• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2018.05a
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• pp.145-145
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• 2018

Small islands rely heavily on groundwater resources in addition to rainwater as the source of freshwater since surface water bodies are often absent. The groundwater resources are vulnerable to sea level rise, coastal flooding, saltwater intrusion, irregular pattern of precipitation resulting in long droughts and flash floods. Increase in population increases the demand for the limited groundwater resources, thus aggravating the problem. In this study, the effects of climate change on Tongatapu Island, Kingdom of Tonga, a small island in Pacific Ocean, are investigated using a sharp interface transient groundwater flow model. Twenty nine downscaled General Circulation Model(GCM) predictions are input to a water balance model to estimate the groundwater recharge. The temporal variation in recharge is predicted over the period of 2010 to 2099. A set of GCM models are selected to represent the ensemble of 29 models based on cumulative recharge at the end of the century. This set of GCM model predictions are then used to simulate a total of six climate scenarios, three each (2010-2039, 2040-2069, and 2070-2099) under RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5. The impacts of predicted climate change on groundwater resources is evaluated in terms of freshwater volume changes and saltwater ratios in pumping wells compared to present conditions. Though the cumulative recharge at the end of the century indicates a wetter climate compared to the present conditions the large variability in rainfall pattern results in frequent periods of groundwater drought leading to saltwater intrusion in pumping wells. Thus for sustaining the limited groundwater resources in small islands, implementation of timely assessment and management practices are of utmost importance.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2020.06a
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• pp.169-169
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• 2020

According to the IPCC analysis, severe climate changes are projected to occur in Korea as the temperature is expected to rise by 3.2 ℃, the precipitation by 15.6% and the sea level by 27cm by 2050. It is predicted that the occurrence of abnormal climate phenomena - especially those such as increase of concentrated precipitation and extreme heat in the summer season and severe drought in the winter season - that have happened in Korea in the past 30 years (1981-2010) will continuously be intensified and accelerated. As a result, the impact on and vulnerability of the water management sector is expected to be exacerbated. This research aims to predict the climate change impacts on streamflow of Daecheong Lake area of Geum River in South Korea during the summer and winter seasons, which show extreme meteorological events, and ultimately develop an integrated policy model in response. We projected and compared the streamflow changes of Daecheong Lake area of Geum River in South Korea in the near future period (2020-2040) and the far future period (2041-2060) with the reference period (1991-2010) using the HEC-HMS model. The data from a global climate model HadGEM2-AO, which is the fully-coupled atmosphere-ocean version of the Hadley Centre Global Environment Model 2, and RCP scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) were used as inputs for the HEC-HMS model to identify the river basins where cases of extreme flooding or drought are likely to occur in the near and far future. The projections were made for the summer season (July-September) and the winter season(November-January) in order to reflect the summer monsoon and the dry winter. The results are anticipated to be used by policy makers for preparation of adaptation plans to secure water resources in the nation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.67-72
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• 2010

In this study, the impact on the circulating water system has been analyzed due to an installation of helical turbine to develop hydro-kinetic energy at the discharge channel of the power plant. Numerical simulations of velocity and pressure variations have been performed when one set of $3.6\;m\;{\times}\;1.5\;m$ sized helical turbine is installed at the outlet of discharge culvert. In case of mean sea level, change of downstream water surface elevation does not affect upstream elevation of the weir because its propagation is blocked by the seal well weir. However in case of highest high water level, change of downstream elevation affects upstream elevation because flow pattern in discharge culvert becomes the full pipe flow with submerged weir. Although an unstable pressure change occurs in upstream of the weir during the intial 10 minutes after beginning of the discharge, it becomes stable after that time. In addition, a rise of water surface elevation by 0.2 m is observed but it is concluded that it hardly affects the safety of circulating water pump (CWP) although its required power is increased more or less. Therefore, the increase of required power of CWP needs to be considered for evaluation of the helical turbine applicability.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.589-599
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• 2014

This study selected optimal sites in Myeongsasimni located in west coast of Korea for stratigraphic research containing extreme climate event during quaternary period by spatio-temporal analyses of changes in sedimentary environment and land use employing 1918 topographic map, 2000 digital terrain map, 1976 and 2012 air photographies. The study area shows no significant changes in topographic characteristics that hilly areas with relatively large variations in elevation are distributed over north and south part of the study area, and sand dues are developed along the coast line. Moreover, flat low lying areas are located at the back side of the sand dues. The movement of surface run off and sediment loads shows two major trends of inland direction flow from back sides of sand dunes and outland direction flow from high terrains inland, and the two flows merge into the stream located in the center of the study area. Two sink with individual area of $0.2km^2$ are observed in Yongjeong-ri and Jaryong-ri which are located in south central part and south part of the study area, respectively. In addition, sea level change simulation reveals that $3.4km^2$ and $3.64km^2$ are inundated with 3 m of sea level rise in 1918 and 2000, respectively, and it would contribute to chase sea level change records preserved in stratigraphy. The inundated areas overlaps well with sink areas where it indicates the low lying areas located in south cental and south part of the study area are identical for sediment accumulation. The areas with minimal human impact on sediment records over last 100 years are $3.51km^2$ distributed over central and south part of the study area with the land use changes of mud and rice field in 1918 to rice field in 2012. The candidate sites of $0.15km^2$ in central part and $0.09km^2$ in south part are identified for preferable locations of geologic record of extreme climate events during quaternary period based on the overlay analysis of optimal sedimentary environment and land use changes.