• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.25 no.2_spc
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• pp.1-15
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• 2020

Monitoring and assessing terminal electron accepting processes (TEAPs) are one of the most important steps to remediate contaminated sites via various in-situ techniques. TEAPs are a part of the microbial respiration reactions. Microorganisms gain energy from these reactions and reduces pollutants. Monitoring TEAPs enables us to predict degradability of contaminants and degradation rates. In many countries, TEAPs have been used for characterization of field sites and management of groundwater wells. For instance, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided strategies for groundwater quality and well management by applying TEAPs monitoring. Denmark has also constructed TEAPs map of local unit area to develop effective groundwater managing system, particularly to predict and assess nitrogen contamination. In case of Korea, although detailed soil survey and groundwater contamination assessment have been employed, site investigation guidelines using TEAPs have not been established yet. To better define TEAPs in subsurface environments, multiple indicators including ion concentrations, isotope compositions and contaminant degradation byproducts must be assessed. Furthermore, dissolved hydrogen concentrations are regarded as significant evidence of TEAPs occurring in subsurface environment. This review study introduces optimal sampling techniques of groundwater and dissolved hydrogen, and further discuss how to assess TEAPs in contaminated subsurface environments according to several contamination scenarios.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.94-96
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• 2003

Since 1995, MOCT(Ministry of Construction and Transportation) and KOWACO(Korea Water Resources Corporation) have established the National Groundwater Monitoring Network in South Korea and also MOE(Ministry of Environment) has operated Groundwater Quality Monitoring network. Until 2001, 202 monitoring stations by MOCT and 780 monitoring wells by MOE have been constructed, measured groundwater level and analyzed water samples. Groundwater quality analysis has been conducted two times a year during last 6 years for all monitoring wells. The quality data has about 15 components including pH, COD, Count of Coliform group, and etc.. Trend analysis has been peformed for 6 components(Coliform, pH, COD, NO$_3$-N, Cl and EC) of water quality which are analyzed more than 7 times for total monitoring wells. Two test methods have been used ; Sen's test and Mann-Kendall test. These trend tests have been done at the 0.05 significance level. By the result of Sen's test, Count of Coliform group has either upward or downward trends at 4.3 percent of the monitoring points. pH does at 5.6 percent, COD does at 8.6 percent, Nitrate-Nitrogen does at 13.2 percent, Chloride does at 13.4 percent, and. EC does at 11.6 percent of the monitoring points. The exact causes of the groundwater quality trends are difficult to specify. Notable downward trends in nitrate at many monitoring points may be the result of reduction on some contamination sources. Potential causes include diminished agricultural areas, improvements in sewage treatment and a decrease in atmospheric deposition. Increase in chloride at many monitoring points may be the result of increased non-point source pollution such as road salting and runoff from sprawling paved developments and suburbs.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.134-144
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• 2020

In-situ stabilization is a remediation method using amendments to reduce contaminant availability in contaminated soil. We tested the effects of two amendments (furnace slag and red mud) on the availability of toxic trace elements (TTEs) and soil enzyme activities (dehydrogenase, phosphatase, and urease). The application of amendments significantly decreased the availability of TTEs in soil (p < 0.05). The decreased availability of TTE content in soils was accompanied by increased soil enzyme activities. We found significant negative relationships between the TTE content assessed using Ca(NO₃)_2^-, TCLP, and PBET extraction methods and soil enzyme activities (p < 0.01). Soil enzyme activities responded sensitively to changes in the soil environment (pH, EC, and availability of TTEs). It could be concluded that soil enzyme activities could be used as bioindicators or ecological indicators for soil quality and health in environmental soil monitoring owing to their high sensitivity to changes in soil.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.162-178
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• 2017

Remote sensing can be used to provide information about the monitoring of crop growth condition. Recently Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology offers new opportunities for assessing crop growth condition using UAV imagery. The objective of this study was to assess weather UAV aerial images are suitable for the monitoring of highland Kimchi cabbage. This study was conducted using a fixed-wing UAV (Model : Ebee) with Cannon S110, IXUS/ELPH camera during farming season from 2015 to 2016 in the main production area of highland Kimchi cabbage, Anbandegi, Maebongsan, and Gwinemi. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) by using UAV images was stable and suitable for monitoring of Kimchi cabbage situation. There were strong relationships between UAV NDVI and the growth parameters (the plant height and leaf width) ($R^2{\geq}0.94$). The tendency of UAV NDVI according to Kimchi cabbage growth was similar in the same area for two years (2015~2016). It means that if UAV image may be collected several years, UAV images could be used for estimation of the stage of growth and situation of Kimchi cabbage cultivation.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Toocicology Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.47-60
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• 2004

Higher plants can be valuable genetic assay systems for monitoring environmental pollutants and evaluating their biological toxicity. Two assays are considered ideal for in situ monitoring and testing of soil, airborne and aqueous mutagenic agents; the Tradescantia stamen hair assay for somatic cell mutations and the Tradescantia micronucleus assay for chromosome aberrations. Both assays can be used for in vivo and in vitro testing of mutagens. Since higher plant systems are now recognized as excellent indicators and have unique advantages over in situ monitoring and screening, higher plant systems could be accepted by regulatory authorities as an alternative first-tier assay system for the detection of possible genetic damages resulting from the pollutants or chemicals used and produced by industrial sectors. It has been concluded that potential mutagen and carcinogen such as the heavy metals among indoor air particulates, volatile compounds in the working places, soil, and water pollutants contribute to the overall health risk. This contribution can be considerable under certain circumstances. It is therefore important to identify the level of genotoxic activity in the environment and to relate it to the biomarkers of a health risk in humans. The results from the higher plant bioassays could make a significant contribution to assessing the risks of pollutants and protecting the public from agents that can cause mutation and/or cancer. The plant bioassays, which are relatively inexpensive and easy to handle, are recommended for the scientists who are interested in monitoring pollutants and evaluating their environmental toxicity to living organisms.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Biology Conference
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• 2004.05a
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• pp.1-15
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• 2004

Higher plants can be valuable genetic assay systems for monitoring environmental pollutants and evaluating their biological toxicity. Two assays are considered ideal for in situ monitoring and testing of soil, airborne and aqueous mutagenic agents; the Tradescantia stamen hair assay for somatic cell mutations and the Tradescantia micronucleus assay for chromosome aberrations. Both assays can be used for in vivo and in vitro testing of mutagens. Since higher plant systems are now recognized as excellent indicators and have unique advantages over in situ monitoring and screening, higher plant systems could be accepted by regulatory authorities as an alternative first-tier assay system for the detection of possible genetic damages resulting from the pollutants or chemicals used and produced by industrial sectors. It has been concluded that potential mutagen and carcinogen such as the heavy metals among indoor air particulates, volatile compounds in the working places, soil, and water pollutants contribute to the overall health risk. This contribution can be considerable under certain circumstances. It is therefore important to identify the level of genotoxic activity in the environment and to relate it to the biomarkers of a health risk in humans. The results from the higher plant bioassays could make a significant contribution to assessing the risks of pollutants and protecting the public firom agents that can cause mutation anuor cancer. The plant bioassays, which are relatively inexpensive and easy to handle, are recommended for the scientists who are interested in monitoring pollutants and evaluating their environmental toxicity to living organisms.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.239-262
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• 2010

Tube Lines has carried out a "knowledge and investigation programme" on the deep tube tunnels comprising the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines, as required by the PPP contract with London Underground. Many of the tunnels have been in use for over 100 years, so this assessment was considered essential to the future safe functioning of the system. This programme has involved a number of generic investigations which guide the assessment methodology and the analysis of some 5,000 individual structures. A significant amount of investigation has been carried out, including ultrasonic thickness measurement, detection of brickwork laminations using radar, stress measurement using magnetic techniques, determination of soil parameters using CPT, pressuremeter and laboratory testing, installation of piezometers, material and tunnel segment testing, and trialling of remote photographic techniques for inspection of large tunnels and shafts. Vibrating wire, potentiometer, electro level, optical and fibre-optic monitoring has been used, and laser measurement and laser scanning has been employed to measure tunnel circularity. It is considered that there is scope for considerable improvements in non-destructive testing technology for structural assessment in particular, and some ideas are offered as a "wish-list". Assessment reports have now been produced for all assets forming Tube Lines' deep tube tunnel network. For assets which are non-compliant with London Underground standards, the risk to the operating railway has to be maintained as low as reasonably practicable (ALARP) using enhanced inspection and monitoring, or repair where required. Monitoring techniques have developed greatly during recent years and further advances will continue to support the economic whole life asset management of infrastructure networks.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.145-164
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• 2015

Bridge scour is the predominant cause of overwater bridge failures in North America and around the world. Several sensing systems have been developed over the years to detect the extent of scour so that preventative actions can be performed in a timely manner. These sensing systems have drawbacks, such as signal inaccuracy and discontinuity, installation difficulty, and high cost. Therefore, attempts to develop more efficient monitoring schemes continue. In this study, the viability of using optical dissolved oxygen (DO) probes for monitoring scour depths was explored. DO levels are very low in streambed sediments, as compared to the standard level of oxygen in flowing water. Therefore, scour depths can be determined by installing sensors to monitor DO levels at various depths along the buried length of a bridge pier or abutment. The measured DO is negligible when a sensor is buried but would increase significantly once scour occurs and exposes the sensor to flowing water. A set of experiments was conducted in which four dissolved oxygen probes were embedded at different soil depths in the vicinity of a mock bridge pier inside a laboratory flume simulating scour conditions. The results confirmed that DO levels jumped drastically when sensors became exposed during scour hole evolution, thereby providing discrete measurements of the maximum scour depth. Moreover, the DO probes could detect any subsequent refilling of the scour hole through the deposition of sediments. The effect of soil permeability on the sensing response time was also investigated.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.186-195
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• 2021

In Korea, groundwater quality is monitored through National Groundwater Quality Monitoring Network (NGQMN) administered by Ministry of Environment. For a given contaminant, compliance to groundwater quality standards is assessed on a annual basis by monitoring the number of incidents that concentration exceeds the regulatory limit. However, this approach provides only a fractional information about groundwater quality degradation, and more crucial information such as location and severity of the contamination cannot be obtained. For better groundwater quality management on a watershed, a more spatially informative and intuitive method is required. This study presents two statistical methods to convert point-wise monitoring data into information on groundwater quality status of a watershed by using a proposed grading scale. The proposed grading system is based on readily available reference standards that classify the water quality into 4 grades. The methods were evaluated with NO₃^-, Cl^-, and total coliform data in Geum River basin. The analyses revealed that groundwater in most watersheds of Geum River basin is good for domestic or/and drinking with no treatment. But, there was notable quality degradation in Bunam seawall and So-oak downstream standard watersheds contaminated by NO₃^- and Cl^-, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.140-146
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• 2010

Monitoring of the dynamic changes at paddy rice agriculture is very important for agricultural sustainability. Field monitoring was performed to evaluate the soil chemical properties of 260 paddy soil samples every four years from 1999 to 2007 in Gyeongnam Province. Soil chemical properties such as pH, organic matter, available phosphate, silicate, exchangeable potassium, calcium, and magnesium contents were analyzed. The contents of exchangeable cations, and available silicate were significantly increased in 2007 compared to 1999. The chemical contents of organic matter, exchangeable potassium, and magnesium were significantly increased in acid sulfate soil, and silty clay loam compared to those of other soil types, and textures. Especially, content of organic matter was significantly increased in hill area compared to other soil topographies, while exchangeable potassium was significantly decreased. Principle component analysis (PCA) of chemical properties in paddy soils was obtained with eigenvalues > 1 summing 39.1%of variance for PC1, 20.4%of variance for PC2, and 59.5%of the total variance in the all of soil chemical properties. Therefore, principal component analysis is more effective for monitoring from chemical properties of paddy soil.