| Abstract: | CTD casts in the southeastern Hwanghae (Yellow Sea) were made in August 1983 and 1984 to describe the spatial structure of the summertime hydrographic features. Cold coastal water appeared around the southwestern coast of Korea, which was formed by strong tidal stirring. Tidal mixing in the study area seems to have been enhanced by the presence of many small islands. In the deeper region beyond the tidal front, stratification became much stronger and the bottom layer below seasonal thermocline was occupied mostly by the Hwanghae Cold Water characterized by a temperature lower than 10°C and salinity of 32.5–33.0%.The northeastward extension of the Changjiang Diluted Water was shown by a tongue-like plume of relatively warm fresh water, confined to the thin surface layer 10 m thick. There was no evidence for the Hwanghae Warm Current carrying high salinity water into the eastern Hwanghae along the Korean coast. The warm current was found to flow in a narrow band close to the west and north coast of Chejudo (Cheju Island) and then to pass eastward through the Cheju Strait. Thus the eastern part of the cyclonic circulation in the surface layer cannot be considered to be a northward continuation of the Hwanghae Warm Current. The local salinity maximum in the lower layer off Kunsan and the higher salinity on the west side of the central trough than on the east side would imply a northward flow on the west flank of the trough to compensate for the southward intrusion of the Hwanghae Cold Water, from which an anticyclonic circulation could be expected in the lower layer. |
