• Title/Summary/Keyword: Climate impacts

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Analyzing Environmental Impacts in Construction Project at Different Ownership - Focus on Express Road Pavement Process - (공공발주자와 민간기업 측면의 건설공사 온실가스 환경비용 영향분석 - 고속도로 포장공종을 중심으로 -)

  • Jang, Woo Sik;Park, Heedae;Han, Seung Heon;Jeon, Jong Seo
    • KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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    • v.31 no.1D
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    • pp.111-117
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    • 2011
  • In the wake of increased concerns on reduction of greenhouse emission which started with United Nation's Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto protocol, Korean government is making various efforts under the represented slogan "Low Carbon, Green Growth". Therefore, it is inevitable that construction industry also follow the Korea government's slogan and the international trend in environmental problems. This study identified several main construction materials and equipments of civil construction projects and suggested a environmental cost estimation method and related estimation standards (Public and private owners are distinguished). A case analysis of a real road construction project is also performed and characteristics according to the owner type is compared. This study analyzed the environmental impact to total construction cost variations. In the result, public owner required 11~16% of extra budget and private owner required 19~22% of extra costs. This study is limited in consideration of environmental factors and carbon trading prices.

Physiology, genomics and molecular approaches for lmproving abiotic stress tolerance in rice and impacts on poor farmers

  • Ismail, Abdelbagi M.;Kumar, Arivnd;Singh, R.K.;Dixit, Shalabh;Henry, Amelia;Singh, Uma S.
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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    • 2017.06a
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    • pp.7-7
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    • 2017
  • Unfavorable weather and soil conditions reduce rice yield and land and water productivity, aggravating existing encounters of poverty and food insecurity. These conditions are foreseen to worsen with climate change and with the unceasing irrational human practices that progressively debilitate productivity despite global appeals for more food. Our understanding of plant responses to abiotic stresses is advancing and is complex, involving numerous critical processes - each controlled by several genetic factors. Knowledge of the physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in signaling, response and adaptation, and in some cases the genes involved, is advancing. Moreover, the genetic diversity being unveiled within cultivated rice and its wild relatives is providing ample resources for trait and gene discovery, and this is being scouted for rice improvement using modern genomics and molecular tools. Development of stress tolerant varieties is now being fast-tracked through the use of DNA markers and advanced breeding strategies. Large numbers of drought, submergence and salt tolerant varieties were commercialized over recent years in South and Southeast Asia and more recently in Africa. These varieties are making significant changes in less favorable areas, transforming lives of smallholder farmers - progress considered incredulous in the past. The stress tolerant varieties are providing assurance to farmers to invest in better management of their crops and the ability to adjust their cropping systems for even higher productivity and more income, sparking changes analogous to that of the first green revolution, which previously benefited only favorable irrigated and rainfed areas. New breeding tools using markers for multiple stresses made it possible to develop more resilient, higher yielding varieties to replace the aging and obsolete varieties still dominating these areas. Varieties with multiple stress tolerances are now becoming available, providing even better security for farmers and lessening their production risks even in areas affected by complex and overlapping stresses. The progress made in these less favorable areas triggered numerous favorable changes at the national and regional levels in several countries in Asia, including adjusting breeding and dissemination strategies to accelerate outreach and enabling changes at higher policy levels, creating a positive environment for faster progress. Exploiting the potential of these less productive areas for food production is inevitable, to meet the escalating global needs for more food and sustained production systems, at times when national resources are shrinking while demand for food is mounting. However, the success in these areas requires concerted efforts to make use of existing genetic resources for crop improvement and establishing effective evaluation networks, seed production systems, and seed delivery systems to ensure faster outreach and transformation.

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Evaluation of the Usability of Micro-Sensors for the Portable Fine Particle Measurement (생활 속 미세먼지 영향평가를 위한 소형센서의 신뢰성 및 활용성 평가)

  • Kim, Jinsu;Jang, Youjung;Kim, Jinseok;Park, Minwoo;Bu, Chanjong;Lee, Yungu;Kim, Younha;Woo, Jung-Hun
    • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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    • v.27 no.4
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    • pp.378-393
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    • 2018
  • As atmospheric fine dust problems in Korea become more serious, there are growing needs to find the concentration of fine particles in indoor and outdoor areas and there are increasing demands for sensor-based portable monitoring devices capable of measuring fine dust concentrations instantly. The low-cost portable monitoring devices have been widely manufactured and used without the prescribed certification standards which would cause unnecessary confusion to the concerned public. To evaluate the reliability those devices and to improve their usability, following studies were conducted in this work; 1) The comparisons between sensor-based devices and comparison with more accurate devices were performed. 2) Several experiments were conducted to understand usefulness of the portable monitoring devices. As results, the absolute concentration levels need to be adjusted due to insensitivity of the tiny light scattering sensors in the portable devices, but their linearity and reproducibility seem to be acceptable. By using those monitoring devices, users are expected to have benefits of recognizing the changes of concentration more quickly and could help preventing themselves from the adverse health impacts.

A Study on Design of Optimal Location for Renewable Energy Facility Using GIS (GIS를 사용한 재생에너지설비 최적 위치 설계에 관한 연구)

  • Jung, Moon-Seon;Moon, Chae-Joo;Chang, Young-Hak;Kim, Young-Gon;Lee, Sook-Hee
    • The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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    • v.13 no.2
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    • pp.357-368
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    • 2018
  • For well over 100 years, oil has enabled remote communities to generate electricity and enjoy the benefits of a consistent electrical supply. Relying solely on oil for electricity generation has left island and remote communities exposed to several risks and drawbacks. Oil-based electricity generation is often more expensive and subject to price volatility, which can result in the use of risky fuel hedging strategies. The residents of islands and remote communities express concern over the future impacts of climate change or insist on their opinions for the corresponding action with reduction of carbon emissions. These risks and drawbacks can be overcomed with continuing cost reductions in solar, wind, and energy storage technologies by maker. Reducing costs is not always a straightforward process, relying on more diversely and renewably arranged renewable energy sources led to reduced local construction cost in every situation reviewed in this study. In this paper, a convenient and simple design solution which will facilitate the optimum location and transmission route of renewable energy facility using GIS(Geographic Information System) is proposed. The suggested solutions exercised to the case of geomoon island using GIS and identified by local site survey.

Feed Resources for Animals in Asia: Issues, Strategies for Use, Intensification and Integration for Increased Productivity

  • Devendra, C.;Leng, R.A.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.24 no.3
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    • pp.303-321
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    • 2011
  • The availability and efficient use of the feed resources in Asia are the primary drivers of performance to maximise productivity from animals. Feed security is fundamental to the management, extent of use, conservation and intensification for productivity enhancement. The awesome reality is that current supplies of animal proteins are inadequate to meet human requirements in the face of rapidly depleting resources: arable land, water, fossil fuels, nitrogenous and other fertilisers, and decreased supplies of cereal grains. The contribution of the ruminant sector lags well behind that of non-ruminant pigs and poultry. It is compelling therefore to shift priority for the development of ruminants (buffaloes, cattle, goats and sheep) in key agro-ecological zones (AEZs), making intensive use of the available biomass from the forage resources, crop residues, agro-industrial by-products (AIBP) and other non-conventional feed resources (NCFR). Definitions are given of successful and failed projects on feed resource use. These were used to analyse 12 case studies, which indicated the value of strong participatory efforts with farmers, empowerment, and the benefits from animals of productivity-enhancing technologies and integrated natural resource management (NRM). However, wider replication and scaling up were inadequate in project formulation, including systems methodologies that promoted technology adoption. There was overwhelming emphasis on component technology applications that were duplicated across countries, often wasteful, the results and relevance of which were not clear. Technology delivery via the traditional model of research-extension linkage was also inadequate, and needs to be expanded to participatory research-extension-farmer linkages to accelerate diffusion of technologies, wider adoption and impacts. Other major limitations concerned with feed resource use are failure to view this issue from a farming systems perspective, strong disciplinary bias, and poor links to real farm situations. It is suggested that improved efficiency in feed resource use and increased productivity from animals in the future needs to be cognisant of nine strategies. These include priorities for feed resource use; promoting intensive use of crop residues; intensification of integrated ruminant-oil palm systems and use of oil palm by-products; priority for urgent, wider technology application, adoption and scaling up; rigorous application of systems methodologies; development of adaptation and mitigation options for the effects of climate change on feed resources; strengthening research-extension-farmer linkages; development of year round feeding systems; and striving for sustainability of integrated farming systems. These strategies together form the challenges for the future.

Air Pollution Trends in Japan between 1970 and 2012 and Impact of Urban Air Pollution Countermeasures

  • Wakamatsu, Shinji;Morikawa, Tazuko;Ito, Akiyoshi
    • Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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    • v.7 no.4
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    • pp.177-190
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    • 2013
  • Air pollution trends in Japan between 1970 and 2012 were analyzed, and the impact of air pollution countermeasures was evaluated. Concentrations of CO decreased from 1970 to 2012, and in 2012, the Japanese environmental quality standard (EQS) for CO was satisfied. Concentrations of $SO_2$ dropped markedly in the 1970s, owing to use of desulfurization technologies and low-sulfur heavy oil. Major reductions in the sulfur content of diesel fuel in the 1990s resulted in further decreases of $SO_2$ levels. In 2012, the EQS for $SO_2$ was satisfied at most air quality monitoring stations. Concentrations of $NO_2$ decreased from 1970 to 1985, but increased from 1985 to 1995. After 1995, $NO_2$ concentrations decreased, especially after 2006. In 2012, the EQS for $NO_2$ was satisfied at most air quality monitoring stations, except those alongside roads. The annual mean for the daily maximum concentrations of photochemical oxidants (OX) increased from 1980 to 2010, but after 2006, the $98^{th}$ percentile values of the OX concentrations decreased. In 2012, the EQS for OX was not satisfied at most air quality monitoring stations. Non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) concentrations generally decreased from 1976 to 2012. In 2011, NMHC concentrations near roads and in the general environment were nearly the same. The concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM) generally decreased. In 2011, the EQS for SPM was satisfied at 69.2% of ambient air monitoring stations, and 72.9% of roadside air-monitoring stations. Impacts from mineral dust from continental Asia were especially pronounced in the western part of Japan in spring, and year-round variation was large. The concentration of $PM_{2.5}$ generally decreased, but the EQS for $PM_{2.5}$ is still not satisfied. The air pollution trends were closely synchronized with promulgation of regulations designed to limit pollutant emissions. Trans-boundary OX and $PM_{2.5}$ has become a big issue which contains global warming chemical species such as ozone and black carbon (so called SLCP: Short Lived Climate Pollutants). Cobeneficial reduction approach for these pollutants will be important to improve both in regional and global atmospheric environmental conditions.

Characteristics, Threats and Management of Philippine Wetlands (필리핀 습지의 특성, 위협 및 관리)

  • Sespene, Shemelyn M.;Maniquiz-Redillas, Marla;Kim, Lee-Hyung;Choo, Yun-wook
    • Journal of Wetlands Research
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    • v.18 no.3
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    • pp.250-261
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    • 2016
  • The Philippines is a naturally water-rich archipelago capable of sustaining its ecological goods and providing services and needs of its people. Several waterbodies have been declared as natural wetlands in the country supporting the needs of community like water and food. In this study, 65 natural wetlands were considered including six sites that were identified as 'Wetlands of International Importance' such as Naujan Lake National Park, Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, Las $Pi{\tilde{n}}as-Para{\tilde{n}}aque$ Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area and Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park. There are 22 wetland types presented in this research categorizing the Philippine wetlands. Philippine wetlands are now facing tremendous challenges such as land use conversion, abuse of resources, pollution coming from domestic, industrial and agricultural activities, and climate change. This paper provides an overview of Philippine wetlands in terms of their characteristics and components, impacts in the ecosystem, and the challenges they are dealing with. Moreover, the preservation measures that the government and private agencies implements to these wetlands were discussed and assessed. The enforcement of local and national laws concerning wetlands is found to be inadequate resulting in poor quality wetlands. The preservation and utilization of these wetlands can be maximized with a voluntary participation of whole Philippine community.

Evaluation of the Impact of Land Surface Condition Changes on Soil Moisture Field Evolution (지표면 조건의 변화에 따른 토양수분의 변화 평가)

  • Yu, Cheol-Sang
    • Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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    • v.31 no.6
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    • pp.795-806
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    • 1998
  • Soil moisture is affected by regional climate, soil characteristics and land surface condition, etc,. Especially, the changes in land surface condition is more than other factors, which is mainly due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. This study is to evaluate how the change of land surface condition impacts on soil moisture field evolution using a simple model of soil moisture dynamics. For the quantification of soil moisture field, the first half of the paper is spared for the statistical characterization based on the first- and second-order statistics of Washita '92 and Monsoon '90 data. The second half is for evaluating the impact of land cover changes through simulation study using a model for soil moisture dynamics. The model parameters, the loss rate and the diffusion coefficient, have been estimated using the observed data statistics, where the changes of surface conditions are considered into the model by applying various parameter sets with different second-order statistics. This study is concentrated on evaluating the impact due to the changes of land surface condition variability. It is because we could easily quantify the impact of the changes of its areal mean based on the linear reservoir concept. As a result of the study, we found; (1)as the variability of land surface condition, increases, the soil moisture field dries up more easily, (2)as the variabilit y of the soil moisture field is the highest at the beginning of rainfall and decreases as time goes on to show the variability of land surface condition, (3)the diffusion effect due to surface runoff or water flow through the top soil layer is limited to a period of surface runoff and its overall impact is small compared to that of the loss rate field.

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The Changes of UV-B Radiation at the Surface due to Stratospheric Aerosols (성층권 에어로졸에 의한 지표면 UV-B 복사량 변동)

  • Jai-Ho Oh;Joon-Hee Jung;Jeong-Woo Kim
    • International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics Korean Journal of Geophysical Research
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    • v.21 no.1
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    • pp.31-46
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    • 1993
  • A radiative transfer model with two-stream/delta-Eddington approximation has been developed to calculate the vertical distributions of atmospheric heating rates and radiative fluxes. The performance of the model has been evaluated by comparison with the results of ICRCCM (Intercomparison of radiative codes in climate models). It has been demonstrated that the presented model has a capability to calculate the solar radiation not only accurately but also economically. The characteristics of ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B; 280-320nm) are examined by comparison of relation between the flux at the top of atmosphere and that at the surface. The relation of UV-B is quadratic due to the strong ozone absorption in this band. Also, the dependence of the UV-B radiation on the stratospheric ozone depletion and stratospheric aerosol haze due to volcanic eruption on the stratospheric ozone depletion and stratospheric aerosol haze due to volcanic eruption has been tested with various solar zenith angles. The surface UV-B increases as the solar zenith angle increases. The existence of stratospheric aerosols causes an increase in the planetary albedo due to the aerosols' backscattering. The planetary albedo with aerosol's effect has been increases as the solar zenith angle is not sensitive. It may be caused by the fact that the aerosols' scattering effect becomes saturated with the relatively long path length in a large solar zenith angle. Finally, the regional impact of stratospheric aerosols due to volcanic eruption on the intensity of UV-B radiation at the surface has been estimated. A direct effect is that the flux is diminished at the low latitudes, while it is enhanced in the high latitudes by the aerosols' photon trap or twilight effect. In the high latitudes, both aerosols' scattering and ozone absorption have strong and opposite impacts to the surface UV-B radiation is located at the mid-latitudes during spring season in both hemispheres.

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Identification of yearly variation in Hwacheon dam inflow using trend analysis and hydrological sensitivity method (경향성 분석과 수문학적 민감도 기법을 이용한 화천댐 유입량의 연별 변동량 규명)

  • Kim, Sang Ug;Lee, Cheol-Eung
    • Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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    • v.51 no.5
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    • pp.425-438
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    • 2018
  • Existing studies that analyze the causes and effects of water circulation use mostly rainfall - runoff models, which requires much effort in model development, calibration and verification. In this study, hydrological sensitivity analysis which can separate quantitatively the impacts by natural factors and anthropogenic factor was applied to the Hwacheon dam upper basin from 1967 to 2017. As a result of using various variable change point detection methods, 1999 was detected as a statistically significant change point. Especially, based on the hydrological sensitivity analysis using 5 Budyko based functions, it was estimated that the average inflow reduction amount by Imnam dam construction was $1.890\;billion\;m^3/year$. This results in this study was slightly larger than the those by existing researchers due to increase of rainfall and decrease of Hwacheon dam inflow. In future, it was suggested that effective water management measures were needed to resolve theses problems. Especially, it can be suggested that the monthly or seasonal analysis should be performed and also the prediction of discharge for future climate change should be considered to establish resonable measures.