• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.171-177
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to find a scheme to scale down the KMA (Korea Meteorological Administration) digital precipitation maps to the grid cell resolution comparable to the rural landscape scale in Korea. As a result, we suggest two steps procedure called RATER (Radar Assisted Topography and Elevation Revision) based on both radar echo data and a mountain precipitation model. In this scheme, the radar reflection intensity at the constant altitude of 1.5 km is applied first to the KMA local analysis and prediction system (KLAPS) 5 km grid cell to obtain 1 km resolution. For the second step the elevation and topography effect on the basis of 270 m digital elevation model (DEM) which represented by the Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) is applied to the 1 km resolution data to produce the 270 m precipitation map. An experimental watershed with about $50km^2$ catchment area was selected for evaluating this scheme and automated rain gauges were deployed to 13 locations with the various elevations and slope aspects. 19 cases with 1 mm or more precipitation per day were collected from January to May in 2013 and the corresponding KLAPS daily precipitation data were treated with the second step procedure. For the first step, the 24-hour integrated radar echo data were applied to the KLAPS daily precipitation to produce the 1 km resolution data across the watershed. Estimated precipitation at each 1 km grid cell was then regarded as the real world precipitation observed at the center location of the grid cell in order to derive the elevation regressions in the PRISM step. We produced the digital precipitation maps for all the 19 cases by using RATER and extracted the grid cell values corresponding to 13 points from the maps to compare with the observed data. For the cases of 10 mm or more observed precipitation, significant improvement was found in the estimated precipitation at all 13 sites with RATER, compared with the untreated KLAPS 5 km data. Especially, reduction in RMSE was 35% on 30 mm or more observed precipitation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.1331-1343
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• 2000

Through the integration of USLE and GIS, the methodology to estimate the soil loss was developed, and applicated to the Sacheon river in Gangrung. Using GIS, spatial analysis such as watershed boundary determination, flow routing. slope steepness calculation was done. Spatial information from the GIS application was given for each grid. With soil and land use map, information about soil classification and land use was given for each grid too. Based upon these data, thematic maps about the factors of USLE were made. We estimated the soil loss by overlaying the thematic maps. In this manner, we can assess the degree of soil loss for each grid using GIS. Annual average soil loss of Sacheon river watershed is 1.36 ton/ha/yr. Soil loss in forest, dry field, and paddy field is 0.15 ton/ha/yr, 27.04 ton/ha/yr, 0.78 ton/ha/yr respectively. The area of dry field, which is 4% of total area, is $2.4km^2$. But total soil loss of dry field is 6561 ton/yr, and it occupies 84.9 % of total soil loss eroded in Sacheon river watershed. Comparing with the 11.2 ton/ha/yr of an average soil loss tolerance for cropland, provision for the soil loss in dry field is necessary. Run-off and water quality of Sacheon river were measured two times in flood season: from July 24, 1998 to July 28 and from September 29 to October 1. As the run-off of the river increased, SS, TN, TP concentrations and pollutant loadings increased. SS, TN, TP loads of Sacheon river discharged during the 2 heavy rains were 21%, 39%, and 19% of the total pollutant loadings generated in the Sacheon river watershed for one year. We can see that much pollutants are discharged in short period of flood season.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.373-384
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• 2003

This study analyses the soil loss due to cropland increase in the Hoeryeung area of northeast Korea, using Landsat images of 1987 TM and 2001 ETM, together with DTED, soil and geological maps, and rainfall data of 20 years. Items of land cover and land use were categorized as cropland, settlement, forest, river zone, and sand deposit by supervised classification with spectral bands 1, 2 and 3. RUSLE model is used for estimation of soil loss, and AML language for calculation of soil loss volumes. Fourier transformation method is used for unification of the geographical grids between Landsat images and DTED. GTD was selected from 1:50,000 topographic map. Main sources of soil losses over 100 ton/year may be the river zone and settlement in the both times of 1987 and 2001, but the image of the 2001 shows that sources areas have developed up to the higher mountain slopes. In the cropland average, increases of hight and gradient are 24m and $0.8^{\circ}$ from 1987 to 2001. In the case of new developed cropland, average increases are 75m and $2.5^{\circ}$, and highest soil loss has occurred at the elevation between 300 and 500m. The soil loss 57 ton of 1987 year increased 85 ton of 2001 year. Soil loss is highest in $30{\sim}50^{\circ}$ slope zones in both years, but in 2001 year, soil loss increased under $30^{\circ}$ zones. The size of area over 200 ton/year, indicating higher risk of landslides, have increased from $28.6km^2$ of 1987 year to $48.8km^2$ of 2001 year.