Characteristics of atmospheric environment over Korean peninsula for the optical remote sensing

In this study, we investigate the atmospheric environment changes in the aspect of optical remote sensing using surface observation data from 1971 to 2000 of Korea Meteorological Administration. Visibility, spatially averaged over Korean peninsula, is systematically reduced from about 28km to 18km during the last 30 years. It means that atmospheric conditions for the optical remote sensing over Korean peninsula are growing worse and worse due to the degradation of air quality. The 30-year average of cloud amount shows a strong seasonal variation, maximum(75%) in summer and minimum (35%) in autumn. Precipitation also shows a very similar variation pattern with cloud. The temperature and sea level pressure show a opposite seasonal change pattern, maximum(minimum in SLP) in summer and minimum(maximum in SLP) in winter, respectively. Relative humidiy(RH) is one of the variables mostly affected by urbanization or urban heat island. As a results, annual mean RH is decreased from 73% to 68% during last 30 years. When we take into account the favorable and unfavorable factors all together, summer and autumn are the worst and the best season for optical remote sensing in Korea.