• Atmosphere
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.221-231
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• 2012

Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) are the latest emission scenarios recommended to use for the fifth assessment report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This study investigates the projection of extreme precipitation in South Korea during the forthcoming 21st Century using the generalized extreme value (GEV) analysis based on two different RCP conditions i.e., RCP 4.5 and 8.5. Maximum daily precipitation required for GEV analysis for RCP 4.5 and 8.5 are obtained from a high-resolution regional climate model forced by the corresponding global climate projections, which are produced within the CMIP5 framework. We found overall increase in frequency of extreme precipitation over South Korea in association with climate change. Particularly, daily extreme precipitation that has been occurred every 20 years in current climate (1980~2005) is likely to happen about every 4.3 and 3.4 years by the end of 21st Century (2070~2099) under the RCP 4.5 and 8.5 conditions, respectively.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.88-94
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• 2009

In this study an attempt has been made to predict the annual foggy days over Gyeongsangbuk-do of Korea, using the regional mesoscale model (MM5). The annual meteorological conditions are simulated, and the annual and seasonal foggy days are predicted from the simulated results based on the seasonal and spatial information of the observed meteorological characteristics for fog occurrence such as wind speed, relative humidity, and temperature. Most of observed inland fog over Gyeongsangbuk-do occurs in autumn under the meteorological conditions such as a cairn, a high temperature range (above $10^{\circ}C$), and a high relative humidity (above 85%). The predicted results show the various foggy days, about 10${\sim}$60 days, depending on the season and the site locations. The predicted annual foggy days at inland sites are about 30${\sim}$60 days, but at coastal sites, about 10${\sim}$20 days. Also, a higher frequency of fog occurrence at inland sites is shown in autumn (about 60% of the annual foggy days). Otherwise, a higher frequency of fog occurrence at coastal sites is shown in summer (about 60% of the annual foggy days), unlike the inland. These annual foggy days and their seasonal variations agree reasonably well with the observed values. It can be concluded that it is possible to predict the occurrence of annual or seasonal foggy days by MM5.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.55 no.12
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• pp.1149-1154
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• 2022

The purpose of this research is to select representative observation stations for winter observation equipment performance tests and to present indoor and outdoor conditions for performance tests by considering snowfall, snowfall days, latitude, and altitude distribution for observation stations operated by the Korea Meteorological Administration. Using the snowfall data observed during the winter for 30 years (1981-2010), ten representative observation stations are selected to consider the classification of snowfall days by class, latitude, and altitude distribution of observation stations. As a result of analysis, the suitable point for outdoor experiments was selected as Daegwallyeong, the average number of snowfall days and snowfall days of 5cm or more were 57.5 and 13.2 days, respectively. The indoor experimental conditions are considered to be suitable under temperatures of -15 to 5℃ and humidity of 50% or higher. Results of this research can be used as basic information for conditions and test beds for performance tests of equipment that can respond to heavy snow disasters in winter.

• Atmosphere
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.377-390
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• 2020

Not only emissions, but also atmospheric circulation is a key factor that affects local particulate matters (PM) concentrations in Korea through ventilation effects and transboundary transports. As part of the atmospheric circulation, air stagnation especially adversely affects local air quality due to weak ventilation. This study investigates the large-scale circulation related to air stagnation over Korea during winter and projects the climate change impacts on atmospheric patterns, using observed PM data, reanalysis and regional climate projections from HadGEM3-RA with Modified Korea Particulate matter Index. Results show that the stagnation affects the PM concentration, accompanied by pressure ridge at upper troposphere and weaken zonal pressure gradient at lower troposphere. Downscaling using HadGEM3-RA is found to yield Added-Value in the simulated low tropospheric winds. For projection of future stagnation, SSP5-8.5 and SSP1-2.6 (high and low emission) scenarios are used here. It has been found that the stagnation condition occurs more frequently by 11% under SSP5-8.5 and by 5% under SSP1-2.6 than in present-day climate and is most affected by changes in surface wind speed. The increase in the stagnation conditions is related to anticyclonic circulation anomaly at upper troposphere and weaken meridional pressure gradient at lower troposphere. Considering that the present East Asian winter monsoon is mainly affected by change in zonal pressure gradient, it is worth paying attention to this change in the meridional gradient. Our results suggest that future warming condition increase the frequency of air stagnation over Korea during winter with response of atmospheric circulation and its nonlinearity.

• Atmosphere
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.203-216
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• 2024

The National Institute of Meteorological Sciences in Korea has developed the Weather Modification Hybrid Rocket (WMHR), an advanced system that offers enhanced stability and cost-effectiveness over conventional solid-fuel rockets. Designed for precise operation, the WMHR enables accurate control over the ejection altitude of pyrotechnics by modulating the quantity of oxidizer, facilitating specific cloud seeding at various atmospheric layers. Furthermore, the rate of descent for pyrotechnic devices can be adjusted by modifying parachute sizes, allowing for controlled dispersion time and concentration of seeding agents. The rocket's configuration also supports adjustments in the pyrotechnic device's capacity, permitting tailored seeding agent deployment. This innovation reflects significant technical progression and collaborations with local manufacturers, in addition to efforts to secure testing sites and address hybrid rocket production challenges. Notable outcomes of this project include the creation of a national framework for weather modification technology utilizing hybrid rockets, enhanced cloud seeding methods, and the potential for broader meteorological application of hybrid rockets beyond precipitation augmentation. An illustrative case study confirmed the WMHR's operational effectiveness, although the impact on cloud seeding was limited by unfavorable weather conditions. This experience has provided valuable insights and affirmed the system's potential for varied uses, such as weather modification and deploying high-altitude meteorological sensors. Nevertheless, the expansion of civilian weather rocket experiments in Korea faces challenges due to inadequate infrastructure and regulatory limitations, underscoring the urgent need for advancements in these areas.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aviation and Aeronautics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 2011

Last April, Europe was severly damaged as all social and economic activities came to a halt prompted by the cancellation of all flights resulting from volcanic ash. This exemplifies that the meteorology conditions have significant influence on the flights of airplanes. Hence, in this research the influence that the meteorology has on the domestic flights and its characteristics will be examined, and the core meteorological factors that influence flights in each airport will be drawn. In order to do this, statistical analysis on the influence that the meteorology has on flights was carried out in order to analyze the data about flight cancelation and delay and also its cause, primarily based on the Gimpo, Gimhae, and the Jeju airports. As a result, first, the meteorological factors which impact flight cancellation and delay were different among the domestic airports, and second, it was analyzed that fog was the main meteorological factor in the Gimpo airport, strong wind in the Jeju airport, and fog in the Gimhae airport. Third, between the day the flights were cancelled and delayed occurred, and the day that weren't, the fact that there existed a difference among the actual meteorological factors was statistically drawn. With the result of such analysis, meteorological factors pertaining to the cancellation and delay of flights must be considered seperately by each airport and specialized meteorological information must be provided accordingly. Further, when selecting the position of an airport that is to be constructed in the future, implications that there is a definite need for the meteorology effect evaluation based on past meteorology data can be drawn.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.387-396
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• 2023

The representative equipments currently used for weather observations are meteorological masters and wind lidars. According to international regulations, meteorological masters can be used for standalone measurements, but in case of wind lidars, it is mandatory to install a meteorological master that matches the height of the bottom of the wind turbine blade or a 40m meteorological masters and correct the measurement data. Turbulence flow occurs frequently at altitudes below 100m due to its nature, and wind lidars are more susceptible to the effects of turbulence than meteorological masters. However, while the turbulence intensity for meteorological masters is specified by international regulations, there is no separated specification for wind lidars. This study collected data measured under the same conditions using both meteorological masters and wind LiDARs, analyzed the uncertainties and turbulence intensity ratio. The analysis of the data showed that there were partial sections where the proportion of turbulent flow intensity exceeded 3%. Therefore, it is suggested to include a specification for the turbulence intensity error rate for wind LiDARs in the international regulations.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.56 no.7
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• pp.461-470
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• 2023

The purpose of this research is to derive the optimal temperature, location, and heating control system for a tipping bucket rain gauge heating system used for observing snowfall during winter. We conducted indoor and outdoor experiments by manufacturing a tipping bucket rain gauge that can be variably controlled for heating at the funnel, exterior, and interior, and indoor and outdoor. The indoor experiments involved using a temperature and humidity chamber to compare the performance and derive the appropriate temperature of the precipitation gauge heating system. Subsequently, the outdoor experiments were carried out at the Cloud Physics Observation Center located in Daeguallyeong, heavy snowfall region, to validate the findings. The analysis result was derived that the heating temperature of the funnel should be set at the 10 to 30℃, while the internal heating temperature should be 70℃. Furthermore, the optimal locations for the heating devices, which aim to minimize measurement delay, were identified as the exterior of the rain gauge, the rim of the funnel, and the vertical surface of the funnel. Our result shows that used as the basis for the operating conditions of precipitation gauge heating systems for solid precipitation measurement in winter.

• Atmosphere
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.499-509
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• 2017

Possible links among cosmic ray, cloud, and climate have scientific uncertainties. The reputed topics have been highly controversial during several decades. A link between the atmospheric ionization by galactic cosmic rays (GCR), which is modulated by solar activities, and global cloud cover was firstly proposed in 1997. Some researchers suggested that the GCR can stimulate the formation of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in the atmosphere, and then the higher CCN concentrations may lead to an increase of cloud cover, resulting in a cooling of the Earth's climate, and vise versa. The CLOUD (Cosmic leaving outdoor droplets) experiment was designed to study the effect of GCR on the formation of atmospheric aerosols and clouds under precisely controlled laboratory conditions. A state-of-the-art chamber experiment has greatly advanced our scientific understanding of the aerosol formation in early stage and its nucleation processes if the GCR effect is considered or not. Many studies on the climate-GCR (or space weather) connection including the CLOUD experiment have been carried out during the several decades. Although it may not be easy to clarify the physical connection, the recent scientific approaches such as the laboratory experiments or modeling studies give some implications that the research definitively contributed to reduce the scientific uncertainties of natural and anthropogenic aerosol radiative forcing as well as to better understand the formation processes of fine particulate matters as an important parameter of air quality forecast.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.137-150
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• 2010

A meso-urban meteorological model (Urbanized MM5; uMM5) with urban canopy parameterization (UCP) was applied to the high-resolution simulation of meteorological fields in a complex coastal urban area and the assessment of urban impacts. Multi-scale simulations with the uMM5 in the innermost domain (1-km resolution) covering the Busan metropolitan region were performed during a typical sea breeze episode (4~8 August 2006) with detailed fine-resolution inputs (urban morphology, land-use/land-cover sub-grid distribution, and high-quality digital elevation model data sets). An additional simulation using the standard MM5 was also conducted to identify the effects of urban surface properties under urban meteorological conditions. Results showed that the uMM5 reproduced well the urban thermal and dynamic environment and captured well the observed feature of sea breeze. When comparison with simulations of the standard MM5, it was found that the uMM5 better reproduced urban impacts on temperature (especially at nighttime) and urban wind flows: roughness-induced deceleration and UHI (Urban Heat Island)-induced convergence.