• 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.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.791-803
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• 2016

Recently, frequency of extreme rainfall events in South Korea has been substantially increased due to the enhanced climate variability. Korea is prone to flooding due to being surrounded by mountains, along with high rainfall intensity during a short period. In the past three decades, an increase in the frequency of heavy rainfall events has been observed due to enhanced climate variability and climate change. This study aimed to analyze extreme rainfalls informed by their frequency of occurrences using a long-term rainfall data. In this respect, we developed a Poisson-Generalized Pareto Distribution (Poisson-GPD) based rainfall frequency method which allows us to simultaneously explore changes in the amount and exceedance probability of the extreme rainfall events defined by different thresholds. Additionally, this study utilized a Bayesian approach to better estimate both parameters and their uncertainties. We also investigated the synoptic patterns associated with the extreme events considered in this study. The results showed that the Poisson-GPD based design rainfalls were rather larger than those of based on the Gumbel distribution. It seems that the Poisson-GPD model offers a more reasonable explanation in the context of flood safety issue, by explicitly considering the changes in the frequency. Also, this study confirmed that low and high pressure system in the East China Sea and the central North Pacific, respectively, plays crucial roles in the development of the extreme rainfall in South Korea.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.240-249
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• 2005

The normal Indian Ocean is characterized by warmer waters over the eastern region and cooler waters over the western region. Changes in sea surface temperature (SST) over the western and eastern Indian Ocean give birth to a phenomenon now referred to as the Indian Ocean Dipole Mode (IODM). The positive phase of this mode is characterized by positive SST anomalies over the western Indian Ocean and negative anomalies over the southeastern Indian Ocean, while the negative phase is characterized by a reversed SST anomaly pattern. On the other hand, the normal Pacific Ocean has warm (cool) waters over the western (eastern) parts. Positive (negative) SST anomalies over the central/eastern (western) Pacific Ocean characterize the E1 Nino phenomenon. The reverse situation leads to the La Nina phenomenon. The coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon over the Pacific is referred to as the E1 Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. In this study the impact of IODM and ENSO on the East Asian monsoon variability has been studied using observational data and using the Community Atmospheric Model (CAM) of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Five sets of model experiments were performed with anomalous SST patterns associated with IODM/ENSO superimposed on the climatological SSTs. The empirical and dynamic approaches reveal that it takes about 3-4 seasons fur the peak IODM mode to influence the summer monsoon activity over East Asia. On the other hand, the impact of ENSO on the East Asian monsoon could occur simultaneously. Further, the negative (positive) phase of IODM and E1 Nino (La Nina) over the Pacific enhances (suppresses) monsoon activity over the Korea-Japan Sector. Alternatively, IODM appears to have no significant impact on monsoon variability over China. However, El Nino (La Nina) suppresses (enhances) monsoon activity over China. While the IODM appears to influence the North Pacific subtropical high, ENSO appears to influence the Aleutian low over the northwest Pacific. Thus, the moisture supply towards East Asia from the Pacific is determined by the strengthening/weakening of the subtropical high and the Aleutian low.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.303-314
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• 2003

Ocean-air observation using an Automatic Weather Station (AWS) and Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) was conducted in the Mid-Yellow Sea off Korea during 8-10 July 2002. A water mass lower than 17$^{\circ}C$ around the Taean peninsula and a tidal front between 36$^{\circ}$20'N and 36$^{\circ}$30'N were observed. The horizontal distribution of air temperature was similar to that of sea surface temperature (SST). Hourly observation around Dukjuk island showed the cold and saline southwesterly and the warm and fresh northeasterly in phase with tidal current. Sea fogs two times formed at 2300 LST 8-0130 LST 9, and 0300-0600 LST 9 July 2002 during the observation period, respectively. During the initial stage of fogs, winds became northeasterly at the speed of 2-4m/s$^{-1}$, and air temperature dropped to 18$^{\circ}C$, as the North Pacific High weakened. The satellite image indicated that sea fogs formed over warm water in the western Yellow Sea and moved eastward toward the observation site, which could be called a steam fog. The fogs dissipated when wind speed and air temperature increased.

• Atmosphere
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.223-246
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• 2023

This paper summarized the research papers on weather extremes that occurred in the Republic of Korea, which were published in the domestic and foreign journals during 1963~2022. Weather extreme is defined as a weather phenomenon that causes serious casualty and property loss; here, it includes typhoon, heavy rain, drought, heat wave, cold surge, heavy snow, and strong gust. Based on the 2011~2020 statistics in Korea, above 80% of property loss due to all natural disasters were caused by typhoons and heavy rainfalls. However, the impact of the other weather extremes can be underestimated rather than we have actually experienced; the property loss caused by the other extremes is hard to be quantitatively counted. Particularly, as global warming becomes serious, the influence of drought and heat wave has been increasing. The damages caused by cold surges, heavy snow, and strong gust occurred over relatively local areas on short-term time scales compared to other weather hazards. In particularly, strong gust accompanied with drought may result in severe forest fires over mountainous regions. We hope that the present review paper may remind us of the importance of weather extremes that directly affect our lives.