East Korea Warm Current
Encyclopedia
The East Korea Warm Current (동한난류, 東韓暖流) is an ocean current
in the Sea of Japan
(East Sea). It branches off from the Tsushima Current at the eastern end of the Korea Strait
, and flows north along the southeastern coast of the Korean peninsula
. Between 36° and 38° N, it encounters the North Korea Cold Current
and veers southeast into the open sea. The boundary between the two currents fluctuates throughout the year, creating large eddies. As it flows northeastward, the East Korea current eventually rejoins the Tsushima Current.
Ocean current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water generated by the forces acting upon this mean flow, such as breaking waves, wind, Coriolis effect, cabbeling, temperature and salinity differences and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun...
in the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
(East Sea). It branches off from the Tsushima Current at the eastern end of the Korea Strait
Korea Strait
The Korea Strait is a sea passage between South Korea and Japan, connecting the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean...
, and flows north along the southeastern coast of the Korean peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
. Between 36° and 38° N, it encounters the North Korea Cold Current
North Korea Cold Current
The North Korea Cold Current is a cold water oceanic current in the Sea of Japan/East Sea that flows southward from near Vladivostok along the coastline of the eastern Korean Peninsula. It is a branch of the Liman Current from the Sea of Okhotsk and has a flow rate of about a half knot...
and veers southeast into the open sea. The boundary between the two currents fluctuates throughout the year, creating large eddies. As it flows northeastward, the East Korea current eventually rejoins the Tsushima Current.