Yellow Sea

12.12.2023

Yellow Sea , Daily Current Affairs , RACE IAS : Best IAS Coaching in Lucknow 

Why in news?

Recently an American F-16 fighter plane crashed in the Yellow Sea near South Korea.

Key Points:

• The US military in South Korea announced that the accident occurred during a training flight over water west of the Korean peninsula.
• Also in May 2023, another American F-16 fighter plane crashed into farmland in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul.
• Since November 1, 2018, the Yellow Sea has also been serving as a "peace zone" location between North and South Korea.

About Yellow Sea:

• It is a marginal sea in the western Pacific Ocean.
• It is located between mainland China to the west and north, the Korean Peninsula to the east, and the Shandong Peninsula and Liaodong Peninsula to the south.
• It is located in the north of the East China Sea.
• It is one of four seas named after common color terms: the Black Sea, the Red Sea, and the White Sea.
• This sea was named Yellow Sea because of the yellow sand particles from the Gobi Desert that land on the surface of the sea, giving it a golden yellow color.
• This sea is also known as the Huang Hai in China and the West Sea in North and South Korea.
• The innermost bay of the northwestern Yellow Sea is called the Bohai Sea (formerly the Gulf of Xili/Beijili).

Area of Yellow Sea:

• The Yellow Sea is 870 kilometers long and 556 kilometers wide, covering an area of 380,000 square kilometers.
• This sea is one of the largest shallow areas of continental shelf in the world, with an average depth of 44 meters and a maximum depth of 152 meters.

Rivers:

• The main rivers flowing into this sea include Hai River, Yalu River, Han River, Taedong River and Yellow River.

Islands of the Sea:

• The sea is dotted with numerous islands, the largest of which include Jeju Island (South Korea), Shandong Peninsula Islands (China), and Ganghwa Island (South Korea).

Climate of:

• The climate is characterized by very cold, dry winters and humid, hot summers.

Flora and fauna:

• This ocean is rich in seaweed (mainly kelp, Laminaria japonica), cephalopods, crustaceans, shellfish, clams and especially blue-green algae.

Ocean currents:

• This ocean's warm current is part of the Tsushima Current, which originates off the western part of the Japanese island of Kyushu and flows northward across the middle of the ocean at less than 0.5 miles (0.8 km) per hour.
• On the continental coasts, southward flowing currents are prevalent, which are notably stronger in the winter monsoon period, when the water is cold, turbid and of low salinity.

About American F-16 fighter plane:

• The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American multi-role fighter aircraft.
• Which was originally made by America's General Dynamics for the US Air Force.

It was initially designed to be used as a primary day combat aircraft, but later due to continuous changes and technological advances, it emerged as a successful multi-role combat aircraft capable of flying in all weather conditions.