• Atmosphere
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.457-467
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• 2018

This study investigated the variability of spring (March-May) forest fire risk in Korea for the period 1991~2017 and analyzed its relationship with large-scale climate factors. The Forest Weather Index (FWI) representing the meteorological risk for forest fire occurrences calculated based on observational data and its relationship with large-scale climate factors were analyzed. We performed the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis on the spring FWI. The leading EOF mode of FWI accounting for about 70% of total variability was found to be highly correlated with total number of forest fire occurrences in Korea. The high FWI, forest fire occurrence risk, in Korea, is associated with warmer atmosphere temperature in midwest Eurasia-China-Korea peninsula, cyclonic circulation anomaly in northeastern China-Korea peninsula-northwest pacific, westerly wind anomaly in central China-Korea peninsula, and low humidity in Korea. These are further related with warmer sea surface temperature and enhanced outgoing longwave radiation over Western Pacific, which represents a typical condition for a La $Ni\tilde{n}a$ episode. This suggests that large-scale climate factors over East Asia and ENSO could have a significant influence on the occurrence of spring forest fires in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.249-258
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• 2014

Despite the greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide have steadily increased in atmosphere, the overall trend of the global average surface air temperature has stalled during the last decade (2002-present). This phenomenon is often called hiatus or warming pause, which is challenging the prevailing view that anthropogenic forcing causes warming environment. Our study characterized the hiatus by analyzing the HadGEM2-AO (95 yrs) simulation data based on RCP8.5 scenario. The PC2 time series from the EOF of the zonal mean vertical ocean temperature has been defined as the index that represents the warming pause. The relationship between the hiatus, ENSO and the changes in climate system are identified by utilizing the newly defined PC2. Since the La Nina index (defined as the negative of NINO3 index) leads PC2 by about 11 months, it may be possible that the La Nina causes the warming to be interrupted. We also show that the cooling of the climate system closed tied to the heat penetration into the deep ocean, indicating the weakening the warming rate is due to the oceanic heat uptake. Finally, the global warming hiatus is characterized by the anomalous warming in Arctic region as well as the intensification of the trade wind in the equatorial Pacific.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.525-540
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• 2000

Global temperature trends of middle and upper tropospheres have been investigated using the data of satellite-observed Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) channels 2-3(Ch2, Ch3) during the period of 1980-97 and three GCM (NCEP, ECMWF, GEOS) reanalyses during 1981-93. The global, hemispheric and tropical anomalies, computed from the data during the common period, have been intercompared in the following regions; ocean, land, and both ocean and land. The correlation with MSU in midtropospheric temperatures is the best (r=0.81${\sim}$0.95) in ECMWF, particularly over the tropics. The correlations in upper troposphere are lower (r=0.06${\sim}$0.34) due to poor quality of MSU Ch3 data consistent with previous result. The midtropospheric trends during 1981-93, obtained from MSU and three GCMs, show the global warming of 0.01${\sim}$0.18K decade$^{-1}$. The warmest years have been 1987 and 1991 in El Ni${\tilde{n}$o while the coolest 1993 and 1994 in La Ni${\tilde{n}$a. The warming (0.12${\sim}$0.13K decade$^{-1}$) in MSU over global ocean is similar to that over global land. The largest discrepancy in upper troposphere between MSU and GCMs has been found in the transition period (1984. 12-1985. 1) from NOAA 9 to 10, because of a sizable error in the MSU Ch3. The midtropospheric trends near the Korean peninsula during 1981-93 are almost negligible(-0.02K decade$^{-1}$) in MSU, but indicate significant warming (0.25-0.43K decade$^{-1}$) in GCMs. The trends are crosschecked and discussed with other two independent MSU data of Spencer and Christy (1992a, 1992b).