• Journal of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry and Cartography
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.305-316
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• 2015

The GPS signal delays in troposphere, which are along the signal path between a transmitting satellite and GPS permanent station, can be used to retrieve the precipitable water vapor. The GPS remote sensing technique of atmospheric water vapor is capable of monitoring typhoon and detecting long term water vapor for tracking of earth’s climate change. In this study, we analyzed GPS precipitable water vapor variations during the heavy snowstorm event occurred in the Yeongdong area, 2014. The results show that the snowfall event were occurring after the GPS precipitable water vapor were increased, the maximum fresh snow depth was recorded after the maximum GPS precipitable water vapor was generated, in Kangneug and Wuljin, respectively. Also, we analyzed that the closely correlation among the GPS precipitable water vapor, the K-index and total index which was acquired by the upper air observation system during this snowstorm event was revealed.

• Atmosphere
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.99-115
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• 2015

To investigate the influences of the observational nudging and the analysis nudging on the WRF simulation for the heavy snowfall event in Yeongdong area on 26 February 2012, the sensitivity experiments in relation to nudging effects were conducted. We initially set the magnitude of nudging coefficient of $6.0{\times}10^{-4}s^{-1}$ to apply to the analysis nudging experiments and observational experiments. To select the optimized options for the observational nudging, the radius influence experiment was carried out with radii ranging from 10 to 25 km at 5 km intervals. Among the observational nudging experiments, the experiment, which was conducted with the option of the radius influence of 15 km and that of the nudging coefficient of $6.0{\times}10^{-4}s^{-1}$ (ONG exp.), showed a best result. As giving the nudging effect only directly on D1 and D2 brought about a better result for the analysis nudging, we set the analysis nudging experiment as above (ANG exp.). We compared and analyzed the results from the control experiment, ONG experiment, and ANG experiment to reveal nudging effects. It was found that the control experiment brought about a result that it overestimated its precipitation in comparison with the observation and failed to properly simulate the time zone of rainfall concentration. When either of the two nudging (observational and analysis nudging) was applied to the data assimilation, it brought about a better result than the control experiment. Especially the observational nudging led to a meaningful result for the wind field, while the analysis nudging had the best result for the precipitation distribution among the experiments.

• Atmosphere
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.207-221
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• 2022

In Jeju, on January 23, 2016, a cold surge accompanied by heavy snowfall with the most significant amount of 12 cm was the highest record in 32 years. During this period, the temperature of 850 hPa in January was the lowest in 2016. Notably, in 2016, the average surface temperature of January on the Polar cap was the highest since 1991, and 500 hPa geopotential height also showed the highest value. With this condition, the polar vortex in the northern hemisphere meandered and expanded into the subtropics regionally, covering the Korean Peninsula with very high potential vorticity up to 7 Potential Vorticity Unit. As a result, the strong cold advection, mostly driven by a northerly wind, around the Korean Peninsula occurred at over 2𝜎. Previous studies have not addressed this extreme synoptic condition linked to polar vortex expansion due to the unprecedented Arctic warming. We suggest that the occurrence of a strong Ural blocking event after the abrupt warming of the Barents/Karas seas is a major cause of unusually strong cold advection. With a specified mesoscale model simulation with SST (Sea Surface Temperature), we also show that the warmer SST condition near the Korean Peninsula contributed to the heavy snowfall event on Jeju Island.

• Atmosphere
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.177-188
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• 2017

The development mechanisms of an unusual heavy snowfall event, which occurred in the coast of Jeju Island on 23 January 2016 were investigated through a thermodynamic approach. The formation of heavy snowfall was attributed to the enhanced thermal convection in two ways. First, the convection was enhanced by the air-sea temperature difference between the cold air advection in low-troposphere associated with the strengthening of the Siberian High and abnormal warm sea surface temperature, which is $1{\sim}2^{\circ}C$ higher than normal year over the Yellow Sea (YS). Second, the convective instability was increased by the vertical temperature gradient between the 7 days-sustained cold air advection in low-troposphere and the abrupt cold air intrusion in mid-troposphere induced by the southward shift of a cold cut-off vortex ($-45^{\circ}C$) at the formation stage. Compared to the twelve hours prior to the formation, the low-level moisture increased by 5% through the moisture supply from the YS, and the air-sea temperature difference increased from $18.5^{\circ}C$ to $28.5^{\circ}C$. Furthermore, the upward sensible (latent) heat flux increased 1.5 (1.2) times over the YS before the twelve hours prior to the formation. Thereafter, the sustained moisture supply and upward turbulent heat flux helped to maintain the snowstorm.

• Atmosphere
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.461-472
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• 2021

Yeongdong has frequently suffered from severe snowstorms, which generally give rise to societal and economic damages to the region in winter. In order to understand its mechanism, there has been a long-term measurement campaign, based on the rawinsonde measurements for every snowfall event at Gangneung since 2014. The previous observations showed that a typical heavy snowfall is generally accompanied with northerly or northeasterly flow below the snow clouds, generated by cold air outbreak over the relatively warmer East Sea. An intensive and multi-institutional measurement campaign has been launched in 2019 mainly in collaboration with Gangwon Regional Office of Meteorology and National Institute of Meteorological Studies of Korean Meteorological Administration, with a special emphasis on winter snowfall and spring windstorm altogether. The experiment spanned largely from February to April with comprehensive measurements of frequent rawinsonde measurements at a super site (Gangneung) with continuous remote sensings of wind profiler, microwave radiometers and weather radar etc. Additional measurements were added to the campaign, such as aircraft dropsonde measurements and shipboard rawinsonde soundings. One of the fruitful outcomes is, so far, to identify a couple of cold air damming occurrences, featuring lowest temperature below 1 km, which hamper the convergence zone and snow clouds from penetrating inland, and eventually make it harder to forecast snowfall in terms of its location and timing. This kind of comprehensive observation campaign with continuous remote sensings and intensive additional measurement platforms should be conducted to understand various orographic precipitation in the complex terrain like Yeongdong.

• 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.

• Atmosphere
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.143-160
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• 2013

The effect of 3DVAR (Three Dimension Variational data Assimilation) was examined by comparing observation and the simulations of CNTL (to which data assimilation was not applied) and ALL (to which data assimilation was applied using ground observation data and radar data) for the case of a heavy snowfall event (case A) of 11-12 February 2011 in the Yeongdong region. In case A, heavy snow intensively came in the Yeongdong coastal region rather than Daegwallyeong, in particular, around the Gangneung and Donghae regions with total precipitation in Bukgangneung at approximately 91 mm according to the AWS observation. It can be seen that compared to CNTL, ALL simulated larger precipitation along the Yeongdong coastline extending from Sokcho to Donghae while simulating smaller precipitation for inland areas including Daegwallyeong. On comparison of the total accumulated precipitations from simulations of CNTL and ALL, and the observed total accumulated precipitation, the positive effect of the assimilation of ground observation data and radar data could be identified in Bukgangneung and Donghae, on the other hand, the negative effect of the assimilation could be identified in the Daegwallyeong and Sokcho regions. In order to examine the average accuracy of precipitation prediction by CNTL and ALL for the entire Gangwon region including the major points mentioned earlier, the three hour accumulated precipitation from simulations of CNTL and ALL were divided into 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mm/3hr and threat Scores were calculated by forecasting time. ALL showed relatively higher TSs than CNTL for all threshold values although there were some differences. That is, when considered generally based on the Gangwon region, the accuracy of precipitation prediction from ALL was improved somewhat compared to that from CNTL.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1187-1201
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• 2010

The formation and development conditions of the cloud streets over the yellow sea by the Cold Surge of Siberian Anticyclone Expansion which produce the heavy snowfall events over the southwestern coast, Honam District of the Korean peninsula, has been investigated through analyses of the three dimensional snow cloud structures by using the CAPPI, RHI, VAD and VVP data of X-band Radar at Muan Weather Observatory and S-band Radar at Jindo Weather Station. The data to be used are obtained from January 04, 2003, when heavy snow storm hits on Gwangju and Honam District. The PPI Radar images show that the cloud bands distribute in perpendicular to the expansion direction of the high pressure and that the radius of cloud cells is about 5~8 km with 20~30 dBz and distance between each cell is about 10 km. And but the vertical Radar images show that the cloud street is a small scale convective type cloud within height of about 3 km where a stable layer exists. From the VVP images, the time period of the high pressure expansion, the moving direction and development stages of the system are delineated. Finally, the vertical distribution of wind direction is fairly constants, while the wind speed sheer increases with altitude to 3 km.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.465-480
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• 2018

On 20 January 2017, the fresh snow cover which is more than 20 cm, accompaning with lightning occurred over Yeongdong coastal region for the first 3-hour of the heavy snowfall event. This study analyzed sounding observations in the heavy snow period which were including the measurements of wind profiler, radiometer and rawinsonde. The features examined from the vertical wind and temperature data at the two adjacent stations, Bukgangneung and Gangneung-Wonju National University, are summarized as follows: 1) The strong (30-40 kts) north-east winds were observed in the level from 2 to 6 km. The Strong atmospheric instability was found from 4 to 6 km, in which the lapse rate of temperature was about $-18^{\circ}C\;km^{-1}$. These features indicate that the deep convective cloud develops up to the height of 6 km in the heavy snowfall period, which is shown in the satellite infrared images. 2) The cooling was observed in the level below 1 km. At this time, the surface air temperature at Bukgangneung station decreased by $4^{\circ}C$. The narrow cooling zone estimated from AWS and buoy data was located in east-west direction. These are the features observed in the cold front of extratropical cyclone. The distributions of radar echo and lightning also show the same shape in east-west direction. Therefore, the results indicate that the Yeongdong thundersnow event was the combined precipitation system of deep convective cloud and cold frontal precipitation.

• Atmosphere
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.57-71
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• 2012

Influences of orographic and ocean effect, which depend on the detailed geographic characteristics, upon winter time (December-February) precipitation in the Yeongdong region are investigated. Most of precipitation events in the Yeongdong region during the wintertime are associated with moist northeasterly (coming from the northeast direction) winds and also the spatial distribution of precipitation shows a great difference between Mountain area (Daegwallyeong) and Coastal area (Gangneung). The linear correlation coefficient between the meteorological variables obtained from NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis Data and precipitation amount for each precipitation type is calculated. Mountain type precipitation is dominated by northeasterly wind speed of the low level (1000 hPa and 925 hPa) and characterized with more precipitation in mountain area than coastal area. However, Coastal type precipitation is affected by temperature difference between ocean and atmosphere, and characterized with more precipitation in coastal area than mountain area. The results are summarized as follows; In the case of mountain type precipitation, the correlation coefficient between wind speed at 1000 hPa (925 hPa) and precipitation amount at Daegwallyeong is 0.60 (0.61). The correlation is statistical significant at 1% level. In the case of coastal type precipitation, the correlation coefficient of temperature difference between ocean and 925 hPa (850 hPa) over the East sea area and precipitation amount at Gangneung is 0.33 (0.34). As for the mountain type precipitation, a detailed analysis was conducted in order to verify the relationship between precipitation amount at Daegwallyeong and low level wind speed data from wind profiler in Gangneung and Buoy in the East Sea. The results also show the similar behavior. This result indicates that mountain type precipitation in the Yeongdong region is closely related with easterly wind speed. Thus, the statistical analysis of the few selected meteorological variables can be a good indicator to estimate the precipitation totals in the Yeongdong region in winter time.