Abstract
Major trends of ozone concentration variations in Korea were investigated by using observation data from around 100 stations for the period of 1991∼1997. In addition, important regulating those variations were inferred. Three measures such as the number of days exceeding 80ppb, the 95th percentile of daily maxima, and the annual average concentration were used for the analysis of multi-scale ozone concentration variations. Three areas in the southwest (Sosan, Mokpo, and Cheju) of which monitoring has been operated since 1995 showed the highest annual average concentrations over; this was noted because of the high annual average in the Yosu area in the early 1990s. Large increases in annual average concentrations were observed along the relatively cleaner areas connecting Kangnung and Kwangju(northeast to southwest), in contrast to polluted areas connecting Seoul and Pusan(northeast to southeast). Both the number of exceedance days and the daily maximum concentration were nearly constant in the Greater Seoul Area in spite of interannual flucturations associated with year-to-year changes in air temperature. Within the Greater Seoul Area, all three measures usually showed the same trend; they decreased in the middle and west and increased in the east and northeast. All three measures including the number of exceedance days increased largely at Sillim where the average concentration was high but no exceedance days were recorded in the early 1999s, Nationwide ozone concentration variations appear to be determined by the competitive influence of long-range transport and local urban emissions, Within the city including the Greater Seoul Area, changes in emission which accompany changes in population and in the number if vehicles ( in the process of urban development) were found to be important components of ozone concentration variations.