• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.243-250
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: Recently, the use of $^{131}I$ for diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer has been increasing, and the radionuclide is continuously released into aquatic ecosystem. This study was carried out to investigate the $^{131}I$ concentrations in mainstreams, tributaries, and sewage wastewater treatment plants (SWTPs) of the Yeongsan River Basin and to identify their origins from the assessment of behaviors in the rivers. METHODS AND RESULTS: The water samples were collected from 19 sites including mainstreams (13), tributaries (4) and SWTPs (2). The $^{131}I$ concentration was measured using a gamma-ray spectrometry with a HPGe detector. The $^{131}I$ in SWTPs was detected mostly in the discharged effluent at the sampling sites. However, from the surface water of the rivers, $^{131}I$ was found only at two sites from each sampling period of the first (MS4 and MS10) and the second half (MS4 and MS7) of the year 2017. The concentrations of $^{131}I$ in the effluent discharged from SWTPs were in the range of 0.0870 to 3.87 Bq/L for SWTP1, and $^{131}I$ in the river revealed that it was not detected in the upper streams of the mainstreams and tributaries, while continuous detection was found in the SWTPs and downstream sites affected by the effluent. However, the concentration of $^{131}I$ decreased downstream, eventually becoming undetectable. Such behavior was closely related to the behavior found in the SWTPs. CONCLUSION: These results indicated that medically-derived $^{131}I$ was discharged to the river via sewage effluent at the SWTPs. It is necessary to evaluate the influence of aquatic ecosystems through continuous monitoring in the future.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.338-351
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• 2019

BACKGROUND: To investigate distribution and seasonal variation of concentration and flux of pesticides in Han river basin, water samples were examined at 24 sites in 2012 and 2014. METHODS AND RESULTS: Water samples were collected four times per year and subjected to liquid-liquid partition extraction followed by GC-ECD/NPD analysis. Of fifteen pesticides detected, iprobenfos, diazinon, isoprothiolane, endosulfan sulfate and oxadiazon were detected in a higher frequency, while fenoxanil, carbofuran, fenitrothion, butachlor and metolachlor were only detected in a sample. Pesticides with high occurrences, iprobenfos, diazinon, isoprothiolane, endosulfan sulfate and oxadiazon were detected in residue level of 0.01-0.46, 0.01-0.24, 0.03-0.85, 0.02-0.06 and 0.05-0.24 ㎍/L, respectively. Carbofuran and acetanilide herbicides were found at lower frequencies, but their concentrations were one order of magnitude higher than those of the others. CONCLUSION: Discharge of pesticides in downstream area were mainly contributed from rice farming and suburban horticulture, while pesticide occurrences in upstream area, such as Donggang river basin were caused by highland agriculture for cabbage and potato production. Despite the influx of pesticides from tributaries through intensive agriculture areas, pesticide concentration in the main stream water was low due to the dilution effect from the upstream. Therefore, the water quality was considered to be good at the most downstream, the effluent of Paldang dam.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.241-263
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• 2010

KoFlux is a Korean network of micrometeorological tower sites that use eddy covariance methods to monitor the cycles of energy, water, and carbon dioxide between the atmosphere and the key terrestrial ecosystems in Korea. KoFlux embraces the mission of AsiaFlux, i.e. to bring Asia's key ecosystems under observation to ensure quality and sustainability of life on earth. The main purposes of KoFlux are to provide (1) an infrastructure to monitor, compile, archive and distribute data for the science community and (2) a forum and short courses for the application and distribution of knowledge and data between scientists including practitioners. The KoFlux community pursues the vision of AsiaFlux, i.e., "thinking community, learning frontiers" by creating information and knowledge of ecosystem science on carbon, water and energy exchanges in key terrestrial ecosystems in Asia, by promoting multidisciplinary cooperations and integration of scientific researches and practices, and by providing the local communities with sustainable ecosystem services. Currently, KoFlux has seven sites in key terrestrial ecosystems (i.e., five sites in Korea and two sites in the Arctic and Antarctic). KoFlux has systemized a standardized data processing based on scrutiny of the data observed from these ecosystems and synthesized the processed data for constructing database for further uses with open access. Through publications, workshops, and training courses on a regular basis, KoFlux has provided an agora for building networks, exchanging information among flux measurement and modelling experts, and educating scientists in flux measurement and data analysis. Despite such persistent initiatives, the collaborative networking is still limited within the KoFlux community. In order to break the walls between different disciplines and boost up partnership and ownership of the network, KoFlux will be housed in the National Center for Agro-Meteorology (NCAM) at Seoul National University in 2011 and provide several core services of NCAM. Such concerted efforts will facilitate the augmentation of the current monitoring network, the education of the next-generation scientists, and the provision of sustainable ecosystem services to our society.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.363-377
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• 2016

This study was investigated the pollutant load, contamination properties, pollution condition of the fine parts of tributary, the influence of Nakdong river watershed and etc. in the tributaries. The contaminated tributaries were that among the Kumho and Nam river or were too far from site of water quality monitoring stations, regularly. As a result, the water quality level was almost similar between Nam and Kumho River, except for certain parameter including TN(Total Nitrogen), Chl-a(Chlorophyll-a) and SS(Suspended Solid) in which Kumho river were 20~120%. The point discharge load(kg/day) and load density ($kg/day/km^2$) of tributaries were different the pollution level according to the flow-rate ($m^3/sec$) and stream influence area($km^2$), and the difference of these was observed highly at Nam river. Specific contamination investigation of tributaries in Nam and Kumho river watershed was conducted from two to nine points of the fine parts of tributaries depending on the confluence sites and shapes. This result observed high at the Dalseocheon and Uriyeongcheon, respectively. Beside, the pollutant load contribution rate of Nakdong watershed was high about 10% at the Dalseocheon and Uiryeongcheon. This was due to the differences of the environments about the industrial complex, metropolis residence property, agricultural cultivation, livestock pen and the downstream of non-point source.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.320-328
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• 2016

This study was conducted to provide important basic information about effective management of the marine environment at major inflow streams in Lake Andong and Lake Imha. The investigation was conducted 8 times from May, 2015 (AD1, AD2, IH1, IH2) to September, 2016 (AD3, AD4, IH3, IH4), and 8 surveyed sites were selected at Lake Andong (4 sites) and Lake Imha (4 sites). The inquiry identified 114 species, $59,913.7inds.\;m^{-2}$ in Lake Andong and 112 species, $39,038.4inds.\;m^{-2}$ in Lake Imha. The results indicate that the number of species and individuals in Lake Andong is more than that in Lake Imha, because Lake Andong has a variety of riparian vegetation and a richness of organic materials. Community analysis at Lake Imha revealed a dominant index of 0.57 (${\pm}0.18$), a diversity index of 2.87 (${\pm}0.31$), an evenness index of 0.73 (${\pm}0.04$), and a richness index of 4.17 (${\pm}0.71$). The results of functional feeding group analysis showed that a high proportion of species and individuals are gathering collectors. The results of functional habitat group analysis showed that a high proportion of species and individuals are clingers. The result of a physico-chemical water assay and dissolved oxygen and electric conductivity tests revealed that these measures increased when the water temperature decreased. The result of Pearson's correlation analysis by biological factors and physico-chemical factors showed that species and electric conductivity are highly correlated with one another. Major inflow streams of Lake Andong and Lake Imha were exposed to various point pollution sources and non-point pollution sources. This implies a necessity for continuous monitoring of the aquatic ecosystems in order to effect systematic water quality management of Lake Andong and Lake Imha.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2020

The APEX model has been developed for assessing agricultural management efforts and their effects on soil and water at the field scale as well as more complex multi-subarea landscapes, whole farms, and watersheds. Recently, a key component of APEX application, named APEX-Paddy, has been modified for simulating water quality by considering paddy rice management practices. In this study, the performance of the APEX-Paddy model was evaluated using field data at Iksan experimental paddy sites in Korea. The discharge and pollutant load data during 2013 and 2014 were used to both manually and automatically calibrate the model. The APEX auto-calibration tool (APEX-CUTE 4.1) was used for model calibration and sensitivity analysis. Results indicate that APEX-Paddy reasonably performs in predicting runoff discharge rate and nitrogen yield. However, sediment and phosphorus yield is not correctly predicted due to the limitation of model schemes. With APEX-Paddy, the performance in reproducing the discharge and nitrogen yield is found to be a satisfactory level after manual calibration. The manually calibrated model performed better than the automatically calibrated model in nearly all comparisons. For runoff, manual calibration reduced PBIAS while R² and NSE values of the automatically calibrated model were the same as the manual calibration. For T-N, NSE and PBIAS were reduced when using manual calibration, whereas R² value was the same as manual calibration. The limitation of the APEX-Paddy model for predicting sediment, as well as the phosphorous yield, was discussed in this study.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.86-95
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• 2022

Background: As high concentrations of uranium and radon have been detected in some areas in Korea, it is considered necessary to investigate natural radioactive materials in the Gwangju area. Objectives: This study aimed to identify the hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater in Gwangju and investigate the distribution characteristics of uranium and radon, which are naturally radioactive substances. Methods: To determine the uranium and radon concentrations in groundwater according to the geology of the Gwangju area, we measured 62 groundwater wells. A geological distribution map of uranium and radon content was prepared for this study. Results: The groundwater type, defined using a Piper diagram, was mainly Ca-HCO₃. The concentration of uranium in the groundwater ranged from 0 to 29.3 ㎍/L, with a mean of 3.3 ㎍/L and a median of 0.9 ㎍/L. The median concentration of uranium in groundwater was highest in alluvium, granitic gneiss, and biotite granite (classified by geological unit), in that order. The concentration of radon in the groundwater ranged from 4.8 to 313.2 Bq/L, with a mean of 75.6 Bq/L and a median of 59.6 Bq/L. The median concentration of radon in groundwater was highest in biotite granite, alluvium, and granitic gneiss, in that order. As a result of the correlation analysis of groundwater in the study area, there was no significant correlation between uranium and radon. Conclusions: In this study area, uranium was shown to be far below the concentrations allowed by drinking water quality standards, but radon concentrations exceeded drinking water quality monitoring standards in 11% of the samples. It was judged that appropriate measures, such as the installation of radon reduction facilities, will be required after a thorough review of high-concentration radon detection sites of in the research area.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.41 no.12
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• pp.1219-1230
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• 2008

Stream inflows induced by flood runoffs have a higher density than the ambient reservoir water because of a lower water temperature and elevated suspended sediment(SS) concentration. As the propagation of density currents that formed by density difference between inflow and ambient water affects reservoir water quality and ecosystem, an understanding of reservoir density current is essential for an optimization of filed monitoring, analysis and forecast of SS and nutrient transport, and their proper management and control. This study was aimed to quantify the characteristics of inflow density current including plunge depth($d_p$) and distance($X_p$), separation depth($d_s$), interflow thickness($h_i$), arrival time to dam($t_a$), reduction ratio(${\beta}$) of SS contained stream inflow for different flood magnitude in Daecheong Reservoir with a validated two-dimensional(2D) numerical model. 10 different flood scenarios corresponding to inflow densimetric Froude number($Fr_i$) range from 0.920 to 9.205 were set up based on the hydrograph obtained from June 13 to July 3, 2004. A fully developed stratification condition was assumed as an initial water temperature profile. Higher $Fr_i$(inertia-to-buoyancy ratio) resulted in a greater $d_p,\;X_p,\;d_s,\;h_i$, and faster propagation of interflow, while the effect of reservoir geometry on these characteristics was significant. The Hebbert equation that estimates $d_p$ assuming steady-state flow condition with triangular cross section substantially over-estimated the $d_p$ because it does not consider the spatial variation of reservoir geometry and water surface changes during flood events. The ${\beta}$ values between inflow and dam sites were decreased as $Fr_i$ increased, but reversed after $Fr_i$>9.0 because of turbulent mixing effect. The results provides a practical and effective prediction measures for reservoir operators to first capture the behavior of turbidity inflow.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.293-304
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• 2013

Because the present groundwater law broadly regulates a simple and impractical guideline ignoring aquifer characters and geology, general purpose facilities for protection of groundwater contamination is still considered unsatisfactory to ensure groundwater resources. In recent, there have been growing attempts in the packer development as crucial techniques and devices for groundwater protection. This study investigated the application of packer grouting techniques to contaminated groundwaters of two well sites in the Andong and Yeongi areas, both of which revealed a satisfactory effect with improved water quality: 94% decrease in turbidity at the Andong area and 60% decrease in $NO_3$-N, respectively. Based on aquifer characters including geology, weathering depth, fracture pattern, hydraulic gradient, and the flow path of contaminants, the integrated properties of groundwater contamination should be evaluated and treated with the help of accurate analyses such as bore hole imaging and monitoring data. Packer grouting and casing on well to ensure the useful aquifer free of contaminant are expected to play important role in inhibiting the inflow of contaminants when adequately applied. Therefore it is concluded that these can serve as reliable tools in remediation and protection of contaminated groundwater as well as efficient utilization of groundwater.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.282-293
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• 2020

This study investigated a long-term variation trend of water quality, fish compositions, and ecological health conditions in the Gwanpyeong stream located in the nearby Daejeon metropolitan city to understand the impact of urban development projects on the aquatic ecosystem. The sampling was made in four surveys (2009, 2010, 2016, 2019) before and after urbanization. The urban development was conducted in 2008, resulting in the stream's ecological disturbance, and the stream restoration was conducted in 2012. Thus, stream monitoring was conducted to analyze the ecological trends before and after the restoration. The multi-metric models for Fish Assessment Index(FAI) and necropsy-based Health Assessment Index(HAI) were applied in the fish community and organ-level, respectively, to assess the ecological health of the stream. Minimum turbidity and chlorophyll-a(Chl-a) occurred in the mid-stream(St. 2), and this was probably due to rapid current velocity in the riffle zone. We collected 18 fish species, and the dominant species was Zacco platypus (40.6%). In 2016 immediately after the stream restoration, the relative proportions of sensitive species and insectivore species were the highest along with highest values in the species diversity and species richness index, resulting in the best condition in the ecological health, based on FAI model values. However, the ecological health, based on the FAI, became worse in the latest survey conducted in 2019. The analysis of the HAI model based on the organ-level approach showed skin erosion in the fish of upper stream, kidney defects in downstream, and the liver and gill defects observed in all sites, indicating that the anatomical health was also affected.