• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.37 no.5_1
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• pp.903-916
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• 2021

An area's topography refers to the shape of the earth's surface, described by its elevation, slope, and aspect, among other features. The topographical conditions determine energy flowsthat move water and energy from higher to lower elevations, such as how much solar energy will be received and how much wind or rain will affect it. Another common factor, the topographic wetness index (TWI), is a calculation in digital elevation models of the tendency to accumulate water per slope and unit area, and is one of the most widely referenced hydrologic topographic factors, which helps explain the location of forest vegetation. Analyses of topographical factors can be calculated using a geographic information system (GIS) program based on digital elevation model (DEM) data. Recently, a large number of free open source software (FOSS) GIS programs are available and developed for researchers, industries, and governments. FOSS GIS programs provide opportunitiesfor flexible algorithms customized forspecific user needs. The majority of biodiversity in island areas exists at about 20% higher elevations than in land ecosystems, playing an important role in ecological processes and therefore of high ecological value. However, island areas are vulnerable to disturbances and damage, such as through climate change, environmental pollution, development, and human intervention, and lacks systematic investigation due to geographical limitations (e.g. remoteness; difficulty to access). More than 4,000 of Korea's islands are within a few hours of its coast, and 88% are uninhabited, with 52% of them forested. The forest ecosystems of islands have fewer encounters with human interaction than on land, and therefore most of the topographical conditions are formed naturally and affected more directly by weather conditions or the environment. Therefore, the analysis of forest topography in island areas can be done more precisely than on its land counterparts, and therefore has become a major focus of attention in Korea. This study is focused on calculating the performance of different topographical factors using FOSS GIS programs. The test area is the island forests in Korea's south and the DEM of the target area was processed with GRASS GIS and SAGA GIS. The final slopes and TWI maps were produced as comparisons of the differences between topographic factor calculations of each respective FOSS GIS program. Finally, the merits of each FOSS GIS program used to calculate the topographic factors is discussed.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.278-295
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• 2021

China's shutdown due to COVID-19 in 2020 reduced air pollutant emissions, which is located on the windward side of South Korea. The positive temperature anomaly and negative zonal wind anomaly from northern Mongolia to South Korea through eastern China presented warm and stationary air masses during January and February 2020. Decreased concentrations of PM10, NO₂, and O₃ were measured at Seokmo-ri and Pado-ri, located in the central-western region of South Korea, due to decreased emissions in China from January to March 2020. After China's shutdown from January to March 2020, in Pado-ri, the ratio of monthly average concentrations in that period with those of PM10 and O₃ in the last four years decreased by approximately 0.7-4.7% and 9.2-22.8%, respectively. In January 2020, during the Lunar New Year holidays in China, concentrations of PM10, NO₂, and O₃ at Seokmo-ri and Pado-ri decreased just as much as it did during the same period in the last four years. However, average concentrations in January 2020 decreased before and after the Lunar New Year holidays in China when compared with those in January of the last four years. In Seokmori, ratios of actual and predicted values (${\bar{O}_s$/M) for PM10, NO₂, and O₃ concentrations were calculated as 70.8 to 89.7%, 70.5 to 87.1%, and 72.5 to 97.1%, respectively, during January and March 2020. Moreover, those of Pado-ri were 79.6 to 93.5%, 67.7 to 84.9%, and 83.7 to 94.6%, respectively. In January 2020, the aerosol optical depth (AOD) data showed a higher distribution than that of the last four years due to photochemical reactions in regions from northern Mongolia to eastern China and the Korean Peninsula. However, the decrease in AOD values compared with those of the last four years was attributed to the decrease in emissions of precursors that generate secondary aerosols in China during March 2020.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.227-239
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• 2019

Heavy snowfall events frequently occur in the Gangwon province, and the snowfall amount significantly varies in space due to the complex terrain and topographical modulation of precipitation. Understanding the spatial characteristics of heavy snowfall and its prediction is particularly challenging during snowfall events in the easterly winds. The easterly wind produces a significantly different atmospheric condition. Hence, it brings different precipitation characteristics. In this study, we have investigated the microphysical characteristics of snowfall in the windward and leeward sides of the Taebaek mountain range in the easterly condition. The two snowfall events are selected in the easterly, and the snow particles size distributions (SSD) are observed in the four sites (two windward and two leeward sites) by the PARSIVEL distrometers. We compared the characteristic parameters of SSDs that come from leeward sites to that of windward sites. The results show that SSDs of windward sites have a relatively wide distribution with many small snow particles compared to those of leeward sites. This characteristic is clearly shown by the larger characteristic number concentration and characteristic diameter in the windward sites. Snowfall rate and ice water content of windward also are larger than those of leeward sites. The results indicate that a new generation of snowfall particles is dominant in the windward sites which is likely due to the orographic lifting. In addition, the windward sites show heavy aggregation particles by nearby zero ground temperature that is likely driven by the wet and warm condition near the ocean.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.669-678
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• 2021

This study surveyed three land cover types in Chungju City in Chungcheongbuk Province to check the distribution of cultured bacteria in bio-aerosols according to land cover type. It was possible to compare and analyze the distribution of bacteria according to microclimatic changes at each measurement point by examining meteorological factors and bio-aerosols according to land cover. The microclimate temperature in each measurement point was 8.7℃ for the urban forest, 10.8℃ for the waterside green area, and 10.2℃ for the urban area, indicating the urban forest had the lowest temperature among the measurement points. The relative humanity was 61.8% fin the urban forest, 59.3% in the waterside green area, and 55.7% in the urban area, indicating that the urban forest was the most humid among the measurement points. The identified bacteria were found to be 43 genera and 99 species. In terms of species diversity of cultured bacteria, 22 genera were found in the waterside green area, 21 genera in the urban forest, and 17 genera in the urban area, 37 species were found in the waterside green area, 31 species in the urban area, and 31 species in the urban forest. Bacillus toyonensis and Pseudarthrobacter oxydan were the species present in all three types of measurement sites, and Herbiconiux flava was confirmed to inhabit green areas such as urban forests and waterside green areas. The analysis result of the bacterial concentration according to the microclimatic environment in each measurement point was 333 CFU/m³ in the urban forest, 287 CFU/m³, in the waterside green area, and 173 CFU/m³ in the downtown area. The relative humidity and wind speed were analyzed to show a similar trend as the concentration. This study is expected to provide basic data for healthy urban management and green area creation by identifying the distribution of cultured bacteria in bio-aerosols according to land cover type and comparing and analyzing the traits of bio-aerosol in each measurement point.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.356-365
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• 2022

Agrivoltaic systems, also called solar sharing, stated from an idea that utilizes sunlight above the light saturation point of crops for power generation using solar panels. The agrivoltaic systems are expected to reduce the incident solar radiation, the consequent surface cooling effect, and evapotranspiration, and bring additional income to farms through solar power generation by combining crops with solar photovoltaics. In this study, to evaluate if agrivoltaic systems are suitable for viticulture, we investigated the microclimatic change, the growth of vines and the characteristics of grape grown under solar panels set by planting lines compared with ones in open vineyards. There was high reduction of wind speed during over-wintering season, and low soil temperature under solar panel compared to those in the open field. There was not significant difference in total carbohydrates and bud burst in bearing mother branches between plots. Despite high content of chlorophyll in vines grown under panels, there is no significant difference in shoot growth of vines, berry weight, cluster weight, total soluble solid content and acidity of berries, and anthocyanin content of berry skins in harvested grapes in vineyards under panels and open vineyards. It was observed that harvesting season was delayed by 7-10 days due to late skin coloration in grapes grown in vineyards under panels compared to ones grown in open vineyards. The results from this study would be used as data required in development of viticulture system under panel in the future and further study for evaluating the influence of agrivoltaic system on production of crops including grapes.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.1-22
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• 2022

The modification effects of street trees on outdoor thermal comfort in summertime according to tree planting types and road direction were analyzed using a computer simulation program, ENVI-met. With trees, the air temperature and wind speed decreased, and the relative humidity increased. In the case of mean radiant temperature (T_mrt) and human thermal sensation, physiological equivalent temperature (PET) and universal thermal climate index (UTCI), there was a decrease during the daytime. The greatest change among the meteorological factors by trees happened in Tmrt, and PET and UTCI showed similar patterns with T_mrt·The most effective tree planting type on thermal comfort modification was low tree height, wide tree crown, high leaf area index, and narrow planting interval (LWDN). T_mrt, PET and UTCI showed a large difference depending on shadow patterns of buildings and trees according to solar altitude and azimuth angles, and building locations. When the building shade areas increased, the thermal modification effect by trees decreased. In particular, results on the east and west sidewalks showed a large deviation over time. When applying the LWDN, the northwest, west and southwest sidewalks showed a significant reduction of 8.6-12.3℃ PET and 4.2-4.5℃ UTCI at 10:00, and the northeast, east and southeast sidewalks showed 8.1-11.8℃ PET and 4.4-5.0℃ UTCI at 16:00. On the other hand, when the least effective type (high tree height, narrow tree crown, low leaf area index, and wide planting interval) was applied, the maximum reduction was up to 1.8℃ PET and 0.9℃ UTCI on the eastern sidewalks, and up to 3.0℃ PET and 0.9℃ UTCI on the western ones. In addition, the difference in modification effects on T_mrt, PET and UTCI between the tree planting types was not significant when the tree effects were reduced by the effects of buildings. These results can be used as basic data to make the most appropriate street tree planting model for thermal comfort improvement in urban areas in summer.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2023

This study measured the antioxidant activity and phytochemical content of 192 Boehmeria nivea var. tenacissima (Gaudich.) Miq. collected from six regions in order to identify the possibility of its industrial application. Two antioxidant activity assay (DPPH radical scavenging activity and ABTS radical scavenging activity) and two phytochemical content assay (total polyphenol content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC)) of 192 samples were analyzed. The results showed that the DPPH radical scavenging activity of 192 samples was ranged from 0.02 to 1.35 mgAAE/g, and among them, the samples collected from Goheung (0.53 ± 0.37) and Ulleungdo (0.52 ± 0.28) showed the highest activity. The ABTS radical scavenging activity was showed the ranged from 0.07 to 1.81 mgAAE/g, and the samples collected at Ulleungdo (0.47 ± 0.36) showed the highest activity. The total polyphenol content of 192 samples was 18.6 to 234.8 ugGAE/g, and the samples collected at Mokpo (93.4 ± 34.7) and Jindo (90.4 ± 24.5) showed the highest content. The total flavonoid content was 0.10 to 1.22 mgQE/g and the samples collected at Ulleungdo (0.49 ± 0.31) showed the highest content. In the correlation analysis, there was no significant relationship between the environmental conditions and the antioxidant activity. The total polyphenol content showed a positive correlation with daily temperature difference, and negative correlation with average wind speed and average humidity, and total flavonoid content showed negative correlations with the average temperature, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature. This result can be used as a basic data establish the cultivation conditions of B. nivea var. tenacissima (Gaudich.) Miq. as a functional raw material to increase the usefulness of B. nivea var. tenacissima (Gaudich.) Miq..

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.353-365
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• 2023

The effects of climate change on green infrastructure and environmental media remain uncertain and context-specific despite numerous climate projections globally. In this study, the extreme weather conditions in seven major cities in South Korea were characterized through statistical analysis of 20-year daily meteorological data extracted fro m the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Additionally, the impacts of extreme weather on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) were determined through a comprehensive review. The results of the statistical analysis and comprehensive review revealed the studied cities are potentially vulnerable to varying extreme weather conditions, depending on geographic location, surface imperviousness, and local weather patterns. Temperature extremes were seen as potential threats to the resilience of NbS in Seoul, as both the highest maximum and lowest minimum temperatures were observed in the mentioned city. Moreover, extreme values for precipitation and maximum wind speed were observed in cities from the southern part of South Korea, particularly Busan, Ulsan, and Jeju. It was also found that extremely low temperatures induce the most impact on the resilience of NbS and environmental media. Extremely cold conditions were identified to reduce the pollutant removal efficiency of biochar, sand, gravel, and woodchip, as well as the nutrient uptake capabilities of constructed wetlands (CWs). In response to the negative impacts of extreme weather on the effectiveness of NbS, several adaptation strategies, such as the addition of shading and insulation systems, were also identified in this study. The results of this study are seen as beneficial to improving the resilience of NbS in South Korea and other locations with similar climate characteristics.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.39 no.6_1
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• pp.1353-1369
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• 2023

In the event of a disaster accident at sea, the scale of damage will vary due to weather effects such as wind, currents, and tidal waves, and it is obligatory to minimize the scale of damage by establishing appropriate control plans through quick on-site identification. In particular, it is difficult to identify pollutants that exist in a thin film at sea surface due to their relatively low viscosity and surface tension among pollutants discharged into the sea. Therefore, this study aims to develop an algorithm to detect suspended pollutants on the sea surface in RGB images using imaging equipment that can be easily used in the field, and to evaluate the performance of the algorithm using input data obtained from actual waters. The developed algorithm uses image enhancement techniques to improve the contrast between the intensity values of pollutants and general sea surfaces, and through histogram analysis, the background threshold is found,suspended solids other than pollutants are removed, and finally pollutants are classified. In this study, a real sea test using substitute materials was performed to evaluate the performance of the developed algorithm, and most of the suspended marine pollutants were detected, but the false detection area occurred in places with strong waves. However, the detection results are about three times better than the detection method using a single threshold in the existing algorithm. Through the results of this R&D, it is expected to be useful for on-site control response activities by detecting suspended marine pollutants that were difficult to identify with the naked eye at existing sites.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.42-55
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• 2008

To evaluate the accuracy of currents measured by HF radar in the coastal sea off Keum River estuary, we compared the facing radial vectors of two HF radars, and HF radar-derived currents with in-situ measurement currents. Principal component analysis was used to extract regression line and RMS deviation in the comparison. When two facing radar's radial vectors at the mid-point of baseline are compared, RMS deviation is 4.4 cm/s in winter and 5.4 cm/s in summer. When GDOP(Geometric Dilution of Precision) effect is corrected from the RMS deviations that is analyzed from the comparison between HF radar-derived and current-metermeasured currents, the error of velocity combined by HF radar-derived current is less than 5.1 cm/s in the stations having moderate GDOP values. These two results obtained from different method suggest that the lower limit of HF radar-derived current's accuracy is 5.4 cm/s in our study area. As mentioned in previous researches, RMS deviations become large in the stations located near the islands and increase as a function of mean distance from the radar site due to decrease of signal-to-noise level and the intersect angle of radial vectors. We found that an uncertain error bound of HF radar-derived current can be produced from the separation process of RMS deviations using GDOP value if GDOP value for each component is very close and RMS deviations obtained from current component comparison are also close. When the current measured in the stations having moderate GDOP values is separated into tidal and subtidal current, characteristics of tidal current ellipses analyzed from HF radar-derived current show a good agreement with those from current-meter-measured current, and time variation of subtidal current showed a response reflecting physical process driven by wind and density field.