• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.959-971
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• 2007

The three-dimensional eco-hydrodynamic model was applied to estimate the autochthonous COD caused by production of phytoplankton in Jinhae Bay. A residual current was simulated, using a hydrodynamic model, to have a sightly complicated pattern in the inner part of the bay, ranging from 0.001 to 5 cm/s. In the outer part of the bay, the simulated current flowed out to the south sea with a southward flow at a maximum of 25 cm/s. The results of the ecological model simulation of COD levels showed high concentrations, exceeding 4 mg/L, in the inner bay of Masan, an area of wastewater discharge, and lower levels, approaching less than 1 mg/L, closer to the outer part of the bay. The simulation results of Autochthonous COD by two methods using ecological modeling, showed high ratio over 70% of total COD. Therefore, it is more important to consider nutrients than organic matters in the region for control COD standard.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.2
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• pp.49-62
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• 2023

Background: Over the past three decades, gradual eustatic sea-level rise has been considered a primary exogenous factor in the increased frequency of flooding and biological changes in several salt marshes. Under this paradigm, the potential importance of short-term events, such as ocean storminess, in coastal hydrology and ecology is underrepresented in the literature. In this study, a simulation was developed to evaluate the influence of wind waves driven by atmospheric oscillations on sedimentary and vegetation dynamics at the Skallingen salt marsh in southwestern Denmark. The model was built based on long-term data of mean sea level, sediment accretion, and plant species composition collected at the Skallingen salt marsh from 1933-2006. In the model, the submergence frequency (number yr^-1) was estimated as a combined function of wind-driven high water level (HWL) events (> 80 cm Danish Ordnance Datum) affected by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and changes in surface elevation (cm yr^-1). Vegetation dynamics were represented as transitions between successional stages controlled by flooding effects. Two types of simulations were performed: (1) baseline modeling, which assumed no effect of wind-driven sea-level change, and (2) experimental modeling, which considered both normal tidal activity and wind-driven sea-level change. Results: Experimental modeling successfully represented the patterns of vegetation change observed in the field. It realistically simulated a retarded or retrogressive successional state dominated by early- to mid-successional species, despite a continuous increase in surface elevation at Skallingen. This situation is believed to be caused by an increase in extreme HWL events that cannot occur without meteorological ocean storms. In contrast, baseline modeling showed progressive succession towards the predominance of late-successional species, which was not the then-current state in the marsh. Conclusions: These findings support the hypothesis that variations in the NAO index toward its positive phase have increased storminess and wind tides on the North Sea surface (especially since the 1980s). This led to an increased frequency and duration of submergence and delayed ecological succession. Researchers should therefore employ a multitemporal perspective, recognizing the importance of short-term sea-level changes nested within long-term gradual trends.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.334-343
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• 2023

Background: South Korea's Act on Registration and Evaluation, etc. of Chemicals (known as K-REACH) was established to protect public health and the environment from hazardous chemicals. 4,4'-Methylenedianiline (MDA), which is used as a major intermediate in industrial polymer production and as a vulcanizing agent in South Korea, is classified as a toxic substance under the K-REACH act. Although MDA poses potential ecological risks due to industrial emissions and hazards to aquatic ecosystems, no ecological risk assessment has been conducted. Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the ecological risk of MDA by identifying the actual exposure status based on the K-REACH act. Methods: Various toxicity data were collected to establish predicted no effect concentrations (PNECs) for water, sediment, and soil. Using the SimpleBox Korea v2.0 model with domestic release statistical data and EU emission factors, predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) were derived for ten sites, each referring to an MDA-using company. Hazard quotient (HQ) was calculated by ratio of the PECs and PNECs to characterize the ecological risk posed by MDA. To validate the results of modeling-based assessment, concentration of MDA was measured using in-site freshwater samples (two to three samples per site). Results: PNECs for water, sediment, and soil were 0.000525 mg/L, 4.36 mg/kg dw, and 0.1 mg/kg dw, respectively. HQ for surface water and sediment at several company sites exceeded 1 due to modeling data showing markedly high PEC in each environmental compartment. However, in the results of validation using in-site surface water samples, MDA was not detected. Conclusions: Through an ecological risk assessment conducted in accordance with the K-REACH act, the risk level of MDA emitted into the environmental compartments in South Korea was found to be low.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.461-468
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• 2012

In general, long-term changes of ecological factors take a pulse form in which they interact with other factors and go through a repeated increasing and decreasing cycle. The coupling of the two approaches the grid model and the box model in ecological modeling can lead to an in-depth understanding of the environment. The study analyzes temporal variations of major storages with an energy system model that formulizes effectively the relationships among nutrients, phytoplankton, and zooplankton in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. An increase of light intensity and standing stock of nutrient increase the magnitude and frequency of pulsing. Also, an immense reduction of nutrient concentration can cause extinction of the pulsing and bring about a steady state. It is concluded that the nutrient loads in freshwater discharge from the Yangtze affect the cycles of major ecological components as well as water quality variables and play an important role in the marine ecosystem.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.51-59
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• 1999

As important ecological systems, wetlands contribute a wide array of biological, social. and economic benefits. However, wetlands are lost until the present, primarily due to human induced land-use conversions. Society is placing demands for the efficient preservation and management on Woopo wetland as the first largest wetland in Korea. GIS(Geographic Information System) is a rapidly developing technology for handling, analyzing, and modeling ecological information on wetlands. In the paper, Woopo Wetland Management System has been developed by using Desktop GIS and Internet GIS technology to embrace major functions: information query and browsing, spatial searching on map, and rule-based analysis. As a menu-driven system, these functions are designed to be implemented through customized menus. The developed system is expected to be used for the effective publicity service as well as the professional management of Woopo.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.95-105
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• 2015

Purpose: This paper presents a framework development for BIM (Building Information Modeling)-based OOPM (Object-Oriented Physical Modeling) for Building Thermal Simulation. The framework facilitates decision-making in the design process by integrating two object-oriented modeling approaches (BIM and OOPM) and efficiently providing object-based thermal simulation results into the BIM environment. Method: The framework consists of a system interface between BIM and OOPM-based building energy modeling (BEM) and the visualization of simulation results for building designers. The interface enables a BIM models to be translated into OOPM-based BEM automatically and the thermal simulation from the created BEM model immediately. The visualization module enables the simulation results to be presented in BIM for building designers to comprehend the relationships between design decisions and the building performances. For the framework implementation, we utilized the Modelica Buildings Library developed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as a thermal simulation solver. We also conducted an experiment to validate the framework simulation results and demonstrate our framework. Result: This paper demonstrates a new methodology to integrate BIM and OOPM-based BEM for building thermal simulation, which enables an automatic translation BIM into OOPM-based BEM with high efficiency and accuracy.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.219-233
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• 2013

We employed the ecological niche modeling framework using GARP (Genetic Algorithm for Ruleset Production) to model the current and future geographic distribution of Pinus densiflora based on environmental predictor variable datasets such as climate data including the RCP 8.5 emission climate change scenario, geographic and topographic characteristics, soil and geological properties, and MODIS enhanced vegetation index (EVI) at 4 $km^2$ resolution. National Forest Inventory (NFI) derived occurrence and abundance records from about 4,000 survey sites across the whole country were used for response variables. The current and future potential geographic distribution of Pinus densiflora, one of the tree species dominating the present Korean forest was modeled and mapped. Future models under RCP 8.5 scenarios for Pinus densiflora suggest large areas predicted under current climate conditions may be contracted by 2090 showing range shifts northward and to higher altitudes. Area Under Curve (AUC) values of the modeled result was 0.67. Overall, the results of this study were successful in showing the current distribution of major tree species and projecting their future changes. However, there are still many possible limitations and uncertainties arising from the select of the presence-absence data and the environmental predictor variables for model input. Nevertheless, ecological niche modeling can be a useful tool for exploring and mapping the potential response of the tree species to climate change. The final models in this study may be used to identify potential distribution of the tree species based on the future climate scenarios, which can help forest managers to decide where to allocate effort in the management of forest ecosystem under climate change in Korea.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.835-842
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• 2005

The three-dimensional eco-hydrodynamic model was applied to estimate the physical process in terms of COD (chemical oxygen demand) and net supply(or decomposition) rate of COD in Kamak Bay to find proper management plan for oxygen demanding organic matters. The estimation results of the physical process in terms of COD showed that transportation of COD is dominant in surface level while accumulation of COD is dominant in bottom level. In the case of surface level, the net supply rate of COD was 0 -0.50 mg/m2/day. The net decomposition rate of COD was 0 -0.04 mg/m2/day in middle level(3 -6m) and 0.05 -0.1 5 mg/m2/day in bottom level(6m -bottom). These results indicates that the biological decomposition and physical accumulation of COD are occurred predominantly at the northern part of bottom level. Therefore, it is important to consider both allochthonous and autochthonous oxygen demanding organic matters in the region.

• BMB Reports
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• v.45 no.8
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• pp.476-481
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• 2012

Flavodoxin (Fld) has been demonstrated to bind to ferredoxin-NADP$^+$ reductase A (FprA) in Pseudomonas putida. Two residues ($Phe^{256}$, $Lys^{259}$) of FprA are likely to be important for interacting with Fld based on homology modeling. Site-directed mutagenesis and pH-dependent enzyme kinetics were performed to further examine the role of these residues. The catalytic efficiencies of FprA-$Ala^{259}$ and FprA-$Asp^{259}$ proteins were two-fold lower than those of the wild-type FprA. Homology modeling also strongly suggested that these two residues are important for electron transfer. Thermodynamic properties such as entropy, enthalpy, and heat capacity changes of FprA-$Ala^{259}$ and FprA-$Asp^{259}$ were examined by isothermal titration calorimetry. We demonstrated, for the first time, that $Phe^{256}$ and $Lys^{259}$ are critical residues for the interaction between FprA and Fld. Van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonding were also more important than ionic interactions for forming the FprA-Fld complex.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.841-846
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• 2003

The ecosystem model was applied to estimate the regional distribution of the net production(or consumption) of phytoplankton and the net uptake(or regeneration) rate of nutrients in Masan Bay for scenario analysis to find a proper management plan. At the surface level, net production of phytoplankton is 200 mgC/㎡/day at the entrance of the bay, and 400∼1000 mgC/㎡/day at the center of the bay. The inner area of the bay showed more than 2000 mgC/㎡/day. All areas of the bottom level have a net consumption, with the center of the bottom level showing more than 600 mgC/㎡/day. For dissolved inorganic nitrogen, the results showed a net uptake rate of 100∼900 mg/㎡/day at the surface level. It showed that the net regeneration is above 50 mg/㎡/day at the bottom level. For dissolved inorganic phosphorus, the net uptake rate showed 10.0∼80.0 mg/㎡/day at the surface level, and the regeneration rate showed 0∼20.5 mg/㎡/day at the bottom level. Therefore, in order to control the water quality in Masan Bay, it is important to consider the re-supplement of nutrients regenerated in the water column.