects of Gibson and Launder (1978). The proposed model is similar to the popular Mellor and Yamada (1982) level 2.5 model but does not employ a local equilibrium assumption in the algebraic equations for Reynolds stresses. The resulting model shows a wider realization region under unstable conditions than the Mellor and Yamada model.The modified model is compared herein to observations, higher order closure simulations and large eddy simulations under neutral, stable and convective conditions. Various dissipation rate equations were employed and compared to understand their performance with the modified model. The modifiedE — model reproduced the observed behavior well under all conditions except near the base of an elevated inversion layer under convective conditions. The ability of the model to describe flow dynamics under a wide range of atmospheric stabilities suggests that the model can be used to describe the complicated diurnal behavior of the land-sea breeze circulation.     

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of sinking particles in the eastern bransfield strait (Antarctica)

A time-series sediment trap was deployed at 1,034 m water depth in the eastern Bransfield Strait for a complete year from December 25, 1998 to December 24, 1999. About 99% of total mass flux was trapped during an austral summer, showing distinct seasonal variation. Biogenic particles (biogenic opal, particulate organic carbon, and calcium carbonate) account for about two thirds of annual total mass flux (49.2 g m^-2), among which biogenic opal flux is the most dominant (42% of the total flux). A positive relationship (except January) between biogenic opal and total organic carbon fluxes suggests that these two variables were coupled, due to the surface-water production (mainly diatoms). The relatively low δ¹³C values of settling particles result from effects on C-fixation processes at low temperature and the high CO² availability to phytoplankton. The correspondingly low δ¹⁵N values are due to intense and steady input of nitrates into surface waters, reflecting an unlikely nitrate isotope fractionation by degree of surface-water production. The δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C values of sinking particles increased from the beginning to the end of a presumed phytoplankton bloom, except for anomalous δ¹⁵N values. Krill and the zooplankton fecal pellets, the most important carriers of sinking particles, may have contributed gradually to the increasing δ¹³C values towards the unproductive period through the biomodification of the δ¹³C values in the food web, respiring preferentially and selectively¹²C atoms. Correspondingly, the increasing δ¹⁵N values in the intermediate-water trap are likely associated with a switch in source from diatom aggregates to some remains of zooplankton, because organic matter dominated by diatom may be more liable and prone to remineralization, leading to greater isotopic alteration. In particular, the tendency for abnormally high δ¹⁵N values in February seems to be enigmatic. A specific species dominancy during the production may be suggested as a possible and speculative reason.     

Evaluation of ACCMIP simulated fine-mode AOD and its implication for aerosol direct forcing

This study examines and evaluates simulated aerosol optical depth (AOD) and fine-mode AOD (fAOD) from the ACCMIP and CMIP5 global model archives. Satellite data nudged to AERONET data are used to construct reliable global observations of AOD and fAOD for validating the simulations. The difference in simulated global average AOD among models is of the order of a factor of 2, and the difference is even larger (～factor of 3) for fAOD. Compared to the observations, the models tend to underestimate AOD and fAOD significantly over eastern China. Another important discrepancy is that the models show larger fAOD over the Indus-Ganga Plain in summer than in winter, whereas the observations display an opposite feature. The models also overestimate the fAOD over the biomass burning regions of central Africa in DJF and underestimate the fAOD over the biomass burning regions of southern Africa in JJA. To evaluate the effect of the discrepancy between modeled and observed fAOD on aerosol direct radiative forcing, an offline radiation model is utilized. Comparing the model-fAODderived fine-mode forcing with the fine-mode forcing derived from the fAOD observation, the models tend to give too large (negative) value. This result implies that the calculated anthropogenic aerosol forcing in ACCMIP and CMIP5 models has a negative bias.     

The simulation of aerosol transport over East Asia region

This study was carried out to understand the contribution of PM10 from China emission to Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA) during high concentration period in January, 2007. The hourly PM10 concentration in Seoul Metropolitan Area had reached up to over 150 μg/m³ on 17th and 23rd of January in 2007. The aerosol transports from China along the Northwestern wind becomes the background concentrations in Korea and the assessment of the amount of contribution from China is very important in managing the air quality improvement plan in SMA.The U.S. EPA's Models-3/CMAQ (Community Multiscale Air Quality) was used to simulate PM10 concentration. The CMAQ performance was evaluated by comparing with the measurements in SMA for the episode period. The predictions were relatively in a good agreement with the measurements.The results show that the PM10 transport from China to Korea is significant and its contribution reaches up to 80% in the episode period. In order to assess more extensively the aerosol transport in East Asia region, the study to run the model in full year with speciated PM component measurements in super site is underway.     

Hydrochemistry of groundwaters in a spa area of Korea: an implication for water quality degradation by intensive pumping

A geochemical study was carried out in a small spa area (Onyang Spa, Korea) where intensive pumping of deep thermal groundwater (1 300 000 m³ year⁻¹) is taking place. This has caused the deep fractures to lose their artesian pressure and the upper shallow fractures have been encroached by shallow, cold waters. To quantify the influence of long‐term heavy pumping on the quality of the geothermal water, groundwater sampling and chemical analysis, water‐level measurement, and well loggings were performed for the selected deep thermal wells and shallow cold wells. Chemical analysis results indicate a big contrast in water chemistry and origins between the two water types. Shallow groundwater shows a wider concentration ranges in solutes that are closely related to human activity, illustrating the water's vulnerability to contamination near the land surface. Plots of water chemistry as a function of fluoride reveal that the quality of the thermal water was greatly influenced by the shallow, cold groundwater and that intensive pumping of the deep thermal groundwater has caused the introduction of shallow groundwater into the deeper fractures. Although the deep and the shallow fractures were piezometrically separated to some extent, a mixing model based on fluoride and nitrate indicated that the cold‐water fractions in the thermal wells are up to 50%. This suggests that the thermal water is faced with water quality degradation by the downward flow of the shallow, cold water. Restriction on the total of all the pumpage permits per unit area is suggested to restore the artesian pressure of the deep thermal aquifer and to prevent cold‐water intrusion in the study area. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multi‐depth monitoring of electrical conductivity and temperature of groundwater at a multilayered coastal aquifer: Jeju Island,Korea

To supplement conventional geophysical log data, this study presents temporal variations in electrical conductivity (EC) and temperature with depth in a multilayered coastal aquifer, on the eastern part of Jeju Island, Korea. One‐month time‐series data obtained at eight points from a multi‐depth monitoring system showed that semidiurnal and semimonthly tidal variations induced dynamic fluctuations in EC and temperature. At some depths, EC ranged from 1483 to 26 822 µS cm^?1, while some points showed no significant variations. The results of EC log and time‐series data revealed that a sharp fresh‐saltwater interface occurred at low tide, but the diffusion zone broadened to 20 m at high tide. EC, temperature, and tide level data were used for the cross‐correlation analysis. The response time of EC and temperature to tide appears to range from less than 30 min to 11 h. Using end‐member mixing analysis (EMMA), the fraction of variations of chloride concentration in the multilayered aquifer was explained, and a conceptual model was developed which subdivided the coastal aquifer into four vertical zones. The percentage of water derived from seawater varied from 2 to 48 at specific depth, owing to tidal fluctuations. Continuous observations of EC and temperature at multiple depths are powerful tools for quantifying the transport of saline water by tidal variations in multilayered coastal aquifers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.