• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.45 no.4
• /
• pp.313-327
• /
• 2021

Background: Citizen science is becoming a mainstream approach of baseline data collection to monitor biodiversity and climate change. Dragonflies (Odonata) have been ranked as the highest priority group in biodiversity monitoring for global warming. Ischnura senegalensis Rambur has been designated a biological indicator of climate change and is being monitored by the citizen science project "Korean Biodiversity Observation Network." This study has been performed to understand changes in the distribution range of I. senegalensis in response to climate change using citizen science data in South Korea. Results: We constructed a dataset of 397 distribution records for I. senegalensis, ranging from 1980 to 2020. The number of records sharply increased over time and space, and in particular, citizen science monitoring data accounted for the greatest proportion (58.7%) and covered the widest geographical range. This species was only distributed in the southern provinces until 2010 but was recorded in the higher latitudes such as Gangwon-do, Incheon, Seoul, and Gyeonggi-do (max. Paju-si, 37.70° latitude) by 2020. A species distribution model showed that the annual mean temperature (Bio1; 63.2%) and the maximum temperature of the warmest month (Bio5; 16.7%) were the most critical factors influencing its distribution. Future climate change scenarios have predicted an increase in suitable habitats for this species. Conclusions: This study is the first to show the northward expansion in the distribution range of I. senegalensis in response to climate warming in South Korea over the past 40 years. In particular, citizen science was crucial in supplying critical baseline data to detect the distribution change toward higher latitudes. Our results provide new insights on the value of citizen science as a tool for detecting the impact of climate change on ecosystems in South Korea.

• International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics Korean Journal of Geophysical Research
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.1.1-15
• /
• 1994

The transports of the seasonal freshwater and salt from surface to 500 m depth in the tropical Atlantic Ocean are derived from the equations of the continuity and saltconservation, respectively. The freshwater transport is obtained by southward integration of the divergence of surface freshwater flux, using climatological freshwater(i. e. precipitation, evaporation, and river discharge) data. The annual freshwater transport is northward, ranging from 0 Sv near the equator to 0.3 Sv at $12^{\circ}{\;}N{\;}and{\;}20^{\circ}{\;}S$. The seasonal meridional transport amounts of freshwater range from 1.35 Sv to-0.45 Sv. The strong northward freshwater transports prevail for the intraseasonal period summer to fall. This seasonal cycle is caused by the shifts of the ITCZ as well as the changes in the local freshwater storage. Annual and seasonal salt transports are calculated from objectively analyzed historical (1900-86) salinity observations. The annual salt flux in the ocean zero, showing that the salt flux by horizontal advection balances the flux by horizontal diffusion. The salt flux due to the diffusion is northward, and has a maximum of $5{\;}{\times}{\;}10^6kg/s$ at 15oN. Seasonal transport amounts of salt range from $30{\;}{\times}{\;}10^6kg/s{\;}to{\;}-35{\;}{\times}10^6kg/s$. The direction of the seasonal salt transports is northward except for the intraseasonal period summer to fall.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.49-57
• /
• 2016

In the present study, the time series of the number of days on which temperatures were not higher than $-5^{\circ}C$ in winter in Seoul was analyzed. The results showed a decreasing tendency until recently. Statistical change-point analysis was conducted to examine whether climate regime shifts existed in this time series. According to the results, the number of days on which temperatures were not higher than $-5^{\circ}C$ in winter in Seoul drastically decreased since 1988. Therefore, to find out the reason for the recent decrease in the number of days, differences between the means of large-scale environments in winder during 1988~2010 and those during 1974~1987 were analyzed. In all layers of the troposphere, anomalous anticyclones developed in regions around the Korean Peninsula and thus the Korean Peninsula was affected by westerlies or south-westerlies. This was associated with the recent a little further northward development of western North Pacific subtropical high. Therefore, environments good for warm and humid air to flow into the Korean Peninsula were formed. To examine whether relatively warm and humid air actually flowed into the Korean Peninsula recently, temperatures and specific humidity in all layers in the troposphere were analyzed and according to the results the Korean Peninsula showed warm and humid anomalies. In the analyses of sensible heat net flux and maximum temperatures at a height of 2 m that can be felt by humans, the East Asia Continent including the Korean Peninsula showed positive anomalies.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.292-303
• /
• 2022

Background: Climate change significantly influences the geographical distribution of plant species worldwide. Selecting indicator species allows for better-informed and more effective ecosystem management in response to climate change. The Korean Peninsula is the northernmost distribution zone of warm temperate evergreen broad-leaved (WTEB) species in Northeast Asia. Considering the ecological value of these species, we evaluated the current distribution range and future suitable habitat for 13 WTEB tree species designated as climate-sensitive biological indicator species. Results: Up-to-date and accurate WTEB species distribution maps were constructed using herbarium specimens and citizen science data from the Korea Biodiversity Observation Network. Current northern limits for several species have shifted to higher latitudes compared to previous records. For example, the northern latitude limit for Stauntonia hexaphylla is higher (37° 02' N, Deokjeokdo archipelago) than that reported previously (36° 13' N). The minimum temperature of the coldest month (Bio6) is the major factor influencing species distribution. Under future climate change scenarios, suitable habitats are predicted to expand toward higher latitudes inland and along the western coastal areas. Conclusions: Our results support the suitability of WTEB trees as significant biological indicators of species' responses to warming. The findings also suggest the need for consistent monitoring of species distribution shifts. This study provides an important baseline dataset for future monitoring and management of indicator species' responses to changing climate conditions in South Korea.

• Atmosphere
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.399-411
• /
• 2023

This study compares the three detection algorithms of East Asian summer atmospheric rivers (ARs). The algorithms developed by Guan and Waliser (GW15), Park et al. (P21), and Tian et al. (T23) are particularly compared in terms of the AR frequency, the number of AR events, and the AR duration for the period of 2016-2020. All three algorithms show similar spatio-temporal distributions of AR frequency, centered along the edge of the North Pacific high. The maximum AR frequency gradually shifts northward in early summer as the edge of the North Pacific High expands, and retreats in late summer. However, the detailed pattern and the maximum value differ among the algorithms. When the AR frequency is decomposed into the number of AR events and the AR duration, the AR frequencies detected by GW15 and P21 are equally explained by both factors. However, the number of AR events primarily determine the AR frequency in T23. This difference occurs as T23 utilizes the machine learning algorithm applied to moisture field while GW15 and P21 apply the threshold value to moisture transport field. When evaluating AR-related precipitation, the ARs detected by P21 show the closest relationship with total precipitation in East Asia by up to 60%. These results indicate that AR detection in the East Asian summer is sensitive to the choice of the detection algorithm and can be optimized for the target region.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.150-166
• /
• 2011

This study aims to investigate the differences of synoptic characteristics and frontal structures over East Asia according to the main path types of water vapor flux (WVF) of 850hPa surface in cases of the heavy rainfall in the south coastal region of Korea during the Changma season (June and July), In the cases of type A in which the main path of WVF is running from the South china Sea via the South china to the South Sea of Korea, the North Pacific subtropical anticyclone (NPSA) expands to the South China and strong cyclones appear in the Yellow Sea. In cases of type B and C in those the main paths of WVF are running from the South China Sea via the Western Pacific Ocean near Taiwan to the South Sea and from the Western North Pacific Ocean to the South Sea respectively, tropical cyclones appear frequently near Taiwan and the NPSA shifts northward. In the case of type D in which the main path of WVF appear only near the South Sea, strong cyclones appear near the Yellow Sea. In all cases upper jets are intensified in the northern part of the heavy rainfall region and low-level jets appear near the main paths of WVF. In the view of frontal structure, deep active-type of the Changma front is identified in most cases of all types. In this point the Changma season is different from the Baiu season in Western Japan where many cases of shallow active-type of the Baiu front appear.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.219-233
• /
• 2013

We employed the ecological niche modeling framework using GARP (Genetic Algorithm for Ruleset Production) to model the current and future geographic distribution of Pinus densiflora based on environmental predictor variable datasets such as climate data including the RCP 8.5 emission climate change scenario, geographic and topographic characteristics, soil and geological properties, and MODIS enhanced vegetation index (EVI) at 4 $km^2$ resolution. National Forest Inventory (NFI) derived occurrence and abundance records from about 4,000 survey sites across the whole country were used for response variables. The current and future potential geographic distribution of Pinus densiflora, one of the tree species dominating the present Korean forest was modeled and mapped. Future models under RCP 8.5 scenarios for Pinus densiflora suggest large areas predicted under current climate conditions may be contracted by 2090 showing range shifts northward and to higher altitudes. Area Under Curve (AUC) values of the modeled result was 0.67. Overall, the results of this study were successful in showing the current distribution of major tree species and projecting their future changes. However, there are still many possible limitations and uncertainties arising from the select of the presence-absence data and the environmental predictor variables for model input. Nevertheless, ecological niche modeling can be a useful tool for exploring and mapping the potential response of the tree species to climate change. The final models in this study may be used to identify potential distribution of the tree species based on the future climate scenarios, which can help forest managers to decide where to allocate effort in the management of forest ecosystem under climate change in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
• /
• v.20 no.1 s.26
• /
• pp.9-27
• /
• 2006

The East Asian (China, Korea and Japan) summer monsoon precipitation and its variability are examined from the outputs of the 22 coupled climate models performing coordinated experiments leading to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4) following the multi-model ensemble (MME) technique. Results are based on averages of all the available models. The shape of the annual cycle with maximum during the summer monsoon period is simulated by the coupled climate models. However, models fail to simulate the minimum peak in July which is associated with northward shifts of the Meiyu-Changma-Baiu precipitation band. The MME precipitation pattern is able to capture the spatial distribution of rainfall associated with the location of the north Pacific subtropical high and the Meiyu-Changma-Baiu frontal zone. However precipitation over the east coast of China, Korea-Japan peninsular and the adjoining oceanic regions is underestimated. Future projections to the radiative forcing of doubled $CO_2$ scenario are examined. The MME reveals an increase in precipitation varying from 5 to 10 %, with an average of 7.8 % over the East Asian region at the time of $CO_2$ doubling. However the increases are statistically significant only over the Korea-Japan peninsula and the adjoining north China region. The increase in precipitation may be attributed to the projected intensification of the subtropical high, and thus the associated influx of moist air from the Pacific to inland. The projected changes in the amount of precipitation are directly proportional to the changes in the strength of the subtropical high. Further a possible increase in the length of the summer monsoon precipitation period from late spring through early autumn is suggested.