• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.36 no.3 s.134
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• pp.495-505
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• 2003

Convective weather systems such as organized mesoscale convective systems (Mesoscale Convective Complex, MCC and Convective Cloud Clusters, CCC) and much weaker Disorganized Short-lived Convection (DSC) in the region of India and Nepal were analyzed using the Meteosat-5 IR imagery. The diurnal march and propagation of patterns of convective activity in the Himalayas and Northern Indian subcontinent were examined. Results indicate that infrared satellite images of Northern India and along the southern flank of the Himalayas reveal a strong presence of convective weather systems during the 1999 and 2000 monsoons, especially in the afternoon and during the night. The typical MCCs have life-times of about 11 hours, and areal extent about $300,000km^2$. Although the core of MCC activity remains generally away from the Middle Himalayan range, the occurrence of heavy precipitation events in this region can be directly linked to MCCs that venture into the Lesser Himalayan region and remain within the region bounded by $25^{\circ}-30^{\circ}N$. One principal feature in the spatial organization of convection is the dichotomy between the Tibetan Plateau and the Northern Indian Plains: CCCs and DSCs begin in the Tibetan Plateau in the mid-afternoon into the evening; while they are most active in the mid-night and early morning in the Gangetic Plains and along the southern facing flanks of the Himalayas. Furthermore, these data are consistent with the daily cycle of rainfall documented for a network of 20 hydrometeorological stations in Central Nepal, which show strong nocturnal peaks of intense rainfall consistent with the close presence of Convective Weather Systems (CWSs) in the Gangetic Plains (Barros et al. 2000).

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.293-316
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• 2002

This study aims to identify changes that have occurred in the regional structure and locational characteristics of the Najin-Seonbong Economic and Trade Zone established in North Korea in 1991. In order to analyze land use patterns as variables of change in the regional structure, an field trip data, satellite imagery and other materials about the region are examined. In terms of its location as a major regional transit hub, the Najin-seonbong Economic and Trade Zone has not been supported by the required infrastructural developments and the establishment of the export processing zones has exposed the lack of vital links with local networks and industry. Thus, despite the fact that the local government has made a lot of effort in attracting foreign investment over the past decade, little progress has been made and the region has not changed. By and large, its operational efficiency and potential for development as a major export processing zone has been relatively limited. In the long w, prospects for the region's emergence as a major economic player will depend on the North Korean Govemment's policy in tackling the various infrastructural deficiencies.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.162-175
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to analyze the surface temperature of surface fabrics using UAV TIR images, to mitigate problems in the thermal environment of urban areas. Surface temperature values derived from UAV images were compared with those measured in-situ during the similar period as when the images were taken. The difference in the in-situ measured and UAV image derived surface temperatures is the highest for gray colored concrete roof fabrics, at $17^{\circ}C$, and urethane fabrics show the lowest difference, at $0.3^{\circ}C$. The experiment power of the scatter plot of in-situ measured and UAV image derived surface temperatures was 63.75%, indicating that the correlation between the two is high. The surface fabrics with high temperature are metal roofs($48.9^{\circ}C$), urethane($43.4^{\circ}C$), and gray colored concrete roofs($42.9^{\circ}C$), and those with low temperature are barren land($30.2^{\circ}C$), area with trees and lawns($30.2^{\circ}C$), and white colored concrete roofs($34.9^{\circ}C$). These results show that accurate analysis of the thermal characteristics of surface fabrics is possible using UAV images. In future, it will be necessary to increase the usability of UAV images via comparison with in-situ data and linkage to satellite imagery.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.645-661
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• 2013

The synoptic, thermodynamic, and dynamic characteristics of a heavy snowfall event that occurred in Seoul metropolitan area on 27 to 28 December 2010 was investigated. During this period there was a distinctive case that was identified as a polar low. We analyzed surface and upper level weather charts, snowfall amount, sea surface temperature, satellite imagery, sounding, and the National Center for Environmental Prediction global $1^{\circ}{\times}1^{\circ}$ reanalysis data. The polar low developed in an area where there was strong baroclinicity in the lower level aided by strong conditional instability due to 925 hPa warm air advection and 700 hPa cold air advection. The development mechanism of polar low is due, in part, to the tropopause folding, which advected stratospheric air increasing potential vorticity in mid-level and inducing cyclonic vorticity and convergence in low-level. Eventually clouds developed and there were snowfall total of 10 cm in Seoul metropolitan area and as much as 20 cm in southern parts of Korea. During the snowfall development, there was a $-45^{\circ}C$ cold core at 500 hPa and shortwave maintained $3-5^{\circ}$ separation with surface trough, which favored the development of polar low located in the warm sector and cyclonic advection area. The height of the dynamical tropopause lowered to 700 hPa during the peak development and increase in potential vorticity allowed strong vertical motion to occur. Overall, there was a close relationship between the development of snowfall and tropopause undulation. The heaviest snowfall occurred east of the tropopause folding where strong cyclonic vorticity, vertical motion, and moisture advection all coincided while the polar low was passing through the Korean peninsula.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.206-211
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• 2011

Low water temperature during the summer associated with the occurrence of cold water zone off Haeundae was studied using the data from CTD observations and a monitoring buoy deployed in Suyeong Bay. Shortterm variability of current was dominant and was not related to the wind. The NE-SW components of wind parallel to the coast contained more than 96% of total variance and could account for major fluctuations of water temperature. Upwelling-response of water temperature was very sensitive so that the temperature began to decrease immediately after the onset of the southwesterly wind. In particular, there were three cases in which SW winds for only two days caused considerable temperature drops. In 2009, four upwelling events shorter than 5 days took place while seven events with periods of 2~18 days were recorded in 2010. During a very intense upwelling for seven days in mid-August 2010, temperature decreased by more than $10^{\circ}C$ in spite of the variable winds. Temperature variability at Gampo, Ulsan, Gijang and Haeundae had similar patterns. CTD observation and satellite imagery showed that the upwelling zone could be extended to the Haeundae-Busan area. According to the wavelet analysis, coherent periods were 2~8 days during the frequent upwelling/downwelling events.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.171-179
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• 2011

The main objective of this study is to estimate of the vegetation response induced by climate change to soil moisture. We investigated a relationship between vegetation activity and climate variables using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-retrieved Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and soil moisture. NDVI which extracted from MODIS 13 Vegetation Indices Product was considered as an useful parameter to figure out a relationship with two types of soil moisture, which were observed at Rural Development Administration sites and estimated from Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer E (AMSR-E) satellite imagery. The correlation of MODIS-NDVI and ground measured soil moisture were observed, became much stronger when compared to soil moisture values with time lag (5days, 10days, 15days). The correlation patterns between NDVI and soil moisture with different time lag were related to soil texture. The results from this study will be useful to understand the role of vegetation in water balance control in various scales from regional to global climate change.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.156-164
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• 2018

In order to investigate the upwelling and island effects following the wind storm events in the East Sea (i.e., Uljin-Ulleungdo-Dokdo line) during spring, we assessed the vertical and horizontal profiles of abiotic and biotic factors, including phytoplankton communities. The assessment was based on the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) and field survey data. A strong south wind occurred on May 3, when the lowest sea level pressure (987.3 hPa) in 2016 was observed. Interestingly, after this event, huge blooms of phytoplankton were observed on May 12 along the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC), including the in the offshore waters of Ulleungdo and Dokdo. Although the diatoms dominated the EKWC area between the Uljin coastal waters and Ulleungdo, the population density of raphidophytes Heterosigma akashiwo was high in the offshore waters of Ulleungdo-Dokdo. Based on the vertical profiles of Chlorophyll-a (Chl. a), the sub-surface Chl. a maximum appeared at 20 m depths between Uljin and Ulluengdo, whereas relatively high Chl. a was distributed equally across the entire water column around the waters of Ulleungdo and Dokdo islands. This implies that the water mixing (i.e., upwelling) at the two islands, that occurred after the strong wind event, may have brought the rapid proliferation of autotrophic algae, with nutrient input, to the euphotic layer. Therefore, we have demonstrated that a strong south wind caused the upwelling event around the south-eastern Korean peninsula, which is one of the most important role in occurring the spring phytoplankton blooms along the EKWC. In addition, the phytoplankton blooms may have potentially influenced the oligotrophic waters with discrete time lags in the vicinity of Ulleungdo and Dokdo. This indicates that the phytoplankton community structure in the offshore waters of Ulleungdo-Dokdo is dependent upon the complicated water masses moving related to meandering of the EKWC.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.191-202
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• 2012

A high resolution satellite imagery such as KOMPSAT-2 includes a material containing rational polynomial coefficient (RPC) for three-dimensional geopositioning. However, image geometries which are calculated from the RPC must have inevitable systematic errors. Thus, it is necessary to correct systematic errors of the RPC using several ground control points (GCPs). In this paper, we propose an efficient method for automatic correction of image geometries using tie points of a stereo pair and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) without GCPs. This method includes four steps: 1) tie points extraction, 2) determination of the ground coordinates of the tie points, 3) refinement of the ground coordinates using SRTM DEM, and 4) RPC adjustment model parameter estimation. We validates the performance of the proposed method using KOMPSAT-2 stereo pair. The root mean square errors (RMSE) achieved from check points (CPs) were about 3.55 m, 9.70 m and 3.58 m in X, Y;and Z directions. This means that we can automatically correct the systematic error of RPC using SRTM DEM.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.115-122
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• 2010

In this study, we analyzed ridge-runnel structure and ripple marks by using Envisat ASAR, JERS-1 SAR images and in-situ data in Mongsanpo intertidal flat located in Taean-Gun, Korea. A group of light-and-dark lines parallel to the shoreline, alternating 3-5 times, were observed in the intertidal flat in Envisat ASAR images. The patterns are related to ridge-runnel structure in the intertidal flat exposed to air. Well-drained runnels, typically with ripple marks, showed strong backscattering while runnels submerged by surface water or ridges, typically smooth with no ripple, have weak backscattering coefficients in Envisat ASAR images. In JERS-1 SAR images, however, the backscattering was very low on the entire intertidal flat and no ridge-runnel structure could be observed. The wavelengths of ripple marks measured from in-situ observations have ranges from 4 to 10 cm that satisfies the Bragg scattering condition of the 1st-order in Envisat ASAR images operating in C-band, but not in JERS-1 SAR that used L-band. Through this study using SAR images, we could successfully analyze the sedimentary conditions of intertidal flats with ridge-runnel and ripple marks which are not easily observed by optical sensors. It is expected that the results of this study with SAR images will contribute to the sedimentary research over intertidal flats.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.39 no.6_1
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• pp.1211-1224
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• 2023

Clouds cause many difficult problems in observing land surface phenomena using optical satellites, such as national land observation, disaster response, and change detection. In addition, the presence of clouds affects not only the image processing stage but also the final data quality, so it is necessary to identify and remove them. Therefore, in this study, we developed a new cloud detection technique that automatically performs a series of processes to search and extract the pixels closest to the spectral pattern of clouds in satellite images, select the optimal threshold, and produce a cloud mask based on the threshold. The cloud detection technique largely consists of three steps. In the first step, the process of converting the Digital Number (DN) unit image into top-of-atmosphere reflectance units was performed. In the second step, preprocessing such as Hue-Value-Saturation (HSV) transformation, triangle thresholding, and maximum likelihood classification was applied using the top of the atmosphere reflectance image, and the threshold for generating the initial cloud mask was determined for each image. In the third post-processing step, the noise included in the initial cloud mask created was removed and the cloud boundaries and interior were improved. As experimental data for cloud detection, CAS500-1 L2G images acquired in the Korean Peninsula from April to November, which show the diversity of spatial and seasonal distribution of clouds, were used. To verify the performance of the proposed method, the results generated by a simple thresholding method were compared. As a result of the experiment, compared to the existing method, the proposed method was able to detect clouds more accurately by considering the radiometric characteristics of each image through the preprocessing process. In addition, the results showed that the influence of bright objects (panel roofs, concrete roads, sand, etc.) other than cloud objects was minimized. The proposed method showed more than 30% improved results(F1-score) compared to the existing method but showed limitations in certain images containing snow.