earth science

Socotra Rock

Socotra Rock is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Socotra Rock rather than just read about it. In short: Socotra Rock, also known as Ieodo (Korean: 이어도), Parangdo (파랑도), or Suyan Islet (simplified Chinese: 苏岩礁; traditional Chinese: 蘇巖礁; pinyin: Sūyán Jiāo), is a submerged rock 4.6 metres (15 ft) below sea level (at low tide) located in the Yellow Sea. International maritime law stipulates that a submerged rock outside of a country's territorial sea (generally 12 nautical miles) cannot be claimed as territory by any cou…

Key takeaways

Socotra Rock belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Socotra Rock to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Socotra Rock from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Socotra Rock, also known as Ieodo (Korean: 이어도), Parangdo (파랑도), or Suyan Islet (simplified Chinese: 苏岩礁; traditional Chinese: 蘇巖礁; pinyin: Sūyán Jiāo), is a submerged rock 4.6 metres (15 ft) below sea level (at low tide) located in the Yellow Sea. International maritime law stipulates that a submerged rock outside of a country's territorial sea (generally 12 nautical miles) cannot be claimed as territory by any country. However, the rock is the subject of a maritime dispute between China and South Korea, which consider it to lie within their respective exclusive economic zones. The rock is located 149 kilometres (80 nmi; 93 mi) southwest of Marado (just off Jeju Island) in Korea. Yushan Island of Zhejiang, China, is 287 km (155 nmi; 178 mi) away from the rock. The rock serves as the foundation for Korean Ieodo Ocean Research Station. A Korean helipad is also located there to allow the research station to be serviced.

Names In Korean, the rock itself is known as Ieodo or Parangdo. Internationally it is known as Socotra Rock (after the merchant vessel SS Socotra that discovered it), and in Chinese, it is known as Suyan Islet (苏岩礁; 蘇巖礁; Sūyán Jiāo), which means the "rock" (岩/巖, yán) or "reef" (礁, jiāo) outside the coastal waters of Jiangsu (苏/蘇, sū, the abbreviation).

History

Both "Parangdo" and "Ieodo" are names for the mythical island which the residents of Jeju Island believed housed the spirits of fishermen who perished at sea. The South Korean government has asserted a direct connection between these legends and the modern-day rock, claiming that the traditional saying that "One who sees Parangdo would never return" refers to the danger facing sailors when high waves allow the rock to break the surface. Koreans even name the studies about Ieodo as "Ieodology". Socotra Rock's Korean name was officially designated as "Ieodo" on 26 January 2001, by the Korea Institute of Geology.

Timeline 1900: Socotra Rock is discovered by the British merchant vessel SS Socotra. 1910: Socotra Rock is surveyed by the British vessel Waterwitch, which measures the depth at less than 5.4 feet (1.6 m). Vice Admiral Archibald Day, however, wrote in his book The Admiralty Hydrographic Service, 1795 - 1919 that this survey was 1901 not 1910. 1938: The Japanese government surveys the rock. Plans are laid for a research station, but are cut short by the outbreak of World War II. 1951: A joint team of the Republic of Korea Navy and the Korea Mountain Climbing Association reaches the rock and lowers a bronze marker bearing the legend "Ieodo, Territory of the Republic of Korea" ("대한민국 영토 이어도") onto its surface. 1952: South Korea promulgates the Syngman Rhee Line, which defined the country's territorial waters as including Socotra Rock. This was not recognised by the People's Republic of China or other neighbouring countries. 1963: Yuejin shipwreck: The Chinese vessel Yuejin sinks on her maiden voyage en route from Qingdao to Nagoya after being struck by an underwater object. The crew of the ship claimed to have been attacked by a torpedo, causing an international affair. It was later found that due to a navigational error by the crew, the "Yuejin" had actually struck Socotra Rock which was marked on navigational charts at the time. This was not recognized by the Koreas or other neighboring countries. 1963 5.1-6.3,Shanghai Riverway Bureau fleet finds the shipwreck 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) southeast of Socotra Rock. 1970: South Korea's Underwater Resource Development Law was enacted, defining Socotra Rock to lie within the country's fourth mining field. This move was not recognised by the PRC. 1984: The rock's location is confirmed by a research team from Cheju National University. 1987: A warning beacon is placed on the rock by South Korea. 1992: Chinese Navy surveyed the Socotra Rock completely for the first time. 1995-2001: the Republic of Korea builds the Ieodo Ocean Research Station on Socotra Rock despite the objections from People's Republic of China. Several overflights of the area have since been made by the PRC surveillance aircraft. 2001: the Korea Institute of Geology officially designates the rock as "Ieodo" on 26 January 2001.

Dispute According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a submerged reef can not be claimed as territory by any country. In September 2006, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang (秦刚) stated that China regarded South Korea's "unilateral" activities in the region, referring to Korean scientific observatories on Socotra, to be "illegal"; no islands were mentioned, and it was stated that China had no territorial dispute with South Korea. However, China and South Korea dispute which is entitled to claim it as part of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

See also East China Sea EEZ disputes Foreign relations of the People's Republic of China Foreign relations of the Republic of Korea Liancourt Rocks Parangcho Parangdo (disambiguation) Senkaku Islands dispute

References

External links Google earth Socotra Rock placemark download Ieodo Ocean Research Station

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Socotra Rock

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Socotra Rock claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Socotra Rock before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Socotra Rock ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Socotra Rock

In research: Socotra Rock appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Socotra Rock in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Socotra Rock is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics China–South Korea relations, Disputed waters, Individual rocks, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Socotra Rock outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Socotra Rock in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Socotra Rock means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Socotra Rock out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Socotra Rock in simple terms?

Why does Socotra Rock matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Socotra Rock?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Socotra Rock.