• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.221-229
• /
• 2023

Extracted from the metropolitan area, the Paldang Lake, which supplies approximately 8 million tons of water, has achieved a BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) of 1.1 mg/L as a result of water quality preservation policies. However, concerning the COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) component that encompasses refractory organic matter, there has been an observable upward trend in concentration. The introduction of refractory organic matter into the water source of Paldang Lake brings potential increments in BOD, generates off-putting tastes and odors in tap water, increases THM (Trihalomethane) formation, and triggers algae proliferation. Moreover, if residual hazardous refractory pollutants persist in aquatic environments, they may induce endocrine disruption and phenomena such as antibiotic resistance. In this study, a monitoring campaign was executed to discern the concentration of refractory organic matter emissions from point and non-point sources within Paldang Lake and its upstream region, with the aim of managing refractory organic matter in Paldang Lake. By comparing refractory organic matter emission concentrations across monitored areas, the elimination efficiency at wastewater treatment plants was assessed. Additionally, employing the Pearson correlation correlation analysis technique, correlations among refractory organic matter indices, antecedent wet days, and antecedent dry days were explored. The concentrations of refractory organic matter in rivers and Paldang Lake exhibited a similar pattern. Wastewater treatment plant effluents exhibited higher concentrations compared to rivers and Paldang Lake. The assessment of refractory organic matter removal at wastewater treatment plants indicated a removal efficiency of 65.73%. However, no significant correlation emerged between refractory organic matter emission concentration and antecedent wet days or priory antecedent dry days. This absence of correlation is attributed to data scarcity, underscoring the need for long-term monitoring and data accumulation.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.553-562
• /
• 2017

In these days, agricultural reservoirs are considered as a useful resource for recreational purposes, tour and cultural amenity for vicinity communities as well as irrigation water supply. However, many of the agricultural reservoirs are showing a eutrophic or hyper-eutrophic state and high level of organic contamination. In particular, about 44.7% of the aged agricultural reservoirs that constructed before 1945 exceed the water quality criteria for irrigational water use. In addition to external loading, internal nutrient loading from bottom sediment may play an important role in the nutrient budget of the aged reservoirs. The objectives of this study were to characterize variations of thermal structure of a shallow M reservoir (mean depth 1.7 m) and examine the potential of internal nutrient loading by continuous monitoring of vertical water temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration profiles in 2015 and 2016. The effect of internal loading on the total loading of the reservoir was evaluated by mass balance analysis. Results showed that a weak thermal stratification and a strong DO stratification were developed in the shallow M Reservoir. And, dynamic temporal variation in DO was observed at the bottom of the reservoir. Persistent hypoxic conditions (DO concentrations less than 2 mg/L) were established for 87 days and 98 days in 2015 and 2016, respectively, during the no-rainy summer periods. The DO concentrations intermittently increased during several events of atmospheric temperature drop and rainfall. According to the mass balance analysis, the amount of internal $PO_4-P$ loading from sediment to the overlying water were 37.9% and 39.7% of total loading during no-rainy season in 2015 and 2016, respectively on August when algae growth is enhanced with increasing water temperature. Consequently, supply of DO to the lower layer of the reservoir could be effective countermeasure to reduce nutrient release under the condition of persistent DO depletion in the bottom of the reservoir.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.38 no.6 s.175
• /
• pp.675-687
• /
• 2005

The rocks of the five storied stone pagoda in the Jeongrimsaji temple site are 149 materials in total with porphyritic biotite granodiorite. They include pegmatite veinlet, basic xenolith and evenly developed plagioclase porphyry. This stone pagoda has comparably small fracture and cracks which are farmed in the times of rock properties, but surface exfoliation and granular decomposition are in process actively since the rocks are generally weakened from the influence of air contaminants and acid rain. Structural instability of constituting rocks in the 4th roof materials are observed to occur from distortion and tilt. Such instability is judged to threat stability of the upper part of the stone pagoda. Also, chemical weathering is operating even more as the contaminants, ferro-manganese hydroxides eluted from water-rock interaction on the rock surface. Most of the rock surface is covered with yellowish brown, dark black and light gray contaminants, and especially occur in the lower part of the roof rocks on each floor. The roof underpinning rocks are severe in surface pigmentation from manganese hydroxides and light gray contaminants. The surface of rocks lives bacteria. algae, lichen, or moss and diverse productions in colors of light gray, dark Bray and dark green. Grayish white crustose lichen grows thick on the surface with darkly discolored by fungi and algae in the first stage on basement rocks, and weeds grows wild on the upper part of each roof rocks. This stone pagoda must closely observe the movements of the upper part rock materials through minute safety diagnosis and long term monitoring for structural stability. Especially since the surface discoloration of rocks and pigmentation of secondary contaminants are severe, establishment of general restoration and scientific conservation treatment are necessary through more detailed study for this stone pagoda.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.39 no.5
• /
• pp.255-264
• /
• 2017

To evaluate the water quality changes in agricultural reservoir covered with floating photovoltaic solar-tracking systems, the water quality variations with time and depth were monitored on both six sites for light blocking zones and four sites for light penetration zones after the installation of floating photovoltaic solar-tracking systems in Geumgwang reservoir at Anseong-si, Kyeonggi province. For one year with 16 monitoring events, water quality parameters [i.e., water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), and blue-green algae (BGA)] were monitored at depths of 0.3 m, 1 m, 3 m, and 5 m, while chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) were monitored at depths of 0.3 m. Statistically, the difference in all water quality parameters was not significantly different (p > 0.05) at the level of significance of 0.05. Based on these results, the water quality data from light blocking zones (site 1~6) and light penetration zones (site 7~10) were clustered, and were compared with time and depth. As a result, the difference in water temperature, pH, DO, COD, TN, TP, Chl-a, and BGA between light blocking zones and light penetration zones was not significant (p > 0.05) with different time and depth. For Chl-a and BGA, some data from light blocking zones greater than light penetration zones were temporary observed due to the severe drought, low water storage rate, and over growth of periphyton. However, this temporal phenomenon did not impact the water quality. Considering the small water surface area (${\leq}0.5%$) covered by floating photovoltaic solar-tracking systems, the mixing effect of whole Geumgwang reservoir caused by Ekman current and continuous discharge were more dominant than the effect of reduced solar irradiance. Further study is warranted to monitor the changes in water quality and aquatic ecosystems with greater water surface area covered by floating photovoltaic solar-tracking systems for a long time.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.119-135
• /
• 2021

Korea has stepped up efforts to investigate and catalog its flora and fauna to conserve the biodiversity of the Korean Peninsula and secure biological resources since the ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992 and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits (ABS) in 2010. Thus, after its establishment in 2007, the National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR) of the Ministry of Environment of Korea initiated a project called the Korean Indigenous Species Investigation Project to investigate indigenous species on the Korean Peninsula. For 15 years since its beginning in 2006, this project has been carried out in five phases, Phase 1 from 2006-2008, Phase 2 from 2009-2011, Phase 3 from 2012-2014, Phase 4 from 2015-2017, and Phase 5 from 2018-2020. Before this project, in 2006, the number of indigenous species surveyed was 29,916. The figure was cumulatively aggregated at the end of each phase as 33,253 species for Phase 1 (2008), 38,011 species for Phase 2 (2011), 42,756 species for Phase 3 (2014), 49,027 species for Phase 4 (2017), and 54,428 species for Phase 5(2020). The number of indigenous species surveyed grew rapidly, showing an approximately 1.8-fold increase as the project progressed. These statistics showed an annual average of 2,320 newly recorded species during the project period. Among the recorded species, a total of 5,242 new species were reported in scientific publications, a great scientific achievement. During this project period, newly recorded species on the Korean Peninsula were identified using the recent taxonomic classifications as follows: 4,440 insect species (including 988 new species), 4,333 invertebrate species except for insects (including 1,492 new species), 98 vertebrate species (fish) (including nine new species), 309 plant species (including 176 vascular plant species, 133 bryophyte species, and 39 new species), 1,916 algae species (including 178 new species), 1,716 fungi and lichen species(including 309 new species), and 4,812 prokaryotic species (including 2,226 new species). The number of collected biological specimens in each phase was aggregated as follows: 247,226 for Phase 1 (2008), 207,827 for Phase 2 (2011), 287,133 for Phase 3 (2014), 244,920 for Phase 4(2017), and 144,333 for Phase 5(2020). A total of 1,131,439 specimens were obtained with an annual average of 75,429. More specifically, 281,054 insect specimens, 194,667 invertebrate specimens (except for insects), 40,100 fish specimens, 378,251 plant specimens, 140,490 algae specimens, 61,695 fungi specimens, and 35,182 prokaryotic specimens were collected. The cumulative number of researchers, which were nearly all professional taxonomists and graduate students majoring in taxonomy across the country, involved in this project was around 5,000, with an annual average of 395. The number of researchers/assistant researchers or mainly graduate students participating in Phase 1 was 597/268; 522/191 in Phase 2; 939/292 in Phase 3; 575/852 in Phase 4; and 601/1,097 in Phase 5. During this project period, 3,488 papers were published in major scientific journals. Of these, 2,320 papers were published in domestic journals and 1,168 papers were published in Science Citation Index(SCI) journals. During the project period, a total of 83.3 billion won (annual average of 5.5 billion won) or approximately US $75 million (annual average of US $5 million) was invested in investigating indigenous species and collecting specimens. This project was a large-scale research study led by the Korean government. It is considered to be a successful example of Korea's compressed development as it attracted almost all of the taxonomists in Korea and made remarkable achievements with a massive budget in a short time. The results from this project led to the National List of Species of Korea, where all species were organized by taxonomic classification. Information regarding the National List of Species of Korea is available to experts, students, and the general public (https://species.nibr.go.kr/index.do). The information, including descriptions, DNA sequences, habitats, distributions, ecological aspects, images, and multimedia, has been digitized, making contributions to scientific advancement in research fields such as phylogenetics and evolution. The species information also serves as a basis for projects aimed at species distribution and biological monitoring such as climate-sensitive biological indicator species. Moreover, the species information helps bio-industries search for useful biological resources. The most meaningful achievement of this project can be in providing support for nurturing young taxonomists like graduate students. This project has continued for the past 15 years and is still ongoing. Efforts to address issues, including species misidentification and invalid synonyms, still have to be made to enhance taxonomic research. Research needs to be conducted to investigate another 50,000 species out of the estimated 100,000 indigenous species on the Korean Peninsula.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.32 no.1B
• /
• pp.71-78
• /
• 2012

The habitat suitability is an important factor to estimate the distribution and size of the physical habitat in river. This suitability is also a key factor to decide the ecological flow discharge for the fish. For the ecological analysis in river, accurate values of habitat suitability index for various fishes are necessary. In general, fish habitat is affected by the physical factor of the flow depth and velocity as well as the chemical and biological factors of nutrient and attached algae. Thus, the condition of the fish habitat is expected to be changed with each watershed and tributary. In this study, the habitat suitability indices for fishes were proposed by using the field monitoring data in the rivers of the Han and Geum river watersheds. The proposed indices for three fishes are compared: Zacco platypus, Zacco temminckii, and Coreoleuciscus splendidus. The results show that Zacco platypus has a similar distribution of habitat suitability index in two watersheds. Zacco temminckii and Coreoleuciscus splendidus, however, have different distributions with watersheds. Also, for Zacco platypus, the developed indices at three tributaries of the Han river are compared: Cheng-mi stream, Dal stream, and Hong-cheon stream. The comparision shows that the index in the Cheng-mi stream is different with those in the other rivers. This is expected to be because of a high nutrient concentration at the Cheong-mi stream.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 1999

Numerous observations revealed strong evidence of increased middle ultraviolet radiation or UV-B (280 ~ 320 nm) at the earth's surface resulting from stratospheric ozone depletion. UV is the waveband of electromagnetic radiation which is strongly absorbed by nucleic acids and proteins, thus causing damage to living systems. It has been recorded in the East Sea, Korea that solar UV-B impinging on the ocean surface penetrates seawater to significant depths. Recent researches showed that exposure to UV-B for as short as 2h at the ambient level (2.0 Wm$^{-2}$) decreased macroalgal growth and photosynthesis and destroyed photosynthetic pigments. These may suggest that UV-B could be an important environmental factor to determine algal survival and distribution. Some adaptive mechanisms to protect macroalgae from UV-damage have been found, which include photoreactivation and formation of UV-absorbing pigments. Post-illumination of visible light mitigated UV-induced damage in laminarian young sporophytes with blue the most effective waveband. The existence of UV-B absorbing pigments has been recognized in the green alga, Ulva pertusa and the red alga, Pachymeniopsis sp., which is likely to exert protective function for photosynthetic pigments inside the thalli from UV-damage. Further studies are however needed to confirm that these mechanisms are of general occurrence in seaweeds. Macroalgae together with phytoplankton are the primary producers to incorporate about 100 Gt of carbons per year, and provide half of the total biomass on the earth. UV-driven reduction in macroalgal biomass, if any, would therefore cause deleterious effects on marine ecosystem. The ultimate impacts of increasing UV-B flux due to ozone destruction are still unknown, but the impression from UV studies made so far seems to highlight the importance of setting up long-term monitoring system for us to be able to predict and detect the onset of large -scale deterioration in aquatic ecosystem.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.17-32
• /
• 2018

The need for seawater desalination is increasing in terms of securing various water resources, but few studies are available as for the environmental impact of hypersaline concentrated water (brine) discharged from desalination plants. Domestic studies are concentrated mainly on toxicity evaluation that phytoplankton, zooplankton larvae and green algae (Ulva pertusa) are negatively affected by concentrated water. The mortality of Paralichthys olivaceus showed a linear relationship with increasing salinity, and Oryzias latipes died 100% at concentrations above 60 psu. Foreign studies included monitoring cases as well as toxicity evaluations. The number of species decreased around the area where the concentrated water discharged. The hypersaline concentrated water affects the pelagic and benthic organisms. However, the fishes escaped when exposed to salinity, and the pelagic and benthic organisms resistant to salinity survived the hypersaline environment. The salinity limit and distance from the outlet was presented as the regulatory standard for bine discharge. There were differences in regulatory standards among country and seawater desalination plants, and these regulatory standards have been strengthened recently. In particular, California Water Boards were revised to ensure that the maximum daily salinity concentration does not exceed 2 psu above the ambient salinity level within 100 m of the outlet.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.688-702
• /
• 2018

Since the 1970s regulations against the pollution of drinking water have been introduced in Lake Paldang watershed area. To understand the effects of water environment management policies and the impacts of climate changes on Lake Paldang, a long-term comprehensive study of this watershed and the changes in its water environment is required. In this study, we analyzed changes in the weather, hydrology, sources of pollution, water quality, and algal development from 2000 to 2015 year based on the statistical data provided by several national information systems. While the population and amount of sewage in the Lake Paldang watershed increased by about 1.5 times, the amount of animal manure showed a decreasing trend during the same period. The wastewater also increased by about 1.5 times while the amount of water intakes rose by about 1.14 times. The water quality in front of the Paldang Dam, which is the representative monitoring site of the Lake Paldang, was stable. The annual average BOD concentration remained within 2 mg/L, which is a "Good (lb)" level according to the environment standards of Republic of Korea. The development of phytoplankton and harmful cyanobacteria were largely influenced by meteorological factors.