Geography Yellow Sea

1 geography

1.1 extent
1.2 physiography
1.3 climate , hydrology

geography
extent

the international hydrographic organization defines limits of yellow sea (which names hwang hai ) follows:

on south. parallel of 33°17 north saisyu (quelpart) [now known jeju-do] mainland [of china]. on southeast. western extreme of quelpart ka nyo or west pinnacle island (34°13 n) in mengoru group, thence north point of oku (34°22 n), west point of small south stone island (syo-zyonan to) , north point of great south stone island (zyonan to) (34°24 n) point on coast of tin (34°25 n) along northwest coast of island north point thereof, , thence on line in northeasterly direction mainland of tyosen (korea).

physiography

satellite image of dust storm on east asia on 2 march 2008

the yellow sea, excluding bohai, extends 960 km (600 mi) north south , 700 km (430 mi) east west; has area of 380,000 km (150,000 sq mi) , volume of 17,000 km (4,100 cu mi). depth 44 m (144 ft) on average, maximum of 152 m (499 ft). sea flooded section of continental shelf formed after last ice age (some 10,000 years ago) sea levels rose 120 m (390 ft) current levels. depth gradually increases north south. sea bottom , shores dominated sand , silt brought rivers through bohai sea (liao river, yellow river, hai he) , korea bay (yalu river). deposits, sand storms responsible yellow water color , sea name.

major islands of sea include anmado, baengnyeongdo, daebudo, deokjeokdo, gageodo, ganghwado, hauido, heuksando, hongdo, jejudo, jindo, muuido, sido, silmido, sindo, wando, yeongjongdo , yeonpyeongdo (all in south korea).

waves crashing @ jeju province island



rocky shore in dalian, china


climate , hydrology

the area has cold, dry winters strong northerly monsoons blowing late november march. average january temperatures −10 °c (14 °f) in north , 3 °c (37 °f) in south. summers wet , warm frequent typhoons between june , october. air temperatures range between 10 , 28 °c (50 , 82 °f). average annual precipitation increases 500 mm (20 in) in north 1,000 mm (39 in) in south. fog frequent along coasts, in upwelling cold-water areas.

the sea has warm cyclone current. part of kuroshio current, diverges near western part of japan , flows northward yellow sea @ speed of below 0.8 km/h (0.50 mph). southward currents prevail near sea coast, in winter monsoon period.

brown sediment spills out yellow sea rivers in eastern china , korea. nutrients in sediment may responsible bloom of phytoplankton seen blue-green swirls.

the water temperature close freezing in northern part in winter, drift ice patches , continuous ice fields form , hinder navigation between november , march. water temperature , salinity homogeneous across depth. southern waters warmer @ 6–8 °c (43–46 °f). in spring , summer, upper layer warmed sun , diluted fresh water rivers, while deeper water remains cold , saline. deep water stagnates , moves south. commercial bottom-dwelling fishes found around mass of water, @ southern part. summer temperatures range between 22 , 28 °c (72 , 82 °f). average salinity relatively low, @ 30‰ in north 33–34‰ in south, dropping 26‰ or lower near river deltas. in southwest monsoon season (june august) increased rainfall , runoff further reduce salinity of upper sea layer. water transparency increases 10 meters (33 ft) in north 45 meters (148 ft) in south.

tides semidiurnal, i.e. rise twice day. amplitude varies between 0.9 , 3 meters (3.0 , 9.8 ft) @ coast of china. tides higher @ korean peninsula, typically ranging between 4 , 8 meters (13 , 26 ft) , reaching maximum in spring. tidal system rotates in counterclockwise direction. speed of tidal current less 1.6 km/h (0.99 mph) in middle of sea, may increase more 5.6 km/h (3.5 mph) near coasts. fastest tides reaching 20 km/h (12 mph) occur in myeongnyang strait between jindo island , korean peninsula.

the tide-related sea level variations result in land pass 2.9 km (1.8 mi) long , 10–40 meters (33–131 ft) wide opening approximately hour between jindo , modo islands. event occurs twice year, @ beginning of may , in middle of june. had long been celebrated in local festival called jindo sea parting festival , largely unknown world until 1975, when french ambassador pierre randi described phenomenon in french newspaper.