Report on the Investigation of Material Transport and Movement of Contaminants in the Japan Sea by Joint Water Sampling

Exploring the transport patterns of ocean currents under the Tsushima Warm Current in the Japan Sea is necessary to clarify the dynamics of material transport in the Japan Sea, especially environmental pollutants attached to PM2.5 and transported through the atmosphere and ocean. So far, we have conducted monthly monitoring to clarify radioisotope markers and pollutant PAHs in surface seawater samples tracing material circulation in the Japan Sea, East China Sea, and Pacific Ocean. The recently analyzed data from 2015~2019 suggest that the area around southern Oki Island is affected by PAH-rich summer continental shelf water carried by the Tsushima Warm Current flowing from the East China Sea.
This study was conducted with the participation of JAMBIO members: Kanazawa Univ. Noto, Niigata Univ. Sado, Shimane Univ. Oki, and Ryukyu Univ. Sesoko. The research results were published in the English-language journal Continental Shelf Research, and Marine Pollution Bulletin.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278434322001030?via%3Dihub
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X22004313?via%3Dihub