UTD Journal Volume 2, Issue 10, October 2014 | Page 5

ing conducted by KIOST and is located 300 miles south of South Korea in the area where South Korea, Japan and China all meet. This area is known as the Typhoon belt. 90 percent of all typhoons will pass through this area on their way north. These Typhoons develop in the hot waters of the Philippines and Sulu Sea and then race northward through these treacherous waters gathering power from the hot surface water of the East China Sea, before they go slamming into the Asian continent. Part of KIOST research is to collect data from the ocean: currents, tides, salinity, temperature and so on. During the late summer and early fall when the typhoons are coming through, KIOST jumps on the Research Vessel (R/V) Eardo and, together with 10 scientists and five divers, heads 300 miles south to gather the needed samples of water, sediment, salinity and recover “Data Collection Pods.” These pods are placed on the bottom of the sea in the