• Atmosphere
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.13-28
• /
• 2012

The $PM_{10}$ concentration data is useful for indentifying intensity and a transport way of Asian dust. However, it is difficult to identify them properly due to the limited spatial resolution and coverage. Therefore, a methodology to estimate $PM_{10}$ concentration using visibility data obtained from synoptic observation was developed. To derive the converting function, correlation between visibility and $PM_{10}$ concentration is investigated using visibility and $PM_{10}$ concentration data observed at 20 stations in Korea from 2005 to 2009. To minimize bias due to atmospheric moisture, data with higher relative humidity over a critical value were eliminated while deriving $PM_{10}$-visibility relationship. As a result, an exponentially decreasing function of visibility is obtained under the condition that relative humidity is less than 82%. Verification of the visibility converting function to $PM_{10}$ concentration was carried out for the dust cases in 2010. It was found that spatial distributions of $PM_{10}$ calculated by visibility are in good agreement with the observed $PM_{10}$ distribution, especially for the strong dust cases in 2010. And correlation between the derived and observed $PM_{10}$ concentration was 0.63. We applied the function to obtain distributions of $PM_{10}$ concentration over North Korea, in which concentration data are not available, and compared them with satellite derived dust index, IODI distributions for dust cases in 2010. It is shown that the visibility function estimates quite similar patterns of dust concentration with IODI image, which suggests that it can contribute for prediction by indentifying transport route of Asian dust.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.294-305
• /
• 2018

Quantitative assessment on the impact from North Korean emissions to surface particulate matter(PM) concentration in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA), South Korea is conducted using a 3-dimensional chemistry transport model. Transboundary transport of air pollutants and their precursors are important to understand regional air quality in East Asian countries. As North Korea locates in the middle of main transport pathways of Chinese pollutants, quantifiable estimation of its impact is essential for policy making in South Korean air quality management. In this study, the Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System is utilized to simulate regional air quality and its sensitivity, using the Comprehensive Regional Emissions inventory for Atmospheric Transport Experiment 2015 and the Clean Air Policy Support System 2013 emissions inventories for North and South Korea, respectively. Contributions were estimated by a brute force method, perturbing 50% of North and South Korean emissions. Simulations demonstrate that North Korean emissions contribute $3.89{\mu}g/m^3$ of annual surface PM concentrations in the SMA, which accounts 14.7% of the region's average. Impacts are dominant in nitrate and organic carbon (OC) concentrations, attributing almost 40% of SMA OC concentration during January and February. Clear seasonal variations are also found in North Korean emissions contribution to South Korea (and vice versa) due to seasonal characteristics of synoptic weather, especially by the change of seasonal flow patterns.

• Atmosphere
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.273-286
• /
• 2010

The northeast part of China(hereafter Manchuria) is one of Asian dust source regions along with Gobi, Inner Mongolia and Loess Plateau. In this study, a geographical survey over the area was carried out to determine its soil characteristics in June 2009. It revealed that some parts of the area, especially near Keerchin desert, consist of alkali clay soil mixed up with sand. Manchuria, where is a vast cornfield, can be a potential source region of Asian dust from fall to following spring after harvesting. The frequency of Asian dust over the region from 1996 to 2009 was examined using 3-hourly GTS SYNOP data and it showed that the occurrence of Asian dust over the region is high in the springtime. It was also revealed that snow cover is the key parameter affecting on the frequency through the analysis of NCEP reanalysis data. To scrutinize the path and structure of Asian dust from Manchuria, the event on 3~4 April 2008 and 25 January 2010 were intensively investigated with regard to features of synoptic weather patterns, satellite imagery, airstream, naked eye-observations, concentrations of PM10, 2.5 and 1.0. For this case, the Asian dust from the area reached to Korea less than a day. However, the duration time of the dust in Korea was short (< 7 hours). The average of hourly PM10 reached up to $340{\mu}g/m^{3}$ at Baengnyeondo during the period. The high PM2.5 and PM1.0 concentrations were also observed at several sites in Korea, indicating that air pollutants could be transported along with the dust.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.793-806
• /
• 2015

The purpose of this study is to find out the air flow patterns affecting the PM10 concentration in Busan and the potential sources within each trajectory pattern. The synoptic air flow trajectories are classified into four clusters by HYSPLIT model and the potential sources of PM10 are estimated by PSCF model for each cluster from 2008 to 2012. The potential source locations of PM10 are compared with the distribution of PM10 anthropogenic emissions in east Asia developed in 2006 for the NASA INTEX-B mission. The annual mean concentrations of PM10 in Busan decreased from $51ug/m^3$ in 2008 to $43ug/m^3$ in 2012. The monthly mean concentrations of PM10 were high during a spring season, March to May and low during a summer season, August and September. The cluster2 composed of the air trajectories from the eastern China to Busan through the west sea showed the highest frequency, 44 %. The cluster1 composed of the air trajectories from the inner Mongolia region to Busan through the northeast area of China showed the second high frequency, 26 %. The cluster3 and 4 were composed of the trajectories originated in the southeast sea and the east sea of Busan respectively and showed low frequencies. The concentrations of in each cluster were $47ug/m^3$ in cluster1, $56ug/m^3$ in cluster2, $42ug/m^3$ in cluster3 and $37ug/m^3$ in cluster4. From these results, it was proved that the cluster1 and 2 composed of the trajectories originated in the east and northeast area of China were the causes of high PM10 concentrations in Busan. The results of PSCF and CWT model showed that the potential sources of the high PM10 concentrations were the areas of the around Mongolia and the eastern China having high emissions of PM10 from Beijing, Hebei to Shanghai through Shandong, Jiangsu.

• 한국해양학회지
• /
• v.30 no.6
• /
• pp.550-564
• /
• 1995

The temporal and spatial characteristics of wind fields over the neighbouring seas of the Korean peninsula are investigated using 10-years daily wind data during 1978${\sim}$1987 which have been spatially smoothed and low-pass filtered. Long term annual and monthly means are examined for synoptic patterns and spectral analyses are made for temporal variability and spatial coherence. Spatial patterns of the annual mean wind stress and curl have a strong resemblance with those of monthly means during the winter season. Two outstanding periodicities are observed at 1 and 2 cycles per year. The synoptic winds over the study area are highly coherent at both the annual and semi-annual periodicities. However, each basin has its own characteristic spatial pattern. For instance, the prevailing wind during the winter season is northerIy over the northern East Sea (ES), Yellow Sea (YS), and northern East China Sea (ECS), while it is northwesterly over the southern ES and northesterly over the northern ES and southern ECS. At the same time, the wind stress curl is positive over the northern ES and southern ECS, while it is negative over the southern ES, YS and northern ECS. On the other hand, the wind field during the summer season, with its strength being much reduced, is completely different from that during the winter season, and frequent passage of tropical storms provokes large temporal variability over ECS. One remarkable point is that the annual cycle, dominated by the Siberian High, tends to propagate from northeast to southwest, i.e., from northern 25 toward southern ES, YS and ECS, while the semi-annual cycle propagates in the opposite direction, from southwest to northeast. The semi-annual periodicity may reflect development of extratropical cyclones in spring and fall which frequently cross the Korean peninsula. In higher frequencies, there are no dominant periodicities, but local winds over YS and ES are highly correlated for frequencies larger than 0.1 cycles per day and phase difference increases linearly with frequency. This linear increase of phase corresponds to phase speed of 550 and 730 km/d at 0.1 and 0.3 cpd, respectively, The phase speed is apparently coincident with moving speed of extratropical cyclones across the Korean peninsula in the west-east direction.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.40 no.6
• /
• pp.572-583
• /
• 2019

In this study, the atmospheric vertical structure (AVS) associated with summertime (June, July, and August) heavy rainfall in Seoul was classified into three patterns (Loaded Gun: L, Inverted V: IV, and Thin Tube: TT) using rawinsonde soundings launched at Osan from 2009 to 2018. The characteristics of classified AVS and precipitation property were analyzed. Occurrence frequencies in each type were 34.7% (TT-type), 20.4% (IV-type), 20.4% (LG-type), and 24.5% (Other-type), respectively. The mean value of Convective Available Potential Energy (1131.1 J kg^-1) for LG-types and Storm Relative Helicity (357.6 ㎡s^-2) for TT-types was about 2 times higher than that of other types, which seems to be the difference in the mechanism of convection at the low level atmosphere. The composited synoptic fields in all cases showed a pattern that warm and humid southwesterly wind flows into the Korean Peninsula. In the cases of TT-type, the low pressure center (at 850 hPa) was followed by the trough in upper-level (at 500 hPa) as the typical pattern of a low pressure deepening. The TT-type was strongly influenced by the low level jet (at 850 hPa), showing a pattern of connecting the upper- and low-level jets. The result of analysis indicated that precipitation was intensified in the first half of all types. IV-type precipitation induced by thermal instability tended to last for a short term period with strong precipitation intensity, while TT-type by mechanical instability showed weak precipitation over a long term period.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.384-400
• /
• 2013

In this study, spatio-temporal patterns of extreme precipitation events caused by typhoons are examined based on observational daily precipitation data at approximately 340 weather stations of Korea Meterological Administration's ASOS (Automated Synoptic Observation System) and AWS (Automatic Weather System) networks for the recent 10 year period (2002~2011). Generally, extreme precipitation events by typhoons exceeding 80mm of daily precipitation commonly appear in Jeju Island, Gyeongsangnam-do, and the eastern coastal regions of the Korean Peninsula. However, the frequency, intensity and spatial extent of typhoon-driven extreme precipitation events can be modified depending on the topography of major mountain ridges as well as the pathway of and proximity to typhoons accompanying the anti-clockwise circulation of low-level moisture with hundreds of kilometers of radius. Yellow Sea-passing type of typhoons in July cause more frequent extreme precipitation events in the northern region of Gyeonggi-do, while East Sea-passing type or southern-region-landfall type of typhoons in August-early September do in the interior regions of Gyeongsangnam-do. These results suggest that when local governments develop optimal mitigation strategies against potential damages by typhoons, the pathway of and proximity to typhoons are key factors.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.261-269
• /
• 1989

Agricultural activities in Chejudo require more specialized weather services in this region. The meteorological information available from the Korea Meteorological Service (KMS) is limited in its areal coverage because the KMS stations are located along the narrow band of coastal area. topoclimatological technique which makes use of empirical relationships between the topography and the weather can be applied to produce reasonable estimates of the climatic variables such as air temperature and precipitation over remote land area where routine observations are rare. Presentation of these estimates in a from of fine-mesh grid map can also be helpful to upgrade the quality of weather services in this region. Altitude values of the 250 m grid points were read from a 1: 25000 topographic map and the mean altitude, the mean slope, and the aspect of the slope were determined for each 1 km$^2$ land area from these altitude data. Daily minimum air temperature data were collected from 18 points in Chejudo during the winter period from November 1987 to February 1988. The data were grouped into 3 sets based on synoptic pressure pattern. Departures from the KMS observations were regressed to the topographical variables to delineate empirical relationships between the local minimum temperature under specific pressure patterns and the site topography. The selected regression equations were used to calculate the daily minimum temperature for each 1 km$^2$ land area under the specific pressure patterns. The outputs were presented in a fine-mesh grid map with a 6-level contour capability.

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

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.42 no.5
• /
• pp.479-495
• /
• 2021

This study investigates the synoptic (patterns of southern highs, northern lows, and lows rapidly developed by tropopause folding), thermodynamic, and kinematic characteristics of a strong wind that occurred in the Yeongdong region of South Korea on March 18-20, 2020. To do so, we analyzed data from an automatic weather station (AWS), weather charts, the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis, rawinsonde, and windprofiler radars. The daily maximum instantaneous wind speed, exceeding 20 m s^-1, was observed at five weather stations during the analysis period. The strongest instantaneous wind speed (27.7 m s^-1) appeared in the Daegwallyeong area. According to the analysis of weather charts, along with the arrangement of the north-south low-pressure line, the isobars were moved to the Yeongdong area. It showed a sine wave shape, and a strong wind developed owing to the strong pressure gradient. On March 19, in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, with a drop in atmospheric pressure of 19 hPa or more within one day, a continuous strong wind was developed by the synoptic structure of the developing polar low. In the adiabatic chart observed in Bukgangneung, the altitude of the inversion layer was located at an altitude of approximately 1-3 km above the mountaintop, along with the maximum wind speed. We confirmed that this is consistent with the results of the vertical wind field analysis of the rawinsonde and windprofiler data. In particular, based on the thermodynamic and kinematic vertical analyses, we suggest that strong winds due to the vertical gradient of potential temperature in the lower layer and the development of potential vorticity due to tropopause folding play a significant role in the occurrence of strong winds in the Yeongdong region.