• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.29-39
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• 2017

We investigate two abnormal CME-Storm pairs that occurred on 2014 September 10 - 12 and 2015 March 15 - 17, respectively. The first one was a moderate geomagnetic storm ($Dst_{min}{\sim}-75nT$) driven by the X1.6 high speed flare-associated CME ($1267km\;s^{-1}$) in AR 12158 (N14E02) near solar disk center. The other was a very intense geomagnetic storm ($Dst_{min}{\sim}-223nT$) caused by a CME with moderate speed ($719km\;s^{-1}$) and associated with a filament eruption accompanied by a weak flare (C9.1) in AR 12297 (S17W38). Both CMEs have large direction parameters facing the Earth and southward magnetic field orientation in their solar source region. In this study, we inspect the structure of Interplanetary Flux Ropes (IFRs) at the Earth estimated by using the torus fitting technique assuming self-similar expansion. As results, we find that the moderate storm on 2014 September 12 was caused by small-scale southward magnetic fields in the sheath region ahead of the IFR. The Earth traversed the portion of the IFR where only the northward fields are observed. Meanwhile, in case of the 2015 March 17 storm, our IFR analysis revealed that the Earth passed the very portion where only the southward magnetic fields are observed throughout the passage. The resultant southward magnetic field with long-duration is the main cause of the intense storm. We suggest that 3D magnetic field geometry of an IFR at the IFR-Earth encounter is important and the strength of a geomagnetic storm is strongly affected by the relative location of the Earth with respect to the IFR structure.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.33 no.8
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• pp.591-604
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• 2024

To investigate the frequency and trajectories of volcanic ash from Mt. Baekdu reaching the Korean Peninsula, a forward trajectory analysis was conducted using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. Through a cluster analysis of air parcel trajectories, we identified the main pathways of the volcanic ash from Mt. Baekdu entering the Korean Peninsula and analyzed the synoptic meteorological conditions on those days. The frequency of volcanic ash reaching the Korean Peninsula was 82 times at an altitude of 1000 m and 70 times at 2000 m, with an increasing trend from 2016 to 2022. This increase is attributed to the weakening of westerly winds and the strengthening of north-south winds due to global warming. Five and three trajectory clusters were classified at 1000 m and 2000 m, respectively. At a starting altitude of 1000 m, most air parcels originating from Mt. Baekdu entered the Korean Peninsula under weather conditions (C2, C3) where the pressure gradient from the northwest to the southeast was small, resulting in weak northerly winds. C2 and C3 showed shorter trajectories, which occurred in all seasons, except summer. At a starting altitude of 2000 m, air parcels mostly passed over the Korean Peninsula in a synoptic pattern similar to that at 1000 m in altitude; however, the air parcels had simpler paths and less frequent inflow. C2, at a starting altitude of 2000 m, originates from Mount Baekdu, crosses the center of the Korean Peninsula, and continues to the central region. At a starting altitude of 1000 m, volcanic ash can enter the Korean Peninsula when there is no strong low-pressure system to the southeast of the Korean Peninsula, whereas at 2000 m, volcanic ash can enter the Korean Peninsula when the Siberian high-pressure system is weak.