• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
• /
• v.51 no.2
• /
• pp.120-124
• /
• 2024

Objective: Seasonal variations in semen quality are known to occur in temperate regions, but results regarding tropical areas remain inconclusive. The aim of this study was to determine whether monthly variations in semen parameters are present among men in a tropical region. Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from semen analyses of 3,000 men over a 10-year period, from 2012 to 2022. Analysis of variance and the independent-samples t-test were employed to observe variations in semen parameters throughout the entire period and between months, respectively. Results: The mean±standard deviation sperm concentration was significantly lower in June, at 42.5±31.4 million/mL, compared to other months. The highest sperm concentration was found in March, at 57.8±42.6 million/mL, constituting a mean difference of 15.3 million/mL between the lowest and highest concentrations. The total sperm count displayed a similar pattern of monthly variation, with a difference of 47.2 million between the highest and lowest months. No significant monthly differences were observed in other parameters, such as sperm motility, morphology, and semen volume. Conclusion: Significant monthly variations in sperm concentration and total sperm count were evident in this Sri Lankan population. March, which displayed the highest sperm counts, is in the spring in temperate regions, while the month with the lowest counts, July, is part of the summer. Fluctuations in photoperiod appear to most strongly influence these variations.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.6-9
• /
• 2002

The long-term monthly variations of tide with tidal harmonic analysis in Pusan Harbour are investigated. The present spring tidal range decreased 1.4 cm and the variation of phase lag increased than 1974. The high and low water level of yearly mean sea level is show during the February to March and August to September, respectively. It is important to note that the larger lunar elliptic N2 is large in comparison with lunisolar diurnal K1 and principal lunar diurnal O1. The ratios (Correction Factors) of monthly mean sea level and the main 4 tidal constituents are evaluated to correct the shortly (monthly) observed tide for the design of harbour facilities.

• Atmosphere
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.405-420
• /
• 2020

In this study, we investigate the predictability of intraseasonal monthly temperature and precipitation variations using hindcast datasets from eight global circulation models participating in the operational multi-model ensemble (MME) seasonal prediction system of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Climate Center for the 1983~2010 period. These intraseasonal monthly variations are defined by categorical deterministic analysis. The monthly temperature and precipitation are categorized into above normal (AN), near normal (NN), and below normal (BN) based on the σ-value ± 0.43 after standardization. The nine patterns of intraseasonal monthly variation are defined by considering the changing pattern of the monthly categories for the three consecutive months. A deterministic and a probabilistic analysis are used to define intraseasonal monthly variation for the multi-model consisting of numerous ensemble members. The results show that a pattern (pattern 7), which has the same monthly categories in three consecutive months, is the most frequently occurring pattern in observation regardless of the seasons and variables. Meanwhile, the patterns (e.g., patterns 8 and 9) that have consistently increasing or decreasing trends in three consecutive months, such as BN-NN-AN or AN-NN-BN, occur rarely in observation. The MME and eight individual models generally capture pattern 7 well but rarely capture patterns 8 and 9.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
• /
• 2004.04a
• /
• pp.36-36
• /
• 2004

Ionospheric data from DGS-256 ionosonde operated by Radio Research Laboratory in Anyang archived during 1991-2002 was extracted and analyzed firstly in Korea. Daily, monthly and annual variations of the 12-year F2 layer critical frequency(foF2) are derived to investigate the statistical ionospheric characteristics during one complete solar cycle. Positive correlation between the mean values of 24-hourly monthly median foF2 and the monthly smoothed sunspot number(SSN) for the same period is found. (omitted)

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.201-218
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study is to investigate climatological variations from the sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a), and phytoplankton size class (PSC), using NOAA AVHRR, SeaWiFS, and MODIS data in the South Sea of Korea (SSK) and East China Sea (ECS). 26-year monthly SST and 13-year monthly Chl-a and PSC data, separated by whole and nine-different areas, were used to understand seasonal and inter-annual variations. SST and Chl-a clearly showed seasonal variations: higher SST and Chl-a were observed during the summer and spring, and lower values occurred during the winter and summer. The annual and monthly SST over 26 years increased by $0.2{\sim}1.0^{\circ}C$. The annual and monthly Chl-a concentration over 13 years decreased by $0.2{\sim}1.1mg/m^3$. To determine more detailed spatial and temporal variations, we used the combined data with monthly SST, Chl-a, and PSC. Between 1998 and 2010, the inter-annual trend of Chl-a decreased, with decreasing micro- and nano-size plankton, and increasing pico-size plankton. In regional analysis, the west region of the study area was spatially and temporally correlated with the area dominated by decreasing micro-size plankton; while the east region was less sensitive to coastal and land effects, and was dominated by increasing pico-size plankton. This phenomenon is better related to one or more forcing factors: the increased stratification of ocean driven by changes occurring in spatial variations of the SST caused limited contributions of nutrients and changed marine ecosystems in the study area.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.30 no.10
• /
• pp.845-861
• /
• 2021

This study investigated the variations in monthly PM_2.5 concentrations and their characteristics at the sampling site (35.075°N, 129.080°E) around the Busan seaport area for six months (from August 2020 to January 2021). Monthly PM_2.5 concentrations in the filtered samples ranged from 8.4 to 42.3 ㎍/m³ (average=19.6±8.2 ㎍/m³, n=50) and were generally high in August, December, and January, and low in September, October, and November. The variations of monthly PM_2.5 concentrations showed similar patterns to those of the neighboring national air quality monitoring sites. The contents of Total Carbon (TC), Organic Carbon (OC), Elemental Carbon (EC), and OC/EC ratios in PM_2.5 showed large variability during the study period. The OC/EC ratios ranged from 4.2 to 34.4, suggesting that the relative contributions of OC and EC to the PM_2.5 concentrations changed temporally and might be related to their formation sources. Variations in the chemical components of and particle size distributions in PM_2.5 showed that high PM_2.5 concentrations were affected by various sources, such as sea salt and ship emission. The precursor gas concentrations were discussed in terms of monthly variations and their contributions to PM_2.5 concentrations. However, further research is needed to understand the characteristics and behaviors of PM_2.5 concentrations around the Busan seaport area.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.535-543
• /
• 2012

The aerosol number concentration have measured with an aerodynamic particle sizer spectrometer(APS) at Gosan site, which is known as background area in Korea, from January to September 2011. The temporal variation and the size distribution of aerosol number concentration have been investigated. The entire averaged aerosol number concentration in the size range 0.25~32.0 ${\mu}m$ is about 252 particles/$cm^3$. The number concentration in small size ranges(${\leq}0.5{\mu}m$) are very higher than those in large size ranges, such as, the number concentration in range of larger than 6.5 ${\mu}m$ are almost zero particles/$cm^3$. The contributions of the number concentration to PM10 and/or PM2.5 are about 34%, 20.1% and 20.4% in the size range 0.25~0.28 ${\mu}m$, 0.28~0.30 ${\mu}m$ and 0.30~0.35 ${\mu}m$, respectively, however, the contributions are below 1% in range of larger than 0.58 ${\mu}m$. The monthly variations in the number concentration in smaller size range(<1.0 ${\mu}m$) are evidently different from the variations in range of larger than 1.0 ${\mu}m$, but the variations are appeared similar patterns in smaller size range(<1.0 ${\mu}m$), also the variations in range of larger than 1.0 ${\mu}m$ are similar too. The diurnal variations in the number concentration for smaller particle(<1.0 ${\mu}m$) are not much, but the variations for larger particle are very evident. Size-fractioned aerosol number concentrations are dramatically decreased with increased particle size. The monthly differences in the size-fractioned number concentrations for smaller size range(<0.7 ${\mu}m$) are not observed, however, the remarkable monthly differences are observed for larger size than 0.7 ${\mu}m$.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.329-337
• /
• 2007

This study considers the characteristics of nitrogen dioxide ($NO_2$), ozone ($NO_3$) and sulfur dioxide ($SO_2$) in three cities of Daegu-Gyeongbuk Area (Daegu, Pohang, and Gumi), which have different city or industrial characteristics, over a time period of 2 years. The diurnal, weekly, monthly and seasonal concentration variations of criteria air pollutants were attributed to compounds or city types. However, the seasonal variations of $O_3$ concentrations were dependent on compounds, but not on city types. Lower $O_3$ concentrations were observed in July when comparing with other summer months. For $SO_2$ and $NO_2$, the concentrations were higher in Daegu when compared to Pohang and Gumi, while the concentrations of $O_3$ were higher in Pohang and Gumi. $SO_2$ exhibited higher levels in the morning hours, while $O_3\;and\;NO_2$ exhibited higher levels in the afternoon hours for all cities. For $O_3$, the concentrations observed during Sunday were higher than those of other week or weekend days. Furthermore, the monthly and seasonal concentration variations of air pollutants depended on compounds or city types. It if noteworthy that the current monthly and seasonal variations were consistent with several prey ious studies.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.231-245
• /
• 2003

Hourly PM$_{10}$ concentrations measured at 11 sites in Seoul and 10 sites in the large cities over South Korea for the period from March 1995 to February 2000 are analyzed to examine annual trend and monthly variations of the PM$_{10}$ concentrations. Further analysis has been carried out by using the one year data from March 1999 to February 2000 to see the seasonal variation, diurnal variation and weekly variation of the seasonally averaged PM$_{10}$ concentrations at each site. Weekly variations of the CO concentrations at the same sites for the same one year period are compared with that of the PM$_{10}$ concentration. There is no significant annual trend in the variation of the PM$_{10}$ concentration at all the sites analyzed. The seasonal and monthly mean concentrations show a minimum concentration in summer and alternative maximum concentration in spring and winter for most sites. The diurnal variation of the seasonally averaged mean PM$_{10}$ concentrations is strongly affected by traffic loads and meteorological conditions. The weekly variation of seasonal averaged concentrations of CO and PM$_{10}$ shows a high concentration for weekdays in spring, autumn and winter while high concentration for weekends in summer.nds in summer.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.157-177
• /
• 1995

Monthly changes in communities of benthic macroinvertebrates collected in the Suyong and Soktae stream of the Suyong river were investigated from September 1993 to August 1994. The total number of species collected during the study period ranged from seven to seventy six species according to pollution levels at the study sites. Monthly changes in species richness appeared differently in different taxonomic assemblages. In chironomids differences in species richness responding to different levels of saprobity were shown consistently as time proceeded. In Ephemeroptera species richness at the relatively clean sites responded sensitively to slight enrichment. In connection with species richness the monthly changes in densities in taxonomic assemblages also appeared to effectively represent environmental impacts. Species diversity generally represented the pollution status also, however the monthly variations at the study sites appeared to be relatively high. The clustering analysis showed that the communities collected at polluted sites were grouped closely, and the communities collected at the relatively clean sites were clustered to the same stream although the degree of community association was low, Through the Principal Component Analysis, the impact of Pollution was reflected in a great degree in overall community variations.