• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.353-365
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• 2000

After their first appearance on Earth, bacteria have exerted significant influence on geochemical behavior of elements. Numerous evidence of their control on geochemistry through geologic history has been observed in a variety of natural environments. They have mediated weathering rate, formation of secondary minerals, redox transformation of metals and metalloids, and thus global cycling of elements. Such ability of bacteria receives so considerable attention from microbiologists, mineralogists, geologists, soil scientists, limnologists, oceanographers, and atmospheric scientists as well as geochemists that a new and interdisciplinary field of research called 'geomicrobiology' is currently expanding. Some recent subjects of geomicrobiology which are studied extensively are as follows: 1) Functional groups distributed on bacterial cell walls adsorb dissolved cations onto cell surfaces by electrostatic surface complexation, which is followed by hydrous mineral formation. 2) Dissimilatory metal reducing bacteria conserve energy to support growth by oxidation of organic matter coupled to reduction of some oxidized metals and/or metalloids. They can be effectively used in remediating environments contaminated with U, As, Se, and Cr. 3) Bacteria increase the rate of mineral dissolution by excreting proton and ligands such as organic acids into aqueous system. 4) Thorough investigation on the effects of biofilm on geochemical processes is needed, because most bacteria are adsorbed on solid substrates and form biofilms in natural settings.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.275-284
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• 2003

The soil -air exchange processes of CH$_4$ were investigated in Hari district of Kang Hwa Island, Korea during the late April 2002. In the course of our field experiments, we measured the concentration, concentration gradients (between two different heights of 1 and 5 m), and the fluxes of CH$_4$ using the surface layer gradient microm-eteorological methods. If the relationships between CH$_4$ fluxes and the relevant environmental parameters are examined, CH$_4$ fluxes were found to be affected most significantly by parameters like wind speed. The results of our study indicate that the study area behaved as a net source of CH$_4$ to the atmosphere with a net daily emission rate of 3.6 mg m￣$^2$ The findings of relatively low exchange rate observed at our study site suggest that the rice paddy area investigated prior to planting period can behave as a moderate source of methane.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.251-256
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• 2017

The electric coupling between the lithosphere and the ionosphere is examined. The electric field is considered as a timevarying irregular vertical Coulomb field presumably produced on the Earth's surface before an earthquake within its epicentral zone by some micro-processes in the lithosphere. It is shown that the Fourier component of this electric field with a frequency of 500 Hz and a horizontal scale-size of 100 km produces in the nighttime ionosphere of high and middle latitudes a transverse electric field with a magnitude of ~20 mV/m if the peak value of the amplitude of this Fourier component is just 30 V/m. The time-varying vertical Coulomb field with a frequency of 500 Hz penetrates from the ground into the ionosphere by a factor of ${\sim}7{\times}10^5$ more efficient than a time independent vertical electrostatic field of the same scale size. The transverse electric field with amplitude of 20 mV/m will cause perturbations in the nighttime F region electron density through heating the F region plasma resulting in a reduction of the downward plasma flux from the protonosphere and an excitation of acoustic gravity waves.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.26-33
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• 2008

In order to fully understand the chemical properties of Asian dust particles, especially their transformation and aging processes, it is desirable to investigate the nature of original sands collected at local source areas in China. This study presents the detailed properties of sands collected at four different desert regions (Yinchuan, Wuwei, Dulan, and Yanchi) in China. Most of sands have irregular shape with yellowish coloration, whereas some of them show peculiar colors. The relative size distribution of sands collected at Yinchuan, Wuwei, and Dulan deserts exhibits monomodal with the maximum level between 200 and $300{\mu}$, whereas that of Yanchi desert is formed between 100 and $200{\mu}$. The mass concentration ratio of each element to that of Si (Z/Si) determined by PIXE analysis has a tendency towards higher Z/Si ratios for soil derived elements. It was possible to visually reconstruct the elemental maps on the surface of individual sands by XRF microprobe technique. In addition, the multielemental mass concentration could be quantitatively calculated for numerous spots of desert sands.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.407-418
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• 2018

Increasing demand for portable and wireless electronic devices with high power and energy densities has inspired global research to investigate, in lieu of scarce rare-earth and expensive ruthenium oxide-like materials, abundant, cheap, easily producible, and chemically stable electrode materials. Several potential electrode materials, including carbon-based materials, metal oxides, metal chalcogenides, layered metal double hydroxides, metal nitrides, metal phosphides, and metal chlorides with above requirements, have been effectively and efficiently applied in electrochemical supercapacitor energy storage devices. The synthesis of self-grown, or in-situ, nanostructured electrode materials using chemical processes is well-known, wherein the base material itself produces the required phase of the product with a unique morphology, high surface area, and moderate electrical conductivity. This comprehensive review provides in-depth information on the use of self-grown electrode materials of different morphologies in electrochemical supercapacitor applications. The present limitations and future prospects, from an industrial application perspectives, of self-grown electrode materials in enhancing energy storage capacity are briefly elaborated.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.113.2-113.2
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• 2012

An innovative solar observing satellite, Hinode, has successfully observed the detailed evolution of a rapidly developing emerging flux region from the beginning of its appearance at the solar surface. The high spatial and temporal resolution provided by the satellite enables to capture the prominent dynamic processes such as the rotational motion of a polarity region with intense magnetic flux which is reminiscent of a cyclone on the Earth, and a running wave that spreads ahead of this rotating polarity region. This 'solar cyclone' is, on the other hand, generated differently from terrestrial cyclones, and a possible generating mechanism for it is demonstrated with a three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation of a twisted magnetic flux tube emerging from the solar interior into the solar atmosphere. The simulation shows that the rotational motion is caused by a strong downflow of plasma along the twisted field lines that form a helical pillar standing upright on the Sun.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.45-53
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• 2013

Biocarrier beads with dead biomass, Bacillus drentensis, immobilized in polymer polysulfone were synthesized to remove heavy metals from wastewater. To identify the sorption mechanisms and theoretical nature of underlying processes, a series of batch experiments were carried out to quantify the biosorption of Pb(II) and Cu(II) by the biocarrier beads. The parameters obtained from the thermodynamic analysis revealed that the biosorption of Pb(II) and Cu(II) by biomass immobilized in biocarrier beads was a spontaneous, irreversible, and physically-occurring adsorption phenomenon. Comparing batch experimental data to various adsorption isotherms confirmed that Koble-Corrigan and Langmuir isotherms well represented the biosorption equilibrium and the system likely occurred through monolayer sorption onto a homogeneous surface. The maximum adsorption capacities of the biocarrier beads for Pb(II) and Cu(II) were calculated as 0.3332 and 0.5598 mg/g, respectively. For the entire biosorption process, pseudo-second-order and Ritchie second-order kinetic models were observed to provide better descriptions for the biosorption kinetic data. Application of the intra-particle diffusion model showed that the intraparticle diffusion was not the rate-limiting step for the biosorption phenomena. Overall, the dead biomass immobilized in polysulfone biocarrier beads effectively removed metal ions and could be applied as a biosorbent in wastewater treatment.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.175-184
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• 1974

Weathering of granites has a great geochemical significance, because of their chemical stability near the earth surface which is more pronounced than in most other rocks. The author intended to observe the relative mobility of major elements in weathering process of the granite, distributed on outskirts of Iri city Jeolla-bugdo, Korea. He analysed fresh granites and weathered ones from the Baeg-Gu granite mass and obtained following conclusions in the triangle-diagrams and the oxidized variation diagrams of the samples. 1) The increasing phenomena of $H_2O$ was observed clearly in early and late stages of weathering process. 2) The early stage of weathering is commenced by physical weathering and followed by chemical weathering. 3) The ratio of $FeO/Fe_2O_3$, FeO/MgO, and $SiO_2/Al_2O_3$ decreased uniformly from early to late stage of weathering processes. 4) It was proved that weathering potential of granite was larger than that of basaltic rock. 5) The order of mobility in major elements was Ca, Na and K

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.11
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• pp.1519-1525
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• 2021

Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is recognized to be carcinogenic and toxic and registered as a contaminant in many drinking water regulations. It occurs naturally and is also produced by industrial processes. The reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) has been a central topic for chromium remediation since Cr(III) is less toxic and less mobile. In this study, fermentative Fe(III)-reducing bacterial strains (Cellu-2a, Cellu-5a, and Cellu-5b) were isolated from a groundwater sample and were phylogenetically related to species of Cellulomonas by 16S rRNA gene analysis. One selected strain, Cellu-2a showed its capacity of reduction of both soluble iron (ferric citrate) and solid iron (hydrous ferric oxide, HFO), as well as aqueous Cr(VI). The strain Cellu-2a was able to reduce 15 μM Cr(VI) directly with glucose or sucrose as a sole carbon source under the anaerobic condition and indirectly with one of the substrates and HFO in the same incubations. The heterogeneous reduction of Cr(VI) by the surface-associated reduced iron from HFO by Cellu-2a likely assisted the Cr(VI) reduction. Fermentative features such as large-scale cell growth may impose advantages on the application of bacterial Cr(VI) reduction over anaerobic respiratory reduction.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.60-76
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• 2022

This study presents a software full setup and the following test execution times in a Linux cluster for the United Kingdom Earth System Model (UKESM) and then compares the model results from control and experimental simulations of the UKESM relative to various observations. Despite its low resolution, the latest version of the UKESM can simulate tropospheric chemistry-aerosol processes and the stratospheric ozone chemistry using the United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosol (UKCA) module. The UKESM with UKCA (UKESM-UKCA) can treat atmospheric chemistryaerosol-cloud-radiation interactions throughout the whole atmosphere. In addition to the control UKESM run with the default CMIP5 SO₂ emission dataset, an experimental run was conducted to evaluate the aerosol effects on meteorology by changing atmospheric SO₂ loading with the newest REAS data over East Asia. The simulation period of the two model runs was 28 years, from January 1, 1982 to December 31, 2009. Spatial distributions of monthly mean aerosol optical depth, 2-m temperature, and precipitation intensity from model simulations and observations over East Asia were compared. The spatial patterns of surface temperature and precipitation from the two model simulations were generally in reasonable agreement with the observations. The simulated ozone concentration and total column ozone also agreed reasonably with the ERA5 reanalyzed one. Comparisons of spatial patterns and linear trends led to the conclusion that the model simulation with the newest SO₂ emission dataset over East Asia showed better temporal changes in temperature and precipitation over the western Pacific and inland China. Our results are in line with previous finding that SO₂ emissions over East Asia are an important factor for the atmospheric environment and climate change. This study confirms that the UKESM can be installed and operated in a Linux cluster-computing environment. Thus, researchers in various fields would have better access to the UKESM, which can handle the carbon cycle and atmospheric environment on Earth with interactions between the atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, and land.