• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.329-339
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• 2022

Better understanding the mechanism of black ice occurrence on the road in winter is necessary to reduce the socio-economic damage it causes. In this study, intensive observations of road weather elements and surface information under the influence of synoptic high-pressure patterns (22^nd December, 2020 and 29^th January, and 25^th February, 2021) were carried out using a mobile observation vehicle. We found that temperature and road surface temperature change is significantly influenced by observation time, altitude and structure of the road, surrounding terrain, and traffic volume, especially in tunnels and bridges. In addition, even if the spatial distribution of temperature and road surface temperature for the entire observation route is similar, there is a difference between air and road surface temperatures due to the influence of current weather conditions. The observed road temperature, air temperature and air pressure in Nongong Bridge were significantly different to other fixed road weather observation points.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.150-166
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• 2011

This study aims to investigate the differences of synoptic characteristics and frontal structures over East Asia according to the main path types of water vapor flux (WVF) of 850hPa surface in cases of the heavy rainfall in the south coastal region of Korea during the Changma season (June and July), In the cases of type A in which the main path of WVF is running from the South china Sea via the South china to the South Sea of Korea, the North Pacific subtropical anticyclone (NPSA) expands to the South China and strong cyclones appear in the Yellow Sea. In cases of type B and C in those the main paths of WVF are running from the South China Sea via the Western Pacific Ocean near Taiwan to the South Sea and from the Western North Pacific Ocean to the South Sea respectively, tropical cyclones appear frequently near Taiwan and the NPSA shifts northward. In the case of type D in which the main path of WVF appear only near the South Sea, strong cyclones appear near the Yellow Sea. In all cases upper jets are intensified in the northern part of the heavy rainfall region and low-level jets appear near the main paths of WVF. In the view of frontal structure, deep active-type of the Changma front is identified in most cases of all types. In this point the Changma season is different from the Baiu season in Western Japan where many cases of shallow active-type of the Baiu front appear.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.23 no.10
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• pp.1673-1691
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• 2014

Although most natural disaster related studies conducted in Korea recently have been related to typhoons or severe rainstorms, the occurrence frequency of disasters due to windstorms or rainstorms is also high. To reduce the strong wind damage caused by strong windstorms due to climate change, basic studies of strong winds are necessary. Therefore, in this study, the types and representative cases of windstorms that were observed to have been higher than 14 m/s, which is the criterion for strong-wind warnings from the Korea Meteorological Administration, were selected from among those windstorm cases that occurred on the Korean Peninsula for 10 years to conduct a statistical analysis of them and determine their synoptic meteorological characteristics. The cases of windstorms occurring on the Korean Peninsula were divided into six weather patterns according to the locations of the anticyclones/cyclones. Among these types, the SH type, which occurs when Siberian Highs expand into the Korean Peninsula, showed the highest occurrence frequency, accounting for at least the majority of the entire occurrence frequency of windstorms together with that of the EC type, which occurs when cyclones develop on the East Sea, and there was no clear yearly trend of the occurrence frequencies of windstorms. The monthly occurrence frequencies of windstorms were formed mainly by typhoons in the summer and the Siberian Highs in the winter, and the months with the highest windstorm occurrence frequencies were December and January, in which mainly the SH and EC type windstorms occurred. March showed the next highest occurrence frequency with10 times, and SH windstorms occurred the most frequently in March, followed by the CC, SC, and EC types of windstorms, in order of precedence. Therefore, attention to these types of windstorms is required. Countermeasures against storm and flood damage in Korea targeting the summer should be re-reviewed together with pre-disaster prevention plans, because cases of storm and flood damage due to windstorms occur more frequently than those due to typhoons, and they occur throughout the year.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.732-743
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• 2005

The characteristics of precipitation over South Korea from 1973 to 2002 were investigated. The synoptic patterns inducing precipitation are classified by 10 categories, according to the associated surface map analysis. The annual mean frequency of the total precipitation, its duration time and amount for 30 years are 179 times, 2.9 hours, and 7.1 mm, respectively. About $59\%$ of the total precipitation events were associated with a synoptic low. The dominant patterns are identified with respect to seasons: A synoptic mobile low pressure pattern is frequent in spring, fall, and winter, whereas low pressure embedded within the Changma and orography induced precipitation are dominant in summer and in winter. For the amount of precipitation, precipitation originated from tropical air associated with typhoon, tropical convergence, and Changma is more significant than that with other pressure patterns. The statistical elapse time reaching to 80 mm, which is the threshold amount of heavy rainfall watch at KMA, takes 12.9 hours after the onset of precipitation. The probability distribution function of the precipitation shows that the maximum probability for heavy rainfall is located at the south-coastal region of the Korean peninsula. It is also shown that the geographical distribution of the Korean peninsula plays an important role in occurrence of heavy rainfall. For example, heavy precipitation is frequently occurred at Youngdong area, when typhoon passes along the coastal region of the back borne mountains in the peninsula. The climatological classification of synoptic patterns associated with heavy rainfall over South Korea can be used to provide a guidance to operational forecast of heavy rainfall in KMA.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2011

In order to investigate the effects of local and synoptic meteorological conditions on urban scale particulate air pollutants observed over the Busan coastal area, power spectrum analysis was applied to observed particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter $\leq10\;{\mu}m$ ($PM_{10}$) for the period from 1 October, 1993 to 31 December, 2004. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis was used to obtain the hourly mean observed $PM_{10}$ concentrations to identify different periodicity scales of $PM_{10}$ concentrations. The results showed that, aside from the typical and well-known periodicities such as diurnal and annual variations caused by anthropogenic influences, three other significant power spectral density peaks were identified: 7-day, 21-day and 2.25-year periodicities. Cospectrum analysis indicated that the seven-day variations were closely related to the synoptic meteorological conditions such as weak wind speed, which are relevant to the stagnant high pressure system slowly passing through the Korean Peninsula. The intra-seasonal 21-day variation was negatively correlated with wind speed but was consistently positively correlated with relative humidity, which is related to aerosol formation that can be achieved as a result of the hygroscopic characteristics of aerosols. However, the quasibiennial 2.25-year variation was correlated with the frequency of Asian dust occurrence, the periodicities of which have been recorded inter-annually over the Korean Peninsula.

• Atmosphere
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.187-201
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• 2006

During summer (JJA) of 2004, a record-high temperature in Korea appeared at Miryang ($38.5^{\circ}C$ on July 30). Moreover, Miryang showed the most frequent occurrence (25 days in JJA) of the daily highest temperature among observational sites in Korea. Based on meteorological analysis, it is found that this phenomenon is caused by neither the global warming effect nor the urban climate effect. It is caused by the mesoscale and synoptic and/or global scale atmospheric circulations, as evidenced by several factors described below. Firstly, the hottest areas have normally occurred not at a point but over an area, particularly along an axis connecting Sancheong and Daegu. But in 2004, this axis has moved southward and locates over Namhae-Miryang due to northerlies that were induced by the heating effect related to the low snow-cover on the Tibet Plateau. Secondly, although the maximum temperature was the highest among observational sites in Korea, the daily mean temperature and the number of nights with air temperature over $25^{\circ}C$ were not the highest at Miryang. Thirdly, the downdraft induced by the second circulation of typhoon and abnormal development of the North-Pacific High were found to have exerted an important role.

• Atmosphere
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.355-365
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• 2008

Synoptic and climatological characteristics of heat waves over Korea and Europe as well as their biometeorological impacts were compared. In July of 1994, excess deaths of about 2,388 in the population of South Korea are estimated by the modified excess death calculation algorithm ofKysely (2004). The excess deaths correspond to the net mortality increase of 12.5% in July of 1994 if we compare the estimated value to the expected number of deaths in this month (i.e., about 19,171). The comparative study of heat waves in Korea and Europe shows that the record-breaking heat waves in both regions are closely associated with prolonged droughts. In particular, reduction of soil moisture, precipitation and cloud cover and enhancement of insolation during the drought periods are very likely to be related to the increase in the intensity and the duration ofheat waves. Climate models predict that the frequency, intensity, and duration of heat waves in the 21 st century will be greatly enhanced in both areas. In order to reduce the biometeorological and socioeconomic impacts due to heat waves, not only the development of heat-related mortality prediction model that can be widely applied to many climate regimes, but also studies on the climatological association between extreme temperatures and abnormal hydrological cycle are needed.

• Atmosphere
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.383-392
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• 2018

This study investigates synoptic characteristics of cold surges over South Korea during winter season (December-February). A total of 63 cold events are selected by quantile regression analysis using daily mean temperature observations from 11 KMA stations for 38 years (1979/80-2016/17). Large-scale pressure pattern during the cold surges is well characterized by high over Siberia and low over Aleutian regions, which elucidates cold advection over the Korean peninsula. However, the large-scale pattern cannot successfully explain the observed sudden decrease of temperature during the cold surges. Composite analyses reveal that a synoptic-scale cyclone developing over the northern Japan is a key feature that significantly contribute to the enhancement of cold advection by increasing pressure gradient over the Korean peninsula. Enhanced sensible and latent heat fluxes are observed over the southern ocean of Korea and Japan during the cold surges due to temperature and humidity differences between the near surface and the lower atmosphere over the ocean. The evaporated water vapor transported toward the center of the surface cyclone and condenses in the lower-to-middle troposphere. The released energy likely promotes the development of the surface cyclone by inducing positive PV near the surface of the heating region.

• Atmosphere
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.37-51
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• 2009

Kinematic characteristics of a heavy rainfall event occurred in Changma front are analyzed using synoptic weather charts, satellite imagery and NCEP(National Centers for Environmental Prediction) / NCAR(National Centers for Atmospheric Research) reanalysis data. The heavy rainfall is accompanied with mesoscale rain clouds developing over the Southwest region of Korea during the period from 0300 LST to 2100 LST 25 June 2006. The surface cyclone in the Changma front is generated and developed rapidly when it meets following vertical conditions: The maximum value of relative vorticity is appeared at 700 hPa and is extended gradually near the surface. It is thought that the vertical structure of relative vorticity is closely related with the descent of strong wind zone exceeding $10ms^{-1}$. The jet core at 200 hPa is shifted southward and extended downward and the low-level jet stream associated with upper-level jet stream appeared at 850 hPa. Kinematic features of heavy rainfall system at cyclone-generating point are as follows: In the generating stage of cyclone, the relative vorticity below 850 hPa increased and the convergence below 850 hPa and the divergence at 400 hPa are intensified by southward movement of jet core at 200 hPa. The heavy rainfall system seems to locate to the south of the exit region of upper-level jet streak; In the developing stage of cyclone, the relative vorticity below 850 hPa and the convergence near surface are further strengthened and upward vertical velocity between 850 hPa and 200 hPa is increased.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.168-180
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• 2011

The variation of the physicochemical properties of atmospheric aerosols in coexistence of the heavy Asian Dust and Haze observed from $15^{th}$ to $17^{th}$ March 2009 in Seoul was scrutinized through the mass and ion concentration observations and synoptic weather analysis. Although the ratio of PM1.0/PM10 was constant at 0.3 (which is typical during Asian Dust period in Korea) during the measurement period, both PM10 and PM1.0 mass concentrations were 3~6 times and 2~4 times higher than that of clear days, respectively. Water-soluble ion components accounted for 30~50% of PM10 and 50~70% of PM1.0 mass concentration. One of the secondary pollutants, $NO_3^-$ was found to be associated with $Ca^{2+}$ and $Na^+$ in coarse mode indicating that the aerosol derived from natural source was affected by anthropogenic pollutants. While the acidity of the aerosols increased in fine mode when the stagnation of weather patterns was the strongest (March $16^{th}$), the alkalinity increased in coarse mode when new air masses arrived with a southwestern wind after ending a period of stagnation (March $17^{th}$). In the selected case, SOR (Sulfur Oxidation Ratio, $nSO_4^{2-}/[nSO_4^{2-}+nSO_2]$) and NOR (Nitrogen Oxidation Ratio, $nNO_3^-/[nNO_3^-+nNO_2]$) values of ion components were higher than the general values during Asian Dust period. These results imply that dust aerosols could be mixed with pollutants transported from China even in heavy Asian Dust cases in Korea.