The 2001 Marine Information Symposium was held in Toyama under the joint auspices of the Northwest Pacific Environmental Cooperation Center (NPEC). The symposium was also supported by the 9th Coast Guard Headquarter.

　Date: August 18 (Sat), 2001, 13:30-17:20

　Place: SUNSHIP-Toyama

　　　(Toyama Comprehensive Welfare Hall)

　Title: Environmental Conditions of the Japan Sea

　Program:

　Chair: Yutaka NAGATA (Director of MIRC)

　Opening address: Masami ORITANI

　　　(Managing Director of NPEC)

• 1 . Jong-Hwan YOON
  (Res. Ins. Appli. Mech., Kyushu Univ.)
  Currents in the Japan Sea -New founding in recent research
• 2. Nobuyoshi Yamashita
  (Nat. Ins. Adv. Indust. Sci. Tech.)
  Is the deep layer of the Japan Sea polluted?
• 3. Toshitaka GAMOU
  (Graduate School, Hokkaido Univ.)
  Extraordinary events found in the deep water in the Japan Sea
• 4. Toru SUZUKI (MIRC)
  Bottom topography of the Japan Sea with special emphasis on the sea near Toyama Bay
• 5. General discussions

　Closing address: Yutaka NAGATA (MIRC)

　

　Prof. Yoon reported new founding obtained in the international cooperative works by CREAMS group. The circulation in the Japan Sea is much more complicated than thought in the past. Dr. Yamashita introduced the vertical profile of PCB content in the Northeastern part of the Japan Sea, and indicated that the relatively high concentration found in deep layers is caused by heavy pollution occurred in 1960- 1970 decades. Prof. Gamou reported the continuous decrease of the dissolved oxygen contents from 1977 to 1998. The formation of deep water in the Japan Sea appears to be stopped in recent period. These interesting lectures are published by MIRC as one of Marine Science Series No. 9.