• Atmosphere
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.457-475
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• 2023

Accurately predicting localized heavy rainfall is challenging without high-resolution mesoscale cloud information in the numerical model's initial field, as precipitation intensity and amount vary significantly across regions. In the Korean Peninsula, the radar observation network covers the entire country, providing high-resolution data on hydrometeors which is suitable for data assimilation (DA). During the pre-processing stage, radar reflectivity is classified into hydrometeors (e.g., rain, snow, graupel) using the background temperature field. The mixing ratio of each hydrometeor is converted and inputted into a numerical model. Moreover, assimilating saturated water vapor mixing ratio and decomposing radar radial velocity into a three-dimensional wind vector improves the atmospheric dynamic field. This study presents radar DA experiments using a numerical prediction model to enhance the wind, water vapor, and hydrometeor mixing ratio information. The impact of radar DA on precipitation prediction is analyzed separately for each radar component. Assimilating radial velocity improves the dynamic field, while assimilating hydrometeor mixing ratio reduces the spin-up period in cloud microphysical processes, simulating initial precipitation growth. Assimilating water vapor mixing ratio further captures a moist atmospheric environment, maintaining continuous growth of hydrometeors, resulting in concentrated heavy rainfall. Overall, the radar DA experiment showed a 32.78% improvement in precipitation forecast accuracy compared to experiments without DA across four cases. Further research in related fields is necessary to improve predictions of mesoscale heavy rainfall in South Korea, mitigating its impact on human life and property.

• Water for future
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.187-195
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• 1996

In this study, a methodology for the hourly prediction of rainfall surfaces was applied to the Pyungchang river basin at the upstream of South Han river with meteorological radar and ground rainfall data. The methods for the exclusion of abnormal echoes, and suppression of ground clutter, and the augmentation of attenuation effects associated with rainfall phenomena were reviewed, and the relationship between radar reflectivity (Z) and rainfall rate (R) was analyzed. The transformation of augmented radar reflectivities into the rdar rainfall surfaces was carried out, and afterward they were synthesized with the ground rainfall data generating the hourly rainfall surfaces. For the prediction of hourly rainfall surface, the moving factors of rainfall field estimated by the cross correlation coefficient method and the temporal variation of radar rainfall intensities were considered. The synthesized hourly rainfall surfaces were used to predict the hourly rainfall surfaces up to 3 hours in advance and subsequently the results were compared with the measured and the synthesized. It seems that the prediction method need to be verified with more data and be complemented further to consider the physical characteristics of rainfall field and the topography of the basin.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.41 no.11
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• pp.1153-1162
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• 2008

The use of radar rainfall for hydrological appraisal has been a challenge due to the limitations in raw data generation followed by the complex analysis needed to come up with precise data interpretation. In this study, RAIDOM (RAdar Image DigitalizatiOn Method) has been developed to convert synthetic radar CAPPI(Constant Altitude Plan Position Indicator) image data from Korea Meteorological Administration into digital format in order to come up with a more practical and useful radar image data. RAIDOM was used to examine a severe local rainstorm that occurred in July 2006 as well as two other separate events that caused heavy floods on both upper and mid parts of the HanRiver basin. A distributed model was developed based on the available radar rainfall data. The Flood Hydrograph simulation has been found consistent with actual values. The results show the potentials of RAIDOM and the distributed model as tools for flood prediction. Furthermore, these findings are expected to extend the usefulness of radar rainfall data in hydrological appraisal.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2022.05a
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• pp.142-142
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• 2022

Adjusting weather radar data is a prerequisite for its use in various hydrological studies. Effect of spatial variables are considered to adjust weather radar data in many of these researches. The existence of diverse topography in South Korea has increased the importance of analyzing these variables. In this study, some spatial variable like slope, elevation, aspect, distance from the sea, plan and profile curvature was considered. To investigate different topographic conditions, tried to use three radar station of Gwanaksan, Gwangdeoksan and Gudeoksan which are located in northwest, north and southeast of South Korea, respectively. To form the suitable fuzzy model and create the best membership functions of variables, ANFIS-PSO model was applied. After optimizing the model, the correlation coefficient and sensitivity of adjusted Quantitative Precipitation Estimation (QPE) based on spatial variables was calculated to find how variables work in adjusted QPE process. The results showed that the variable of elevation causes the most change in rainfall and consequently in the adjustment of radar data in model. Accordingly, the sensitivity ratio calculated for variables shows that with increasing rainfall duration, the effects of these variables on rainfall adjustment increase. The approach of this study, due to the simplicity and accuracy of this method, can be used to adjust the weather radar data and other required models.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.191-201
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• 2013

Landslide in Korea occurs generally in summer, and rainfall is a major factor to trigger landslides. This study evaluates the applicability of radar rainfall to estimate landslide occurs locally in mountainous area. Temporal changes in spatial distribution of rainfall is analyzed using radar data, and the characteristics of rainfall in landslide area during the landslide occurred in Inje, July 2006. This study shows radar rainfall field can estimate local landslides more precisely than the rainfall data from ground gauges.

• Atmosphere
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.173-188
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• 2014

The KMA has cooperated with the Oklahoma University in USA to develop a Polarimetric Radar Data (PRD) simulator to improve the microphysical processes in Korea Local Analysis and Prediction System (KLAPS), which is critical for the utilization of PRD into Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) field. The simulator is like a tool to convert NWP data into PRD, so it enables us to compare NWP data with PRD directly. The simulator can simulate polarimetric radar variables such as reflectivity (Z), differential reflectivity ($Z_{DR}$), specific differential phase ($K_{DP}$), and cross-correlation coefficient (${\rho}_{hv}$) with input of the Drop Size Distribution (DSD) and scattering calculation of the hydrometeors. However, the simulator is being developed based on the foreign observation data, therefore the PRD simulator development reflecting rainfall characteristics of Korea is needed. This study analyzed a potential application of the 2-Dimension Video Disdrometer (2DVD) data by calculating the raindrop axis ratio according to the rain-types to reflect Korea's rainfall characteristics into scattering module in the simulator. The 2DVD instrument measures the precipitation DSD including the fall velocity and the shape of individual raindrops. We calculated raindrop axis ratio for stratiform, convective and mixed rainfall cases after checking the accuracy of 2DVD data, which usually represent the scattering characteristics of precipitation. The raindrop axis ratio obtained from 2DVD data are compared with those from foreign database in the simulator. The calculated the dual-polarimetric radar variables from the simulator using the obtained raindrop axis ratio are also compared with in situ dual-polarimetric observation data at Bislsan (BSL). 2DVD observation data show high accuracies in the range of 0.7~4.8% compared with in situ rain gauge data which represents 2DVD data are sufficient for the use to simulator. There are small differences of axis ratio in the diameter below 1~2 mm and above 4~5 mm, which are more obvious for bigger raindrops especially for a strong convective rainfall case. These differences of raindrop axis ratio between domestic and foreign rainfall data base suggest that the potential use of disdrometer observation can develop of a PRD simulated suitable to the Korea precipitation system.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.1B
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• pp.7-14
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• 2006

The radar relationship was estimated for the selected rainfall event at Yeongchun station within Chungjudam basin where the discharge record was the range of from 1,000 CMS to 9,000 CMS. By calibrating the rainfall coefficient parameter estimated by radar relationship in small hydrology basin, rainfall with the topography properties was calculated. Three different rainfall estimation methods were compared:(1) radar relationship method (2) Thiessen method (3) Isohyetal method (4) Inverse distance method. Basin model was built by applying HEC-GeoHMS which uses digital elevation model to extract hydrological characteristic and generate river network. The proposed basin model was used as an input to HEC-HMS to build a runoff model. The runoff estimation model applying radar data showed the good result. It is proposed that the radar data would produce more rapid and accurate runoff forecasting especially in the case of the partially concentrated rainfall due to the atmospheric change. The proposed radar relationship could efficiently estimate the rainfall on the study area(Chungjudam basin).

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.2161-2166
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• 2009

It is important for 0-6 hour nowcasting to provide for a high-quality initial condition in a meso-scale atmospheric model by a data assimilation of several observation data. The polarimetric radar data is expected to be assimilated into the forecast model, because the radar has a possibility of measurements of the types, the shapes, and the size distributions of hydrometeors. In this paper, an impact on rainfall prediction of the data assimilation of hydrometeor types (i.e. raindrop, graupel, snowflake, etc.) is evaluated. The observed information of hydrometeor types is estimated using the fuzzy logic algorism. As an implementation, the cloud-resolving nonhydrostatic atmospheric model, CReSS, which has detail microphysical processes, is employed as a forecast model. The local ensemble transform Kalman filter, LETKF, is used as a data assimilation method, which uses an ensemble of short-term forecasts to estimate the flowdependent background error covariance required in data assimilation. A heavy rainfall event occurred in Okinawa in 2008 is chosen as an application. As a result, the rainfall prediction accuracy in the assimilation case of both hydrometeor types and the Doppler velocity and the radar echo is improved by a comparison of the no assimilation case. The effects on rainfall prediction of the assimilation of hydrometeor types appear in longer prediction lead time compared with the effects of the assimilation of radar echo only.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.48 no.11
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• pp.925-936
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of dual-polarization radar rainfall by comapring with the flood inundation record map through KIMSTORM(Grid-based KIneMatic wave STOrm Runoff Model). For Namgang dam ($2,293km^2$) watershed, the Bisl dual-polarization radar data for 3 typhoons (Khanun, Bolaven, Sanba) and 1 heavy rain event in 2012 were prepared. For both 28 ground rainfall data and radar rainfall data, the model was calibrated using observed discharge data at 5 stations with $R^2$, Nash and Sutcliffe Model Efficiency (ME) and Volume Conservation Index (VCI). The calibration results of $R^2$, ME and VCI were 0.85, 0.78 and 1.09 for ground rainfall and 0.85, 0.79, and 1.04 for radar rainfall respectively. The flood inundation record areas (SY and MD/SG district) by typhoon Sanba were compared with the distributed modeling results. The spatial distribution by radar rainfall produced more surface runoff from the watershed and simulated higher stream discharge than the ground rainfall condition in both SY and MD/SG district. In case of MD/SG district, the stream water level by radar rainfall near the flood inundation area showed 0.72 m higher than the water level by ground rainfall.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.39 no.4 s.165
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• pp.335-346
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• 2006

Among various input data to hydrologic models, rainfall measurements arguably have the most critical influence on the performance of hydrologic model. Traditionally, hydrologic models have relied on point gauge measurements to provide the area-averaged rainfall information. However, rainfall estimates from gauges become inadequate due to their poor representation of areal rainfall, especially in situations with sparse gauge network. Alternatively, radar that covers much larger areas has become an attractive instrument for providing area- averaged precipitation information. Despite of the limitation of the QPE(Quantitative Precipitation Estimation) using radar, we can get the better information of spatial variability of rainfall fields. Also, rain-gauges give us the better quantitative information of rainfall field. Therefore, in this study, we developed improved methodologies tu estimate rainfall fields using an ordinary cokriging technique which optimally merges radar reflectivity data into rain-gauges data.