• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.32-45
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• 2016

The anthropogenic aerosols originated from the pollutant emissions in the eastern part of China and dust emitted in northwestern China in Yellow sand regions are subsequently transported via eastward wind to the Korean peninsula and then these aerosols induce high $PM_{10}$ concentrations in Korean peninsula. In order to estimate air quality considering anthropogenic and dust emissions, Comprehensive Air-quality Model with extension (CAMx) was applied to simulate $PM_{10}$ concentration. The predicted $PM_{10}$ concentrations without/with dust emissions were compared with observations at ambient air quality monitoring sites in China and Korea for 2008. The predicted $PM_{10}$ concentrations with dust emissions could depict the variation of measured $PM_{10}$ especially during Yellow sand events in Korea. The comparisons also showed that predicted $PM_{10}$ concentrations without dust emissions were under-predicted while predictions of $PM_{10}$ concentrations with dust emission were in good agreement with observations. This implied that dust emissions from desert and barren soil in southern Mongolia and northern China minimized the discrepancies in the $PM_{10}$ predictions in East Asia. The effect of dust emission on annual $PM_{10}$ concentrations in Korea Peninsula for year 2008 was $5{\sim}10{\mu}g/m^3$, which were about 20% of observed annual $PM_{10}$ concentrations.

• Atmosphere
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.501-509
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• 2019

Asian Dust is a meteorological phenomenon that sand particles are raised from the arid and semi-arid regions-Taklamakan Desert, Gobi Desert and Inner Mongolia in China-and transported by westerlies and deposited on the surface. Asian dust results in a negative effect on human health as well as environmental, social and economic aspects. For monitoring of Asian Dust, Korea Meteorological Administration operates 29 stations using a continuous ambient particulate monitor. Kim et al. (2016) developed an automatic quality check (AQC) algorithm for objective and systematic quality check of observed PM₁₀ concentration and evaluated AQC with results of a manual quality check (MQC). The results showed the AQC algorithm could detect abnormal observations efficiently but it also presented a large number of false alarms which result from valid error check. To complement the deficiency of AQC and to develop an AQC system which can be applied in real-time, AQC has been modulated. Based on the analysis of instrument status codes, valid error check process was revised and 6 status codes were further considered as normal. Also, time continuity check and spike check were modified so that posterior data was not referred at inspection time. Two-year observed PM₁₀ concentration data and corresponding MQC results were used to evaluate the modulated AQC compared to the original AQC algorithm. The results showed a false alarm ratio decreased from 0.44 to 0.09 and the accuracy and the probability of detection were conserved well in spite of the exclusion of posterior data at inspection time.

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

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• v.2
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• pp.794-796
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• 2006

This study investigated the Brightness Temperature Difference threshold as criterion between aerosols and clouds in conjunction with radiative transfer model. Surface temperature is caused by a significant error over 50% in the BTD threshold. In addition, The BTD threshold contains the uncertainties about 20% due to the surface emissivity and 8% due to the satellite zenith angle. Therefore, we have composed the Look-up table for BTD between 11㎛and 12㎛ according to satellite zenith angle, surface temperature, and surface emissivity. The modified BTD show the enhanced signal, especially over bright surface such as desert in China. However, a weak aerosol signal over Ocean remains in the modified BTD.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2009.03a
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• pp.101-104
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• 2009

기후 시스템에서 지구온난화는 세계적으로 매우 중요한 문제이고 이는 기후변화, 이상기온, 폭우, 가뭄 등의 문제를 초래한다. 특히 사막화는 전 세계적으로 10억 명 이상의 사람들에게 영향을 미치고 있다. 건조한 상태의 식생은 사막화되기 쉽기 때문에 식생의 수분상태는 사막화의 중요한 지표이다. 본 논문에서는 중국과 몽골 사막 주변영역에 대해 식생의 수분상태를 탐지하였다. 식생의 수분상태를 탐지하기 위해 1999년부터 2006년까지의 SPOT/VEGETATION 위성 이미지를 이용하여 정규화 수분지수(NDWI: Normalized Difference Water Index)를 산출하였다. 그 결과 1999년부터 2006년까지의 NDWI는 사막주변영역에서 감소하는 경향을 보였고, 그 영역은 몽골 고비사막 북동지역과 중국 타클라마칸 사막의 남동지역에 위치해 있었다.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.474-479
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• 2008

Radioactivity of naturally occurring radioactive nuclides (NORN) such as $^{226}Ra$, $^{228}Ac$ and $^{40}K$ were investigated for surface sediments collected from Ordos, Alashan, Taklimakan deserts and Loess plateau regions in China. By a Gamma-ray spectrometry, specific activity (SA) and SA ratio (SAR) of the NORN were determined for each source region of Asian dust. Characterization of the source regions of Asian dust was performed with the SA and SAR values. SA of $^{226}Ra$ in the three desert regions have almost same values in the range of mean value 17.9~21.9 Bq/kg, however, the SA in Loess Plateau has much higher values in the mean value of 35 Bq/Kg. SA of $^{228}Ac$ in the Ordos and Alashan desert regions have almost same values in the range of mean value 27.1~27.2 Bq/kg, and those in Taklimakan desert and Loess Plateau were 31.7 and 49.0 Bq/kg, respectively. In case of 40K, the SA in all regions have similar values in the range of 636~943 Bq/kg. The mean SAR value of $^{226}Ra/^{228}Ac$ in four source regions was almost same in the range of 0.708-0.721. It is shown that relationship between $^{226}Ra$ and $^{228}Ac$ is clearly presented in the source regions. The mean SAR values of $^{226}Ra/^{40}K$, $^{228}Ac/^{40}K$ are 0.0209-0.056, 0.0287-0.0773, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.223-231
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• 2003

With the negative influences and damage from Asian dust increasing, it's getting important to investigate the climate and soil condition of the source region of Asian dust. There is a high possibility that the desertification and the drastic decrease of plants in China and Mongolia make worse the situation (bad effects of Asian Dust). To detect the movement of Asian dust caused by air circulation, we need to watch the state of the source region to get useful information for the prevention of the dust pollution, and to predict what part of China will become the source region. Therefore, using TOMS aerosol index data, NCEP reanalysis data that is Remote Sensing data from 1981 to 2000 (except 1993~1996, 4 years), for 16 years, examined the relation between the dust occurrence and weather elements. Dust occurrence appeared much in spring season from March to May in study areas. It had a dry climate during that season as follows : relative humidity about 20~40%, temperature about -5~5$^{\circ}C$, precipitation about 33-180 mm, wind speed about 4-10 ms-1. Dust occurrence and weather element annual change in study areas decreased gradually till 1990, but in Gobi desert the incidence of dust occurrence increased since 1997. As a result, found out that the more the precipitation, the less dust occurrence, because the precipitation and surface wind speed had a direct influence on the soil of the source region of dust.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.151-156
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• 2011

Seeds of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge were collected from two plantations and two superior trees in Inner Mongolia: and one plantation and one superior tree in Liaoning, China in late August, 2011. Yellowhorn or goldenhorn is an important tree species, from the aspects of source of edible oil and biodiesel and pioneering capacity of degraded and desert land. Characteristics investigated were seed length, width, and weight: weight and volume of 1,000 seeds: and weight and volume of one-liter seeds. The seeds of Qingsonglingxiang No. 1, growing alone in an open space, showed the highest values in seed length (16.08 mm), width (14.48 mm) and weight (1.40 g), while those of Tree No. 160 in Ar Khorqin Banner were the lowest ones: that is, 11.48mm for length, 11.81 mm for width, and 0.73 g for weight, respectively. Traits of seeds varied quite much between trees and among areas; for example, Tree No. 38 and No. 160 produced quite different seeds in several traits, although they are adjacent to each other in the same farm. Weight of 1,000 seeds varied from 718.0 g to 1,010.1 g and volume from 0.76 L to 1.52 L. Weight of one-liter seeds were 522.3 g to 688.2 g, while the number of seeds were 603 to 935. Seeds which were soaked in the water at $4^{\circ}C$ for 2 days showed the highest germination rate (89%) in a 30-day test, which was about 10% to 40% higher than those of non-treatment and dipping treatment at $36^{\circ}C$ followed by keeping under room temperature for 2 days. 81% of seeds in the wet sand at room temperature germinated, while 23% of seeds deprived of seed coat germinated. It is necessary to understand seed traits to select superior clones or provenances for the increased, unfluctuating production of seed.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.224-227
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• 2008

Land cover and its changes, affecting multiple aspects of the environmental system such as energy balance, biogeochemical cycles, hydrological cycles and the climate system, are regarded as critical elements in global change studies. Especially in arid and semiarid regions, the observation of ecosystem that is sensitive to climate change can improve an understanding of the relationships between climate and ecosystem dynamics. The purpose of this research is analyzing the ecosystem surrounding the Gobi desert in North Asia quantitatively as well as qualitatively more concretely. We used Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from SPOT-VEGETATION (VGT) sensor during 1999${\sim}$2007. Ecosystem monitoring of this area is necessary because it is a hot spot in global environment change. This study will allow predicting areas, which are prone to the rapid environmental change. Eight classes were classified and compare with MODerate resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) global land cover. The time-series analysis was carried out for these 8 classes. Class-1 and -2 have least amplitude variation with low NDVI as barren areas, while other vegetated classes increase in May and decrease in October (maximum value occurs in July and August). Although the several classes have the similar features of NDVI time-series, we detected a slight difference of inter-annual variation among these classes.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.581-591
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics of fine particles concentration and meteorological parameters, and long range transport of wintertime Asian dust at Busan. Also we studied occurrence frequency and tendency of wintertime Asian dust from 1961 to 2010 in Korea. Asian dust occurred most frequently in the spring, the next to winter in Korea. Wintertime Asian dust is steadily increasing recently. Asian dust in Busan was the most occurred in 2001 with 21 days, followed by 12 days in 2002, and 10 days in 2006. The annual mean frequency during the past 12 years(1999~2010) was 7.5 days, and it was two times more than that during the past 50 years(3.8 days). Wintertime Asian dust in Busan has occurred 6 episodes since 2008, and it all occurred in December except for 20 Feb. 2009. The highest concentration of wintertime Asian dust was recorded mostly at Hakjangdong and Jangrimdong which are industrial area. Maintenance time of Asian dust at Busan was from 1hr 30min to 9hr 20min, it was shorter than in the spring. It took from 10 to 15 hours move to Busan after Asian dust was first detected in Korea. Wintertime Asian dust originated from Gobi desert in Mongolia and inner Mongolia near China, except for 9 Dec. 2008 at Busan.