• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.309-329
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• 1995

Seismicity and stress state in the Korean peninsula are studied using the catalogue of historical earthquakes and that from the seismological observations before the 1960s, with the aid of instrumental catalogue up to 1995. It seems that the completeness of the historical catalogue has a significant enhancement during the first two hundred years of the Yi dynasty, i.e., from the 1400s to the 1600s. From then on the catalogue may be regarded as near to complete for strong earthquakes in an overall sense. From the distribution of strong earthquakes, three seismic zones may be identified. From the south to the north, those are the southern seismic zone (남부지진대), the Seoul-Pyongyang seismic zone (서울-평양지진대), and the northern seismic zone (북부지진대). The mechanisms of some earthquakes obtained using first motion read- ings are reevaluated with a grid testing method. The results indicate that the compressional axis is nearly horizontal along the EW direction.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.89-103
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• 2006

Population structure was investigated in Reticulitermes speratus populations in the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago. All trees derived from analyses of the combined sequence dataset of two mitochondrial genes, COII and COIII, showed that R. speratus populations cluster into two major clades comprising the Korean/southern Japanese populations and the northern Japanese populations. Analysis of population genetic structure showed strong genetic partitioning between populations of the two clades. To understand historical migration routes and current distributions, the phylogeographic history of R. speratus was inferred from intra-/interspecific phylogeny and divergence times estimated between the clades of the phylogenetic tree. The estimated migration route and divergence time of ancestral R. speratus are congruent with recent paleogeographic hypotheses involving land-bridge connections between the Asian continent and the Japanese Archipelago. We suggest that ancestral R. speratus separated into northern and southern Japanese populations after its migration into the Japanese main islands from East China during the early Pleistocene via the East China Sea basin, which may have been exposed during that period. The Korean populations seem to have diverged recently from southern Japanese populations; this may explain the current distribution of R. speratus in the Japanese Arachipelago, and account for why it is restricted to northern areas of the Tokara Strait.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.153-162
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• 2004

In the summer of 1998-2001, a huge flood occurred in the Yangtze River in the eastern China. Low salinity water less than 28 psu from the river was detected around the southwestern part of the Jeju Island, which is located in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. We studied how to detect low salinity water from the Yangtze River, that cause a terrible damage to the Korean fisheries. We established a relationships between low salinity at surface, turbid water from the Yangtze River and digital ocean color remotely sensed data of SeaWiFS sensor in the northern East China Sea, in the summer of 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001. The salinity charts of the northern East China Sea were created by regeneration of the satellite ocean color data using the empirical formula from the relationships between in situ low salinity, in situ measured turbid water with transparency and SeaWiFS ocean color data (normalized water leaving radiance of 490 nm/555 nm).

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.267-271
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• 2013

In Japan, the wild house mouse Mus musculus consists of two lineages, one from Southeast Asia (Mus musculus castaneus; CAS) and one from northern Eurasia (Mus musculus musculus; MUS). However, the exact origins of the parental lineages are unclear. A recent work using mitochondrial sequences revealed that Japanese CAS and MUS are closely related to haplotypes from South China and the Korean Peninsula, respectively. Recent phylogeographic analyses using nuclear gene sequences have also confirmed a close relationship between Japan and Korea in the MUS component. However, the Japanese CAS components in the nuclear genome are likely to be unique and to differ from those of other CAS territories, including South China. Although the origins are still unresolved, these results allow us to conclude that two areas of the continent, South China and the Korean Peninsula, are the primary source areas of Japanese wild mice and suggest pre-historical introductions associated with certain historical agricultural developments in East Asia.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.89-98
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• 1985

Correlations between horizontal distributions of bamboos (Bambusaceae) in the Korean peninsula and environmental factors were studied using taxanomic and geographical literatures, both old and current. The vertical distributions of bamboos on Mt. Chiri were also studied, and environmental factors limiting horizontal and vertical distributions were compared. There are 18 species of bamboos (belonging to 5 genera) distributed in the Korean peninsula. The distributional range of each genus were distinct, although overlapped. Northern limit of bamboos of any species was marked by the line connecting Paikryung Island (124。40'E, 38。00'N), Mt. Changsoo, Mt. Myungji, Mt. Myohyung and Myungchum (129。40'E, 41。10'N). The optimum range of bamboos was concluded to be restricted to several southern province, with annual precipitation over 1,200 mm. The limiting factors on the distribution were inferred to be low temperature and duration of it. Mean daily minimum temperature of January and the number of days with daily mean temperatures below zero during January showed close associations with the distributional range, and an environmental factors favouring the distributrion of bamboos appeared to be vicinity of warm sea current, deep and extended snow acculation and southern exposure. The vertical distribution of bamboos on Mt. Chiri was limited by low temperature, unfavorable topographic and edaphic conditions caused by steep slope. Difference in the vertical limits between SE and NW slopes are caused by the differences in temperature and precipitation between the slopes. Bamboos were more abundant in valleys than on the ridge, apparently because the deeper snow in the valleys protected the plants from low temperature, heavy winter winds and desiccation.

• Atmosphere
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.383-392
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• 2018

This study investigates synoptic characteristics of cold surges over South Korea during winter season (December-February). A total of 63 cold events are selected by quantile regression analysis using daily mean temperature observations from 11 KMA stations for 38 years (1979/80-2016/17). Large-scale pressure pattern during the cold surges is well characterized by high over Siberia and low over Aleutian regions, which elucidates cold advection over the Korean peninsula. However, the large-scale pattern cannot successfully explain the observed sudden decrease of temperature during the cold surges. Composite analyses reveal that a synoptic-scale cyclone developing over the northern Japan is a key feature that significantly contribute to the enhancement of cold advection by increasing pressure gradient over the Korean peninsula. Enhanced sensible and latent heat fluxes are observed over the southern ocean of Korea and Japan during the cold surges due to temperature and humidity differences between the near surface and the lower atmosphere over the ocean. The evaporated water vapor transported toward the center of the surface cyclone and condenses in the lower-to-middle troposphere. The released energy likely promotes the development of the surface cyclone by inducing positive PV near the surface of the heating region.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.363-369
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• 1999

Reconstruction of the past vegetational changes of Korea in connection with climate changes enables to understand the impacts of past and future global warming on alpine vegetation. Despite the early appearance of the cold-tolerant vegetation since the Mesozoic Era. the occurrence of warmth-tolerant vegetation during the Oligocene and Miocene implies that most of alpine and subalpine vegetations have been confined to the alpine and subalpine belts of northern Korean Peninsula. The presence of cold-episodes during the Pleistocene. however. might have caused a general southward and downslope expansions of cold-tolerant alpine and subalpine vegetation. But the climatic warming trend during the Holocene or post-glacial period eventually has isolated cold-tolerant alpine and subalpine vegetation mainly in the northern Korea. but also on scattered high mountains in the southern Korea. The presence of numerous arctic-alpine and alpine plants on the alpine and subalpine belts is mainly due to their relative degree of sensitivity to high summer temperatures. Global warming would cause important changes in species composition and altitudinal distributional pattern. The altitudinal migration of temperate vegetation upward caused by climatic warming would eventually devastate alpine plants.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 1983

A distribution map of black pine, Pinus thunbergii, in south Korea was prepared through field surveys. According to Mirov(1967), the range of black pine is limited in east Asia, Japan and Korea; its northern limit is at about 41。34' north and its southern limit on Takara island, south Kyushu, at 29。 north. According to the present map, its northern limit coincided with the isopath of warmth index 100 by Yim(1977). The density of pine in grid mesh, about 4 km * 4 km, was higher at costal area than that in inland area, and it was also higher at sea side slope than the opposite slope of the same mountain. This suggests that the ecological distribution of black pine is greatly affected by salt content of the soil or the optimal range of summed temperature for the pine growth.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.196-200
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• 2002

The time variation in the Kuroshio is studied by use of nine observed distances of the main Kuroshio axis from the Japanese coast. The observed distances over 1975 - 1995 are estimated from the Prompt Report of Oceanographic Conditions published by Hydrographic Department of the Maritime Safety Agency of Japan. It is shown that large sea level difference between Naze and Nishinoomote, which represents the volume transport of the southern inflow south of Kyushu, coincides with larger distance of the Kuroshio in the upstream area from off Kyushu to off eastern Kii Peninsula and smaller distance in the downstream area from off Omae-zaki to off Boso Peninsula. In contrast, large sea level difference between Nishinoomote and Aburatsu, which represents the volume transport of northern inflow south of Kyushu, corresponds to smaller distance in the upstream area and larger distance in the downstream area. Path dynamics of the Kuroshio is discussed with reference to the variation in Volume transport south of Kyushu.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.385-398
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• 2011

A large-scale survey was conducted to investigate the infection status of fresh water fishes with Clonorchis sinensis metacercariae (CsMc) in 3 wide regions, which were tentatively divided by latitudinal levels of the Korean peninsula. A total of 4,071 freshwater fishes were collected from 3 regions, i.e., northern (Gangwon-do: 1,543 fish), middle (Chungcheongbuk-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do: 1,167 fish), and southern areas (Jeollanam-do, Ulsan-si, and Gyeongsangnamdo: 1,361 fish). Each fish was examined by the artificial digestion method from 2003 to 2010. In northern areas, only 11 (0.7%) fish of 2 species, Pungtungia herzi and Squalidus japonicus coreanus from Hantan-gang, Cheolwon-gun, Gangwon-do were infected with av. 2.6 CsMc. In middle areas, 149 (12.8%) fish were infected with av. 164 CsMc. In southern areas, 538 (39.5%) fish were infected with av. 159 CsMc. In the analysis of endemicity in 3 regions with an index fish, P. herzi, 9 (6.2%) of 146 P. herzi from northern areas were infected with av. 2.8 CsMc. In middle areas, 34 (31.8%) of 107 P. herzi were infected with av. 215 CsMc, and in southern areas, 158 (92.9%) of 170 P. herzi were infected with av. 409 CsMc. From these results, it has been confirmed that the infection status of fish with CsMc is obviously different among the 3 latitudinal regions of the Korean peninsula with higher prevalence and burden in southern regions.