Since the Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS)/Nimbus-7 was launched in 1978, a variety of studies have been conducted to retrieve ocean color variables from multi-satellites. Several algorithms and formulations have been suggested for estimating ocean color variables based on multi band data at different wavelengths. Chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentration is one of the most important variables to understand low-level ecosystem in the ocean. To retrieve chl-a concentrations from the satellite observations, an appropriate algorithm depending on water properties is required for each satellite sensor. Most operational empirical algorithms in the global ocean have been developed based on the band-ratio approach, which has the disadvantage of being more adapted to the open ocean than to coastal areas. Alternative algorithms, including the semi-analytical approach, may complement the limits of band-ratio algorithms. As more sensors are planned by various space agencies to monitor the ocean surface, it is expected that continuous monitoring of oceanic ecosystems and environments should be conducted to contribute to the understanding of the oceanic biosphere and the impact of climate change. This study presents an overview of the past and present algorithms for the estimation of chl-a concentration based on multi-satellite data and also presents the prospects for ongoing and upcoming ocean color satellites.

Arctic warming is a global issue. The sea ice in the Arctic plays a crucial role in the climate system. We thought that a recent abnormality in many countries in the northern hemisphere could be related to the effects of shrinking sea ice in the Arctic. Many research groups monitor sea ice in the Arctic for climate research. Satellite remote sensing is an integral part of Arctic sea ice research due to the Arctic's large size, making it difficult to observe with general research equipment, and its extreme environment that is difficult for humans to access. Along with monitoring recent weather changes, Korea scientists are conducting polar remote sensing using a Korean satellite series to actively cope with environmental changes in the Arctic. The Korean satellite series is known as KOMPSAT (Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite, Korean name is Arirang) series, and it carries optical and imaging radar. Since the organization of the Satellite Remote Sensing and Cryosphere Information Center in Korea in 2016, Korean research on and monitoring of Arctic sea ice has accelerated rapidly. Moreover, a community of researchers studying Arctic sea ice by satellite remote sensing increased in Korea. In this article, we review advances in Korea's remote sensing research for the polar cryosphere over the last several years. In addition to satellite remote sensing, interdisciplinary studies are needed to resolve the current limitations on research on climate change.

The purpose of science education is scientific literacy, which is extended in its meaning in the $21^{st}$ century. Students must be equipped with the skills necessary to solve problems from the community beyond obtaining the knowledge from curiosity, which is called 'computational thinking'. In this paper, the authors tried to define computational thinking in science education from the view of scientific literacy in the $21^{st}$ century; (1) computational thinking is an explicit skill shown in the two steps of abstracting the problems and automating solutions, (2) computational thinking consists of concrete components and practices which are observable and measurable, (3) computational thinking is a catalyst for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education, and (4) computational thinking is a cognitive process to be learned. More implication about the necessity of including computational thinking and its emphasis in implementing in science teaching and learning for the envisioned scientific literacy is added.

The general world model for homogeneous and isotropic universe has been proposed. For this purpose, we introduce a global and fiducial system of reference (world reference frame) constructed on a (4+1)-dimensional space-time, and assume that the universe is spatially a 3-dimensional hypersurface embedded in the 4-dimensional space. The simultaneity for the entire universe has been specified by the global time coordinate. We define the line element as the separation between two neighboring events on the expanding universe that are distinct in space and time, as viewed in the world reference frame. The information that determines the kinematics of the geometry of the universe such as size and expansion rate has been included in the new metric. The Einstein's field equations with the new metric imply that closed, flat, and open universes are filled with positive, zero, and negative energy, respectively. The curvature of the universe is determined by the sign of mean energy density. We have demonstrated that the flat universe is empty and stationary, equivalent to the Minkowski space-time, and that the universe with positive energy density is always spatially closed and finite. In the closed universe, the proper time of a comoving observer does not elapse uniformly as judged in the world reference frame, in which both cosmic expansion and time-varying light speeds cannot exceed the limiting speed of the special relativity. We have also reconstructed cosmic evolution histories of the closed world models that are consistent with recent astronomical observations, and derived useful formulas such as energy-momentum relation of particles, redshift, total energy in the universe, cosmic distance and time scales, and so forth. The notable feature of the spatially closed universe is that the universe started from a non-singular point in the sense that physical quantities have finite values at the initial time as judged in the world reference frame. It has also been shown that the inflation with positive acceleration at the earliest epoch is improbable.

The impact of vertical grid-nesting on the tropical cyclone intensity and track forecast was investigated using the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) version 3.8 and the initialization method of the Structure Adjustable Balanced Bogus Vortex (SABV). For a better resolution in the central part of the numerical domain, where the tropical cyclone of interest is located, a horizontal and vertical nesting technique was employed. Simulations of the tropical cyclone Sanba (16th in 2012) indicated that the vertical nesting had a weak impact on the cyclone intensity and little impact on the track forecast. Further experiments revealed that the performance of forecast was quite sensitive to the horizontal resolution, which is in agreement with previous studies. The improvement is due to the fact that horizontal resolution can improve forecasts not only on the tropical cyclone-scale but also for large-scale disturbances.

Biogeochemical processes play an important role in ocean environments and can affect the entire Earth's climate system. Using an ocean-biogeochemistry model (NEMO-TOPAZ), we investigated the effects of changes in albedo and wind stress caused by phytoplankton in the equatorial Pacific. The simulated ocean temperature showed a slight decrease when the solar reflectance of the regions where phytoplankton were present increased. Phytoplankton also decreased the El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) amplitude by decreasing the influence of trade winds due to their biological enhancement of upper-ocean turbulent viscosity. Consequently, the cold sea surface temperature bias in the equatorial Pacific and overestimation of the ENSO amplitude were slightly reduced in our model simulations. Further sensitivity tests suggested the necessity of improving the phytoplankton-related equation and optimal coefficients. Our results highlight the effects of altered albedo and wind stress due to phytoplankton on the climate system.

Red-Green-Blue (RGB) imagery techniques are useful for both forecasters and public users because they are intuitively understood, have advantageous visualization, and do not lose observational information. This study presents a novel RGB convective cloud product and its application to tropical cyclone analysis using Communication, Oceanography, and Meteorology (COMS) satellite observations. The RGB convective cloud product was developed using the brightness temperature differences between WV ($6.75{\mu}m$) and IR1 ($10.8{\mu}m$), and IR2 ($12.0{\mu}m$) and IR1 ($10.8{\mu}m$) as well as the brightness temperature in the IR1 bands of the COMS, with the threshold values estimated from the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) radar observations and the EUMETSAT RGB recipe. To verify the accuracy of the convective cloud RGB product, the product was applied to the center positions analysis of two typhoons in 2013. Thus, the convective cloud RGB product threshold values were estimated for WV-IR1 (-20 K to 15 K), IR1 (210 K to 300 K), and IR1-IR2 (-4 K to 2 K). The product application in typhoon analysis shows relatively low bias and root mean square errors (RMSE)s of 23 and 28 km for DANAS in 2013, and 17 and 22 km for FRANCISCO in 2013, as compared to the best tracks data from the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) in Tokyo. Consequently, our proposed RGB convective cloud product has the advantages of high accuracy and excellent visualization for a variety of meteorological applications.

In East Asia, the long-range transport of dust storms originating from Mongolia and northern China affects airborne dust loadings over downwind areas in the southern Korean Peninsula. Since 1997, dust loading cases caused by dust storms have been observed using the thresholds of total suspended particles (TSP, ${\geq}250{\mu}g\;m^{-3}\;hr^{-1}$) and particulate matter less than $10{\mu}g$ ($PM_{10}$, ${\geq}190{\mu}g\;m^{-3}\;hr^{-1}$) in the central-southern Korean Peninsula. There were two dust loading cases that exceeded these thresholds in 2016 and three in 2017, which reflects the downward trend of the last twenty-one years in the central-southern Korean Peninsula. Furthermore, five other dust loading cases with mass concentrations lower than the thresholds were observed from 2016 to 2017. In the moderate dust loading cases exceeding the thresholds, a descending motion of cut-off lows below $45^{\circ}N$ and a southward trough at 500 hPa gpm isopleths intensified at the western ridge, and largely extended the surface high-pressure system over southeast China. Airborne dust loadings following pronounced north-westerlies in the forward side of the high-pressure system were transported to the surface of the central-southern Korean Peninsula. However, in slight dust loading cases lower than the thresholds, the restricted descending motion of cut-off lows over $45^{\circ}N$ and the southwestward trough at 500 hPa gpm isopleths intensified the zonal flow over the Korean Peninsula. Surface high- and low-pressure systems moved eastward from the source compared to moderate dust loading cases. Due to the zonal movement of dust storms traversing eastern China, slight dust loading cases were observed with relatively higher ratios of $PM_{2.5}/TSP$ and carbon monoxide (CO) in the central-southern Korean Peninsula.

In the shallow coastal area, located off the northwestern Taean Peninsula of the eastern Yellow Sea, geoacoustic models with two layers were reconstructed for underwater acoustic experimentation and modeling. The Yellow Sea experienced glacio-eustasy sea-level fluctuations during Quaternary period. Coastal sedimentation in the Yellow Sea was characterized by alternating terrestrial and shallow marine deposits that reflected the fluctuating sea levels. The coastal geoacoustic models were based on data from piston, grab cores and the high-resolution 3.5 kHz, chirp seismic profiles (about 70 line-kilometers, respectively). Geoacoustic data of the cores were extrapolated down to 3 m in depth for geoacoustic models. The geoacoustic property of seafloor sediments is considered a key parameter for modeling underwater acoustic environments. For simulating actual underwater environments, the P-wave speed of the models was adjusted to in-situ depth below the sea floor using the Hamilton method. The proposed geoacoustic models could be used for submarine acoustic inversion and modeling in shallow-water environments of the study area.

This study presents how two types of integrated science and engineering lessons affect students' engineering problem solving skills and their perceptions of engineering. In total, 146 middle school students participated in this study. Eighty-six students participated in the Type I lesson (complete engineering design lesson with a science knowledge application) and 60 students participated in the Type II lesson (engineering design without a science knowledge application). Two main datasets, (1) students' Creative Engineering Problem Solving Propensity (CEPSP) measurement scores and (2) open-ended survey questions about students' perceptions of engineering, were collected before and after the lessons. The results of this study show that after participating in the Type I lesson, students' CEPSP scores significantly increased, whereas the CEPSP scores of the students who participated in the Type II lesson did not increase significantly. In addition, students who participated in the Type I lesson perceived engineering and the engineering integrated science lesson differently compared to the students who participated in the Type II lesson. The results of this study show that engineering integrated science, technology, engineering & mathematics (STEM) lessons should include a complete engineering design and a science knowledge application to improve students' engineering problem solving skills.