• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.44 no.5
• /
• pp.465-471
• /
• 2021

Dual-energy X-ray imaging (DEI) techniques can provide X-ray images that a certain material is suppressed or emphasized by combining two X-ray images obtained from two different x-ray spectrum. In this paper, a single-shot DEI, which uses stacked two detectors (i.e., multilayer detector), is proposed to reduce the patient dose and increase throughput in angiography. The polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and aluminum (Al) were selected as two basis materials for material decomposition, and material-specific images are reconstructed as a vector combination of these two materials. We investigate the contrast and noise performance of material-decomposed images using iodine phantoms with various concentrations and diameters. The single-shot DEI shows comparable performances to the conventional dual-shot DEI. In particular, the single-shot DEI shows edge enhancement in material-decomposed images due to the different spatial-resolution characteristics of upper and lower detectors. This study could be useful for designing the multilayer detector including scintillators and energy-separation filter for angiography purposes.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.12
• /
• pp.4554-4560
• /
• 2023

Continuous monitoring of radioactive substances over a prolonged duration can yield crucial insights into the levels of radiation exposure through inhalation, both in the vicinity of nuclear facilities and/or general environments. In this study, we evaluated long-term measurements (2012-2022) of gross alpha-beta activities in the air in the vicinity of nuclear facilities and reference site, distribution characteristics of temporal trends and spatial fluctuations, and factors affecting radioactivity levels. The average airborne gross-α (in mBq m^-3) for onsite and off-site were 0.124 and 0.117, respectively, and the average airborne gross-β (in mBq m^-3) measurements were 1.10 and 1.04, respectively. The activity ratio (AR) of gross-α and gross-β were calculated as a ratio of 0.12. The distribution characteristics of gross-α and gross-β activities in this study area are likely influenced by the meteorological factors and variations in airborne PM concentrations rather than the operation of the nuclear facility.

• Ocean Science Journal
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.223-232
• /
• 2008

In order to determine the temporal and spatial variations of nutrient profiles in the shallow pore water columns (upper 30 cm depth) of intertidal sandflats, we measured the salinity and nutrient concentrations in pore water and seawater at various coastal environments along the southern coast of Korea. In the intertidal zone, salinity and nutrient concentrations in pore water showed marked vertical changes with depth, owing to the active exchange between the pore water and overlying seawater, while they are temporally more stable and vertically constant in the sublittoral zone. In some cases, the advective flow of fresh groundwater caused strong vertical gradients of salinity and nutrients in the upper 10 cm depth of surface sediments, indicating the active mixing of the fresher groundwater with overlying seawater. Such upper pore water column profiles clearly signified the temporal fluctuation of lower-salinity and higher-Si seawater intrusion into pore water in an intertidal sandflat near the mouth of an estuary. We also observed a semimonthly fluctuation of pore water nutrients due to spring-neap tide associated recirculation of seawater through the upper sediments. Our study shows that the exchange of water and nutrients between shallow pore water and overlying seawater is most active in the upper 20 cm layer of intertidal sandflats, due to physical forces such as tides, wave set-up, and density-thermal gradient.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.33-40
• /
• 2017

Identification of radon in soil provides information on the areas at risk for high radon exposure. In this study, we measured uranium-238 and radon-222 concentrations in soil to assess their approximate levels in Seoul. A total of 246 soil samples were taken to analyze uranium with ICP-MS, and 120 measurements of radon in soil were conducted with an in-situ radon detector, Rad7 at a depth of 1-1.5 m. The data were statistically analyzed and mapped, layered with geological classification. The range of uranium in soil was from 0.0 to 8.5 mg/kg with a mean value of 2.2 mg/kg, and the range of radon in soil was from 1,887 to $87,320Bq/m^3$ with a mean value of $18,271Bq/m^3$. The geology had a distinctive relationship to the uranium and radon levels in soil, with the uranium and radon concentrations in soils overlying granite more than double those of soils overlying metamorphic rocks.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2003

In this work, the present concentration levels of total gaseous mercury (TGM) are compared among three East Asian countries, Korea, China, and Japan. Comparison of Hg distribution patterns was made by selecting representative figures for each type of land use among those three countries. The results of the analysis indicate that Hg concentrations within a country can fall into a wide range due probably to the diversity of source processes. It is seen that the urban areas of China and Japan generally exhibit large spatial variability with notably high Hg levels (above 10 ng m$^{-3}$), compared to their Korean counterparts. Although the presence of high Hg levels in Chinese locations can be accounted for by the major man-made source processes (e.g., the use of coal), the causes of unexpectedly high Hg data in Japanese sites appear to be rather complicated. The Hg concentration levels in relatively remote locations however show much reduced values, above 3 ng m$^{-3}$, which is still higher than the typical background concentrations of 1 to 2 ng m$^{-3}$ in Europe or America. Considering that the presence of unusually high Hg levels in urban areas of Asia is the consequence of man-made activities, the prevalence of excessively high Hg values in certain regions of the Asian continent needs further research to accurately assess the fundamental picture of Hg geochemistry in the East Asia.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.26-37
• /
• 2012

Multi-dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality models are widely used to simulate the physical and biogeochemical processes in the surface water systems such as reservoirs and estuaries. Most of the models have adopted the Eulerian grid modeling framework, mainly because it can reasonably simulate physical dynamics and chemical species concentrations throughout the entire model domain. Determining the optimum grid cell size is important when using the Eulerian grid-based three-dimensional water quality models because the characteristics of species are assumed uniform in each of the grid cells and chemical species are represented by concentration (mass per volume). The objective of this study was to examine the effect of grid-size of a three dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality model (EFDC) on hydrodynamics and mass transport in the Saemangeum Reservoir. Three grid resolutions, respectively representing coarse (CG), medium (MG), and fine (FG) grid cell sizes, were used for a sensitivity analysis. The simulation results of numerical tracer showed that the grid resolution affects on the flow path, mass transport, and mixing zone of upstream inflow, and results in a bias of temporal and spatial distribution of the tracer. With the CG, in particular, the model overestimates diffusion in the mixing zone, and fails to identify the gradient of concentrations between the inflow and the ambient water.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers
• /
• v.17 no.10
• /
• pp.2563-2573
• /
• 1993

The measurements of monochromatic line-of-sight flame emission and light transmission in the same path having small spatial resolution were performed in an axisymmetric laminar propane $C_{3}H_{8}$ diffusion flame. The light wavelengthes of 632 nm, 800nm, 900nm were used. From these measurements, local point soot radiances (by Kirchhoff's law) and absorption coefficients were reconstructed by tomography. Thus local point soot temperatures and concentrations were obtained. The reconstructed soot temperatures and concentrations of local points have no differences between the case of visible range (632 nm) and the case of infrared range (800 nm and 900 nm). In these ranges, the scattering coefficient is much lower than the absorption coefficient. Soot mean temperature over the path also matches well with local soot temperature in outer region of the flame. Temperature measurement by thermocouple with different bead diameters $(222{\mu}m and 308{\mu}m)$ was carried in the same flame. Rapid insertion technique was used and radiation effect was considered. Radiation correction in the sooting region was carried out and the corrected result was in good agreement with the local soot temperature.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.244-258
• /
• 2018

We performed this study to investigate the spatial, seasonal, and daily variations of the concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in Pohang, where large steel industrial complexes are located. Ambient air sampling was undertaken at 4 sites during 4 seasons. Each sample was taken for 4 hours continuously for 8 consecutive days per season at each site. Three sites were located within the Pohang city, but one as a control site in Gyeongju. A total of 72 individual VOCs were determined by thermal desorption coupled with GC/MS, including aliphatics, aromatics, carbonyls and halides. The most abundant VOC was toluene, being followed by ethylbenzene and xylenes. Benzene concentrations(c.a. 0.7 ppb) were found to be much lower than the national ambient standard of 1.5 ppb. Overall, the VOCs levels in Pohang appeared to be lower than other national industrial complexes in Korea such as Shiwha-Banwol, Yeosu-Gwangyang, Gumi, and Ulsan. This implies that steel industry may not give significant impacts on the atmospheric levels of VOCs as much as petrochemical, electronic, and/or textile industries, where large amounts of organic solvents are used.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.231-247
• /
• 2020

The seasonal variation in the zooplankton community and hydrographic conditions were examined in three regions (inner, central, and outer regions) of Gamak Bay, Korea. Zooplankton samples were collected over a period of 12 months from January to December 2006. The hydrographical parameters of temperature, salinity, chlorophyll-a concentrations, dissolved oxygen, and chemical oxygen demand were measured. The total zooplankton density varied from 411 to 58,485 ind. m^-3, with peaks in early summer. A total of 65 taxa accounted for approximately 86.9% of the annual mean zooplankton density: Noctiluca scintillans (30.9%) Paracalanus parvus s. l.(24.3%), Acartia omorii(11.9 %), Eurytemora pacifica (5.7%), cladocerans (4.1%), cirriped larvae (3.8%), Oithona similis (3.7%), and Pseudevedne tergestina(2.5%). Copepods dominated numerically throughout the year and comprised 54.3% of the total zooplankton. Most of the dominant copepods showed a well-defined seasonal pattern. The density and diversity of zooplankton in Gamak Bay were influenced by the hydrographic environment that was subject to significant spatial and temporal variations. Multivariate statistics showed that seasonal temperature was the most significant predictor of zooplankton taxa, density, and diversity, as well as the density of dominant taxa. Our results suggest that fluctuations in the zooplankton populations, particularly copepods, followed progressive increments in the temperature and COD concentrations.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.184-198
• /
• 2014

For estimating discharge and pollution loads into the Yeongsan lake, a conceptual watershed model HSPF(Hydrological Simulation Program - Fortran) was applied to the Yeongsan River Basin. Various spatial data set including DEM, watershed boundaries and land uses were used to set up the model for the Yeongsan River Basin that was divided into 45 sub-basins. The model was calibrated and validated for the river discharges, SS, BOD, TN and TP concentrations against the data observed in 2011 at several monitoring stations. The simulation results show good agreement with the observed water flows($R^2$ = 0.46 - 0.97, NSE = 0.70 - 0.96). The simulated concentrations of SS, BOD, TN and TP are also in good agreement with the observed. The total freshwater discharge to the Yeongsan lake is estimated $2,406{\times}10^6m^3/year$ which the Jiseok and Hwangryoung stream contribute as much as 19%, 17% respectively. It is estimated that the total discharges to the Youngsan lake is SS 152,327 ton/year, BOD 15,721 ton/year, TN 10,071 ton/year, TP 563 ton/year. Both water and pollution loads are high in summer, particularly in July, when the monsoon season arrives at the Korean peninsula.