• Atmosphere
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.185-196
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• 2011

The performance assessment in radiosonde observation on the special observation program (ProbeX-2009) is performed and the characteristics of precipitation using Auto Weather System (AWS) and radiosonde data in 2009 at the Ulleungdo are investigated. The launching time, observation time, and maximum altitude of radiosonde are satisfied with the regulation from Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) but the duration of observational time of radiosonde is much shorter than that of the ProbeX-2007 because the altitude of launching site is higher than others in 2007. From the analysis of trajectories of radiosonde, most radiosondes at the Ulleungdo tend to move into the east because the westerly prevail at the middle latitude. However, when the Okhotsk high is expanded to the Korean peninsula and the north-westerly winds strengthen over the East Sea as the subtropical high is retreated, radiosonde tends to move into the south-west and south-east, respectively. Maximum distance appears at the end of observation level before May but the level of maximum distance is changed into 100 hPa after June because the prevailing wind direction is reversed from westerly to easterly at the stratosphere during summer time. The condition of precipitation was more correlated with the dynamic instability except Changma season. Precipitation in 2009 at the Ulleungdo occurred under the marine climate so that total precipitation amounts and precipitation intensity were increased and intensified during nighttime. The local environment favorable for the precipitation during nighttime was while the wind speed at the surface and the inflow from the shoreline were strengthened. Precipitation events also affected by synoptic condition but the localized effect induced by topography was more strengthened at the northern part of Ulleungdo.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.159-168
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• 2019

Understanding the interaction between climate and the water cycle is critical especially in a drought sensitive region such as California. This study explored hydrologic changes in central and southern California in relation to the glacial-interglacial climate cycles over the last 30 thousand years. To do this, we reconstructed paleovegetation using plant wax carbon isotopic compositions (${\delta}^{13}C$) preserved in marine sediment cores retrieved from the central California continental shelf (ODP Site 1018) and Santa Barbara Basin (ODP Site 893A). The results were then compared to the existing sea surface temperature (SST) and pollen records from the same cores to understand terrestrial hydrology in relation to oceanographic processes. The Last Glacial was generally dry both in central and southern California, indicated by grassland expansion, confirming the previously suggested notion that the westerly storm track that supplies the majority of the precipitation in California may not have moved southward during the glacial period. Southern California was drier than central California during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This drying trend may have been associated with the weakening of the California Current and northerly winds leading to the early increase in SST in southern California and decline in both offshore and coastal upwelling. The climate was wetter during the Holocene in both regions compared to the glacial period and forest coverage increased accordingly. We attribute this wetter condition to the precipitation contribution increase from the tropics. Overall, we found a clear synchronicity between the terrestrial and marine environment which showed that the terrestrial vegetation composition in California is greatly affected by not only the global climate states but also regional oceanographic and atmospheric conditions that regulate the timing and amount of precipitation over California.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.119-134
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• 2023

The synoptic, thermodynamic, and dynamic characteristics of a snowfall event that occurred in the Yeongdong region on March 1-2, 2021, were investigated. Surface weather charts, ERA5 reanalysis data, rawinsonde data, GK-2A satellite data, and WISSDOM data were used for analysis. The snow depth, exceeding 10 cm, was observed at four weather stations during the analysis period. The maximum snow depth (37.4 cm) occurred at Bukgangneung. According to the analysis of the weather charts, old and dry air was trapped within relatively warm, humid air in the upper atmosphere over the East Sea and adjacent Yeongdong region. This caused unstable atmospheric conditions that led to developing convective clouds and snowfall over Bukgangneung. In particular, based on the thermodynamic and kinematic vertical analysis, we suggest that strong winds attributable to the vertical gradient of potential temperature in the low layer and the development of convective instability due to cold advection played a significant role in the occurrence of snowfall in the Yeongdong region. These results were confirmed from the vertical analysis of the rawinsonde data.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.181-188
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• 2009

The macro tidal flat of the Gochanggun Myongsasipri, located on the southwestern coast of Korea, is studied in terms of seasonal variations of surface sediment and sedimentary environment. Surface sediments of 45 sites in the winter (February) and the summer (August) are sampled across three survey lines (15 sites in each survey line), respectively. The tidal flat of open-coast Myongsasipri is mainly composed of fine to medium sand, the distribution of which shows a coast-parallel trend. Grain-size distribution has a bi-modal trend, and grain size in the winter is coarser than that in the summer. During the winter, the upper tidal flat is dominated by medium sand, while the lower tidal flat is dominated by find sand. Such a feature is attributed to wave-dominated sedimentation in the winter. The finer grains of the summer rather than that of the winter and relationship between texture parameters suggest that tidal energy plays an important role in tidal-flat sedimentation during the summer. This study represents an environmental change from wave-dominated conditions in the winter to tide-dominated conditions in the summer as a result of the seasonal variation in the intensity of onshore-directed winds and waves in the Myongsasipri tidal flat.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.133-145
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• 2010

This study examined the characteristics of tropical cyclone(TC) activity over the western North Pacific(WNP) in 2009. Twenty-two TCs formed in 2009, which is slightly below normal(1979~2009 average: 25.8) and most of these occurred during the months of July to October. Most TCs in 2009 was formed over the northern Philippines and the eastern part of the WNP and they moved towards the South China Sea and the east of Japan, resulting in less TC affecting the East China Sea and Korea. The TC activity in 2009 is modulated by the large-scale circulations induced by the El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ and vigorous convection activity over the WNP. As the general characteristics of El $Ni{\tilde{n}}o$ year, the difference in sea surface temperature between the central Pacific and the eastern Pacific causes an anomalous westerly winds, expanding the WNP monsoon trough farther eastward. Accordingly, TC formation has relatively increased in the east part of the WNP. Active convection activities over the subtropical western Pacific excite a Rossby wave propagating from the South China Sea to mid-latitudes, resulting in an anomalous easterly steering flow in the South China, anomalous northwesterly over the East China Sea and Korea, and anomalous southwesterly over the east of Japan. Summing up, the TCs cannot enter the East China Sea and Korean region and instead they move towards the South China Sea or south-east of Japan. There were no effects of TCs in Korea in 2009. It is anticipated that this study which analyzed unusual TC activity and large-scale circulations in 2009 would help the predictability of TC effects to increase according to climate change in the East Asia.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.31-39
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• 2009

This study has found that there is a reverse phase with interdecadal variation in temporal variations of tropical cyclone (TC) genesis frequency (TCGF) between Northwest sector and Southeast sector, based on climatological mean tropical cyclone genesis location over the western North Pacific. The TCGF in the Northwest sector has been increased since the mid 1980s (1986-2005), while TCGF in the Southeast sector was higher until the early 1970s (1951-1970). The analysis of a difference between 1986-2005 and 1951-1970 showed results as follows: i) Through the analysis of vertical wind shear (VWS) and sea surface temperature (SST), less VWS and higher SST in the former (latter) period was located in the Northwest (Southeast) sector. ii) In the analysis of TC passage frequency (TCPF), TCs occurred in the Northwest sector frequently passed from east sea of the Philippines, through East China Sea, to Korea and Japan in the latter period, while TCs in the former period frequently has a lot of influences on South China Sea (SCS). In the case of TCs occurred in the Southeast sector, TCs in the west (east), based on $150^{\circ}E$ had a high passage frequency in the latter (former) period. In particular, TCs during the latter period frequently moved toward from the east sea of the Philippines to SCS and southern China. iii) This difference of TCPF between the two periods was characterized by 500 hPa anomalous pressure pattern. Particularly, anomalous cyclonic circulation strengthened over the East Asian continent caused anomalous southerlies along the East Asian coast line from the east sea of the Philippines to be predominate. These anomalous winds served as steering flows that TC can easily move toward same regions.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.246-258
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• 2012

Particulate matter deposited on leaf surfaces may cause erosion/abrasion of epicuticular wax and the malfunction of stomata. However, the deposition processes of particulate matter, such as elemental carbon (EC), has not been studied sufficiently in Asian forest ecosystems. Deposition processes for particulate ${SO_4}^{2-}$ and EC were studied in a Japanese cedar forest in Kajikawa, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, and in a dry evergreen forest and a dry deciduous forest in Sakaerat, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand. The ${SO_4}^{2-}$ fluxes attributed to rainfall outside the forest canopy (RF), throughfall (TF), and stemflow (SF) showed distinct seasonalities at both sites, increasing from November to February at the Kajikawa site and in March/April at the Sakaerat site. Seasonal west/northwest winds in winter may transport sulfur compounds across the Sea of Japan to the Kajikawa site. At the Sakaerat site, pollutants suspended in the air or dry deposits from the dry season might have been washed away by the first precipitations of the wet season. The EC fluxes from RF and TF showed similar variations by season at the Kajikawa site, while the flux from TF was frequently lower than that from RF at the Sakaerat site. Particulate matter strongly adsorbed onto leaf surfaces is not washed away by rainfall and contributes to the EC flux. At the Kajikawa site, Japanese cedar leaf surfaces accumulated the highest levels of particulate matter and could not be neglected when calculating the total flux. When such leaf-surface particles were considered, the contribution of dry deposition to the total EC flux was estimated to be 67%, 77%, and 82% at the Kajikawa site, and at the evergreen and deciduous forests of the Sakaerat site, respectively. Leaf-surface particles must be included when evaluating the dry and total fluxes of particulate matter, in particular for water-insoluble constituents such as EC.

• Atmosphere
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.247-260
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• 2010

A recent dramatic increase of natural hazards in the Korean peninsular (KP) due to typhoons have raised necessities for the accurate typhoon prediction. Ieodo ocean research station (IORS) has been constructed in June 2003 at the open ocean where typhoons pass frequently, aiming to observe typhoons before the landfall to the KP and hence to improve the prediction skill. This paper investigates the importance of measurements at the IORS in the typhoon research and forecast. Analysis of the best track data in the N. W. Pacific shows that about one typhoon passes over the IORS per year on the average and 54% of the KP-landfall typhoons during 59 years (1950-2008) passed by the IORS within the range of the 150-km radius. The data observed during the event of typhoons reveals that the IORS can provide useful information for the typhoon prediction prior to the landfall (mainland: before 8-10 hrs, Jeju Island: before 4-6 hrs), which may contribute to improving the typhoon prediction skill and conducting the disaster prevention during the landfall. Since 2003, nine typhoons have influenced the IORS by strong winds above 17m/s. Among them, the typhoon Maemi (0314) was the strongest and brought the largest damages in Korea. The various oceanic and atmospheric observation data at the IORS suggest that the Maemi (0314) has kept the strong intensity until the landfall as passing over warm ocean currents, while the Ewiniar (0603) has weakened rapidly as passing over the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water (YSBCW), mainly due to the storm's self-induced surface cooling. It is revealed that the IORS is located in the best place for monitering the patterns of the warm currents and the YSBCW which varies in time and space.

• Atmosphere
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.97-107
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• 2012

To investigate variation of aerosol number concentration at each different size with three-dimensional (3D) wind components in ocean area, aerosol particles and 3D wind components were measured in the Ieodo Ocean Research Station, which is located to 419 km southwest from Marado, the southernmost island of Korea, from 25 June to 8 July 2010. The Laser Particle Counter (LPC) and ultrasonic anemometer were used to measure the size of aerosol particles and 3D wind components (zonal (u), meridional (v), and vertical (w) wind) respectively. Surface weather chart, NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and sounding data were used to analyze the synoptic condition. The distribution of aerosol number concentration had a large variation from bigger particles more than 1.0 ${\mu}m$ in diameter by wind direction during precipitation. In the number concentration of aerosol particles with respect to the weather conditions, particles larger than 1.0 ${\mu}m$ in size were decreased and sustained to the similar concentration at smaller particles during precipitation. The increase in aerosol number concentration was due to the sea-salt particles which was suspended by southwesterly and upward winds. In addition, the aerosol number concentration with vertical wind flow could be related with the occurrence and increasing mechanism of aerosol in marine boundary layer.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.34 no.2_1
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• pp.213-225
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• 2018

In order to access the accuracy of the gridded daily Advanced Scatterometer (hereafter DASCAT) ocean surface wind data in the surrounding of Korea, the DASCAT was compared with the wind data from buoys. In addition, the reanalysis data for wind at 10 m provided by European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF, hereafter ECMWF), National Centers for Environmental Prediction and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR, hereafter NCEP), Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications-2 (MERRA-2, hereafter MERRA) were compared and analyzed. As a result, the RMSE of DASCAT for the actual wind speed is about 3 m/s. The zonal components of wind of buoys and the DASCAT have strong correlation more than 0.8 and the meridional components of wind them have lower correlation than that of zonal wind and are the lowest in the Yellow Sea (r=0.7). When the actual wind speed is below 10 m/s, the EMCWF has the highest accuracy, followed by DASCAT, MERRA, and NCEP. However, under the wind speed more than 10 m/s, DASCAT shows the highest accuracy. In the nature of error according to the wind direction, when the zonal wind is strong, all dataset has the error of more than $70^{\circ}$ on the average. On the other hand, the RMSE of wind direction was recorded $50^{\circ}$ under the strong meridional winds. ECMWF shows the highest accuracy in these results. The RMSE of the wind speed according to the wind direction varied depending on the actual wind direction. Especially, MERRA has the highest RMSE under the westerly and southerly wind condition, while the NCEP has the highest RMSE under the easterly and northerly wind condition.