Spatial variation of suspended particulate matter in the Yellow Sea

A joint oceanographic cruise between the Institute of Oceanography, Chinese Academy of Science and the Department of Oceanography, Seoul National University was carried out in the Yellow Sea during the summer of 1996 to investigate the concentration and particle-size distribution of suspended particulate matter (SPM). The general trends in the surface and bottom waters show that SPM concentrations and particle sizes decreased seawards in both the western (Chinese) and eastern (Korean) coastal regions of the Yellow Sea. In the bottom waters, SPM concentrations were higher and particle sizes were larger along the eastern coast than along the western coast. We suggest this is due to the resuspension of bottom sediments by strong onshore summer typhoons in the southwestern coastal waters of Korea.