• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2024

Lagoon, attributed to the postglacial sea-level rise, has experienced rapid geomorphological changes due to increasing human impact. This study tried to infer how rapidly increasing human impact during the Holocene affects on geomorphological changes of lagoons and their surroundings, especially on Cheongchoho, Gyeongpoho and Pungho with significant changes in area and shapes. It was confirmed that the period of rapid artificial change commonly began in the 1960s to 1970s and geomorphological landscape rapidly changed since human impact intensified afterward. Intensive development not only affected on depth, area and shape changes, but also had significant impacts on water environment and biodiversity, attributed to disturbed flow between freshwater and seawater due to dredging and the installation of artificial structures. Lastly, various types of human impact were observed to be complexly interrelated, which seems to be associated with the geomorphologic process influenced by both terrestrial and marine environments. It is thought to be the result of complex interactions between humans who develop and utilize the terrain and changes in environmental conditions.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.228-240
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• 2023

Growing complexity in ecosystem structure and functions, under impacts of climate and land-use changes, requires interdisciplinary understandings of processes and the whole-system, and accurate estimates of the changing functions. In the last three decades, observation networks for biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem functions under climate change, have been developed by interested scientists, research institutions and universities. In this paper we will review (1) the development and on-going activities of those observation networks, (2) some outcomes from forest carbon cycle studies at our super-site "Takayama site" in Japan, and (3) a few ideas how we connect in-situ and satellite observations as well as fill observation gaps in the Asia-Oceania region. There have been many intensive research and networking efforts to promote investigations for ecosystem change and functions (e.g., Long-Term Ecological Research Network), measurements of greenhouse gas, heat, and water fluxes (flux network), and biodiversity from genetic to ecosystem level (Biodiversity Observation Network). Combining those in-situ field research data with modeling analysis and satellite remote sensing allows the research communities to up-scale spatially from local to global, and temporally from the past to future. These observation networks oftern use different methodologies and target different scientific disciplines. However growing needs for comprehensive observations to understand the response of biodiversity and ecosystem functions to climate and societal changes at local, national, regional, and global scales are providing opportunities and expectations to network these networks. Among the challenges to produce and share integrated knowledge on climate, ecosystem functions and biodiversity, filling scale-gaps in space and time among the phenomena is crucial. To showcase such efforts, interdisciplinary research at 'Takayama super-site' was reviewed by focusing on studies on forest carbon cycle and phenology. A key approach to respond to multidisciplinary questions is to integrate in-situ field research, ecosystem modeling, and satellite remote sensing by developing cross-scale methodologies at long-term observation field sites called "super-sites". The research approach at 'Takayama site' in Japan showcases this response to the needs of multidisciplinary questions and further development of terrestrial ecosystem research to address environmental change issues from local to national, regional and global scales.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.225-236
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• 2024

To prepare for the impending climate crisis, it is necessary to establish policies and strategies based on scientific predictions and analyses of climate change impacts. For this, climate change should be considered, however, in conventional scenario-led approach, researchers select and utilize representative climate change scenarios. Using the representative climate change scenarios makes prediction results high uncertain and low reliable, which leads to have limitations in applying them to relevant policies and design standards. Therefore, it is necessary to utilize scenario-neutral approach considering possible change ranges due to climate change. In this study, hydrologic risk was estimated for Boryeong after generating 343 time series of climate stress and calculating drought return period from bivariate drought frequency analysis. Considering 18 scenarios of SSP1-2.6 and 18 scenarios of SSP5-8.5, the results indicated that the hydrologic risks of drought occurrence with maximum return period ranged 0.15±0.025 within 20 years and 0.3125±0.0625 within 50 years, respectively. Therefore, it is necessary to establish drought policies and countermeasures in consideration of the corresponding hydrologic risks in Boryeong.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.192-202
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• 2024

Ocean reanalysis data are extensively used in ocean circulation and climate research by integrating observational data with numerical models. This approach overcomes the spatial and temporal limitations of observational data and provides high-resolution gridded information that considers the physical interactions between ocean variables. In this study, I extended the previously produced 12-year (2011-2022) Northwest Pacific regional ocean reanalysis data to create a long-term reanalysis dataset (K-ORA22E) with a horizontal resolution of 1/24° spanning 30 years (1993-2022). These data were analyzed to diagnose long-term ocean climate change in the Korean marginal seas. Analysis of the K-ORA22E data revealed that the axis of the Kuroshio extension has shifted northward by approximately 6 km per year over the past 30 years, with a significant increase in sea surface temperature north of the Kuroshio axis. Among the waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula, the East Sea exhibited the most significant temperature increase. In the East Sea, the temperature increase was more pronounced in the middle layer than in the surface layer, with the East Korea Warm Current showing a rate two to three times higher than the global average. In the central Yellow Sea, where the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water appears, temperatures increased over the long-term, but decreased along the west and south coasts of the Korean Peninsula. These spatial differences in long-term temperature changes appear to be closely related to the heat transport pathways of warm water from the Kuroshio Current. High-resolution regional ocean reanalysis data, such as the K-ORA22E produced in this study, are essential foundational data for understanding long-term variability in the Korean marginal seas and analyzing the impacts of climate change.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.159-178
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• 2024

This study aims to assess the direct and indirect impacts of local fiscal expenditures on water quality. Panel data spanning from 2010 to 2018 for 173 cities and districts in Korea are assembled, and a two-stage dynamic panel model is utilized for our estimation. The empirical findings reveal several key insights. Firstly, local fiscal expenditures on water quality are effective in ameliorating both Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Phosphorus (T-P). Notably, the direct impact on T-P surpasses that on BOD in the short and long run. Secondly, expenditures dedicated to water quality improvement demonstrate a positive effect on local economic growth, and an inverted U-shaped relationship is observed between BOD and local economic growth. Due to the positive linkage, the indirect effect on BOD suggests, on average, a deterioration in water quality during local economic growth. Thirdly, concerning BOD, the direct effect of government expenditure on water quality improvement outweighs the indirect effect, but in the case of T-P, the indirect effect is not significant, and the total effect is solely determined by the direct impact. Despite local fiscal expenditures potentially exacerbating water quality through regional economic growth, the study finds that the direct enhancement of water quality remains a more substantial factor in the short and long run.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.143-155
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• 2018

The Natural Landscape Rating System was introduced in the amendment of the NATURAL ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION ACT in 2006. For landscape preservation, the system aims to consider the effects of development projects or plans implemented in a natural landscape on skylines, scenic resources, and view corridors. Currently, a lack of consistency in standards for determining Landscape Control Points (LCP) to assess landscape impact lowers the accuracy and reliability of the assessment results. As the perception of and the impact on a landscape varies, depending on the location of the LCP, it is necessary to establish a reasonable set of criteria to select viewpoints and avoid unreliability in the assessment due to unclear criteria. The intent of this study is to propose an objective and reasonable set of criteria for LCP selection to effectively measure the impact on the landscape from development projects that anticipate a change in the landscape and, ultimately, to suggest basic analysis methods to assess the landscape impact of development projects and to monitor the landscape in the future. Among the development projects affecting natural landscapes, as reported in the statement of the environmental impact assessment, cases of construction of a single building or other small-scale development projects were studied. Four spot development projects were analyzed in depth for their landscape impacts, in order to make recommendations for the LCP selection procedure, which aims to widen the scope of selection according to the direction of viewpoints from the target site. The existing results of analysis based on LCP have limitations because they failed to cover the viewshed of the target buildings when there are topographical changes in the surroundings. As a solution to this problem, a new viewshed analysis method has been proposed, with a focus on the development site and target buildings, rather than viewpoints, as used in past analysis.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.469-477
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• 2018

Hanabusaya asiatica is an endemic species whose distribution is limited in the mid-eastern part of the Korean peninsula. Due to its narrow range and small population, it is necessary to protect its habitats by identifying it as Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) adopted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In this paper, we estimated potential natural habitats for H. asiatica using maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) and identified candidate sites for KBA based on the model results. MaxEnt is a machine learning algorithm that can predict habitats for species of interest unbiasedly with presence-only data. This property is particularly useful for the study area where data collection via a field survey is unavailable. We trained MaxEnt using 38 locations of H. asiatica and 11 environmental variables that measured climate, topography, and vegetation status of the study area which encompassed all locations of the border region between South and North Korea. Results showed that the potential habitats where the occurrence probabilities of H. asiatica exceeded 0.5 were $778km^2$, and the KBA candidate area identified by taking into account existing protected areas was $1,321km^2$. Of 11 environmental variables, elevation, annual average precipitation, average precipitation in growing seasons, and the average temperature in the coldest month had impacts on habitat selection, indicating that H. asiatica prefers cool regions at a relatively high elevation. These results can be used not only for identifying KBAs but also for the reference to a protection plan for H. asiatica in preparation of Korean reunification and climate change.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.31 no.9
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• pp.803-810
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• 2009

This study is conducted to examine spatial variations of Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) in stream and waste waters of the different watershed areas (agricultural, residential, and industrial complex area) by using fluorescence 3D-EEMs (3 Dimensional Excitation Emission Matrix Spectroscopy). Furthermore, the research investigates the changes of DOM characterization by synchronous and 3D-EEMs during a rainfall event. The characterizations of DOM obtained by 3D-EEMs show two noticeable peaks at humic and protein-like regions. Humic-like substances (HLS) are found in rural and urban areas, and humic and protein-like substances (PLS) are shown in industrial area. According to the fluorescence peak $T_1:C_1$ ratios, it is observed that high amount of HLS was discharged from Banweol Industrial Complex (3TG). Additionally, linear relationships (Regression rate, $r^2$=0.65, $r^2$=0.66) have been shown between PLS (peak $T_1,\;B_1$) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), which indicates the impact of sewage. For the rainfall event (30 mm), no remarkable difference of DOM was found at rural area except increment of fluorescence intensity comparing dry period. In contrast, HLS at urban area is highly discharged within 30 minutes from the beginning of rainfall. Also, there are high influences of HLS and PLS within 20 minutes at industrial complex (4TG). Fluorescence 3D-EEMs has not only verifies a watershed of DOM origination but also monitors diffuse and point source impacts.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.106-115
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• 2011

The aim of this study is to assess the importance of ballast water discharge as a vector for the introduction of exotic species into Pusan and Daesan Ports, Korea. We also examined to understand the impacts of environmental factors on the survival success of introduced species by ship's ballast water in laboratory experiments. Seven ship's ballast water originated from the coastal water of China (Taicang, Ningbo and Jinshan), Japan (Tokuyama, Moji and Akita), and Singapore. According to PCA (principal components analysis) analysis, environmental factor in the each ballast and shipside waters were different by bioregion. Based on cluster analysis, the phytoplankton community structures were distinguished for ballast water origin. Most of the major taxonomic groups were diatoms and, the others were dinoflagellate, silcoflagellate and several fresh-waters species. In particular, species number and standing crops of phytoplankton in the ballast tanks decreased with the increasing age ofballast water(r = -0.35 for standing crop; r = -0.63 for species number). In the laboratory study, although phytoplankton in ballast water treatment did not survive even in optimal temperature, the in vivo fluorescence of phytoplankton viability increased under the nutrient typical of shipside water and F/2 medium at $15^{\circ}C$ and $20^{\circ}C$. The diatoms species such as Skeletonema costatum and Thalassiosira pseudonana in ballast water were successfully regrown. On the salinity gradient experiments for Shui Shan (2) vessel, several freshwater species, brackish and marine species were successfully adapted. Of these, S.costatum was able to tolerate a wide range of salinities (10 to 30 psu) and its species-specific viability was suitable for colonization.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.205-217
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• 2014

As Mt. Backdu is expected to erupt, the social and economic impacts of the eruption on the Korean peninsula as well as on the world become a research topic of interest. If the volcano erupts, South Korea can be directly impacted by volcanic ash, which will bring out secondary damages in various ways. Given that the direct damage is a basis to estimate indirect and secondary damages, this paper was to review a method to estimate direct damages, called catastrophe risk models, and estimate the direct damages of available eruption scenarios of Mt. Baekdu. Based on the results, the damages by volcanic ash will occur mostly around Gangwon province if the Mt. Backdu erupts. Thus the inventory lists and their damage functions of Gangwon provinces were collected. In particular agricultural and forestry products were surveyed based on the land use. Direct damages were estimated using volcanic ash distribution of eruption scenarios, inventory information and their damage functions. In result, a scenario in winter caused the damage of 299.8 billion KRW (20.4% of total agricultural production in 2010) and 28.9 billion KRW (9.0% of total forestry production in 2010) in agriculture and forestry, respectively. The damages in agriculture was larger, and it is due to the damage functions which show the agricultural products are more vulnerable to volcanic ash than forestry products. Also the agricultural production (1,471.7 billion KRW in 2010) are more than 4.5 times the forestry production (322.3 billion KRW in 2010) in Gangwon province. Inje and Gangnung had the most damages in the scenario in winter. Inje had the most damage due to the thick ash deposit (8.5 mm in average) despite the low production. On the other hand, Goseong had a low damage compared to the ash thickness larger than 20mm, owing to the low production. The direct damage estimated through this process can be used to estimate indirect damages.