• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.145-156
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• 2021

Forest fires have frequently occurred around the world, and the damages are increasing. In Korea, most forest fires are initiated by human activities, but climate factors such as temperature, humidity, and wind speed have a great impact on combustion environment of forest fires. In this study, therefore, based on statistics of forest fires in Gyeonggi-do over the past five years, meteorological and hydrological factors (i.e., temperature, humidity, wind speed, precipitation, and drought) were selected in order to quantitatively investigate causal relationships with forest fire. We applied a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM), which is suitable for analyzing causality and predicting latent variables. The overall results indicated that the measurement and structural models of the PLS-SEM were statistically significant for all evaluation criteria, and meteorological factors such as humidity, temperature, and wind speed affected by amount of -0.42, 0.23 and 0.15 of standardized path coefficient, respectively, on forest fires, whereas hydrological factor such as drought had an effect of 0.23 on forest fires. Therefore, as a practical method, the suggested model can be used for analyzing and evaluating influencing factors of forest fire and also for planning response and preparation of forest fire disasters.

• Journal of Korean Society of Disaster and Security
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.25-36
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• 2020

An increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters have been observed due to climate change. To better prepare for these, the MOIS (ministry of the interior and safety) announced a comprehensive plan for minimizing damages associated with natural disasters, including drought and heavy snowfall. The spatial-temporal pattern of snowfall is greatly influenced by temperature and geographical features. Heavy snowfalls are often observed in Gangwon-do, surrounded by mountains, whereas less snowfall is dominant in the southern part of the country due to relatively high temperatures. Thus, snow depth data often contains zeros that can lead to difficulties in the selection of probability distribution and estimation of the parameters. A generalized mixture distribution approach to a maximum snow depth series over the southern part of Korea (i.e., Changwon, Tongyeoung, Jinju weather stations) are located is proposed to better estimate a threshold (𝛿) classifying discrete and continuous distribution parts. The model parameters, including the threshold in the mixture model, are effectively estimated within a Bayesian modeling framework, and the uncertainty associated with the parameters is also provided. Comparing to the Daegwallyeong weather station, It was found that the proposed model is more effective for the regions in which less snow depth is observed.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.49-59
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• 2021

BACKGROUND: Soil salinity causes reduction of crop productivity. Rhizosphere microbes have metabolic capabilities and ability to adaptation of plants to biotic and abiotic stresses. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) could play a role as elicitors for inducing tolerance to stresses in plants by affecting resident microorganism in soil. This study was conducted to demonstrate the effect of selected strains on rhizosphere microbial community under salinity stress. METHODS AND RESULTS: The experiments were conducted in tomato plants in pots containing field soil. Bacterial suspension was inoculated into three-week-old tomato plants, one week after inoculation, and -1,000 kPa-balanced salinity stress was imposed. The physiological and biochemical attributes of plant under salt stress were monitored by evaluating pigment, malondialdehyde (MDA), proline, soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and ion concentrations. To demonstrate the effect of selected Bacillus strains on rhizosphere microbial community, soil microbial diversity and abundance were evaluated with Illumina MiSeq sequencing, and primer sets of 341F/805R and ITS3/ITS4 were used for bacterial and fungal communities, respectively. As a result, when the bacterial strains were inoculated and then salinity stress was imposed, the inoculation decreases the stress susceptibility including reduction in lipid peroxidation, enhanced pigmentation and proline accumulation which subsequently resulted in better plant growth. However, bacterial inoculations did not affect diversity (observed OTUs, ACE, Chao1 and Shannon) and structure (principle coordinate analysis) of microbial communities under salinity stress. Furthermore, relative abundance in microbial communities had no significant difference between bacterial treated- and untreated-soils under salinity stress. CONCLUSION: Inoculation of Bacillus strains could affect plant responses and soil pH of tomato plants under salinity stress, whereas microbial diversity and abundance had no significant difference by the bacterial treatments. These findings demonstrated that Bacillus strains could alleviate plant's salinity damages by regulating pigments, proline, and MDA contents without significant changes of microbial community in tomato plants, and can be used as effective biostimulators against salinity stress for sustainable agriculture.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.675-695
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• 2023

The tracksite of dinosaurs and pterosaurs in Sanbuk-dong of Gunsan is the largest early Cretaceous dinosaur footprint fossil site in Korea, and all the footprints are important evidence indicating that large ornithopod and theropod dinosaurs inhabited the Korean peninsula during the early Cretaceous. The Sanbuk-dong site was covered with waterproof sheet in an outdoor environment until the installation of a protective enclosure in 2021. As a result, various factors such as shear force, load reduction, temperature and humidity fluctuations, acid rain, salinity and microorganisms have complexly interacted in the substrate of fossils, exacerbating the damage to footprints. For 159 footprints in 12 trackways among the footprints found in the site, the damage types were classified in detail and the level of each damage was assessed. The damages were classified into 6 types through the classification of deterioration degree of individual footprints. As a result of ultrasonic physical property evaluation on the surface of the fossil site, most of these footprints are in the completely weathered (CW) stage. Furthermore, various weathering patterns were observed in the study area, and surface contaminants were analyzed along the stratigraphy. Although the patterns of freshness and contaminants varied at different points within the fossil site, the chemical compositions were similar. Based on the results, an efficient conservation management system for dinosaur footprint fossils was established, and a conservation treatment type for each footprint was proposed.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.651-660
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• 2007

Acid drainage has been recognized as an environmental concern in abandoned mine sites for long time. Recently, the environmental and structural damage by acid drainage is a current issue in construction sites in Korea. Here, the author introduces the type of damages by acid drainage in construction sites and emphasizes the importance of geoscience discipline in solving the problem. Metasedimentary rock of Okcheon group, coal bed of Pyeongan group, Mesozoic volcanic rock. and Tertiary sedimentary and volcanic rocks are the major rock types with a high potential for acid drainage upon excavation in Korea. The acid drainage causes the acidification and heavy metal contamination of soil, surface water and groundwater, the reduction of slope stability, the corrosion of slope structure, the damage on plant growth, the damage on landscape and the deterioration of concrete and asphalt pavement. The countermeasure for acid drainage is the treatment of acid drainage and the prevention of acid drainage. The treatment of acid drainage can be classified into active and passive treatments depending on the degree of natural process in the treatment. Removal of oxidants, reduction of oxidant generation and encapsulation of sulfide are employed for the prevention of acid drainage generation.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.54-60
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• 2019

BACKGROUND: Hydrogen fluoride is one of the 97 accident preparedness substances regulated by the Ministry of Environment (Republic of Korea) and chemical accidents should be managed centrally due to continual occurrence. Especially, hydrogen fluoride has a characteristic of rapid diffusion and very toxic when leaking into the environment. Therefore, it is important to predict the impact range quickly and to evaluate the residual contamination immediately to minimize the human and environmental damages. METHODS AND RESULTS: In order to estimate the accident impact range, the off-site consequence analysis (OCA) was performed to the worst and alternative scenarios. Also, in order to evaluate the residual contamination of hydrogen fluoride in crop, the samples in accident site were collected from 15-divided regions (East direction from accident sites based on the main wind direction), and the concentration was measured by fluoride ($F^-$) ion-selective electrode potentiometer (ISE). As a result of the OCA, the affected distance by the worst scenario was estimated to be >10 km from the accident site and the range by the alternative scenario was estimated to be about 1.9 km. The residual contamination of hydrogen fluoride was highest in the samples near the site of the accident (E-1, 276.82 mg/kg) and tended to decrease as it moved eastward. Meanwhile, the concentrations from SE and NE (4.96~28.98 mg/kg) tended to be lower than the samples near the accident site. As a result, the concentration of hydrogen fluoride was reduced to a low concentration within 2 km from the accident site (<5 mg/kg), and the actual damage range was estimated to be around 2.2 km. Therefore, it is suggested that the results are similar to those of alternative accident scenarios calculated by OCA (about 1.9 km). CONCLUSION: It is difficult to estimate the chemical accident-affecting range/region by the OCA evaluation, because it is not possible to input all physicochemical parameters. However simultaneous measurement of the residual contamination in the environment will be very helpful in determining the diffusion range of actual chemical accident.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.183-193
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• 2022

The growth inhibitory effect of Microcystis aeruginosa according to the ultrasonic irradiation time was evaluated using a large algae sample volume (10 L) for various ultrasonic irradiation times (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 hr) at a laboratory scale. Based on the analysis of Chl-a and cell number of M. aerginosa, algae growth inhibition was observed with the decrease in Chl-a and cell number in all experimental groups after the ultrasonic irradiation. For the experimental group (T_B, T_C, T_D) with an ultrasonic irradiation time of less than 2 hours, rapid regrowth of algae was observed after growth inhibition, but the experimental group (T_E, T_F, T_G) with an irradiation time of more than 2 hours successfully inhibited algal growth lasting one or two more days. Based on the comparison of the recovery time to initial cell number the experimental group (T_B, T_C, T_D) took less than 20 days whereas the experimental group (T_E, T_F, T_G) took about 30 days. Correspondingly, the experimental group showed a high first order decay rate (𝜅) in proportion to the ultrasonic irradiation time during the growth inhibition period. Additionally, the specific growth rates (𝜇) during regrowth in the experimental group with irradiation time of more than 2 hours were relatively low compared to those in the experimental group with less than 2 hours. Therefore, ultrasonic irradiation for more than 2 hours is required for long-term (30 days) inhibition of algal growth in stagnant waters. However, the appropriate ultrasonic irradiation time for algae growth inhibition should be determined according to various field conditions such as the volume of stagnant water, water depth, flow rate, algae concentration, etc. Finally, damages to the algal cell surface and cell membrane were clearly observed, and both destruction and disturbance of gas vesicles of M. aeruginosa in the experimental group were discovered, indicating the growth inhibitory effect of Microcystis aeruginosa according to the ultrasonic irradiation time was confirmed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.87-91
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• 2015

As negative effects of climate change have been visualized and its direct damages to economy have been realized, the global efforts to respond to climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emission were accelerated. Korea's Carbon Footprint Labeling gets a lot of attention as one of the effective methods to contribute to national GHG reduction goal, and for enterprises to show customers how much effort the company put into global warming prevention. Consumers' interest on low-carbon products has been increasing. This study uses Life Cycle Assessment method to calculate the amount of carbon emission of dishwashing detergent, LG Household & Healthcare, which reduced carbon emissions by using raw materials that has relatively lower environment load. Life Cycle Assessment Method is based on guidelines of Carbon Footprint Labeling, Ministry of Environment, and pre-manufacturing, manufacturing, and disposal phase are included while use phase of the product is excluded from assessment. In order to understand the effects of eco-design on carbon emissions, the dishwashing detergent's carbon emissions are compared before and after the change of main raw materials. The result shows the improvement from $0.47kgCO_2eq/kg$ to $0.38kgCO_2eq/kg$ per product, and this means the main raw materials' carbon emissions could be reduced by around 9.4%, which is equivalent to 916tons of GHG emissions per year.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.627-634
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• 2014

In this study, standoff detonation tests and static beam tests on $160{\times}290{\times}2200mm$ RC beams were conducted to investigate the effect of local damage on the flexural strength and ductility index. And also, blast resistance of RC beams strengthened with steel fiber and FRP sheet were evaluated by these tests. The standoff detonation tests were performed with charge weight of 1kg and standoff distance of 0.1m. After the tests, crater diameters and loss weights of specimens were measured to evaluate the local damage of specimens. Flexural strength and ductility index were measured by conducting the static beam tests on the damaged and undamaged specimens. As a test results, normal concrete specimen(NC) showed relatively large crater and spall diameters that caused weight loss of 23.5kg as a local damage. Whereas, steel fiber reinforced concrete specimen(SFRC) and FRP sheet retrofitted specimens(NC-F, NC-FS) showed higher blast resistance than NC by reducing crater size and weight loss. Flexural strength and ductility index were decreased in case of local damaged specimens by detonation. Especially, large decrease of flexural strength was shown in NC as compared with intact specimen and brittle failure was occurred due to buckling of compressive reinforcement. In case of specimens strengthened with steel fiber and FRP sheet, residual flexural strength and ductility index were increased as compared with NC. In these results, it is concluded that critical local damage can be occurred unless enough standoff distance can be assured even if the charge weight is small. and it is verified that strengthening method using steel fiber and FRP sheet can increase blast resistance.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.293-303
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• 2012

Recently, as construction technology improved, concrete structures not only became larger, taller and longer but were able to perform various functions. However, if extreme loads such as impact, blast, and fire are applied to those structures, it would cause severe property damages and human casualties. Especially, the structural responses from extreme loading are totally different than that from quasi-static loading, because large pressure is applied to structures from mass acceleration effect of impact and blast loads. Therefore, the strain rate effect and damage levels should be considered when concrete structure is designed. In this study, the low velocity impact loading test of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) slabs including 0%~1.5% (by volume) of steel fibers, and strengthened with two types of FRP sheets was performed to develop an impact resistant structural member. From the test results, the maximum impact load, dissipated energy and the number of drop to failure increased, whereas the maximum displacement and support rotation were reduced by strengthening SFRC slab with FRP sheets in tensile zone. The test results showed that the impact resistance of concrete slab can be substantially improved by externally strengthening using FRP sheets. This result can be used in designing of primary facilities exposed to such extreme loads. The dynamic responses of SFRC slab strengthened with FRP sheets under low velocity impact load were also analyzed using LS-DYNA, a finite element analysis program with an explicit time integration scheme. The comparison of test and analytical results showed that they were within 5% of error with respect to maximum displacements.