• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.235-242
• /
• 2014

Uranium can be released into the water environment from natural sources and human activities. The natural source of uranium is dominant in the Korean soil and groundwater environments. Uranium has both of radioactive and chemical toxic properties. Therefore, a drinking water contaminated with uranium has a high health risk. This study was conducted to determine the uranium concentration of water systems including small village drinking water system, groundwater for drinking water purpose, spring water, groundwater monitoring well, and emergency water suppling system. The uranium concentration was compared with domestic and other countries' standard. The contamination level was also evaluated on the basis of geological characteristics of the area. Among total 803 samples, 6 exceeded the Korean standard, $30{\mu}g/{\ell}$ and this was about 0.7% of the total sample. On the basis of geology, uranium concentration appeared to be increased in order of biotite granodiorite > biotite granite > gneissoid granite. The highest level of uranium was 12.4 in average.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society Conference
• /
• 2007.05a
• /
• pp.282-284
• /
• 2007

연구 해역의 양식 굴 폐사는 여름철을 지나 수온이 하강하기 시작하는 9월 초순에서 중순경부터 시작되었으며, 강진만 중앙부분 양식장의 경우 조사당시에도 상당수 굴의 폐사가 진행되고 있었다. 병리학적 조사 결과, 각 조사정점별 채집한 굴에서 비브리오 속 세균들이 검출되었으나, 이들 세균은 해수 중에 상존하는 종류로 알려저 있으며, 기생충은 검출되지 않았다. 강진만과 인근한 남해와 산청기상관측소에서 측정된 기온(8${\sim}$9월)은 남해는 2005년에 전반적으로 낮았으며, 산청은 전년비 $2{\sim}5^{\circ}C$ 높은 상태를 유지하였으며, 강수량은 강진만에 유입되는 담수의 대부분을 차지하는 남강댐 수위에 영향을 미칠 것으로 예상되는 산청지방의 2005년 여름철(7${\sim}$9월) 일별 강수량은 집중호우의 특성을 보이지 않았으며, 굴 폐사가 발생한 9월의 강수량은 남해와 산청지방에서 전년과 평년비 $99.9{\sim}188.0mm$나 적은 양을 보였다. 해양환경측정망(St. 2, 강진만) 자료에 2005년 하계 수온이 2004년에 비해 $2^{\circ}C$, 2003년에 비해 $2.6^{\circ}C$ 높은 값을 보였으며, 양식 굴의 먹이생물과 직접적으로 연관이 있는 Ch1-a 농도는 2005년에는 대단히 낮은 값(2.15ug/L)을 보였으며, SS 농도도 낮은 값(4.6mg/L)을 보였다. 조사당시 수질환경은 양식 굴의 폐사에 직접적인 영향을 미칠만한 요인은 관찰되지 않았으나, 조사정점 1(지족)의 저층에서 2.87mg/L의 낮은 용존산소가 관찰되었으며, 2005년 8월 15일 관찰된 강진만의 남-북방향 수직분포도 저층을 따라서 3mg/L이하의 빈산소 수괴가 관찰되었다.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
• /
• 2023.05a
• /
• pp.479-479
• /
• 2023

하천의 건천화는 물이용은 물론 수질과 수생태 측면에서 부정적인 영향을 주는 것으로 알려져 있으나, 건천화의 정의는 물론 건천화 판단기준에 대해서도 학술적인 정리가 부족한 실정이다. 국내의 하천환경을 고려할 때 대부분의 건천화는 대하천이나 하천의 본류보다는 중소하천 규모에서 발생하고 있으며, 이는 만경강유역에서도 동일할 것으로 판단된다. 건천화를 판단하기 위해서는 장기간에 걸친 신뢰할 만한 유량자료가 축적되어 있어야 하나, 중소하천 규모에서 장기측정망을 운영하기는 쉽지 않은 특성으로, 이를 보완하는 방법으로 현장에서의 유량 측정과 함께 모형을 이용하여 하천의 유황을 추정하는 것이 타당할 것으로 판단된다. 건천화된 하천의 유량확보와 관련하여 고려할 수 있는 하천유지유량 제도는 국가하천과 지방 하천을 대상으로 하고 있어 실제 건천화가 발생하는 중소하천에는 적용하기 어려울 것으로 보여, 환경생태유량 제도의 활용을 검토하는 것이 바람직할 것으로 보이지만, 중소하천이나 그 이하 규모의 소하천의 경우 유량 확보를 위한 현실적인 방안이 제한되어 있는 문제가 있다. 본 연구에서는 선행연구에서 제시한 기준유량과 건천화 평가지표를 검토하고 적용하였다. 또한 하천유역의 특성을 반영하기 위해 대조하천, 농업하천, 도시하천, 준도시하천으로 구분하고 이들 하천에 대한 현장조사와 함께 장기유출모형을 구축하여 하천의 유황을 파악하고 만경강유역의 건천화 규모를 추정하였다. 건천화 등급을 산정한 결과, 건천화율이 대부분 5등급(매우나쁨)수준으로 평가었고, 산정된 건천화 비율로 살펴봤을 때, 건천화를 개선하기 위한 유량공급이 필요한 단계로 사료된다. 이러한 연구 결과는 향후 건천화현상에 대한 원인규명과 방지대책을 강구하기 위한 기초자료로 활용가능 할 것으로 판단된다.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.549-556
• /
• 2017

Rivers continuously transport terrestrial organic carbon matter to the estuary and the ocean, and they play a critical role in productivity and biodiversity in the marine ecosystem as well as the global carbon cycle. The amount of terrestrial organic carbon transporting from the rivers to ocean is an essential piece of information, not only for the marine ecosystem management but also the carbon budget within catchment. However, this phenomenon is still not well understood. Most large rivers in Korea have a well-established national monitoring system of the river flow and the TOC (Total Organic Carbon) concentration from the mountain to the river mouth, which are fundamental for estimating the amount of the TOC flux. We estimated the flux of the total terrestrial organic carbon of five large rivers which flow out to the Yellow Sea, using the data of the national monitoring system (the monthly mean TOC concentration and the monthly runoff of river flow). We quantified the annual TOC flux of the five rivers, showing their results in the following order: the Han River ($18.0{\times}10^9gC\;yr^{-1}$)>>Geum River ($5.9{\times}10^9gC\;yr^{-1}$)>Yeongsan River ($2.6{\times}10^9gC\;yr^{-1}$)>Sumjin River ($2.0{\times}10^9gC\;yr^{-1}$)>>Tamjin River ($0.2{\times}10^9gC\;yr^{-1}$). The amount of the Han River, which is the highest in the Korean rivers, corresponds to be 4% of the annual total TOC flux of in the Yellow River, and moreover, to be 0.6% of Yangtze River.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.394-403
• /
• 2016

This study was carried out to verify change and relationship between the concentration of chlorophyll-a and environmental factors including weather, water quality and discharge at before & after Gangcheon and Ipoh weir construction at Namhan river, based on the weather and water quality data provided by the measuring network. We classified the period of before & after weir construction by the cluster analysis with Ward's method, and also through the correlation analysis between the concentration of chlorophyll-a and environmental factors, the influence factors related with algae occurrence(Chlorophyll-a) were analyzed. The result by cluster analysis based on data of the total 12 factors (water temperature, rainfall, daylight, pH, DO, BOD, COD, T-N, $NH_3-N$, $NO_3-N$, T-P, $PO_4-P$) from 2005 to 2015 indicated a clear classification into two periods, before(2006-2007) & after (2012-2013) weir construction. After weir construction, class of BOD at Gangcheon weir was better than before, changed from II class to Ia class, and likewise class of BOD at Ipoh weir was improved from II-III class to Ia-IIclass. Also T-P and T-N concentration also were to be improved in general after weir construction. Concentraion of Chlorophyll-a afterGangcheon and Ipoh weir construction was to be decreased. However, frequency of algae warning was increased from 9 to 15 after Ipoh weir construction due to increasing of HRT and water temperature. After weirs construction, the result of correlation analysis between weather, water quality and discharge and concentration of chlorophyll-a indicated a positive correlation, order of BOD(0.579) > COD(0.413) > temperature(0.237), and a negative correlation, order of $NO_3-N$(-0.344) > T-N(-0.293) at Gangcheon weir. And there were likewise positive correlation, order of BOD(0.795) > pH(0.581) > Water temperature(0.422), and negative correlation, order of $NO_3-N$(-0.457) > T-N(-0.371) > $NH_3-N$(-0.326) > $PO_4-P$(-0.288) > Discharge(-0.213) after Ipoh weir construction. Although water quality after Ipoh weir construction was generally improved, increase of frequency of algae warning occurrence was influenced by change of water conditions such as reduction of the velocity, increase of HRT and water temperature, etc impacted strongly by change of the stream flow more than change of water environments after weir construction.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.428-436
• /
• 2010

This study was to evaluate water quality characteristics and ecological health using a mulimetric fish model in Taehwa-River watershed during May~September 2009. The ecological health assessments were based on the Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) using fish community and the multimetric model of Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI). For the study, the models of IBI and QHEI were modified as 8 and 11 metric attributes, respectively. We also analyzed spatial patterns of chemical water quality over the period of 2000~2009, using the water chemistry dataset, obtained from the Ministry of Environment, Korea. Values of BOD and COD averaged $1.7\;mg\;L^{-1}$ (scope: $0.1{\sim}31.8\;mg\;L^{-1}$) and $3.6\;mg\;L^{-1}$ (scope: $0.4{\sim}33\;mg\;L^{-1}$), respectively during the study. Total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) averaged $2.8\;mg\;L^{-1}$ and $96.8\;{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$, respectively, indicating an eutrophic-hypertrophic state. Also, TN and TP showed longitudinal increases toward the downriver reach. In the watershed, QHEI values varied from 67.5 (fair condition) to 164.5 (good condition) by the criteria of US EPA (1993). There was a abruptly decreasing tendency from T9 site in the QHEI values. According to 1st and 2nd surveys of Taewha River, multimetric model values of IBI was averaged 26.1 (n=14) with "good" condition (B) and the spatial variation was evident. Our results suggest that the mainstream sites was getting worse health condition along the river gradient due to inputs of the point and non-point sources from the urban (Ulsan city). Overall, dataset of IBI, QHEI, and water chemistry indicated that the ecological river health showed a downriver decline and the pattern was closely associated with habitat degradations and chemical pollutions as the waters pass through the urban region.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.38 no.5 s.174
• /
• pp.547-561
• /
• 2005

General characteristics of groundwater contamination by As were reviewed with several recent researches, and its occurrence in groundwater of Korea was investigated based on a ffw previous studies and a groundwater quality survey in Nonsan and Geumsan areas. In Bangladesh, which has been known as the most serious arsenic calamity country, about $28\%$ of the shallow groundwaters exceeded the Bangladesh drinking water standard, $50{\mu}g/L$, and it was estimated that about 28 million people were exposed to concentrations greater than the standard. Groundwater was characterized by circum-neutral pH with a moderate to strong reducing conditions. Low concentrations of $SO_4^{2-}$ and $NO_3^-$, and high contents of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and $NH_4^+$ were typical chemical characteristics. Total As concentrations were enriched in the Holocene alluvial aquifers with a dominance of As(III) species. It was generally agreed that reductive dissolution of Fe oxyhydroxides was the main mechanism for the release of As into groundwater coupling with the presence of organic matters and microbial activities as principal factors. A new model has also been suggested to explain how arsenic can naturally contaminate groundwaters far from the ultimate source with transport of As by active tectonic uplift and glaciatiion during Pleistocene, chemical weathering and deposition, and microbial reaction processes. In Korea, it has not been reported to be so serious As contamination, and from the national groundwater quality monitoring survey, only about $1\%$ of grounwaters have concentrations higher than $10{\mu}g/:L.$ However, it was revealed that $19.3\%$ of mineral waters, and $7\%$ of tube-well waters from Nonsan and Geumsan areas contained As concentrations above $10{\mu}g/:L.$. Also, percentages exceeding this value during detailed groundwater quality surveys were $36\%\;and\;22\%$ from Jeonnam and Ulsan areas, respectively, indicating As enrichment possibly by geological factors and local mineralization. Further systematic researches need to proceed in areas potential to As contamination such as mineralized, metasedimentary rock-based, alluvial, and acid sulfate soil areas. Prior to that, it is required to understand various geochemical and microbial processes, and groundwater flow characteristics affecting the behavior of As.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.279-287
• /
• 2010

This study was to evaluate ecological conditions of Hyeongsan River watershed from April to September 2009. The ecological health assessments was based on Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI), water chemistry during 2000~2009, and the fish multi-metric model, Index of Biological Integrity (IBI). For the study, the models of IBI and QHEI were modified as 8 and 11 metric attributes, respectively. Values of IBI averaged 25.4 (n=6), which is judged as a "fair" condition (C) after the criteria of Barbour et al. (1999). The distinct spatial variation was found in the IBI. Physical habitat health, based on the values of QHEI, varied from 76 in the downriver (H6) to 150.5 in the headwater (H1) and was evidently more disturbed in the downriver reach. Values of BOD and COD averaged 2.4 $mgL^{-1}$ (range: 0.3~13.8 $mgL^{-1}$) and 4.3 $mgL^{-1}$ (scope: 0.6~12.8 $mgL^{-1}$), respectively during the study period. Total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) averaged 3.0 $mgL^{-1}$ and 103.5 ${\mu}gL^{-1}$, respectively, indicating a severe eutrophication, and the nutrients increased more in the downriver than the headwater. Overall, physical, chemical and IBI parameters showed a typical downriver degradation along main axis of the river from the headwater-to-the downriver. This was mainly attributed to livestock waste and residential influences along with industrial discharge from the urban region.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.184-192
• /
• 2007

This study was to evaluate ecological health of Sumjin River during April${\sim}$June 2006. The ecological health assessments was based on the Index of Biological Integrity (IBI), Qualitative Babitat Evaluation Index (QHEI), and water chemistry. For the study, the models of IBI and QHEI were modified as 10 and 11 metric attributes, respectively. We also analyzed spatial patterns of chemical water quality over the period of $2002{\sim}2005$, using the water chemistry dataset, obtained from the Ministry of Environment, Korea. In Sumjin River, values of IBI averaged 33 (n= 12), which is judged as a "Fair${\sim}$Good" condition after the criteria of Barbour at al. (1999). There was a distinct spatial variation. Mean IBI score at Site 5 was estimated as 40, indicating a "Good" condition whereas, the mean at Site 3 was 23, indicating a "Poor${\sim}$Fair" condition. Habitat analysis showed that QHEI values in the river averaged 109 (n=6), indicating a "Marginal" condition after the criteria of Harbour et al. (1999). Values of BOD and COD averaged 1.3 mg $L^{-1}$ (scope: $0.9{\sim}1.8$ mg $L^{-1}$) and 3.3 mg $L^{-1}$ (scope: $2.8{\sim}4.0$ mg $L^{-1}$), respectively during the study. It was evident that chemical pollutions by organic matter were minor in the river. Total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) averaged 2.5 mg $L^{-1}$ and 0.067 mg $L^{-1}$, respectively, and the nutrients did not show large longitudinal gradients between the upper and lower reach. Overall, dataset of IBI, QHEI, and water chemistry suggest that river health has been well maintained, compared to other major watersheds in Korea and should be protected from habitat disturbance and chemical pollutions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.113-123
• /
• 2008

We have analyzed a long term data of marine environments, red tide information and meteorology acquired by NFRDI and KMA, in order to understand the characteristics of marine environments in the Narodo coastal waters which is known to be the first outbreak region of Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms. During the period of from 1992 to 2007, Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms have first occurred more often in August. However, the outbreak time of the blooms tended to be earlier annually, and in addition, the surface salinity also had a tendency to increase. Consequently, it suggested that there might be a relationship between the transition of the outbreak time of the blooms and salinity. On the other hand, insolation was relatively rich but precipitation was relatively scarce in Gohung Province, compared to Yeosu or Tongyeong, when Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms first occur in Narodo coastal waters. Average water temperature and salinity in August in Narodo coastal waters were all higher than those in Gamak and Jinhae bays, suggesting that Narodo coastal waters are a region of relatively high water temperature and high salinity. Also, concentrations of nutrients and chlorophyll- a were significantly low than those in Jinhae Bay, which is known to be a eutrophicated region, while the overall water quality seemed to be similar to Gamak Bay. The results of PCA(Principal Component Analysis) proved that insolation and water temperature are the most important factors for the outbreak of Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms in Narodo coastal waters while concentrations of COD and dissolved oxygen are secondly important. Furthermore, typhoons also appeared to be one of most important factors for the outbreak of Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms.