• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.139-149
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• 2013

Anthropogenic increases in greenhouse gas concentrations, primarily through radiative forcing from carbon dioxide, continue to challenge earth's climate. This study quantified $CO_2$ storage and uptake by dominant forest types and age classes in the middle region of Korea. In addition, the role of forest landscapes in reducing atmospheric $CO_2$ against $CO_2$ emissions based on energy consumption was evaluated. Mean $CO_2$ storage and uptake per unit area by woody plants for three forest types and four age classes were estimated applying regression equations derived to quantify $CO_2$ storage and uptake per tree; and computations per soil unit area were also performed. Total $CO_2$ storage and uptake by forest landscapes were estimated by extrapolating $CO_2$ storage and uptake per unit area. Results indicated mean $CO_2$ storage per unit area by woody plants and soils was higher in older age classes for the same forest types, and higher in broadleaved than coniferous forests for the same age classes, with the exception of age class II (11-20 years). $CO_2$ storage by broadleaved forests of age class V (41-50 years) averaged 662.0 t/ha (US$331.0 hundred/ha), highest for all forest types and age classes evaluated. Overall, an increased mean $CO_2$ uptake per unit area by woody plants was evident for older age classes for the same forest types. However, decreased $CO_2$ uptake by broadleaved forests at age class V was observed, compared to classes III and IV with an average of 27.9 t/ha/yr (US$14.0 hundred/ha/yr). Total $CO_2$ storage by woody plants and soils in the study area was equivalent to 3.4 times the annual $CO_2$ emissions, and woody plants annually offset the $CO_2$ emissions by 17.7%. The important roles of plants and soils were associated with 39.1% of total forest area in South Korea, and $CO_2$ emissions comprised 62.2% of the total population. Therefore, development of forest lands may change $CO_2$ sinks into sources. Forest landscape management strategies were explored to maintain or improve forest roles in reducing atmospheric $CO_2$ levels.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.302-313
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• 2012

Concentrations of selected heavy metals (Al, Fe, Mn, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Pb, As and Cd) in surface sediments from 96 sites in Masan and Jinhae Bay were studied in order to understand metal contamination. Results show that the surface sediments were mainly enriched by Cu (18-294 ppm), Zn (67-568 ppm), Pb (10-120 ppm) and Cd (0.2-3.5 ppm). The coastal zone of Masan Bay was significantly more contaminated than the non-coastal zone, and spatial distribution pattern suggested additional sources of heavy metal input in the coastal area. The enrichment ratio and geoaccumulation index ($I_{geo}$) have been calculated and the relative contamination levels assessed in the study area. The enrichment ratios of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd in Masan Bay have been observed to be relatively high. $I_{geo}$ results reveal that the study area is not contaminated with respect to Fe, Mn, Cr and Ni; moderately to strongly contaminated with Cu, Zn and Pb; and strongly to strong contaminated with Cd. The high contents of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd in the study area result from anthropogenic activities in the catchment area. Based on the eight different sediment quality guideline values from USA (ERL, ERM), Canada (TEL, PEL), Australia/New Zealand (ISQG-high, ISQG-low) and Hong Kong (ISQV-low, ISQV-high), sediment quality of Masan and Jinhae Bay was also assessed and characterized.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.532-538
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• 2014

Arsenic (As) is nonessential element toxic to plants. In Korea little is not only known about the extent of actual anthropogenic sources and inputs of arsenic to the agricultural land which plays a active role as a sink, but also systematic research on arsenic as an toxic element entering the food chain via the soil-plant pathway has not been investigated in the fields and greenhouses besides in few places of abandoned mining sites. Therefore, it is important to focus on the effect of As-contaminated soils on As uptake and biomass production of lettuce plants. In this study, As concentrations in the soil and accumulation of As in lettuce transferred by As uptake from soils were investigated. To do this, soil which was mixed with various rates of arsenopyrite gravels containing arsenic from 0 to 100% was packed into a round plastic pot. Then, 10 days old vegetable crops of chinese cabbage and lettuce after germination were transplanted into a pot. Growth of lettuce was observed for four weeks with one week interval. All experiments were done by triplicate. The results showed that the growth rates for number of leaves, width and length of the crop plants were retarded with increasing amount of gravel mixed due to increasing bioavailable amount of arsenate with increasing rate of gravel in soils. With these results, we conclude that the bioavailable amount of arsenate can influence the growth of lettuce.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.463-476
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• 2017

Climate change is considered as the greatest threat to our future and descendants. The Korean government has set a target for 2030 to reduce emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 37% from the business-as-usual levels which are projected to reach 851 million metric tons of $CO_2eq$ (Carbon dioxide equivalent). In Korea, GHGs emission from agriculture account for almost 3.1% of the total of anthropogenic GHGs. The GHGs emitted from agricultural land are largely classified into three types: carbon dioxide ($CO_2$), methane ($CH_4$), and nitrous oxide ($N_2O$). In Korea, rice paddies are one of the largest agricultural $CH_4$ sources. In order to analyze domestic research trends related to $CH_4$ emission from rice paddies, 93 academic publications including peer reviewed journals, books, working papers, reports, etc., published from 1995 to September 2017, were critically reviewed. The results were classified according to the research purposes. $CH_4$ characteristics and assessment were found to account for approximately 65.9% of the research trends, development of $CH_4$ emission factors for 9.5%, $CH_4$ emission reduction technology for 14.8%, and $CH_4$ emission modeling for 6.3%, etc. A number of research related to $CH_4$ emission characteristics and assessment have been studied in recent years, whereas further study on $CH_4$ emission factors are required to determine an accurate country-specific GHG emission from rice paddies. Future research should be directed toward both studies for reducing the release of $CH_4$ from rice paddies to the atmosphere and the understanding of the major controlling factors affecting $CH_4$ emission.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.495-505
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• 2005

This study is to estimate source contribution by air pollutantion types (point, area, line) over Seoul metropolitan area. The Air Pollution Model (TAPM) and the highly resolved anthropogenic and biogenic gridded emissions ($1km{\times}1km$) were applied to simulate $SO_2,\;NO_2,\;O_3\;and\;PM_{10}$ concentrations by seasons and contribution was estimated by their source types (point, area, line). The results showed that the simulated concentrations of secondary pollutant agreed well with observed values with an index of agreement (IOA) over 0.4, whereas IOAs over 0.3 were observed for most primary pollutants. The contributions of each source types by seasons were similar. The point source contribution was the highest for $SO_2$ at medium level ranged from $55.1\%\;to\;61.5\%$. But the contribution from area source during for the spring and summer increased as the concentration level increased. The line source contribution was the highest for $NO_2$ at all levels ranged from $68.3\%\;to\;93.1\%$. The results indicate that $SO_2$ emissions should be mainly controlled from point source, as well as area source at higher level concentration. Also, $NO_2\;and\;PM_{10}$ to from line source should be controlled.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.179-185
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• 2007

Nitrous oxide ($N_2O$) is an important trace gas in the atmosphere not only because of its large global warming potential (GWP) but also because of the role in the ozone depletion in the stratosphere. It has been known that soil is the largest natural source of $N_2O$ in global emission. However, anthropogenic sources contributing from industrial section is likely to increase with rising the energy consumption, and transportation as well. In this study, a total of 32 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles (ranging from small to large engine's displacement and also ranging from aged catalyst to new catalyst) were tested on the chassis dynamometer system in order to elucidate the characteristics of $N_2O$ emission from automobiles under different driving modes. Ten different driving modes developed by NIER were adapted for the test. The results show that the $N_2O$ emission decreases logarithmically with increase of vehicle speed over the all test vehicles ($N_2O$) emission = -0.062 Ln (vehicle speed) + $0.289,\;r^2=0.97$). It revealed that the larger engine's displacement, the more $N_2O$ emission were recorded. The correlation between $N_2O$ emission and catalyst aging was examined. It found that the vehicles with aged catalyst (odometer record more than 8,0000km) emit more $N_2O$ than those with new catalyst. Average $N_2O$ emission was $0.086{\pm}0.095\;N_2O-g/km$ (number of samples=210) for the all test vehicles over the test driving modes.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.145-156
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• 2003

The atmospheric aerosols collected at the 1100 site located in Mt. Halla have been analyzed to investigate their compositions and chemical characteristics . The average concentrations of water-soluble cations were in the order of N $H_{4}$$^{+}$ > $Ca^{2+}$ > N $a^{+}$ > $K^{+}$ > $Mg^{2+}$ during the spring, showing high increase of $Ca^{2+}$ concentration with the value of 0.60 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ $m^3$, and N $H_{4}$$^{+}$> N $a^{+}$> $K^{+}$> $Ca^{2+}$ > $Mg^{2+}$ during the other seasons. The average concentrations of anions have shown in the order of S $O_{4}$$^{2-}$ > N $O_{3}$$^{[-10]}$ >C $l^{[-10]}$ for all seasons, and S $O_{4}$$^{2-}$ and N $O_{3}$$^{[-10]}$ had higher concentrations in spring with the values of 4.84 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ $m^3$ and 1.08 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ $m^3$, respectively. From the analytical data of size-segregated particles by cascade impactor sampling, the components of N $H_{4}$$^{+}$, S $O_{4}$$^{2-}$, N $O_{3}$$^{[-10]}$ and $K^{+}$ were distributed mainly in fine particles, but $Ca^{2+}$, N $a^{+}$, $Mg^{2+}$ and C $l^{[-10]}$ were included mostly in coarse particles. The correlation coefficients of nss-S $O_{4}$$^{2-}$/N $H_{4}$$^{+}$, nss-S $O_{4}$$^{2-}$/ $K^{+}$ and N $O_{3}$$^{[-10]}$ /nss-C $a^{2+}$ showed quite high values with 0.871, 0.857 and 0.654, respectively Based on the study of enrichment factors, it is considered that N $a^{+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, C $l^{[-10]}$ and $Ca^{2+}$ components were delivered from oceanic and soil sources, but S $O_{4}$$^{2-}$, N $O_{3}$$^{[-10]}$ and N $H_{4}$$^{+}$ might have other source origins. The factor analysis study showed the aerosol at the 1100 site was influenced mainly by anthropogenic factors, followed by oceanic and soil factors. followed by oceanic and soil factors.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.118-124
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• 2007

The oceans could absorb almost all the anthropogenic carbon dioxide the mankind has been producing eventually, but in the nature the air-sea $CO_2$ exchange occurs very slowly and to lower the atmospheric $CO_2$ concentration substantially $CO_2$ must be injected to the interior of the ocean directly. If we inject $CO_2$ collected at the major $CO_2$ sources into the international waters in the Philippine Sea or east of Japan, we could store the $CO_2$ in the oceans effectively for a few hundred years. When $CO_2$ is dissolved into the water, PH drops. The creatures adapted to the deep oceans where environment is very stable could be affected by even a small change in pH significantly. If, therefore, we are to inject $CO_2$ into the oceans, we must assess the effect of $CO_2$ injection in the marine ecosystem beforehand. Only when the damage to the marine ecosystem is smaller than the benefit from the $CO_2$ injection, $CO_2$ injection is effective.

• Atmosphere
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.93-102
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• 2013

Atmospheric transport pathway of an air mass is an important constraint controlling the chemical properties of the air mass observed at a designated location. Such information could be utilized for understanding observed temporal variabilities in atmospheric concentrations of long-lived chemical compounds, of which sinks and/or sources are related particularly with natural and/or anthropogenic processes in the surface, and as well as for performing inversions to constrain the fluxes of such compounds. The Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART provides a useful tool for estimating detailed particle dispersion during atmospheric transport, a significant improvement over traditional "single-line" trajectory models that have been widely used. However, those without a modeling background seeking to create simple back-trajectory maps may find it challenging to optimize FLEXPART for their needs. In this study, we explain how to set up, operate, and optimize FLEXPART for back-trajectory analysis, and also provide automatization programs based on the open-source R language. Discussions include setting up an "AVAILABLE" file (directory of input meteorological fields stored on the computer), creating C-shell scripts for initiating FLEXPART runs and storing the output in directories designated by date, as wells as processing the FLEXPART output to create figures for a back-trajectory "footprint" (potential emission sensitivity within the boundary layer). Step by step instructions are explained for an example case of calculating back trajectories derived for Anmyeon-do, Korea for January 2011. One application is also demonstrated in interpreting observed variabilities in atmospheric $CO_2$ concentration at Anmyeon-do during this period. Back-trajectory modeling information introduced in this study should facilitate the creation and automation of most common back-trajectory calculation needs in atmospheric research.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.275-286
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• 2014

This study evaluated the evolution stage and origin of chemical components of 12 boreholes at crystalline bedrock using multivariate statistical and groundwater quality analyses. Groundwater types are mostly belonged to Na(Ca)-$HCO_3$ and Ca-$HCO_3$ types, indicating that directly reaction of cation exchange ($Ca^{2+}{\rightarrow}Na^+$) prevailed. The degree of groundwater evolution is included the range from low to intermediate stage based on field and laboratory analytical conditions. As a result of multivariate statistical analysis, a typical indicator of groundwater contamination, $NO_3$-, has the positive correlation with $Na^+$ and $Cl^-$. The origin of sea spary ($Cl^-$) has the positive correlation with $Na^+$, $SO{_4}^{2-}$, $Mg^{2+}$, and $K^+$, while not correlation with $Ca^{2+}$, $Fe^{2+}$, $HCO_3{^-}$, $F^-$, and $SiO_2$. The concentration of $Cl^-$ and $NO_3{^-}$ belongs to general quality of groundwater and not exceeds over the Korean standard for drinking water. And the negative values of saturation index of minerals are calculated with chemical components in groundwater. Therefore, most of chemical components of groundwater in the study area are originated from natural process between rock and groundwater, whereas some of components are derived from sea spary and anthropogenic sources related to agricultural activities.