Japan Sea Associated Investigators: Related Web Sites: Related Time Series: Geographical characteristics: The Korean peninsula is surrounded by three marine ecosystems (Figure 1). The East/Japan Sea, to the east of Korea is a large, deep (>1000 m) basin. The East China Sea, to the south of Korea is larger in surface area, but shallower than the East/Japan Sea. The Yellow Sea to the west is a shallow, semi-enclosed shelf sea. The mean depth is ca. 44m, with a central trough reaching only about 90m. Sampling periods: Sampling has been regularly conducted bimonthly (February, April, June, August, October and December) by the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI) since 1965. Sampling methods: Zooplankton was collected in vertical tows from 100 m, or near the bottom at shallower stations, using a NORPAC net (0.45 m mouth diameter, 0.33 mm mesh size). Volume filtered was estimated using mouth area and depth of tow, assuming a constant filtration rate. Wet weight of zooplankton smaller than 3 cm body size was measured and standardized to unit volume to give zooplankton biomass (mg/mg3). Total copepods, amphipods, chaetognaths and euphausiids have been counted since 1978. Counts of the four taxa were also standardized to unit volume to give concentrations (individuals/m3). Others: In addition, temperature and salinity were estimated at same stations. |