• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.18 no.2 s.23
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• pp.103-104
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• 2004

This paper discuss some results of observed changes of meteorological elements as temperature, precipitation and some extreme indexes in Mongolia. Mongolia is one of the largest landlocked countries in the world. The climate is characterized by a long lasting cold winter, dry and hot summer, low precipitation, high temperature fluctuation and relatively high number of sunny days per year. During last 60 years the annual mean air temperature has risen $1.66^{\circ}C$. Intensive warming of > $2^{\circ}C$ was observed at higher altitudes of high mountains when warming of < $1^{\circ}C$ was observed the Domod steppe and the Gobi Desert. Heat Wave Duration have statistically significant risen trend with increaded number of days by 8-18 at significance level of 95-99.9% depending on geography and Cold Wave Duration have shortened by 13.3 days significance level of 95-99%. In general, by the amount of precipitation, Mongolia falls in semi-arid and arid region. It is 300-350 mm in the high mountain regions while it is only 50-150 mm in Gobi Desert regions. The changes of annual precipitation have very localized character i.e.decreasing at one site and increasing at a sit nearby. Annual precipitation decreased by 30-90 mm in the northern-central region and increased by 2-60 mm in the western and eastern region. The magnitude of alteration changes in precipitation regardless increasing or decreasing is 5-25%. A trends, significant at the level of 90%, found where changes are more than 40 mm or more than 15% of annual mean value. Moreover, the soil moisture resources was decreased in the last 40 years. Specially, moisture contents of the top soil have decreased 2 times(N. Natsagsuren, 2002). Months of June and July in Mongolia is the year that moisture is not inhibiting vegetation growth. Unfortunately, its also found that moisture in this time tends to decrease. Increased temperature, decreased precipitation and soil moisture are most likely resulted in occurences of more intense drought spells that have taken place during the recent years. Intimately, these changes have considerable impact on livestock in Mongolia.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.433-440
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• 2022

Recently, owing to global warming, average summer temperatures are increasing and the number of hot days is increasing is increasing, which leads to an increase in heat stroke. In particular, outdoor workers directly exposed to the heat are at higher risk of heat stroke; therefore, preventing heat-related illnesses and managing safety have become important. Although various wearable devices have been developed to prevent heat stroke for outdoor workers, applying various sensors to the safety helmets that workers must wear is an excellent alternative. In this study, we developed a smart helmet that measures various vital signs of the wearer such as body temperature, heart rate, and sweat rate; external environmental signals such as temperature and humidity; and movement signals of the wearer such as roll and pitch angles. The smart helmet can acquire the various data by connecting with a smartphone application. Environmental data can check the status of heat wave advisory, and the individual vital signs can monitor the health of workers. In addition, we developed an algorithm that classifies the risk of heat-related illness as normal and abnormal by inputting a set of vital signs of the wearer using a support vector machine technique, which is a machine learning technique that allows for rapid binary classification with high reliability. Furthermore, the classified results suggest that the safety manager can supervise the prevention of heat stroke by receiving feedback from the control system.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.573-580
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• 2008

This study aims to measure and to analyze the characteristics of thermal environment of the various permeable pavement materials such as a break stone pavement (Green block cubic), soil protection pavement (Soil tector), soil cement pavement and ceramic brick pavement under the summer outdoor environment. The thermal environment characteristics measured in the study includes the changes of surface temperature during the day, and long and short wave radiation of each pavement surface. The experimental condition is based on the data on the hottest temperature (August 9, 2006, $37.1^{\circ}C$) of the year. The albedo was the highest on the break stone pavement(0.8) from 12:00 to 14:00. The albedo of the ceramic brick pavement, a soil tector pavement and soil cement pavement were 0.35, 0.29 and 0.27 from 12:00 to 14:00, respectively. The peak surface temperature and long wave radiation was the highest on the soil protection pavements($56.6^{\circ}C$/627 W/$m^2$). The peak surface temperatures and long wave radiation on the ceramic brick pavement, a stone brick pavement and soil cement pavement were $51.7^{\circ}C$/627 W/$m^2$, $48.8^{\circ}C$/607 W/$m^2$ and $45.9^{\circ}C$/582 W/$m^2$, respectively. The heat environment was better on the break stone pavement than on the other pavements. This is mainly due to the high albedo of the break stone pavement(0.8) while the albedo value of a ceramic brick pavement, a soil tactor pavement and soil cement pavement were 0.35. 0.29 and 0.27. Large heat capacity($2,629kJ/m^3{\cdot}K$) of the stone brick pavements also contributes to this difference. The heat environment was better on the soil cement pavement than the soil tector pavement. This is mainly due to the evaporation of the soil cement pavement while the active evaporation of the soil tactor pavement was not continued after two days from the rainfall event. To improve the thermal environments in the urban area, it is recommended to raise the albedo of the pavements by brightening the surface color of the pavement materials. Further studies on the pavement materials and the construction methods which can enhance the continuous evapotranspiration from the pavements surface are needed.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.71-80
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• 2012

Against the backdrop of the clear impact of climate change, it has become essential to analyze the influence of climate change and relevant vulnerabilities. This research involved evaluating the impact of heat waves in Seoul, from among many local autonomous bodies that are responsible for implementing measures on adapting to climate change. To carry out the evaluation, the A1B scenario was used to forecast future temperature levels. Future climate scenario results were downscaled to $1km{\times}1km$ to result in the incorporation of regional characteristics. In assessing the influence of heat waves on people-especially the excess mortality-we analyzed critical temperature levels that affect excess mortality and came up with the excess mortality. Results of this evaluation on the impact of climate change and vulnerabilities indicate that the number of days on which the daily average temperature reaches $28.1^{\circ}C$-the critical temperature for excess mortality-in Seoul will sharply increase in the 2050s and 2090s. The highest level of impact will be in the month of August. The most affected areas in the summer will be Songpa-gu, Gangnam-gu, and Yeongdeungpo-gu. These areas have a high concentration of residences which means that heat island effects are one of the reasons for the high level of impact. The excess mortality from heat waves is expected to be at least five times the current figure in 2090. Adaptation plan needs to be made on drawing up long-term adaptation measures as well as implementing short-term measures to minimize or adapt the impact of climate change.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.84-97
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• 2016

This study was to investigate the user's thermal environments of the children's parks according to pavements and sunscreen types during periods of heat waves. The measurements were conducted at the sand pits, rubber chip pavement, shelters, and green shade ground of the two children's parks located in Jinju, Korea(Chilam: $N\;35^{\circ}11^{\prime}1.4{^{\prime}^{\prim}}$, $E\;128^{\circ}5^{\prime}31.7{^{\prime}^{\prime}}$, elevation 38m, Gaho: $N\;35^{\circ}09^{\prime}56.8{^{\prime}^{\prime}}$, $E\;128^{\circ}6^{\prime}41.1{^{\prime}^{\prime}}$, elevation 24m) over three days during 11-13, August, 2016. The highest ambient air temperatures at the Jinju Meteorological Office during the three measurement days were $35.9{\sim}36.8^{\circ}C$, which corresponded with the extremely hot weather. A series of experiments measured air temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, black globe temperature, and long-wave and short-wave radiation of the six directions 0.6 m above ground level. The wet bulb globe temperature(WBGT) and the universal thermal climatic index(UTCI) were used to evaluate thermal stress. Surface temperature images of the play equipment were also taken using infrared thermography. Surface temperatures of the play equipment and grounds were used to evaluate burn risk through contact with playground materials. The results showed the following. The maximum air temperatures averaged over 1-hour period for three days were $36.6{\sim}39.4^{\circ}C$. The sun shades reduced those temperatures by up to $2.8^{\circ}C$(green shade) and $1.0^{\circ}C/2.3^{\circ}C$(shelters). The minimum relative humidity values averaged over 1-hour period for three days were 44~50%. The sun shades increased those humidity values by up to 6%(green shade) and 4%/6%(shelters). The risk of heat related illness at the measurement sites of the children's parks were extreme and high in the daytime hours. The maximum WBGT values averaged over a 30-minute period for three days were $31.2{\sim}33.6^{\circ}C$. The sun shades reduced those WBGT values by up to $2.4^{\circ}C$(green shade) and $0.5^{\circ}C/2.1^{\circ}C$(shelters) compared to sandpits, but would not block the risk of heat related illness in the daytime hours. The category of heat stress at the measurement sites of the children's parks were extreme and very strong in the daytime hours. The maximum UTCI values averaged over a 30-minute period for three days were $39.9{\sim}48.1^{\circ}C$. The sun shades reduced those UTCI values by up to $7.8^{\circ}C$(green shade) and $4.1^{\circ}C/8.2^{\circ}C$(shelters) compared to sandpits, but could not lower heat stress category from extreme and very strong to strong and moderate in the daytime hours. According to the burn threshold criteria when skin was in contact with playground materials, the maximum surface temperature of the stainless steels($70.8^{\circ}C$) surpassed three seconds $60^{\circ}C$ threshold for uncoated steel, that of the rubber chip($76.5^{\circ}C$) surpassed five seconds $74^{\circ}C$ threshold for the plastic, that of the plastic slide($68.5^{\circ}C$) and seats($71.0^{\circ}C$) surpassed the one min $60^{\circ}C$ threshold for plastic, respectively. The surface temperatures of shaded play equipment were lower approximately $20^{\circ}C$ than those of play equipment exposed to the sun. Therefore, sun shades can block the risk of burns in daytime hours. Because of the extreme and high risk of heat related illness and extreme and high heat stress at the children's parks during periods of heat waves, parents and administrators must protect children from the use of playgrounds. The risk of burn when contact with play equipments and grounds at the children's parks during periods of heat waves, was very high. The sun shades are essential to block the risk of burn from play equipments and grounds at the children's parks during heat waves.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.283-290
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• 2005

Objectives : The aim of this paper was to examine the relationship between the summertime (June to August) heat index, which quantifies the bioclimatic apparent temperature in sultry weather, and the daily disease-related mortality in Seoul for the period from 1991 to 2000. Methods : The daily maximum (or minimum) summertime heat indices, which show synergetic apparent temperatures, were calculated from the six hourly temperatures and real time humidity data for Seoul from 1991 to 2000. The disease-related daily mortality was extracted with respect to types of disease, age and sex, etc. and compared with the time series of the daily heat indices. Results : The summertime mortality in 1994 exceeded the normal by 626 persons. Specifically, blood circulation-related and cancer-related mortalities increased in 1994 by 29.7% (224 persons) and 15.4% (107 persons), respectively, compared with those in 1993. Elderly persons, those above 65 years, were shown to be highly susceptible to strong heat waves, whereas the other age and sex-based groups showed no significant difference in mortality. In particular, a heat wave episode on the 22nd of July 2004 ($>45^{\circ}C$ daily heat index) resulted in double the normal number of mortalities after a lag time of 3 days. Specifically, blood circulation-related mortalities, such as cerebral infraction, were predominant causes. Overall, a critical mortality threshold was reached when the heat index exceeded approximately $37^{\circ}C$, which corresponds to human body temperature. A linear regression model based on the heat indices above $37^{\circ}C$, with a 3 day lag time, accounted for 63% of the abnormally increased mortality (${\geq}+2$ standard deviations). Conclusions : This study revealed that elderly persons, those over 65 years old, are more vulnerable to mortality due to abnormal heat waves in Seoul, Korea. When the daily maximum heat index exceeds approximately $37^{\circ}C$, blood circulation-related mortality significantly increases. A linear regression model, with respect to lag-time, showed that the heat index based on a human model is a more dependable indicator for the prediction of hot weather-related mortality than the ambient air temperature.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.61-72
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• 2015

In this study, we have investigated monthly changes in temperature extremes in South Korea for the past (1921~2010) and the future (2011~2100). We used seven stations' (Gangneung, Seoul, Incheon, Daegu, Jeonju, Busan, Mokpo) data from KMA (Korea Meteorological Administration) for the past. For the future we used the closest grid point values to observations from the RCP8.5 scenario of 1 km resolution. The Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI)'s climate extreme indices were employed to quantify the characteristics of temperature extremes change. Temperature extreme indices in summer have increased while those in winter have decreased in the past. The extreme indices are expected to change more rapidly in the future than in the past. The number of frost days (FD) is projected to decrease in the future, and the occurrence period will be shortened by two months at the end of the $21^{st}$ century (2071~2100) compared to the present (1981~2010). The number of hot days (HD) is projected to increase in the future, and the occurrence period is projected to lengthen by two months at the end of the $21^{st}$ century compared to the present. The annual highest temperature and its fluctuation is expected to increase. Accordingly, the heat damage is also expected to increase. The result of this study can be used as an information on damage prevention measures due to temperature extreme events.

• Journal of Korean Society for Geospatial Information Science
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.21-28
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• 2016

Numeric weather prediction is important to prevent meteorological disasters such as heavy rain, heat wave, and cold wave. The Korea meteorological administration provides a realtime special weather report and the rural development administration demonstrates information about 2-day warning of agricultural disasters for farms in a few regions. To improve the early warning systems for meteorological hazards, a nation-wide high-resolution dataset for weather prediction should be combined with web-based GIS. This study aims to develop a web service prototype for early warning of meteorological hazards, which integrates web GIS technologies with a weather prediction database in a temporal resolution of 1 hour and a spatial resolution of 1 km. The spatially and temporally high-resolution dataset for meteorological hazards produced by downscaling of GME was serviced via a web GIS. In addition to the information about current status of meteorological hazards, the proposed system provides the hourly dong-level forecasting of meteorologic hazards for upcoming seven days, such as heavy rain, heat wave, and cold wave. This system can be utilized as an operational information service for municipal governments in Korea by achieving the future work to improve the accuracy of numeric weather predictions and the preprocessing time for raster and vector dataset.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.27
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• pp.13.1-13.10
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• 2012

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the acute effects of heat stress on body temperature and blood pressure of elderly individuals living in poor housing conditions. Methods: Repeated measurements of the indoor temperature, relative humidity, body temperature, and blood pressure were conducted for 20 elderly individuals living in low-cost dosshouses in Seoul during hot summer days in 2010. Changes in the body temperature, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) according to variations in the indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity were analyzed using a repeated-measures ANOVA controlling for age, sex, alcohol, and smoking. Results: Average indoor and outdoor temperatures were $31.47^{\circ}C$ (standard deviation [SD], $0.97^{\circ}C$) and $28.15^{\circ}C$ (SD, $2.03^{\circ}C$), respectively. Body temperature increased by $0.21^{\circ}C$ (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.16 to $0.26^{\circ}C$) and $0.07^{\circ}C$ (95% CI, 0.04 to $0.10^{\circ}C$) with an increase in the indoor and outdoor temperature of $1^{\circ}C$. DBP decreased by 2.05 mmHg (95% CI, 0.05 to 4.05 mmHg), showing a statistical significance, as the indoor temperature increased by $1^{\circ}C$, while it increased by 0.20 mmHg (95% CI, -0.83 to 1.22 mmHg) as outdoor temperature increased by $1^{\circ}C$. SBP decreased by 1.75 mmHg (95% CI, -1.11 to 4.61 mmHg) and 0.35 mmHg (95% CI, -1.04 to 1.73 mmHg), as the indoor and outdoor temperature increased by $1^{\circ}C$, respectively. The effects of relative humidity on SBP and DBP were not statistically significant for both indoor and outdoor. Conclusions: The poor and elderly are directly exposed to heat waves, while their vital signs respond sensitively to increase in temperature. Careful adaptation strategies to climate change considering socioeconomic status are therefore necessary.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.1-16
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• 2017

This study was conducted to analyze the urban heat island(UHI) intensity of South Korea by using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) satellite imagery. For this purpose, the metropolitan area was spatially divided according to land cover classification into urban and non-urban land. From the analysis of land surface temperature(LST) in South Korea in the summer of 2009 which was calculated from MODIS satellite imagery it was determined that the highest temperature recorded nationwide was $36.0^{\circ}C$, lowest $16.2^{\circ}C$, and that the mean was $24.3^{\circ}C$, with a standard deviation of $2.4^{\circ}C$. In order to analyze UHI by cities and counties, UHI intensity was defined as the difference in average temperature between urban and non-urban land, and was calculated through RST1 and RST2. The RST1 calculation showed scattered distribution in areas of high UHI intensity, whereas the RST2 calculation showed that areas of high UHI intensity were concentrated around major cities. In order to find an effective method for analyzing UHI by cities and counties, analysis was conducted of the correlation between the urbanization ratio, number of tropical heat nights, and number of heat-wave days. Although UHI intensity derived through RST1 showed barely any correlation, that derived through RST2 showed significant correlation. The RST2 method is deemed as a more suitable analytical method for measuring the UHI of urban land in cities and counties across the country. In cities and counties with an urbanization ratio of < 20%, the rate of increase for UHI intensity in proportion to increases in urbanization ratio, was very high; whereas this rate gradually declined when the urbanization ratio was > 20%. With an increase of $1^{\circ}C$ in RST2 UHI intensity, the number of tropical heat nights and heat wave days was predicted to increase by approximately five and 0.5, respectively. These results can be used for reference when predicting the effects of increased urbanization on UHI intensity.