• Atmosphere
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.485-492
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• 2008

This study confirms that a decadal variation of the SST (Sea Surface Temperature) in the WNP (Western North Pacific) has an influence on the genesis and passage ofa Tropical Cyclone. The decadal mode was obtained by calculating the SST anomaly on the domain $150^{\circ}E-190^{\circ}E$, and $5^{\circ}S-5^{\circ}N$. Such decadal variation was subsequently analyzed to confirm that it is a dominant mode in central Pacific region. Next, after classifying the years into relatively positive years and relatively negative years, the characteristics of Tropical Cyclone in each year, such as a genesis and passage frequency, were investigated. Compared to the relatively negative years, during the relatively positive years, the location of Tropical Cyclone genesis was biased toward South-Eastern region, while the characteristics of the cyclone were more distinct during late season of the year trom September to December than in mid season from June to August. Examining the movement passage through the observation of passage fiequency, there was a significant difference between positive year and negative year in their passages at a 90% confidence level. Moreover, the number of Tropical Cyclone, maximum wind, and life time also showed higher values in positive years than in negative years. These features were confirmed by examining the 850hPa cyclonic flow field, vorticity field, and vertical wind shear field, all of which contribute to the genesis of a Tropical Cyclone.

• Atmosphere
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.79-91
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• 2009

Seoul National University General Circulation Model (SNUGCM) has been run for 100 years to obtain daily temperature and meridional velocity at the Northern lower stratosphere. The model results are compared with the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. The polar temperature and the eddy heat flux from the model show that the model-produced climatology has well-known cold bias and weaker planetary wave activities. The model climatology also has a lag in the seasonal evolution. The relationship between the model-produced polar temperature and the eddy heat flux is investigated with respect to the interannual and decadal time scales. The interannual variation of the polar temperature is related with both total and stationary eddy heat flux in January and March, which is in agreement with observation. The model, however, does not reproduce the relationship between the decadal variation of the polar temperature and transient eddy heat flux, which is revealed in the observed data.

• Atmosphere
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.429-439
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• 2008

The lower-stratospheric polar temperature in winter and spring for both hemispheres is investigated based on the NCEP/NCAR 50-year reanalysis data with respect to the strength of the stratospheric eddy heat flux. Both the polar temperature and the eddy heat flux show significant variation on the decadal and year-to-year time scales except during the Southern Hemisphere winter. The year-to-year variation in the polar temperature is mainly determined by the eddy heat flux convergence. The eddy heat flux convergence is compared with the diabatic heating rate obtained from a two-dimensional model. Radiative heating caused by absorption of solar radiation is comparable to the heating caused by the eddy heat flux convergence in the Southern Hemisphere. The effect of ozone depletion on diabatic heating has been found to be secondary in the Northern Hemisphere, even in March 1997 when the record depletion of ozone took place.

• Atmosphere
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.61-71
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• 2021

The relationship between the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and surface air temperature (SAT) over Korea is re-examined using the long-term observation and reanalysis datasets for the period of December 1958 to February 2020. Over the entire period, Korean SAT is positively correlated with the AO index with a statistically significant correlation coefficient, greater than 0.4, only in the boreal winter. It is found that this correlation is not static but changes on the decadal time scale. While the 15-year moving correlations are as high as 0.6 in 1980s and 1990s, they are smaller than 0.3 in the other decades. It is revealed that this decadal variation is partly due to the AO structure change over the North Pacific. In the period of 1980s-1990s, the AO-related sea level pressure fluctuation is strong and well defined over the western North Pacific and the related temperature advection effectively changes the winter SAT over Korea. In the other periods, the AO-related circulation anomaly is either weak or mostly confined within the central North Pacific. This result suggests that Korean SAT-AO index relationship, which becomes insignificant in recent decades is highly dependent on mean flow change in the North Pacific.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.3-11
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• 2000

The Asian summer monsoon has a profound social and economic impact in East Asia and its surrounding countries. The monsoon is basically a response of the atmosphere to the differential heating between the land mass of the Asian continent and the adjacent oceans. The atmospheric response, however, is quite complicated due to the interactions between the atmospheric heat sources, land-sea contrast, and topography, The occurrence of extreme summertime floods in Korea, Japan, and China in 1998 and 1999 has highlighted the range of variability of the East Asian summertime monsoon circulation and spurred interest in investigating the cause of such extreme variability. While ENSO is often considered a prime mechanism responsible for the unusual hydrological disasters in East Asia, understanding of the connection between ENSO and the East Asian monsoon is hampered by their dynamic complexities. Along with a recent phenomenon of weather abnormalities observed in many parts of the globe, Korea has seen its share of increased weather abnormalities such as the record-breaking heavy rainfalls due to a series of flash floods in the summers of 1998 and 1999, following devastating Yangtze river floods in China. A clear regime shift is found in the tropospheric mean temperature in the northern hemisphere middle latitudes and the surface temperature over the Asian continent during the summer with a sudden warming since 1977. Either decadal climate variation or climate regime shift in the Asian continent is evident and may have altered the characteristics of the East Asian summer monsoon. Considering the summertime rainfall amount in Korea is overall increased lately, the 1998/99 heavy rainfalls may not be isolated episodes related only to ENSO, but could be a part of long-term climate variation. The record-breaking heavy summer rainfalls in Korea may not be direct impact of ENSO. Instead, the effects of decadal climate variation and ENSO may be coupled to each other and also to the East Asian summer monsoon system, while their individual impacts are difficult to separate.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.63-69
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• 2003

Three tree-ring monsoon rainfall reconstructions from China and Korea have been used in this paper to investigate the variation of the East Asian summer monsoon over the past 160 years. Statistically, there is no linear correlation on a year-by-year basis between Chinese and Korean monsoon rainfall, but region-wide synchronous variation on decadal-scale was observed. Strong monsoon intervals (more rainfall) were 1860-1890, 1910-1925,1940-1960, and weak monsoon periods (dry or even drought) were 1890-1910, 1925-1940, 1960- present. Reconstructions also display that the East Asian summer monsoon suddenly changed from strong into weak around mid-1920, and the East Asian summer monsoon keeps going weak after 1960.

• Atmosphere
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.125-154
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• 2023

Since the Korean Meteorological Society was organized in 1963, the climate dynamics fields have been made remarkable progress. Here, we documented the academic developments in the area of climate dynamics performed by members of Korean Meteorological Society, based on studies that have been published mainly in the Journal of Korean Meteorological Society, Atmosphere, and Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmospheric Sciences. In these journals, the fundamental principles of typical ocean-atmosphere climatic phenomena such as El Niño, Madden-Julian Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation, their modeling, prediction, and its impact, are being conducted by members of Korean Meteorological Society. Recently, research has been expanded to almost all climatic factors including cryosphere and biosphere, as well as areas from a global perspective, not limited to one region. In addition, research using an artificial intelligence (AI), which can be called a cutting-edge field, has been actively conducted. In this paper, topics including intra-seasonal and Madden-Julian Oscillations, East Asian summer monsoon, El Niño-Southern Oscillation, mid-latitude and polar climate variations and some paleo climate and ecosystem studies, of which driving mechanism, modeling, prediction, and global impact, are particularly documented.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.199-209
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• 2015

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), driven by high density water sinking around Greenland serves as a global climate regulator, because it transports heat and materials in the climate system. We analyzed the mechanism of AMOC on a decadal time scale simulated with the HadGEM2-AO model. The lead-lag regression analysis with AMOC index shows that the decadal variability of the thermohaline circulation in the Atlantic Ocean can be considered as a self-sustained variability. This means that the long-term change of AMOC is related to the instability which is originated from the phase difference between the meridional temperature gradient and the ocean circulation. When the overturning circulation becomes stronger, the heat moves northward and decreases the horizontal temperature-dominated density gradients. Subsequently, this leads to weakening of the circulation, which in turn generates the anomalous cooling at high latitudes and, thereby strengthening the AMOC. In this mechanism, the density anomalies at high latitudes are controlled by the thermal advection from low latitudes, meaning that the variation of the AMOC is thermally driven and not salinity driven.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.660-670
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• 2009

This study examines the changes of an interdecadal circulation over the Asian continent to find cause of the surface warming in Siberia from 1958 to 2004. According to our study, there is a coherency between a long-term change of sea surface temperature in the Indian Ocean and the rapid increase of air temperature in Siberia since 1976/1977. In this study, we suggest that mean wind field changes induced by the positive sea surface temperature anomalies of the Indian Ocean since 1976/1977 are caused of inter-decadal variations in a large-scale circulation over the Asian continent. It also indicates that the inter-decadal circulation over the Asian continent is accompanied with warm southerly winds near surface, which have significantly contributed to the increase of surface temperature in Siberia. These southerly winds have been one of the most dominant interdecadal variations over the Asian continent since 1976/1977. In addition, we investigated the long-term trend mode of 850 hPa geopotential height data over the Asian continent from the Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) analysis for 1958-2004. In result, we found that there was an anomalously high pressure pattern over the Asian continent, it is called 'the Asian High mode'. It is thus suggested that the Asian High mode is another response of interdecadal changes of large-scale circulations over the Asian continent.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.687-694
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• 2006

This paper investigated the effects of wind stress forcing in the western North Pacific on ENSO decadal change before and after the late 1970s. The SVD analysis of SODA data shows that a positive wind stress curl is dominant in the western North Pacific at the ENSO mature phase, which leads to the ENSO phase change by discharge/recharge heat contents in the equatorial Pacific. Before the late 1970s, the wind stress curl in the western North Pacific was strong. This strong wind forcing that is associated with the fast discharge of heat contents in the equator led to the short period and the weak intensity of ENSO occurred during the 1960-1970. On the other hand, after the late 1970s the relatively weak wind stress curl was accompanied with the long period and the strong intensity of ENSO. The simple coupled model experiments also confirm that the amplitude and dominant period of ENSO decrease when the wind stress curl in the western North Pacific projects more strongly into the ocean at the TNSO mature phase. Our results support that the changes in the behavior of ENSO after the late 1970s are associated with the wind stress variation in the western North Pacific.