• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.41-51
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• 2002

This research was carried out using Anderson air sampler which were set up on the roof of the Engineering College of Konkuk University at Hwayang-Dong, Kwangjin-Gu, Seoul from Aug. 1992 to foul. 1999. The results are as follows: The major component of yellow sand is soil particles based upon the observation that particles ranging from $3.3~7.0{\mu}m$ occupy 36~63%. It is certain that the increase of fine particles of respirable dust during yellow sand phenomenon in Seoul area affects the human body. The trace metals from natural sources like Al, Ca, Fe, K, Na, and Si show larger mass median diameter(MMD) values during yellow sand phenomenon than in normal situations while the values of MMD for Mn and Pb rarely changes. Noticeably, the changes in value of MMD of water soluble elements like ${NO_3}^{-}$ and ${SO_4}^{2}$ are 2.3 and 6.6 times higher during the yellow sand phenomenon compared to normal situations, respectively. This fact is regarded as decisive evidence showing that ${NO_3}^{-}$ and ${SO_4}^{2}$ in the air are attached to yellow sand and move together.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.412-420
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• 2013

Objectives: This study was conducted in order to evaluate personal and area exposure to airborne total dust and endotoxin during harvest and planting tasks at cucumber, yellow melon and potato farms Materials and Methods: Total dust was measured with NIOSH method 0500. Endotoxin were measured using a 37 mm glass fiber filter which was connected to an air pump calibrated to 2 LPM, and then analyzed with a Turbidmetric kinetic method. Results: The average(arithmetic mean) concentrations of total dust in the personal samples were $0.10-3.81mg/m^3$ for cucumbers, $0.21-1.19mg/m^3$ for yellow melon, and $0.08-2.72mg/m^3$ for potato. There was a significant difference in the harvest task among the three farm types(p=0.019 of personal sample, p=0.048 of area sample), in which the air concentration for potatoes was higher than with cucumbers and yellow melons. Conclusions: It was found that potatoes(planting and harvest) should be considered the first priority for studying and reducing total dust exposure.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.479-487
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• 2007

[ $PM_{2.5}$ ], particulate matter less than 2.5 um in a diameter, can penetrate deeply into the lungs. Exposure to $PM_{2.5}$ has been associated with increased hospital visits for respiratory aliments as well as increase mortality. $PM_{2.5}$ is a byproduct of combustion processes and as such has a complex composition including a variety of metallic elements, inorganic and organic compounds as well as biogenic materials (microorganisms, proteins, etc). In this study, the average concentrations of fine particulates $PM_{2.5}$ have been measured simultaneously in Asan and Seoul, Korea, by using particulate matter portable sampler from September 2001 to August 2002. Sample collection filters were analyzed by ICP-OES to determine the concentrations of metallic elements (As, Ni, Fe, Cr, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Si). Annual mean $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in Asan and Seoul were 37.70 and $45.83\;{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. The highest concentrations of $PM_{2.5}$ were found in spring season in both cities and the concentrations of measured metallic elements except As in Asan were higher than those in Seoul, suggesting that yellow dust in spring could affect $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in Asan rather than Seoul. The correlation coefficients of Pb and Zn were 0.343 for Asan and 0.813 for Seoul during non-yellow dust condition, suggesting that Pb and Zn were influenced with the same sources. The correlation coefficients between Si and Fe in the fine particulate mode were 0.999 (Asan) and 0.998 (Seoul) during yellow dust condition. It was suggested that these two elements were impacted by soil-related transport from China during the yellow dust storm condition.

• Journal of environmental and Sanitary engineering
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• v.19 no.4 s.54
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• pp.9-18
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• 2004

In this study, the observation data for the yellow sandy dust phenomena from the year 1999 to 2003 at background sites in Korea were collected at Global Atmospheric Observatory at An-Myeon island and its temporal variation were analyzed. The chemical characteristics of the fine particles were also analyzed in order to evaluate sources of the yellow sandy dust particles. The results showed that the monthly average mass concentration of the fine particles was the highest in springtime and the lowest in summertime in general. The magnitude of its variation was also the highest in March in which the occurrence of yellow sandy dust was the most frequent and thus the number of samples was the largest, while the lowest in June through September. The yearly variation of ion components contributions to the total mass concentration of the fine particles was slowly decreasing, showing that $63\%$ in 1999, $59\%$ in 2000 and $56\%$ in 2003. The most prevalent ion components in the fine particles were found to be $NO_3$ and $SO_4^{2-}$, which are known to be source materials of acidic precipitation, and $NH_4^+$, a neutralizing material of the acid precipitation. Relative proportion of metal components in the fine particles was calculated as $14\%$ in average, and their concentrations are in an order of Fe > Al > Na > Ca > Zn > Pb > Cu > Mn > Ni > Cd > Cr > Co > U. The results indicated that main sources of the metals was soil-originated Fe, Al, Ca, and Mg, and the contribution of anthropogenic air Pollution-originated Zn, Pb, Cu, Mn were also high and keep slightly increasing. Statistical analysis showed that the chemical components could be divided into soil-originated group of Mg, Al, Ca, Fe, and Mn and air pollution-originated group of $NO_3$, Zn, Pb, and they are occupying more than $60\%$of all the components in the dusty sand. The results explain that An-Myeon island is more influenced by soil-originated source than ocean-originated one and also the influencing strength of anthropogenic poilution-originated source is less than $50\%$ of that of soil-originated sources. Compared to non-yellow sandy period, the yellow sandy dust period showed that the amounts of soil-originated $Mg^{2+}$ and $Ca^{2+}$ and ocean-originated $Na^+$ and $Cl^-$ were increased to more than double and the metals of Mg, Al, Ca, Fe were also highly increased, while micro metal components such as Pb, Cd, Zn, which have a tendency of concentrating in air, were either decreased or maintained at nearly constant level. In the period of yellow sandy dust, a strong positive correlation was observed between water soluble ions and between metals in terms of its concentration, respectively. Factor analysis showed that the first group being comprised of about $43\%$ of the total inorganic components was affected by soil and they are ions of $Na^+,\;Mg^{2+}\;and\;Ca^{2+}$ and metals of Na, Fe, Mn and Ni. The result also showed that the metals of Mg and Cr were classified as second group and they were also highly affected by soil sources.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.493-502
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• 2009

The concentrations of outdoor airborne bacteria measured in Seoul, Korea for one year (Jan. 2008~Dec. 2008) ranged from $500CFU/m^3$ to $7,500CFU/m^3$. In monthly concentration distribution, the level of outdoor airborne bacteria was highest in September and October and lowest in March. In seasonal concentration distribution, the order of level of outdoor airborne bacteria was autumn>winter>spring>summer. In regional concentration distribution, the highest level of outdoor airborne bacteria was generally found in the forest, followed by general area and traffic site. In distribution characteristics according to particle size, outdoor airborne bacteria showed 31% for >$7.0{\mu}m$ (stage 1), 21% for $4.7{\sim}7.0{\mu}m$(stage 2), 15% for $3.3{\sim}4.7{\mu}m$(stage 3), 19% for $2.1{\sim}3.3{\mu}m$(stage 4), 10% for $1.1{\sim}2.1{\mu}m$(stage 5), and 4% for $0.65{\sim}1.1{\mu}m$(stage 6) and its mean respirable fraction was 48%. In concentration distribution by yellow dust, the mean levels of outdoor airborne bacteria were 803 $(\pm479)CFU/m^3$ for period of yellow dust and 691 $(\pm1,134)CFU/m^3$ for period of non-yellow dust. Although the level of outdoor airborne bacteria was higher in period of yellow dust than period of non-yellow dust, there was no significant difference between period of yellow dust and non-yellow dust (p>0.05). In correlation analysis between outdoor airborne bacteria and atmospheric factors (temperature and relative humidity), there was no significant correlation between outdoor airborne bacteria and atmospheric factors. The predominant airborne bacteria were identified to the Bacillus-derived species.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.575-586
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• 1999

The size-resolved number concentrations of aerosols ranging from 0.3 to 25 $mu extrm{m}$ were observed in Seoul and Anmyondo in the west coast of Korea during an Yellow Sand phenomenon in April 1998. Number size distributions of aerosols observed in both places are characterized by decrease in small particles of diameter less than 1${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ and increase in large size between 1.35 and 10${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ in heavy dust period. For particles in this size range, there was a good correlation between number concentrations observed in both places during the Yellow Sand episode. On the other hand, the number of small particles less than 0.82${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ decreased, but the correlation between these particles in both places was enhanced during more intense dust period. The number of coarse particle larger than 10 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ showed a distince diurnal variation without a significant change in amplitude, which was more visible in Seoul. It suggests that these coarse particles were more affected by local sources. Form these results, it was range of 1~10${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ originated possibly from the dust source regions and the source signature depended on the degree of dust intensity.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2007.10a
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• pp.149-152
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• 2007

The detection of yellow sand dust using satellite has been utilized from various bands from ultraviolet to infrared channels. Among them, Infrared channels have an advantage of detecting aerosols over high reflecting surface as well as during nighttime. Especially, brightness temperature difference between 11 and 12{\mu}m(BTD) was often used to distinguish between water cloud and yellow sand, because Ice and liquid water particles preferentially absorb longer wavelengths while aerosol particles preferentially absorb shorter wavelengths. We have found that the BTD significantly depends on surface temperature, emissivity, and zenith angle and thereby the threshold of BTD. In order to overcome these problems, we have constructed the background brightness temperature threshold of BTD and then subtracted it from BTD. Along with this, we utilized high temporal coverage of geostationary satellite, MTSAT-1R, to verify the reliability of the retrieved signal in conjunction with forecasted wind information. The statistical score test illustrated that this newly developed algorithm showed a promising result for detecting mineral dust by reducing the errors in the current BTD method.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 1998.09a
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• pp.409-414
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• 1998

To examine the detectability of the aerosol and/or Yellow dust from China crossing over the Yellow sea, three works carried out as follows , Firstly, a comparison was made of the visible(VIS), water vapor(WV), and Infrared(IR) images of the GMS-5 and NOAA/AVHRR on the cases of yellow sand event over Korea. Secondly, the spectral radiance and reflectance(%) was observed during the yellow sand phenomena on April, 1998 in Seoul using the GER-2600 spectroradiometer, which observed the reflected radiance from 350 to 2500 nm in the atmosphere. We selected the optimum wavelength for detecting of the yellow sand from this observation, considering the effects of atmospheric absorption. Finally, the atmospheric radiance emerging from the LOWTRAN-7 radiative transfer model was simulated with and without yellow sand, where we used the estimated aerosol column optical depth ($\tau$ 673 nm) in the Meteorological Research Institute and the d'Almeida's statistical atmospheric aerosol radiative characteristics. The image analysis showed that it was very difficult to detect the yellow sand region only by the image processing because the albedo characteristics of the sand vary irregularly according to the density, size, components and depth of the yellow sand clouds. We found that the 670-680 nm band was useful to simulate aerosol characteristics considering the absorption band from the radiance observation. We are now processing the simulation of atmospheric radiance distribution in the range of 400-900 nm. The purpose of this study is to present the preliminary results of the aerosol and/or Yellow dust detectability using the Ocean Scanning Multispectral Imager(OSMI), which will be mounted on KOMPSAT-1 as the ocean color monitoring sensor with the range of 400-900 nm wavelength.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.370-373
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• 2005

We have developed Hybrid algorithm for yellow sand detection. Hybrid algorithm is composed of three methods using infrared bands. The first method used the differential absorption in brightness temperature difference between $11\mu m\;and\;12\mu m$ (BID _1), through which help distinguish the yellow sand from various meteorological clouds. The second method uses the brightness temperature difference between $3.7\mu m\;and\;11\mu m$ (BID_2). The technique would be most sensitive to dust loading during the day when the BID _2 is enhanced by reflection of $3.7\mu m$ solar radiation. The third one is a newly developed algorithm from our research, the so-called surface temperature variation method (STY). We have applied the three methods to MODIS for derivation of the yellow sand dust and in conjunction with the Principle Component Analysis (PCA), a form of eigenvector statistical analysis. PCI shows better results for yellow sand detection in comparison with the results from individual method. The comparison between PCI and MODIS aerosols optical depth (AOD) shows remarkable good correlations during daytime and relatively good correlations over the land.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2001

The etymology of the Chinese words for “Asian Dust" in Korea. China, and Japan has been investigated using historical records and the research results of Quan (1994) and Wada (1917) The results show that the words for Asian Dust in Korea can be found in $\boxDr$Samguksagi$\boxUl$, $\boxDr$Korysa$\boxUl$ and $\boxDr$Chosunwangjosillok$\boxUl$, which are histrorical books of Korea. In 174 AD, during the reign of King Adalla of the Silla Dynasty, “Dust Fall” was employed to describe a descending substance in the atmosphere other than water droplets (Wada, 1917; Chun et al., 2001). The terms “Dust Fall”, “Dust rain” and “Mud” were commonly used until the end of the 19th century. It was not until Japanese colonial rule (1910~1945) that “Yellow Sand” was used in Korea. The documentation on Asian Dust started far earlier in China. “Dust Fall” records were compiled as early as 1150 BC. At that time, Asian Dust was written as “Dust Fall” or “Mud”. “Yellow Sand” was recorded in 550 AD in China, however, it seems that its use was not as common as “Dust Fall”. In Japan, the first report related to Asian Bust was made in 807 AD : it used the phase “Yellow Rain”. “Mud” was recorded in 1596 and “Dust Fall” was employed in 1633 (Wada, 1917). “Yellow Sand” was used in 1939 as the title of a Japanese research paper.aper.