• Particle and aerosol research
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.151-164
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• 2010

Inorganic ions and water are major components of ambient fine particles. Water content in fine particles is mainly determined by ambient meteorological conditions and the concentrations of hygroscopic species such as inorganic ions. Thus, to reduce fine particle mass concentration, it is important to accurately estimate the relationship between water content and the concentration of ions in fine particles. Water content in fine particles in Seoul are estimated by using a gas/particle equilibrium model to understand the characteristics of fine particle mass concentration. In addition, sensitivity of fine particle mass concentration to the changes of particulate ionic species (sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium) is estimated. It was found that water content in Seoul is mostly determined by the concentrations of the hygroscopic ionic species, especially, sulfate and ammonium, and ambient relative humidity.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.7
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• pp.2628-2641
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• 2023

Nuclear safety is the lifeline for the development and application of nuclear energy. In severe accidents of pressurized water reactor (PWR), aerosols, as the main carrier of fission products, are suspended in the containment vessel, posing a potential threat of radioactive contamination caused by leakage into the environment. The gas-phase aerosols suspended in the containment will settle onto the wall or sump water through the natural deposition mechanism, thereby reducing atmospheric radioactivity. Aiming at the low accuracy of the aerosol model in the ISAA code, this paper improves the natural deposition model of aerosol in the containment. The aerosol dynamic shape factor was introduced to correct the natural deposition rate of non-spherical aerosols. Moreover, the gravity, Brownian diffusion, thermophoresis and diffusiophoresis deposition models were improved. In addition, ABCOVE, AHMED and LACE experiments were selected to validate and evaluate the improved ISAA code. According to the calculation results, the improved model can more accurately simulate the peak aerosol mass and respond to the influence of the containment pressure and temperature on the natural deposition rate of aerosols. At the same time, it can significantly improve the calculation accuracy of the residual mass of aerosols in the containment. The performance of improved ISAA can meet the requirements for analyzing the natural deposition behavior of aerosol in containment of advanced PWRs in severe accident. In the future, further optimization will be made to address the problems found in the current aerosol model.

• Atmosphere
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.169-177
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• 2015

Vertical distribution of particle mass concentrations was estimated from 8-year elastic-backscatter lidar and sky radiometer data, and from ground-level PM10 concentrations measured in Seoul. Lidar ratio and mass extinction efficiency were determined from aerosol optical depth (AOD) and ground-level PM10 concentrations, which were used as constraints to estimate particle mass concentration. The mean lidar ratio (with standard deviation) and mass extinction efficiency for the entire 8-year study period were $60.44{\pm}23.17$ sr and $3.69{\pm}3.00m^2g^{-1}$, respectively. The lidar ratio did not vary significantly with the ${\AA}ngstr{\ddot{o}}m$ exponent (less than ${\pm}10%$); however, the mass extinction efficiency decreases to $1.82{\pm}1.67m^2g^{-1}$ (51% less than the mean value) when the ${\AA}ngstr{\ddot{o}}m$ exponent is less than 0.5. This result implies that the particle mass concentration from lidar measurements can be underestimated for dust events. Seasonal variation of the particle mass concentration estimated from lidar measurements for the boundary layer, was quite different from ground-level PM10 measurements. This can be attributable to an inhomogeneous vertical distribution of aerosol in the boundary layer.

• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2017

Studies performed on heterogeneous reactions of hydroxyl radicals (OH) in aerosol materials of tropospheric interest are presented, focusing on the chemical ionization mass spectrometric approach. Kinetic investigations of these reactions reduced deviation in the estimation of OH concentration in the troposphere by atmospheric modeling from field measurements. Recently, OH uptake was investigated under wet conditions to acquire kinetic information under more realistic conditions representative of the troposphere. The information on the mechanism and kinetics of OH uptake by tropospheric aerosol materials will contribute to the updating of atmospheric models, allowing a better understanding of the troposphere.

• Atmosphere
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.233-255
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• 2024

This study analyzed the distribution of Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Version 3 Level 2.0 data, spanning over two decades, across South Korea and its six administrative regions (Seoul metropolitan area, Chungcheong, Jeolla, Gangwon, Gyeongsang, and Jeju). The research assessed long-term trends in aerosol optical depth (AOD) and mass concentration of particulate matter (i.e., PM₁₀ and PM_2.5), using data from the AERONET direct sun product and AirKorea, respectively. Additionally, eight aerosol types were identified using the scattering Ångström exponent and absorption Ångström exponent from the AERONET inversion product. The study further explored their domestic and regional distributions. Findings indicated that AERONET data were predominantly concentrated in the western regions of South Korea, including the Seoul metropolitan area, Chungcheong, and Jeolla, with a higher frequency of data in spring, thus demonstrating spatial and temporal heterogeneity. The annual average AOD exhibited a declining trend of -0.006 yr^-1. Similarly, PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 mass concentrations decreased by -1.324 ㎍ m^-3 yr^-1 and -1.335 ㎍ m^-3 yr^-1, respectively. These trends in AOD and PM₁₀ (PM_2.5) demonstrated positive correlations, with correlation coefficients of 0.674 (0.753) and statistically significant low p-values of 0.00058 (0.03), respectively. The analysis also revealed that aerosols in South Korea predominantly consisted of black carbon (BC) or BC-mixed types (84.09%), with a notable presence of smaller, less absorbent aerosol types (13.11%).

• Atmosphere
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.357-372
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• 2016

Northeast Asian regions have recently become the main source of anthropogenic and natural aerosols. Measurement of aerosols on the sea in these regions have been rarely conducted since the experimental campaigns such as ACE-ASIA (Asian Pacific Regional Aerosol Characterization Experiment) in 2001. Research vessel observations of aerosol mass and chemical composition were performed on the Yellow and south sea around the Korean peninsula. The ship measurements showed six representative cases such as aerosol event and non-event cases during the study periods. On non-event cases, the anthropogenic chemical and natural soil composition on the Yellow sea were greater than those on the south sea. On aerosol event cases such as haze, haze with dust, and dust, the measured mass concentrations of anthropogenic chemical and element compositions were clearly changed by the events. In particular, methanesulfonate ($MSA^-$, $CH_3SO_3^-$), a main component of natural oceanic aerosol important for sulfur circulation on Earth, was first observed by the vessel in Korea, and its concentration on the Yellow sea was three times that on the south sea during the study period. Sea salt concentration important to chemical composition on the sea is related to wind speed. Coefficients of determination ($R^2$) between wind speed and sea salt concentration were 0.68 in $PM_{10}$ and 0.82 in $PM_{2.5}$. Maximum wave height was not found to be correlated to the sea salt concentration. When sea-salt comes into contact with pollutants, the total sea-salt mass is reduced, i.e., a loss of $Cl^-$ concentration from NaCl, the main chemical composing sea salt, is estimated by reaction with $HNO_3$(gas) and $H_2SO_4$(gas). The $Cl^-$ concentration loss by $SO_4^{2-}$ and $NO_3^-$ more easily increased for $PM_{10}$ compared to $PM_{2.5}$. The results of this study will be applied to verifying a dust-haze forecasting model. In addition, continued vessel measurements of aerosol data will become important to research for climate change studies in the future.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.78-85
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• 2015

In the past several decades, biofuels have emerged as candidates to help mitigate the issues of global warming, fossil fuel depletion and, in some cases, atmospheric pollution. To date, the only biofuels that have achieved any significant penetration in the global transportation sector are ethanol and biodiesel. The global consumption of biodiesel was rapidly increased from 2005. The goal of this study was to examine the chemical composition on particulate pollutant emissions from a diesel engine operating on several different biodiesels. Tests were performed on non-road diesel engine. Experiments were performed on 5 different fuel blends at 2 different engine loading conditions (50% and 75%). 5 different fuel blends were ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD, 100%), soy biodiesel (Blend 20% and Blend 100%) and canola biodiesel (Blend 20% and Blend 100%). The chemical properties of particulate pollutants were characterized using an Aerodyne High Resolution Time of Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS). Organic matter and nitrate were generally the most abundant aerosol components and exhibited maximum concentration of $1207{\mu}g/m^3$ and $30{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. On average, the oxidized fragment families ($C_xH_yO_1{^+}$, and $C_xH_yO_z{^+}$) account for ~13% of the three family sum, while ~87% comes from the $C_xH_y{^+}$ family. The two peaks of $C_2H_3O_2$ (m/z 59.01) and $C_3H_7O$ (m/z 59.04) located at approximately m/z 59 could be used to identify atmospheric particulate matter directly to biodiesel exhaust, as distinguished from that created by petroleum diesel in the AMS data.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.347-357
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• 2011

The TSP aerosols were collected at Gosan site of Jeju Island between 2003 and 2007, and their aerosol components were analyzed to examine the variations of chemical compositions with the corresponding pathways of inflowing air parcels. According to the comparison of seasonal aerosol compositions, the soil-originated components showed remarkably high concentrations during spring season. On the other hand, the concentrations of anthropogenic components were somewhat high in spring and summer seasons, but low in fall season. Based on the comparison of TSP compositions in relation to the pathways of inflowing air mass, the concentrations of anthropogenic components (nss-$SO_4^{2-}$, S, $NO_3^-$), soil-originated components (nss-$Ca^{2+}$, Al, Fe, Ca), and the heavy metals (e,g., Mn, Zn, Cr, Pb, Cu, Cd, etc.) have relatively increased with the air mass moving from China continent into Jeju area. Meanwhile, the marine-originated components showed an increasing trend with the air mass coming from North Pacific Ocean. In the seasonal and sectional comparison, the nss-$SO_4^{2-}$, $NO_3^-$, nss-$Ca^{2+}$, and Al showed comparatively high concentrations when the air mass moved from China continent during all seasons. Especially, the $NO_3^-$, nss-$Ca^{2+}$, and Al concentrations were somewhat high when the air mass moved from Korean Peninsula during summer season. It was also recognized that the Na+ concentration were high, when the air mass moved from Pacific Ocean through all seasons.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.22 no.E1
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• pp.9-18
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• 2006

Aerosol hygroscopic properties were measured by a tandem differential mobility analyzer (TDMA) system during the Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE)-Asia campaign from 31 March to 1 May 2001. Two high flow differential mobility analyzers (DMAs) were used to maximize the count rate on board the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely Piloted Aircraft (CIRPAS) Twin Otter aircraft. Hygroscopic growth factor distributions of particles having initial dry nanoparticle diameters of 0.040, 0.059, 0.086, 0.126, 0.186, 0.273, 0.400, and $0.586{\mu}m$ were measured during 19 research flights. Data collected during 12 of those flights were used to investigate aerosol mixing state and the influence of aerosol source region on size-resolved hygroscopicity. The uniformity in size-resolved hygroscopicity was quantified to facilitate comparison between measurements made in different air masses. Hygroscopic growth factors are strongly dependent on source region and sizes. Mean hygroscopic growth factors were observed to be greatest when the air mass origin was from the south. The mean growth factors for continental sources decreased with initial size from 1.47 to 1.27 for $0.040{\mu}m\;and\;0.586{\mu}m$, but increased with initial size from 1.44 to 1.8 for $0.040{\mu}m\;and\;0.400{\mu}m$ dry diameters for marine sources.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.677-685
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• 1999

Aerosol mass size distributions were measured at Kosan, Cheju Island in April 1998 and their compositions were analyzed. Microorifice Uniform Deposit Impactor(MOUDI) was used to collect aerosols. Sulfate and ammonium ions were predominatly present at fine mode of the aerosols while nitrate, chloride, and metal ions were mostly at coarse mode. Based on the size distribution of nitrate, it is suggested that most nitrate were from gas to particle conversion on coarse particles. Non-sea salt(nss) fraction of sulfate accounted for more than 90% of total sulfate mass concentration. In general, ion concentrations in this study are lower than those measured at the same site from the previous studies. Ion balance and chloride ion levels indicates that there had been anthropogenic chloride emission sources near to the site during the measurements.