Spatial variability in long-term changes of climate and oceanographic conditions in Korea.

I evaluated long-term changes in hydrological conditions (temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen) in Korean sea waters in relation to the regional land climate change (air temperature and precipitation) based on available meteorological and oceanographic data. Regression analyses, spatial patterns and cross-correlations on the climatologic and hydrological factors suggested that industrialization processes and related urban heat-island effects during the past 37 years from 1968 to 2005 in South Korea have increased land surface temperatures by 1.267 degrees C, at least for the urban areas, and subsequently increased sea surface temperatures by 0.975 degrees C and decreased salinities by 0.229. The influence of land surface temperature on the sea water temperature reached at least 75-m depth. Regarding the causality in the land-ocean climate changes, air-temperature changes preceded sea water temperature change by 0-2 months in spring and summer; but the sequence could be reversed, possibly because of potential heat held by the ocean. This study demonstrated that human factors have been driving warming influences on regional sea waters, impacting marine ecosystems and changing dominant fish species in commercial fishery catches of Korea.