• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.370-385
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• 2023

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (Cyano-HABs) are an international environmental problem that negatively affects the ecosystem as well as the safety of water resources by discharging cyanotoxins. In particular, the discharge of microcystins (MCs), a highly toxic substance, has been studied most actively, and various water treatment methods have been proposed for this purpose. In this paper, we reviewed adsorption technology, which is recognized as the most feasible, economical, and efficient method among suggested treatment methods for removing MCs. Activated carbons (AC) are widely used adsorbents for MCs removal, and excellent MCs adsorption performance has been reported. Research on alternative adsorption materials for AC such as biochar and biosorbents has been conducted, however, their performance was lower compared to activated carbon. The impacts of adsorbent properties(characteristics of pore surface chemistry) and environmental factors (solution pH, temperature, natural organic matter, and ionic strength) on the MCs adsorption performance were also discussed. In addition, toward effective control of MCs, the possibility of the direct removal of harmful cyanobacteria as well as the removal of dissolved MCs using adsorption strategy was examined. However, to fully utilize the adsorption for the removal of MCs, the application and optimization under actual environmental conditions are still required, thereby meeting the environmental and economic standards. From this study, crucial insights could be provided for the development and selection of effective adsorbent and subsequent adsorption processes for the removal of MCs from water resources.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.491-498
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• 2011

We investigated the ranges of total cellular microcystins content of cyanobacterial blooms collected in Korean lakes and rivers from 2005 to 2009. The amount and composition of microcystins of Korean cyanobacteria varied depending on the sampling water bodies and dominant cyanobacterial genera. Toxic cyanobacterial cell numbers equivalent to $1{\mu}g$ MCYSTs/L using total cellular microcystin content of Korean cyanobacteria were in the range of 2,348 to 66,980,638 cells/mL. Only four samples among forty nine samples showed less cell numbers than current criterion of Harmful Algae Alert System, 5,000 cells/mL indicating current criterion do not reflect properly the microcystins content of Korean cyanobacteria. Anabaena and Aphanizomenon spp. showed three to six times higher cell numbers equivalent to $1{\mu}g$ MCYSTs/L than Microcystis spp. To propose criteria of Harmful Algae Alert System for Korean toxic cyanobacteria, we calculated about 50% selective geometrical means of cyanobacterial cell numbers equivalent to $1{\mu}g$ MCYSTs/L in order of toxic content. The proposed criteria for Microcystis, Oscillatoria, Anabaena, and Aphanizomenon spp., are 10,000, 20,000, 40,000, and 80,000 cells/mL, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2023.05a
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• pp.168-168
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• 2023

The frequent occurrence of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CHABs) in inland waters under climate change seriously damages the ecosystem and human health and is becoming a big problem in South Korea. Satellite remote sensing is suggested for effective monitoring CHABs at a larger scale of water bodies since the traditional method based on sparse in-situ networks is limited in space. However, utilizing a standalone variable of satellite reflectances in common CHABs dual-models, which relies on both chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and phycocyanin or cyanobacteria cells (Cyano-cell), is not fully beneficial because their seasonal variation is highly impacted by surrounding meteorological and bio-environmental factors. Along with the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), monitoring CHABs from space with analyzing the effects of environmental factors is accessible. This study aimed to investigate the potential application of AI in the dual-model strategy (Chl-a and Cyano-cell are output parameters) for monitoring seasonal dynamics of CHABs from satellites over Korean inland waters. The Sentinel-3 satellite was selected in this study due to the variety of spectral bands and its unique band (620 nm), which is sensitive to cyanobacteria. Via the AI-based feature selection, we analyzed the relationships between two output parameters and major parameters (satellite water-leaving reflectances at different spectral bands), together with auxiliary (meteorological and bio-environmental) parameters, to select the most important ones. Several AI models were then employed for modelling Chl-a and Cyano-cell concentration from those selected important parameters. Performance evaluation of the AI models and their comparison to traditional semi-analytical models were conducted to demonstrate whether AI models (using water-leaving reflectances and environmental variables) outperform traditional models (using water-leaving reflectances only) and which AI models are superior for monitoring CHABs from Sentinel-3 satellite over a Korean inland water body.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.114-126
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• 2020

Bloom-forming toxic cyanobacteria Microcystis spp. are common in the summer season in temperate freshwater ecosystems. Often, it leads to the degradation of water quality and affects the quality of drinking water. In a previous study, NQ (naphthoquinone) compounds were shown to be effective, selective, and ecologically safe algicides for Microcystis spp. blooms. To analyze the superiority of developed NQ derivatives, we conducted a microcosm experiment using clay, which is frequently used in South Korea. Similar to previous studies, the NQ 40 and NQ 2-0 compounds showed high algicidal activities of 99.9% and 99.6%, respectively, on Microcystis spp. at low concentrations (≥1 μM) and enhanced phytoplankton species diversity. However, when treated with clay, a temporary algicidal effect was seen at the beginning of the experiment that gradually increased at the end. In addition, treatment with the NQ compounds did not affect either the abiotic or biological factors, and similar trends were observed with the control. These results showed that the NQ 2-0 compound was more effective, with no ecosystem disturbance, and more economical than the currently used clay. These results suggest that NQ 2-0 compound could be a selective, economically and ecologically safe algicide to mitigate harmful cyanobacterial blooms in the field.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.601-609
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• 2018

Microcystis aeruginosa, a freshwater cyanobacteria species known to be one of the most predominant species responsible for cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs). It has been frequently associated with the contamination of neurotoxins and peptide hepatotoxins, such as microcystin and lipopolysaccharides-LPSs. CyanoHABs control technologies so far put in place do not provide a fundamental solution and cause secondary pollution linked with the control measures. For this study, algicidal peptides, which have been reported to be non-toxic and to have antimicrobial properties, were employed for the development of novel eco-friendly control against CyanoHABs. The four peptides (CMA1, CMA2, HPA3P, and HPA3NT3) selected in this study showed significant algicidal effects against M. aeruginosa cells inducing cell aggregation and flotation. Moreover, the newly generated peptides (K160242-5) with certain modifications also displayed high algicidal activity. The algicidal activity of the peptides was found to depend on the concentrations and structures of each of amino acid. The results of this study suggested a novel possibility of CyanoHABs control using the non-toxic algicidal peptides.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.53 no.10
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• pp.877-887
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• 2020

A 3-Dimensional hydrodynamic and water quality model was applied to evaluate the effects of weir gate operations on water quality and harmful algal bloom (HAB) occurrences at selected locations in the Nakdong River, Geum River, and Yeongsan River. For the Geum River and Yeongsan River, when the gates are left open, annual and summer Chl-a and HABs were decreased at upstream locations, Sejong Weir and Seungchon Weir, but summer average concentrations of Chl-a and HABs were increased at downstream locations, Baekje Weir and Juksan Weir. For the open scenario, the reduced hydraulic residence time in the upper stream areas of the Geum River and Yeongsan River would allow less available time for nutrient consumption that would result in higher dissolved inorganic phosphorus concentrations followed by higher algal growth in the downstream areas. However, in the case of the Nakdong River, both annual and summer Chl-a and HABs were increased in all locations for the open scenario. This condition seems to be resulted in due to increased light availability by reduced water depths. Changes in Chl-a and HABs occurrences due to the water gate control in the study sites are different due to differences in physical, chemical, and biological conditions in each location.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.1208-1213
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• 2012

Microcystis aeruginosa is a cyanobacterium that can form harmful algal blooms (HABs) producing toxic secondary metabolites. We provide here draft genome information of four strains of this freshwater cyanobacterium that was obtained by the Next Generation Sequencing approach to provide a better understanding of molecular mechanisms at the physiological and ecological levels. After gene assembly, genes of each strain were identified and annotated, and a genome database and G-browser of M. aeruginosa were subsequently constructed. Such genome information resources will enable us to obtain useful information for molecular ecological studies with a better understanding of modulating mechanisms of environmental factors associated with blooming.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.375-381
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• 2018

The monitoring of phytoplankton biomass and community structure is essential as a first step to control the harmful cyanobacterial blooms in freshwater systems, such as seen in rivers and lakes, due to the process of eutrophication and climate change. In order to quantify the biomass of phytoplankton with a wide range in size and shape, the measurement of cell biovolume along with cell density is required for a comprehensive review on this issue. However, most routine monitoring programs preserve the gathered phytoplankton samples before analysis using chemical additives, because of the constraint of time and the number of samples. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cell biovolume change characteristics of six cyanobacterial species, which are common bloom-causing cyanobacteria in the Nakdong River, after the preservation with Lugol's iodine solution. All species showed a statistically significant difference after the addition of Lugol's iodine solution compared to the live cell biovolume, and the cell biovolume decreased to the level of 34.0 ~ 56.3 % at maximum in each species after the preservation. The nonlinear regression models for determining the shrinkage ratio by a preservation period were derived by using the cell biovolume measured until 180 days preservation of each target species, and the equation to convert the cell biovolume measured after preservation for a certain period to the cell biovolume of viable cell was derived using that formula. The conversion equation derived from this study can be used to estimate the actual cell biovolume in the natural environment at the time of sampling, by using the measured biovolume after the preservation in the phytoplankton monitoring. Moreover this is expected to contribute to the final interpretation of the water quality and aquatic ecosystem impacts due to the cyanobacterial blooms.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.268-286
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• 2018

The eutrophication and algal blooms by harmful cyanobacteria (CyanoHAs) and freshwater redtide (FRT) that severely experiencing in typical regulated weir system of the Nakdong River are one of the most rapidly expanding water quality problems in Korea and worldwide. To compare with the factors of rainfall, hydrology, and dominant algae, this study explored spatiotemporal variability of the major water environmental factors by weekly intervals in eight weir pools of the Nakdong River from January 2013 to July 2017. There was a distinct difference in rainfall distribution between upstream and downstream regions. Outflow discharge using small-scale hydropower generation, overflow and fish-ways accounted for 37.4%, 60.1% and 2.5%, respectively. Excluding the flood season, the outflow was mainly due to the hydropower release through year-round. These have been associated with the drawdown of water level, water exchange rate, and the significant impact on change of dominant algae. The mean concentration (maximum value) of chlorophyll-a was $17.6mg\;m^{-3}$ ($98.2mg\;m^{-3}$) in the SAJ~GAJ and $29.6mg\;m^{-3}$ ($193.6mg\;m^{-3}$) in the DAS~HAA weir pools reaches, respectively. It has increased significantly in the downstream part where the influence of treated wastewater effluents (TWEs) is high. Indeed, very high values (>50 or $>100mg\;m^{-3}$) of chlorophyll-a concentration were observed at low flow rates and water levels. Algal assemblages that caused the blooms of CyanoHAs and FRT were the cyanobacteria Microcystis and the diatom Stephanodiscus populations, respectively. In conclusion, appropriate hydrological management practices in terms of each weir pool may need to be developed.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.173-184
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• 2023

Due to climate change, algal blooms frequently occur not only in Korea but also around the world, and the risk of toxicity of harmful algae has recently been issued. It is known that the representative harmful algae, cyanobacteria, are caused by the intersection of three factors: water temperature, residence time, and nutrients. In this study, water quality simulation was carried out using EFDC, a three-dimensional numerical model, to analyze the variations in water quality due to the decrease of residence time according to the opening of Yeongju Dam in Naeseong-Cheon. In fact, the concentration of chlorophyll-a in Yeongju Dam in the summer of 2021 was significant, exceeding the 'algae warning' for a long time based on the previous algae warning system. On the other hand, as a result of performing the simulation under the condition that the dam gate was completely opened, the concentration of chlorophyll-a was mostly reduced below the 'algae warning' level during the simulation period. It was confirmed that reducing the residence time by restoring the flow of Naeseong-Cheon is a way to immediately reduce algae in Yeongju Dam.