• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.41 no.6
• /
• pp.599-616
• /
• 2020

Sea-surface temperature (SST) is one of the most important oceanic variables for understanding air-sea interactions, heat flux variations, and oceanic circulation in the global ocean. Extremely low SSTs from 0℃ down to -2℃ should be more important than other normal temperatures because of their notable roles in inducing and regulating global climate and environmental changes. To understand the temporal and spatial variability of such extremely low SSTs in the global ocean, the long-term SST climatology was calculated using the daily SST database of satellites observed for the period from 1982 to 2018. In addition, the locations of regions with extremely low surface temperatures of less than 0℃ and monthly variations of isothermal lines of 0℃ were investigated using World Ocean Atlas (WOA) climatology based on in-situ oceanic measurements. As a result, extremely low temperatures occupied considerable areas in polar regions such as the Arctic Ocean and Antarctic Ocean, and marginal seas at high latitudes. Six earth science textbooks were analyzed to investigate how these extremely low temperatures were visualized. In most textbooks, illustrations of SSTs began not from extremely low temperatures below 0℃ but from a relatively high temperature of 0℃ or higher, which prevented students from understanding of concepts and roles of the low SSTs. As data visualization is one of the key elements of data literacy, illustrations of the textbooks should be improved to ensure that SST data are adequately visualized in the textbooks. This study emphasized that oceanic literacy and data literacy could be cultivated and strengthened simultaneously through visualizations of oceanic big data by using satellite SST data and oceanic in-situ measurements.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.34 no.7
• /
• pp.645-661
• /
• 2013

The synoptic, thermodynamic, and dynamic characteristics of a heavy snowfall event that occurred in Seoul metropolitan area on 27 to 28 December 2010 was investigated. During this period there was a distinctive case that was identified as a polar low. We analyzed surface and upper level weather charts, snowfall amount, sea surface temperature, satellite imagery, sounding, and the National Center for Environmental Prediction global $1^{\circ}{\times}1^{\circ}$ reanalysis data. The polar low developed in an area where there was strong baroclinicity in the lower level aided by strong conditional instability due to 925 hPa warm air advection and 700 hPa cold air advection. The development mechanism of polar low is due, in part, to the tropopause folding, which advected stratospheric air increasing potential vorticity in mid-level and inducing cyclonic vorticity and convergence in low-level. Eventually clouds developed and there were snowfall total of 10 cm in Seoul metropolitan area and as much as 20 cm in southern parts of Korea. During the snowfall development, there was a $-45^{\circ}C$ cold core at 500 hPa and shortwave maintained $3-5^{\circ}$ separation with surface trough, which favored the development of polar low located in the warm sector and cyclonic advection area. The height of the dynamical tropopause lowered to 700 hPa during the peak development and increase in potential vorticity allowed strong vertical motion to occur. Overall, there was a close relationship between the development of snowfall and tropopause undulation. The heaviest snowfall occurred east of the tropopause folding where strong cyclonic vorticity, vertical motion, and moisture advection all coincided while the polar low was passing through the Korean peninsula.