• Proceedings of the Korean Quaternary Association Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.24-25
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• 2004

It is well known that there is an inverse relationship between the strength of Indian summer monsoon Rainfall (ISMR) and extent of Eurasian snow cover/depth in the preceding season. Tibetan snow cover/depth also affects the Asian monsoon rainy season largely. The positive correlation between Tibetan sensible heat flux and southeast Asian rainfall suggest an inverse relationship between Tibetan snow cover and southeast Asian rainfall. Developments in Regional Climate Models suggest that the effect of Tibetan snow on the ISMR can be well studied by Limited Area Models (LAMs). LAMs are used for regional climate studies and operational weather forecast of several hours to 3 days in future. The Eta model developed by the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), the Fifth-Generation NCAR/Penn State Mesoscale Model (MM5) and Regional Climate Model (RegCM) have been used for weather prediction as well as for the study of present-day climate and variability over different parts of the world. Regional Climate Model (RegCM3) has been widely . used for various mesoscale studies. However, it has not been tested to study the characteristics of circulation features and associated rainfall over India so far. In the present study, Regional Climate Model (RegCM-3) has been integrated from 1 st April to 30th September for the years 1993-1996 and monthly mean monsoon circulation features and rainfall simulated by the model at 55km resolution have been studied for the Indian summer monsoon season. Characteristics of wind at 850hPa and 200hPa, temperature at 500hPa, surface pressure and rainfall simulated by the model have been examined for two convective schemes such as Kuo and Grell with Arakawa-Schubert as the closure scheme, Model simulated monsoon circulation features have been compared with those of NCEP/NCAR reanalyzed fields and the rainfall with those of India Meteorological Department (IMD) observational rainfall datasets, Comparisons of wind and temperature fields show that Grell scheme is closer to the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis, The influence of Tibetan snowdepth in spring season on the summer monsoon circulation features and subsequent rainfall over India have been examined. For such sensitivity experiment, NIMBUS-7 SMMR snowdepth data have been used as a boundary condition in the RegCM3, Model simulation indicates that ISMR is reduced by 30% when 10cm of snow has been introduced over Tibetan region in the month of previous April. The existence of Tibetan snow in RegCM3 also indicates weak lower level monsoon westerlies and upper level easterlies.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.200-220
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• 2014

This study reexamines the old concept and reviews prevalent statements on Cenozoic vertical motions of the peninsula that have been uncritically repeated in our academia. The contents of this paper are redefinition of the notion, tilted flexure or warping, and a suggestion for a new time set and properties of the deformation, followed by a new model on its influencing factors and processes. In conclusion, the Cenozoic vertical motion of the Korean peninsula can be reified further with an epeirogenic movement of uplift in the east side-subsidence in the west side of the peninsula since the Neogene (23 Ma). However, the regional boundary for areas of uplift and subsidence is not likely in the Korean peninsula but broader farther to East China and the southern part of Russia. It can be best understood that mantle convection produced by subducting activities in the Western Pacific Subduction Zone causes the uplift and subsidence of earth surface around NE Asia. In addition, faultings in the upper lithosphere induced by in-situ plate boundary stresses accelerate regional uplift in the peninsula since the Quaternary. Controversies that are still standing such as current uplift movements along the western coast of the peninsula during the late Quaternary could be precisely discussed with future research providing detailed information on it.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.15-30
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• 2024

Typhoon effects on macrotide open-coast intertidal sediments were investigated in the Gochang Gwangseungri sandy intertidal flat on the Korean western coast. Variations in the surface sediment texture, accumulation, and sedimentary facies were observed before and after the Typhoon Kompasu in 2010. The typhoon Kompasu landed on the southwestern coast of the Korean Peninsula and passed inland between September 1st and 2nd, 2010, respectively. Surface sediments and their accumulation before and after the typhoon were sampled and measured at intervals of 30 m along a survey line on the Gwangseungri intertidal flat. The intertidal areas were divided into high, middle, and lower tidal zones based on the mean high-wate level, mean sea level, and mean low-water level, respectively. The surface sediments of each tidal zone show rare variations in grain size and sorting of sediment texture before and after the typhoon Kompasu, whereas negative skewness values increased in the middle and lower tidal zones after the typhoon rather than before the typhoon. Surface accumulation represents deposition in the upper and middle tidal zone and erosion in the lower tidal zones after the typhoon. The accumulation decreased from the high to the lower tidal zones.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.33 no.1_2
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• pp.37-48
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• 2021

The cold surge is an important extreme weather in East Asia during winter, and is largely affected by behavior of the Siberian high Arctic Oscillation, which represents undulation of large-scale pressure pattern in the Arctic region. Recent studies also revealed that the synoptic low pressure system developing in the eastern boundary of the Asian continent is sensitive to sea surface temperature (SST) and plays an important role in strengthening the cold advection over the Korean Peninsula during cold surges. In this study, we analyzed the Arctic Oscillation affecting the large-scale background of cold surge in East Asia, and the sea surface temperature in the coast of East Asia is examined focusing on its role on synoptic low-inducing cold advection. For the analysis, the days with the bottom 3% of the average daily temperature, measured at five surface stations in Korean Peninsula during 49 years (1969/70-2017/18), were used for the cold surge cases. During the negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation, a strong trough is observed over East Asia, and the inflow of cold air from the polar region is strengthened, which lead to frequent cold surges. In addition, anomalously high SST in the eastern coast of Asia increases sensible and latent heat release from the ocean, therefore, it enlarges the likelihood of synoptic low-inducing extreme cold surges.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.163-163
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• 2003

The study area, Kwangneung Experiment Forest (KEF) is located on the west-central portion of Korean peninsula and belongs to a cool-temperate broadleaved forest zone. At the old-growth deciduous forest near Soribong-peak (533.1m) in KEF, we have established a permanent plot and a flux tower, and the site was registered as a KLTER site and also a KoFlux site. In this study, we aimed to present basic ecological characteristics and synthetic data of carbon budgets and flows, and some monitoring data which are essential for providing important parameters and validation data for the forest dynamics models or biogeochemical dynamics models to predict or interpolate spatially the changes in forest ecosystem structure and function. We made a stemmap of trees in 1 ha plot and analyzed forest stand structure and physical and chemical soil characteristics, and estimated carbon budgets by forest components (tree biomass, soils, litter and so on). Dominant tree species were Quercus serrata and Carpinus laxiflora, and accompanied by Q. aliena, Carpinus cordata, and so on. As a result of a field survey of the plot, density of the trees larger than 2cm in DBH was 1,473 trees per ha, total biomass 261.2 tons/ha, and basal area 28.0 m2/ha. Parent rock type is granite gneiss. Soil type is brown forest soil (alfisols in USDA system), and the depth is from 38 to 66cm. Soil texture is loam or sandy loam, and its pH was from 4.2 to 5.0 in the surface layer, and from 4.8 to 5.2 in the subsurface layer. Seasonal changes in LAI were measured by hemispherical photography at the l.2m height, and the maximum was 3.65. And the spatial distributions of volumetric soil moisture contents and LAIs of the plot were measured. Litterfall was collected in circular littertraps (collecting area： 0.25m2) and mass loss rates and nutrient release patterns in decomposing litter were estimated using the litterbag technique employing 30cm30cm nylon bags with l.5mm mesh size. Total annual litterfall was 5,627 kg/ha/year and leaf litter accounted for 61% of the litterfall. The leaf litter quantity was highest in Quercus serrata, followed by Carpinus laxiflora and C. cordata, etc. Mass loss from decomposing leaf litter was more rapid in C. laxiflora and C. cordata than in Q. serrata litter. About 77% of C. laxiflora and 84% of C. cordata litter disappeared, while about 48% in Q. serrata litter lost over two years. The carbon pool in living tree biomass including below ground biomass was 136 tons C/ha, and 5.6 tons C/ha is stored in the litter layer, and about 92.0 tons C/ha in the soil to the 30cm in depth. Totally more than about 233.6 tons C/ha was stored in DK site. And then we have drawn a schematic diagram of carbon budgets and flows in each compartment of the KEF site.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.17-34
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• 1989

The distribution characteristics of incised meander river are analysed concerning topography, geology, stream order and altitude. Additionally geomorphological development of the Korean peninsular is considered with incised meander. The main findings are as follows: 1. The incised meander is intensively distributed on the west and north slope of T'aebak and Sobaek mountain range, but sparsely distributed on the opposite slopes. 2. Geologically, the occurrence rate of incised meander is high orderly as follows: Joseon supergroup, Pyeongan supergroup, Daedong supergroup metamorphic rock, Gyeongsang supergroup, and granite. The incised meander is developed well on the following conditions: hard rocks against weathering, stratified structure, geologic arrange across the river channel and contacting zone of geological formations. 3. The higher stream orders are, the higher occurrence of incised meander is. 4. Comparing the altitude of present river bed with the summit level of restored map, it is supposed that the incised meander rivers have been dissected about 300-500m down ward. 5. Considering the distribution characteristic of incised meander, it is suggested that not only T'aebak mountain range but Sobaek mountain range is the axis of asymmetrical up-warping in the Korean peninsular. 6. Considering the distribution characteristic of incised meander on the restored map and the stream order, it seems that present incised meander channel was inherited from antecedent meander river that had flowed on High and Middle level erosion surface. But the channel pattern has been modified.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.25-37
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• 2009

Geochemical composition and clay minerals of surface and core sediments around off the Jeju Island were analyzed for identification of sediment origins. The clay mineral distribution is mainly controlled by the sediment source and the dominant circulation pattern. Smectite is highly concentrated (>8%) in the northwest near the South Yellow Sea and in the outer-shelf mud patch. It seems to be due to the high supply of smectite transported from China where fine-grained sediments are discharged from modern and ancient Huanghe River. The relatively high abundance of kaolinite are found in northeastern nearshore area and the southwest near Changjiang estuary. It seems to be supplied from Changjiang River and the southwestern Korea rivers. The sediment accumulation rates measured by $^{210}Pb$ geochronrom mowere 0.20 to 0.54cm/mr or 0.15 to $0.42g/cm^2{\cdot}mr^{-1}$ AOJI, with decreasing rates from the west part to the east part, resulting in the supply of fine-grained suspended sediments from the Changjiang and Huanghe Rivers system. The discrimination diagrams clearly show that the sediments around Jeju Island in the northern East China Sea are ultimately sourced from Chinese rivers, especially from the Huanghe River, whereas the sediment in the northeast part might come from Korean rivers and the Jeju Island.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.18 no.2 s.23
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• pp.65-66
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• 2004

There have been groves, in many cases, along with hedgerows and remnant forests around a traditional Korean village. A village grove is very closely connected to the life of residents. Sometimes it was a holy place where important village festivals were held, and became a resting place for farmers, especially in sunny summer. As a matter of fact, it is noted that traditional Korean village groves had been fostered for many purpose as religion, Confucianism, scenery, sanitation, traffic guard, public security, agriculture, hunting, and military and public uses were included in Chosun Govemor General(1938). Village groves were usually located at the outlet of watershed inside which a village was built. In addition, village groves used to be established along part of mountain ranges, streams and streets. A unique type of village grove, called bibosoop was fostered especially where the outlet of watershed was largely opened. In other cases, it was placed where a part of mountain range was relatively low, or where village residents were likely to see ugly objects such as a huge cliff, stony upland with an unvegetated area and the like(Kim and Jang 1994). In a sense, a sheltebelt is a sort of bibosoop as it is a landscape element to complement places that are exposed to strong winds. However, it is comparable to other typical bibosoop that is situated at a topographically very specific zone of watershed. In this paper, we will address potential functions of Korean village groves from a perspective of modern landscape ecology and show current status of some remnants, based on preliminary surveys. A village grove functions as barrier or filter of objects such as water, nutrients, and other elements and habitat of wildlife (park et al. 2003, Lee 2004). The village grove slows down the flow of water and air, maintains soil moisture an hinders soil erosion, enabling cultivation of crops and bringing up creatures nearby. It contributes to enhancing biodiversity. Birds rest on shrubby and woody trees of the element. Presumably, other organisms may also inhabit the village groves and take advantage of it when those move from a forest patch to others. Emerging insects acclimate themselves in the shade of the green space before they fly to sunny air. Besides the village grove acts as a component of agroforestry system as leaf litter is shed from a grove to an asjacent agricultural area, and transformed into green manure(Lee 2004). By the way, many of the landscape elements were destroyed or declined in Koea during the past several decades. The losses have been parallel or linked to environmental degradation. Unfortunately, we have a little reliable data as for how many groves have disappeared in Korea until now. There has been no complete census on the village groves in Korea, and the viewpoints of survey were to a degree different depending on surveyors. So, it is difficult to analyze the temporal and spatial change of village groves. Currently, national inventory data of Korean village groves are available in three reports. We reviewed the locations of village groves and arranged those according to the present administrative units, DONG. With the limited data, we found that at least 484 of village groves were recorded in South Korea. Among all provinces, village groves were most in Gyeongsanbuk-Do Province and least in Chungcheongbuk-Do Province(Table 1). This is a preliminary report prepared while some quantitative data regarding functions and lossers of the village groves are being collected. More detailed data will be introduced in the near future.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.161-161
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• 2003

During the last century, most scientific questions related to climate change were focused on the evidence of anthropogenic global warming (IPCC, 2001). There are robust evidences of warming and also human-induced climate change. We now understand the global, mean change a little bit better; however, the uncertainties for regional climate change still remains large. The purpose of this study is to understand the past climate change over Korea based on the observational data and to project future regional climate change over East Asia using ECHAM4/HOPE model and MM5 for downscaling. There are significant evidences on regional climate change in Korea, from several variables. The mean annual temperature over Korea has increased about 1.5∼$1.7^{\circ}C$ during the 20th century, including urbanization effect in large cities which can account for 20-30% of warming in the second half of the 20th century. Cold extreme temperature events occurred less frequently especially in the late 20th century, while hot extreme temperature events were more common than earlier in the century. The seasonal and annual precipitation was analyzed to examine long-term trend on precipitation intensity and extreme events. The number of rainy days shows a significant negative trend, which is more evident in summer and fall. Annual precipitation amount tends to increase slightly during the same period. This suggests an increase of precipitation intensity in this area. These changes may influence on growing seasons, floods and droughts, diseases and insects, marketing of seasonal products, energy consumption, and socio-economic sectors. The Korean Peninsular is located at the eastern coast of the largest continent on the earth withmeso-scale mountainous complex topography and itspopulation density is very high. And most people want to hear what will happen in their back yards. It is necessary to produce climate change scenario to fit forhigh-resolution (in meteorological sense, but low-resolution in socio-economic sense) impact assessment. We produced one hundred-year, high-resolution (∼27 km), regional climate change scenario with MM5 and recognized some obstacles to be used in application. The boundary conditions were provided from the 240-year simulation using the ECHAM4/HOPE-G model with SRES A2 scenario. Both observation and simulation data will compose past and future regional climate change scenario over Korea.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.557-567
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• 2003

High-resolution (3.5 kHz) subbottom profiles were analyzed in order to reveal sedimentation pattern of late Quaternary in the northern South Shetland continental margin and the South Scotia Sea, Antarctica. On the basis of clarity, continuity and geometry of surface and subbottom echoes together with seafloor topography, high-resolution echo characters are classified into eight echo types which represent rock basements (echo type III-1), coarse-grained subglacial till or moraine (echo type I-1), slides/slumps (echo type IV), debris-flow deposits (echo types II-3 and III-2), and bottom-current deposits (echo types I-2, II-1 and II-2). Subglacial till or moraine (echo type I-1) is mostly present in the lower continental shelf and upper continental slope of the northern South Shetland continental margin, which changes downslope to slides/slumps (echo type IV) and debris-flow deposits (echo types II-3 and III-2) in the middle to lower continental slope. This distribution suggests that the continental slopes of the northern South Shetland continental margin were mostly affected by downslope gravitational processes. Further downslope, bottom-current sediments (echo type I-2) deposited by the southwestward flowing Antarctic Deep Water (ADW) occur at the South Shetland Trench, reflecting an Interaction between mass flows and bottom currents in the area. In contrast to the northern South Shetland continental margin, the South Scotia Sea is dominated by bottom-current deposits (echo types II-1 and II-2), indicating that the sedimentation was mostly controlled by the westward flowing ADW. Flow intensity of the ADW has increased in the relative topographic highs, forming thin covers of coarse-grained contourites (echo type II-1), whereas it has decreased in the relative topographic lows, depositing thick, fine-grained contourites (echo type II-2). The poor development of wave geometry in the fine-grained bottom-current deposits (echo type II-2) is suggestive of the unsteady nature of the ADW flow.