• Atmosphere
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.283-304
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• 2024

This study analyzed the variability and correlation between ground-level air pollutant concentrations and the atmospheric mixing layer height using data from four types of air pollutants (PM_2.5, PM₁₀, NO₂, and O₃) collected at AirKorea monitoring stations nationwide over a five-year period (2018~2022), and aerosol backscatter data observed by the Vaisala CL31 to derive atmospheric mixing layer heights. The five-year trends and variability of ground-level air pollutant concentrations under seasonal and hourly conditions were examined, as well as the seasonal distribution and diurnal variation of the atmospheric mixing layer height. Five correlation coefficient methodologies were applied to analyze the correlations between ground-level air pollutants and atmospheric mixing layer height under various seasonal and hourly conditions, confirming the dilution effect of the atmospheric mixing layer height. The results showed that PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and NO₂ generally had negative correlations with the atmospheric mixing layer height, while O₃ showed a strong positive correlation up to an altitude of 1,200~1,500 meters, and a negative correlation beyond that altitude. It was also shown that a single high concentration event (e.g., PM₁₀) can alter the overall correlation. The correlation can also vary depending on the characteristics of the correlation coefficient methodology, highlighting the importance of applying the appropriate methodology for each case during the analysis process.

• Atmosphere
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.97-106
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• 2024

The seasonal forecast skill of tropical cyclones (TCs) in the Northern Hemisphere from the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) Global Seasonal Forecast System version 6 (GloSea6) hindcast has been verified for the period 1993 to 2016. The operational climate prediction system at KMA was upgraded from GloSea5 to GloSea6 in 2022, therefore further validation was warranted for the seasonal predictability and variability of this new system for TC forecasts. In this study, we examine the frequency, track density, duration, and strength of TCs in the North Indian Ocean, the western North Pacific, the eastern North Pacific, and the North Atlantic against the best track data. This methodology follows a previous study covering the period 1996 to 2009 published in 2020. GloSea6 indicates a higher frequency of TC generation compared to observations in the western North Pacific and the eastern North Pacific, suggesting the possibility of more TC generation than GloSea5. Additionally, GloSea6 exhibits better interannual variability of TC frequency, which shows relatively good correlation with observations in the North Atlantic and the western North Pacific. Regarding TC intensity, GloSea6 still underestimates the minimum surface pressures and maximum wind speeds from TCs, as is common among most climate models due to lower horizontal resolutions. However, GloSea6 is likely capable of simulating slightly stronger TCs than GloSea5, partly attributed to more frequent 6-hourly outputs compared to the previous daily outputs.

• Atmosphere
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.475-483
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• 2008

The hourly precipitation data from 1973 to 2007 observed at 60 weather stations over Korea are used to characterize the diurnal and semidiurnal cycles of total precipitation amount, intensity and frequency and examine their spatial patterns and interannual variations. The results show that the diurnal cycle peaks in the morning (03-09LST) and the semidiurnal cycle peaks in the late afternoon (16-20LST). It is found that the spatial variations of the peak phase of diurnal or semidiurnal cycle relative to their corresponding seasonal mean cycle are considerably small (large) for total precipitation amount and intensity (frequency, respectively) in both winter and summer seasons. Also, the diurnal phase variations for individual years relative to the seasonal mean precipitation show the significant interannual variability with dominant periods of 2-5 years for all three elements of precipitation and the slightly decreasing trend in total precipitation amount and intensity. To compare the relative contributions of frequency and intensity to the diurnal and semidiurnal cycles (and their sum) of total precipitation amount, the percentage variance of each cycle of precipitation amount explained by frequency is estimated. The fractional variance accounted for by precipitation intensity is greater than that of frequency for these three cycles. All above analyses suggest that intensity plays a more important role than frequency in the diurnal variations of total precipitation amount.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.545-557
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• 2011

The objective of this study was to estimate the trends of each pollutant using the air pollution monitoring networks data from January 2005 to December 2008 in Daegu area. Also, the spatial characteristics of each pollutant were determined using the Pearson correlation coefficients and COD (coefficients of divergence). In this study, the trends of hourly, monthly, seasonal, and total average concentrations of each pollutant for the 10 sites were analyzed. The Ihyeon site showed highest concentration for the $SO_2$, $NO_2$, and PM10}. In the case of $O_3$, the Jisan site showed highest concentration among the other sites. Also, industrial area presented highest concentration for the $SO_2$, CO, and PM10. On the other hand, $NO_2$ showed highest in commercial area. The IDW (inverse distance weighting) method was used to estimate characteristics of spatial distribution. The results provide identify spatial distribution for each pollutant. Also, the Pearson correlation coefficients and COD values provide spatial variability among the monitoring sites. The COD of each pollutant showed very low values for all of the sites pairs. On the other hand, the Pearson correlation coefficients showed high values for all of the sites pairs. Finally, analysis of spatial variability can be used to characterize the spatial uniformity and similarity of concentrations from each pollutant.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.114-126
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• 2016

Many cohort studies have reported associations of individual-level long-term exposures to $PM_{10}$ and health outcomes. Individual exposures were often estimated by using exposure prediction models relying on $PM_{10}$ data measured at national regulatory monitoring sites. This study explored spatial and temporal characteristics of regulatory $PM_{10}$ measurement data in South Korea and suggested $PM_{10}$ concentration metrics as long-term exposures for assessing health effects in cohort studies. We obtained hourly $PM_{10}$ data from the National Institute of Environmental Research for 2001~2012 in South Korea. We investigated spatial distribution of monitoring sites using the density and proximity in each of the 16 metropolitan cities and provinces. The temporal characteristics of $PM_{10}$ measurement data were examined by annual/seasonal/diurnal patterns across urban background monitoring sites after excluding Asian dust days. For spatial characteristics of $PM_{10}$ measurement data, we computed coefficient of variation (CV) and coefficient of divergence (COD). Based on temporal and spatial investigation, we suggested preferred long-term metrics for cohort studies. In 2010, 294 urban background monitoring sites were located in South Korea with a site over an area of $415.0km^2$ and distant from another site by 31.0 km on average. Annual average $PM_{10}$ concentrations decreased by 19.8% from 2001 to 2012, and seasonal $PM_{10}$ patterns were consistent over study years with higher concentrations in spring and winter. Spatial variability was relatively small with 6~19% of CV and 21~46% of COD across 16 metropolitan cities and provinces in 2010. To maximize spatial coverage and reflect temporal and spatial distributions, our suggestion for $PM_{10}$ metrics representing long-term exposures was the average for one or multiple years after 2009. This study provides the knowledge of all available $PM_{10}$ data measured at national regulatory monitoring sites in South Korea and the insight of the plausible longterm exposure metric for cohort studies.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.61-69
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• 2003

Surface energy and $CO_2$ fluxes have been measured over a farmland in Haenam, Korea since July 2002. Eddy covariance technique, which is the only direct flux measurement method, was employed to quantitatively understand the interaction between the farmland ecosystem and the atmospheric boundary layer. Maintenance of eddy covariance system was the main concern during the early stage of measurement to minimize gaps and uncertainties in the dataset. Half-hourly averaged $CO_2$ concentration showed distinct diurnal and seasonal variations, which were closely related to changes in net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of $CO_2$. Daytime maximum $CO_2$ uptake was about -1.0 mg $CO_2$ m$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ in August whereas nighttime $CO_2$ release was up to 0.3 mg $CO_2$ m$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ during the summer. Both daytime $CO_2$ uptake and nighttime release decreased gradually with season. During the winter season, NEE was from near zero to 0.05 mg $CO_2$ m$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ . FK site was a moderate sink of atmospheric $CO_2$ until September with daily NEE of 22 g $CO_2$ m$^{-2}$ d$^{-1}$ . In October, it became a weak source of $CO_2$ with an emission rate of 2 g $CO_2$ m$^{-2}$ d$^{-1}$ . Long-term flux measurements will continue at FK site to further investigate inter-annual variability in NEE. to better understand these exchange mechanism and in-depth analysis, process-level field experiments and intensive short-term intercomparisons are also expected to be followed.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.95-110
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• 2020

Comparisons between two different surface temperatures from high-resolution ECMWF ReAnalysis 5 (ERA5) and Automated Synoptic Observing System (ASOS) observations were performed to investigate the reliability of the new reanalysis data over South Korea. As ERA5 has been recently produced and provided to the public, it will be highly used in various research fields. The analysis period in this study is limited to 1999-2018 because regularly recorded hourly data have been provided for 61 ASOS stations since 1999. Topographic characteristics of the 61 ASOS locations are classified as inland, coastal, and mountain based on Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data. The spatial distributions of whole period time-averaged temperatures for ASOS and ERA5 were similar without significant differences in their values. Scatter plots between ASOS and ERA5 for three different periods of yearlong, summer, and winter confirmed the characteristics of seasonal variability, also shown in the time-series of monthly error probability density functions (PDFs). Statistical indices NMB, RMSE, R, and IOA were adopted to quantify the temperature differences, which showed no significant differences in all indices, as R and IOA were all close to 0.99. In particular, the daily mean temperature differences based on 1-hour-averaged temperature had a smaller error than the classical daily mean temperature differences, showing a higher correlation between the two data. To check if the complex topography inside one ERA5 grid cell is related to the temperature differences, the kurtosis and skewness values of 90-m DEM PDFs in a ERA5 grid cell were compared to the one-year period amplitude among those of the power spectrum in the time-series of monthly temperature error PDFs at each station, showing positive correlations. The results account for the topographic effect as one of the largest possible drivers of the difference between ASOS and ERA5.