• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.357-365
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• 2005

The typical patterns of surface $O_3$ pollution and their dependence on meteorology were studied in the Greater Seoul Area (GSA) during warm season (April-September) from 1998 to 2002. In order to classify the $O_3$ pollution patterns, two-stage (average linkage then k-means) clustering technique was employed based on daily maximum $O_3$ concentrations obtained from 53 monitoring sites during high $O_3$ events (118 days). The clustering technique identified four statistically distinct $O_3$ pollution patterns representing the different horizontal distributions and levels of $O_3$ in GSA. The prevailed pattern (93 days, $49.5\%$) distinctly showed the gradient of $49.5\%$ concentrations going from west to east in GSA. Very high $49.5\%$ concentrations throughout GSA (24 days, $12.8\%$) were also found as a significant pattern of severe $O_3$ pollution. In order to understand the characteristics of $O_3$ pollution patterns, the relationship between $O_3$ pollution patterns and meteorological conditions were analyzed using both synoptic charts and surface/upper air data. Each pattern was closely associated with surface wind interacted with synoptic background flow allowing to transport and accumulate $O_3$ and its precursor. In particular, the timing and inland penetration of sea-breeze were apparently found to play very important role in determining $O_3$ distributions.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.603-616
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• 2016

In this study, the effects of differential heating by land-use types on flow and air temperature at an Seoul Automated Synoptic Observing Systems (ASOS) located at Songwol-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul was analyzed. For this, a computation fluid dynamics (CFD) model was coupled to the local data assimilation and prediction system (LDAPS) for reflecting the local meteorological characteristics at the boundaries of the CFD model domain. Time variation of temperatures on solid surfaces was calculated using observation data at El-Oued, Algeria of which latitude is similar to that of the target area. Considering land-use type and shadow, surface temperatures were prescribed in the LDAPS-CFD coupled model. The LDAPS overestimated wind speeds and underestimated air temperature compared to the observations. However, a coupled LDAPS-CFD model relatively well reproduced the observed wind speeds and air temperature, considering complicated flows and surface temperatures in the urban area. In the morning when the easterly was dominant around the target area, both the LDAPS and coupled LDAPS-CFD model underestimated the observed temperatures at the Seoul ASOS. This is because the Kyunghee Palace located at the upwind region was composed of green area and its surface temperature was relatively low. However, in the afternoon when the southeasterly was dominant, the LDAPS still underestimated, on the while, the coupled LDAPS-CFD model well reproduced the observed temperatures at the Seoul ASOS by considering the building-surface heating.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.451-461
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• 2001

Backward trajectories were calculated from five urban areas in Korea in 1999 in order to assess the effects of long-range transport on the air quality variations on an annual basis. The five areas selected were Seoul, Mokpo, Cheju, Pohang, and Kangnung, which are evenly distributed along the shoreline in Korea. Meteorological fields used in the work were prepared by the Korea Meteorological Administration using the RDAPS(Regional Data Assimilation and Prediction System) with grid spacing of 40 km and 12-h intervals(0000 and 1200 UTC). Upwind regions around the Korean Peninsula were divided into five sectors including the region to the northeast(I), northern China (II), southern China(III), the northwestern Pacific(IV), and Japan(V). The influence of air flow from these sectors on the variations of carbon monoxide concentrations in the selected areas was investigated. The results showed that the influences of Sectors II and III were persistent although some influences of adjacent sectors were observed according to the location of the areas. In general, the concentration of carbon monoxide tended to go up under the influence of Sectors II and III but tended to go down under the influence of Sector I. However, the influences of other sectors were rather mixed. The importance of the long-range transport was examined when the whole country was uniformly influenced by Sectors II and III with strong synoptic winds. The effects of long-range transport were large in Mokpo and Cheju, close to Sectors II and III, where the local emissions were considered small. The effects of local emissions were significant in Pohang and Seoul; such effect was more distinct in Pohang located farther from Sectors II and III.

• Atmosphere
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.209-219
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• 2012

Extreme heavy snowfall episodes have been investigated in case of accumulated snowfall amount larger than 50 cm during the past ten years, in order to understand the association of low-level stability with heavy snowfall in the Yeongdong region. In general, the selected 4 events have similar synoptic setting such as the Siberian High extended to East Sea along with the Low passing by the southern Korean Peninsula, eventually inducing easterly in the Yeongdong region. Specifically moist-adiabatically neutral layer has been observed during the heavy snowfall period, which was easily identified using vertical profiles of equivalent potential temperature observed at Sokcho, whereas convective unstable layer has been formed over the East sea due to relatively warm sea surface temperature (SST) about $8{\sim}10^{\circ}C$ and lower temperature around 1~2 km above the surface, obtained from RDAPS. Difference of equivalent potential temperature between 850 hPa and surface as well as difference between air and sea temperatures altogether gradually increased before the snowfall period. Instability-induced moisture supply to the atmosphere from the East sea, being cooled and saturated by the upper cold surge, would make low-level ice cloud, and eventually move inland by the easterly flow. Heavy snowfall will be enhanced in association with low-level convergence by surface friction and upslope wind against Taebaek mountains. This study emphasizes the importance of low level stability in the Yeongdong region using the radiosonde sounding and RDAPS data, which should quantitatively be examined through numerical model as well as heat and moisture supply from the ocean.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.43-56
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• 1998

The purpose of this study is to identify distributional characteristics of climatic elements and to analyze synoptic characteristics on the pressure fields for spring droughts in Korea. In the distributions of minimum temperature during the spring droughts, positive anomalies and negative anomalies are mixed up, but in March the negative anomaly areas are widely distributed in Korea. It implies that the droughts of March have more frequent occurrences of the west-high, east-low pressure patterns. In the maximum air temperatures, the positive anomalies appear in Korea. It indicates that the spring droughts have rain days, cloud amount and humidities less than normal. As a result, the amount of evaporation is increased in Korea. In the pressure anomaly of surface pressure fields, the positive anomalies appear in the west, negative anomalies in the east in March, but in May the positive anomalies appeared zonally around the Korean peninsula. It indicates that March droughts have more frequent occurrences of the west-high. east-low patterns, but in May the Korean Peninsula has more frequent recurrences of the migratory anticyclone patterns. The height anomaly patterns of 500hPa pressure surface in spring droughts are similarly shown to those of surface fields. In March droughts, the positive height anomalies appear in the west, the negative height anomalies in the east, but in April the negative height anomaly areas are extended to the west part. In May the positive anomalies appear zonally around the Korean Peninsula, and strong positive height anomalies appear around the Kamchatka Peninsula and the sea of Okhotsk. These are the result of circulations that inhibit the eastward movement of westerlies and that has persistent anticyclone circulation patterns around the Korean Peninsula. As a result, the zonal indices of westerlies during March and April droughts are lower than normal, but higher in May. These data indicate that early spring droughts are associated with weak zonal flow, but the late spring droughts are obviously related with strong zonal flow. In addition, during early spring droughts the abnormally deep trough over the west coast of the North Pacific Ocean that accompanied the anticyclone was associated with frequent advection of air from the dry regions in the Central Asia into the Korean Peninsula. The atmospheric circulation patterns at the height of the 500hPa pressure surface in May was quite different from March and April circulation patterns. Instead of the abnormal ridge in the west and trough in the east, the circulation pattern in May was characterized by a much stronger than normal anticyclone over the Korean Peninsula. Also, the zonal indices of westerlies in May are higher than normal. The occurrences of drought in early spring, therefore, have mechanism different from those of late spring.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.388-401
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• 2011

Asian dust was observed a total of 66 times in the springtime during the period from 2002 to 2010, with 26 cases in March, 23 cases in April and 17 cases in May. This study investigates a Asian dust episode that occurred during the period from 22 to 25 May 2010, based on synoptic weather patterns, wind vector at 850 hPa, relative humidity at 1000 hPa, Jet streams and wind vector at 300 hPa, PM10 concentration in Korea and satellite imagery. In this case, Asian dust originated on 22 May along the rear of a developing low pressure system in Mongolia. The Asian dust was then transported southeastward and bypassed the Korea peninsula from 23 to 24 May, before reaching Japan on 25 May. Jet streams on 24 May bypassed the Korean peninsula and induced the development of a surface low pressure centered over the peninsula. The resulting air flow was critical to the trajectory of the Asian dust, which likewise bypassed the Korean peninsula. 72-hour backward trajectory data reveal that the Shandong Peninsula and the East China Sea were the points of origin for the air flows that swept through the Japanese sites where Asian dust was observable to the naked eay. The Asian dust pathway is ascertained by horizontal distribution of the Asian dust of RGB imagery from MODIS satellites which captured the Asian dust moving over the Shandong Peninsula, the East China Sea, and northwest of the Kyushu region in Japan. Since the synoptic pattern and the transport way of the Asian dust case are far from typical ones, which Asian dust forecasting technique has long been based on, this study can be good example of exceptional Asian dust pattern and it will be used for more accurate Asian dust forecasting.