• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.123-135
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• 2007

Five episodes of the large-scale transport of air pollutants in East Asia and its inflow into the Korean Peninsula have been analyzed through satellite and ground observations. These episodes include regionally polluted continental airmass, which is created by the pollutants produced in the cities and the industrial regions in China, to land on or pass through the Korean Peninsula by way of the Yellow Sea. The analysis of the NOAA satellite observation data made it possible to create images by combining 3 channels of visible and infrared ray ranges and also to identify the distribution and the transport of the air pollution mass over the Yellow Sea. The ground observation data of the air pollutants gathered in Chongwon were found highly valuable in verifying the information in comparison with ones from the satellite. Especially, regarding the episodes of large-scale transport of the air pollutants, the difference of concentration between $PM_{10}\;and\;PM_{2.5}$ was found small with the increase of $PM_{2.5}$ value. The concentration of $PM_{10}$ in the episode of yellows and, however, was found much higher than that of $PM_{2.5}$. In the episode of 27 January 2006, the inflow of the regionally polluted continental air mass into the central and southwestern region of the Korean Peninsula was observed sequentially in the various ground observatories as well as by the satellite. The north-northwest airflow dissipated the clouds over from Mt. Halla in Jeju Island up to far downwind, reduced air pollution, and created von $K\acute{a}rm\acute{a}n$ vortex.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.269-279
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• 2012

Satellite-retrieved data on Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and ${\AA}$ngstr$\ddot{o}$m exponent (AE) using a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) were used to analyze large-scale distributions of atmospheric aerosols in East Asia. AOD was relatively high in March ($0.44{\pm}0.25$) and low in September ($0.24{\pm}0.21$) in the East Asian region in 2009. Sandstorms originating from the deserts and dry areas in Northern China and Mongolia were transported on a massive scale during the springtime, thus contributing to the high AOD in East Asia. Although $PM_{10}$ with diameters ${\leq}10{\mu}m$ was the highest in February at Anmyon, Cheongwon and Ulleung, which is located leeward about half-way through the Korean Peninsula, AOD rose to a high in May. The growth of hygroscopic aerosols moving with increases in relative humidity prior to the Asian monsoon season contributed to a high AOD level in May. AE typically reaches its highest value ($1.30{\pm}0.37$) in August due to anthropogenic aerosols originating from industrial areas in Eastern China, while AOD stays low in summer due to the removal process caused by rainfall. The linear correlation coefficients of the MODIS AOD and ground-based mass concentrations of $PM_{10}$ at Anmyon, Cheongwon and Ulleung were 0.4-0.6. Four cases (six days) of mineral dustfall from sandstorms and six cases (twelve days) of anthropogenically polluted particles were observed in the central area of the Korean Peninsula in 2009. $PM_{10}$ mass concentrations increased at both Anmyon and Cheongwon in the cases of mineral dustfall and anthropogenically polluted particles. Cases of dustfall from sandstorms and anthropogenic polluted particles, with increasing $PM_{10}$ mass concentrations, exhibited higher AOD values in the Yellow Sea region.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.283-302
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• 2022

Despite the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in China since January 23, 2020, haze days with high PM₁₀ levels of 88-98 ㎍ m^-3 occurred on February 1 and 2, 2020. During these haze days, the East Asian region was affected by a warm and stagnant air mass with positive air temperature anomalies and negative zonal wind anomalies at 850 hPa. The Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) was used to analyze the variation of regional PM₁₀ aerosol transport in Korea due to decreased anthropogenic emissions in East Asia. The base experiment (BASE), which applies the basic anthropogenic emissions in the WRF-Chem model, and the control experiment (CTL) applied by reducing the anthropogenic emission to 50%, were used to assess uncertainty with ground-based PM₁₀ measurements in Korea. The index of agreement (IOA) for the CTL simulation was 0.71, which was higher than that of BASE (0.67). A statistical analysis of the results suggests that anthropogenic emissions were reduced during the COVID-19 lockdown period in China. Furthermore, BASE and CTL applied to zero-out anthropogenic emissions outside Korea (BASE_ZEOK and CTL_ZEOK) were used to analyze the variations of regional PM₁₀ aerosol transport in Korea. Regional PM₁₀ transport in CTL was reduced by only 10-20% compared to BASE. Synthetic weather variables may be another reason for the non-linear response to changes in the contribution of regional transport to PM₁₀ in Korea with the reduction of anthropogenic emissions in East Asia. Although the regional transport contribution of other inorganic aerosols was high in CTL (80-90%), sulfate-nitrate-ammonium (SNA) aerosols showed lower contributions of 0-20%, 30-60%, and 30-60%, respectively. The SNA secondary aerosols, particularly nitrates, presumably declined as the Chinese lockdown induced traffic.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.196-209
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• 2009

Occurrences of sandstorms in the deserts and loess of Mongolia and northern China and associated dustfall episodes in the Korean Peninsula were monitored during the period January through December, 2005. False colour images were made by directly receiving the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data, and the distribution and transport of sandstorms were analyzed. The ground concentrations for PM10, PM2.5 and visibility of the dustfall episodes (PM10 concentration over $190{\mu}g\;m^{-3}$) were analyzed at Cheongwon, located midway in South Korea, and in the leeward direction of the place of origin of the sandstorms. Variations in the concentrations of $O_3,\;NO_2$, CO and $SO_2$ were also compared with dust concentrations in the dustfall episodes. Fewer occurrences of strong sandstorms in the place of origin were observed in 2005, due largely to the accumulation of snow and mild fluctuations of high and low pressure systems in the place of origin, thereby accounting for a low frequency of dustfall episodes in Korea, compared with those during the period 1997-2005. A total of 7 dustfall episodes were monitored in Korea in 2005 that lasted 11 days. In summer, sandstorms occurred less frequently in the source region in 2005 due to high humidity and milder winds, thereby causing no dustfall episodes in Korea. In case the sandstorms occurring at the place of source head directly to Korea without passing through large cities and industrial areas of China, the PM2.5 concentrations were measured at 20% or lower than the PM10 concentrations. However, when the sandstorms headed to Korea via the industrial areas of eastern China, where they pick up anthropogenic air pollutants, the PM2.5 concentrations were at least 25% higher of the PM10 concentrations. On the other hand, over 5 cases were observed and analyzed in 2005 where the PM10 concentrations of sand dust originating from the deserts were measured at $190{\mu}g\;m^{-3}$ or lower, falling short of the level of a dustfall episode.