• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.457-468
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• 2018

To improve understanding of the physico-chemical characteristics of aerosols in the national park and comparing the air pollution between national park and the urban area nearby national park, the aerosol characterization study was conducted in Bukhansan National Park, Seoul, from July through September 2017. Semi-continuous measurements of $PM_{2.5}$ using PILS (Particle Into Liquid System) coupled with IC (Ion Chromatography) and TOC (Total Organic Carbon) analyzer allowed quantification of concentrations of major ionic species($Cl^-$, $SO_4{^{2-}}$, $NO_3{^-}$, $Na^+$, $NH_4{^+}$, $K^+$, $Mg{^{2+}}$ and $Ca{^{2+}}$) and water soluble organic carbon (WSOC) with 30-minute time resolution. The total mass concentration of $PM_{2.5}$ was measured by T640 (Teledyne) with 5-minute time resolution. The black carbon (BC) and ozone were measured with a minute time resolution. The timeline of aerosol chemical compositions reveals a strong influence from urban area (Seoul) at the site in Bukhansan National Park. Inorganic aerosol composition was observed to be dominated by ammoniated sulfate at most times with ranging from $0.1{\sim}32.6{\mu}g/m^3$ (6.5~76.1% of total mass of $PM_{2.5}$). The concentration of ammonium nitrate, a potential indicator of the presence of local source, ranged from below detection limits to $20{\mu}g/m^3$ and was observed to be highest during times of maximum local urban (Seoul) impact. The total mass of $PM_{2.5}$ in Bukhansan National Park was observed to be 10~23% lower than the total mass of $PM_{2.5}$ in urban area (Gireum-dong and Bulgwang-dong, Seoul). In general, ozone concentration in Bukhansan National Park was observed to be similar or higher than urban sites in Seoul, suggesting additional biogenic VOCs with $NO_x$ from vehicle emission were to be precursors for ozone formation in Bukhansan National Park.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.699-709
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• 2008

To understand the development mechanism of the aerosols in the surface boundary layer, the variation in the aerosol number concentration due to the divergence and convergence of the wind fields was investigated. The aerosol number concentration was measured in the size ranges of $0.3{\sim}10.0{\mu}m$ using a laser particle counter(LPC) from 0000 LST on 03 Feb. to 0600 LST on 07 Feb. 2004 at Mokpo in Korea during snowfall. The Velocity Azimuth Display(VAD) technique was used to retrieve the radar wind fields such as the horizontal wind field, divergence, and deformations including the vertical air velocity from a single Doppler radar. As a result, the distribution of the aerosol number concentration is apparently different for particles larger than $1{\mu}m$ during snowfall, and it has a tendency to increase at the beginning of the snowfall. The increase and decrease in the aerosol concentration due to the convergence and divergence of the wind fields corresponded to the particles with diameters greater than $1{\mu}m$. It is found that the fluctuations in the aerosol number concentration are well correlated with the development and dissipation of snowfall radar echoes due to the convergence and divergence of horizontal wind fields near the surface boundary layer in the inland during the snowfall.

• Atmosphere
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.141-148
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• 2015

Recently increased anthropogenic aerosols change the radiative energy balance and affect human life. The management of air quality requires monitoring both the local emissions and transported pollutants. In order to estimate the quantitative contribution of long-range transport from remote sources on aerosol concentrations in Seoul, the airmasses were classified into five types with respect to their pathways. When airmass came from west over strong emission regions in China, high concentrations of $PM_{10}$, $PM_{2.5}$, black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC) were found, even higher than those for the stagnated airmass. High OC concentrations were found when airmass came from north while BC, EC, and $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations were lower than those of the stagnated airmasses. During dust events, the $PM_{2.5}$ and $PM_{10}$ concentrations increased significantly while carbonaceous aerosol concentrations did not increased. The temporal variations of aerosol concentrations in Seoul were affected by the seasonal variations of airmass pathways. The high $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations over $100{\mu}g\;m^{-3}$ appeared most frequently when the airmasses came from west.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.472-481
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• 2015

Black carbon (BC) aerosols were monitored at the KIST site ($37.603^{\circ}N$, $127.046^{\circ}E$) and Cheonan-KOREATECH site ($36.766^{\circ}N$, $127.281^{\circ}E$) during the pre KORea-US Air Quality Study (KORUS-AQ) campaign using a couple of Muliti Angle Absorption Photometers (MAAP). BC mass concentrations were presented as $2.14{\pm}1.06{\mu}g/m^3$ and $0.94{\pm}0.60{\mu}g/m^3$ at KIST site (Seoul) and KOREATECH site (Cheonan), respectively. BC mass concentrations measured at KIST and KOREATECH sites from 22:00 on May 22 to 12:00 on May 23, 2015 showed 80% and 72% higher than average BC mass concentrations measured during campaign period, respectively. It indicates both sites could be influenced by a remote source. Similar patterns of BC concentrations between two sites from 20:00 to 24:00 on June 6, 2015 implies that the BC could be transported into both sites and then be stagnant inside the Korean Peninsula. Diurnal variation of BC in weekdays and weekends were also presented for the KIST and KOREATECH sites. Morning rush hour peak was observed at KIST site located in metropolitan area though no distinct morning rush hour peak was not observed at KOREATECH site located in a suburban area. This study revealed transport pathways of BC near the Korean Peninsula using back-trajectory analysis of BC measured both in a metropolitan area and in a suburban area.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.411-429
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• 2015

The Korea Ministry of Environment has established an air quality standard for $PM_{2.5}$ in 2012 and it is effective from January 2015. In this study, we review various aspects of $PM_{2.5}$ in China, including its measurement, modeling, source apportionment, and health effect, and suggest future research directions for $PM_{2.5}$ studies in Korea. Measurements studies for $PM_{2.5}$ have examined organic marker compounds and $^{14}C$ as well as inorganic aerosols for distinguishing sources. Modeling results supported that the control of $PM_{2.5}$ pollution in big city needs effective cooperation between city and its surrounding regions. The major $PM_{2.5}$ sources in China have been identified to be secondary sulfur, motor vehicle emissions, coal combustion, dust, biomass burning, and industrial sources, however, they have seasonal dependency. Especially, the severe haze pollution event during January 2013 over eastern and northern China was driven to a large extent by secondary aerosol formation. Short-term exposure to $PM_{2.5}$ is strongly associated with the increased risk of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as total non-accidental mortality. Considered previous $PM_{2.5}$ studies in China, analysis of specific organic species using online measurement, chamber experiment for secondary aerosol formation mechanism, and development of parameterizing this process in the model are needed to elucidate factors governing the abundance and composition of $PM_{2.5}$ in Korea.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.149-156
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• 2011

Phenological variables derived from remote sensing are useful in determining the seasonal cycles of ecosystems in a changing climate. Satellite remote sensing imagery is useful for the spatial continuous monitoring of vegetation phenology across broad regions; however, its applications are substantially constrained by atmospheric disturbances such as clouds, dusts, and aerosols. By way of contrast, a tower-based ground remote sensing approach at the canopy level can provide continuous information on canopy phenology at finer spatial and temporal scales, regardless of atmospheric conditions. In this study, a tower-based ground remote sensing system, called the "Phenological Eyes Network (PEN)", which was installed at the Gwangneung Deciduous KoFlux (GDK) flux tower site in Korea was introduced, and daily phenological progressions at the canopy level were assessed using ratios of red, green, and blue (RGB) spectral reflectances obtained by the PEN system. The PEN system at the GDK site consists of an automatic-capturing digital fisheye camera and a hemi-spherical spectroradiometer, and monitors stand canopy phenology on an hourly basis. RGB data analyses conducted between late March and early December in 2009 revealed that the 2G_RB (i.e., 2G - R - B) index was lower than the G/R (i.e., G divided by R) index during the off-growing season, owing to the effects of surface reflectance, including soil and snow effects. The results of comparisons between the daily PEN-obtained RGB ratios and daily moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS)-driven vegetation indices demonstrate that ground remote sensing data, including the PEN data, can help to improve cloud-contaminated satellite remote sensing imagery.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.701-717
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• 2003

The objective of this study was to extensively estimate the air quality trends of the study area by surveying con-centration trends in months or seasons, after analyzing the mass concentration of PM-10 samples and the inorganic lements, ion, and total carbon in PM-10. Also, the study introduced to apply the PMF (Positive Matrix Factoriza-tion) model that is useful when absence of the source profile. Thus the model was thought to be suitable in Korea that often has few information about pollution sources. After obtaining results from the PMF modeling, the existing sources at the study area were qualitatively identified The PM-10 particles collected on quartz fiber filters by a PM-10 high-vol air sampler for 3 years (Mar. 1999∼Dec.2001) in Kyung Hee University. The 25 chemical species (Al, Mn, Ti, V, Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd, Ba, Ce, Pb, Si, N $a^{#}$, N $H_4$$^{+}$, $K^{+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, $Ca^{2+}$, C $l^{[-10]}$ , N $O_3$$^{[-10]}$ , S $O_4$$^{2-}$, TC) were analyzed by ICP-AES, IC, and EA after executing proper pre - treatments of each sample filter. The PMF model was intensively applied to estimate the quantitative contribution of air pollution sources based on the chemical information (128 samples and 25 chemical species). Through a case study of the PMF modeling for the PM-10 aerosols. the total of 11 factors were determined. The multiple linear regression analysis between the observed PM-10 mass concentration and the estimated G matrix had been performed following the FPEAK test. Finally the regression analysis provided source profiles (scaled F matrix). So, 11 sources were qualitatively identified, such as secondary aerosol related source, soil related source, waste incineration source, field burning source, fossil fuel combustion source, industry related source, motor vehicle source, oil/coal combustion source, non-ferrous metal source, and aged sea- salt source, respectively.ively.y.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.418-429
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• 2018

Measurements of 24-hr size-segregated ambient particles were made at an urban site of Gwangju under high pressure conditions occurred in the Korean Peninsula late in March 2018. The aim of this study was to understand the effect of air stagnation on mass size distributions and formation pathways of water-soluble organic and inorganic components. During the study period, the $NO_3{^-}$, $SO_4{^{2-}}$, $NH_4{^+}$, water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), and humic-like substances(HULIS) exhibited mostly bi-modal size distributions peaking at 1.0 and $6.2{\mu}m$, with predominant droplet modes. In particular, outstanding droplet mode size distributions were observed on March 25 when a severe haze occurred due to stable air conditions and long range transport of aerosol particles from northeastern regions of China. Air stagnation conditions and high relative humidity during the study period resulted in accumulation of primary aerosol particles from local emission sources and enhanced formation of secondary ionic and organic aerosols through aqueous-phase oxidations of $SO_2$, $NO_2$, $NH_3$, and volatile organic compounds, leading to their dominant droplet mode size distributions at particle size of $1.0{\mu}m$. From the size distribution of $K^+$ in accumulation mode, it can be inferred that in addition to the secondary organic aerosol formations, accumulation mode WSOC and HULIS could be partly attributed to biomass burning emissions.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.265-276
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• 2017

The $PM_{2.5}$ samples were obtained from coal combustion with the four different combustion temperatures (550, 700, 900 and $1100^{\circ}C$) to understand chemical composition in carbonaceous aerosol. OC concentration was the highest when the combustion temperature was $550^{\circ}C$, while, the highest concentration for EC was shown at $700^{\circ}C$ of the coal combustion temperature. However, OC concentrations were very low and EC was not detected when the temperature was over $900^{\circ}C$. It indicates complete combustion was achieved when the combustion temperature was over $900^{\circ}C$. For six groups of organic compounds, n-alkanes and n-alkanoic acids were predominant at all of the combustion temperature in smoke of coal combustion, while, PAHs was only detected at $550^{\circ}C$. The diagnostic ratios of PAHs calculated in this study were 0.59 for Fluoranthene/(Fluoranthene+Pyrene), reflecting the characteristics of coal combustion. The Carbon number Preference Index (CPI) values of n-alkanes which ranged from 0.9 to 1.3 also showed the characteristics of coal combustion.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.11-23
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• 1998

The purpose of this study was to survey chemical distribution of inorganic elements and ions in the submicron particles, to characterize qualitatively emitting sources by factor analysis, and finally to reveal existing patterns in terms of chemical compounds by a stepwise multiple regression analysis. Total of 141 samples were collected by a cascade impactor from 1989 to1996. Fifteen chemical species (Al, Ba, Cd, K, Pb, Cu, Fe, Ni, $Cl^-, NO_3^-, SO_4^{2-}, K^+, Mg^{2+}, Ca^{2+}, and Na^+$) were characterized by AAS and IC. The study showed that average seasonal levels of submicron particulate matters $(d_p<0.43 \mum)$ were 18.7 $\mug/m^3$ in spring, 15.5 $\mug/m^3$ in summer, 15.7 $\mug/m^3$ in fall, and 24.5 $\mug/m^3$ in winter, respectively. All of the anion concentrations in the particle were highest in the winter season. By applying a factor analysis, 5 source patterns were qualitatively obtained, such as sulfate related source, nitrate related source, oil burning source, calcium related source, and coal combustion source. Finally, when applying a stepwise multiple regression analysis, the results clearly showed that $Na^+ and Ca^{2+}, K^+ and Ca^{2+}, NO_3^-$ and relative humidity, $Cl^-$ and ambient temperature, $Ca^{2+} and Cl^-, Mg^{2+} and SO_4^{2-}, Na^+ and NO_3^-, and Ca^{2+} and NO_3^-$, respectively, are negatively contributed to each other. As a result of those statistical analysis, we could suggest that some chemical compounds in the submicron particles such as$NaNO_3, MgSO_4, Ca(NO_3)_2, and CaCl_2$ may not exist on the filter as final composing products; however, other compounds may possibly exist in the form of $Mg(NO_3)_2, CaSO_4, Na_2SO_4, K_2SO_4, MgCl_2, NaCl, and KCl$. Thus, it must be necessary to identify differences between the results of above statistical analysis and of the real world by laboratory experiments.