• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.992-996
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• 2008

In this study, changes in precipitation across South Korea during snow seasons (November-April) and their potential are examined. Current (1973/74-2006/07) and future (2081-2100) time series of snow indices including snow season, snow-to-precipitation ratio, and snow impossible day are extracted from observed snow and precipitation data for 61 weather stations as well as observed and modeled daily temperature data. Analyses of linear trends reveal that snow seasons have shortened by 3-13 days/decade; that the snow-to-precipitation ratio (the percentage of snow days relative to precipitation days) has decreased by 4-8 %/decade. These changes are associated with pronounced formations of a positive pressure anomaly core over East Asia during the positive Arctic Oscillation winter years since the late 1980s. A snow-temperature statistical model demonstrates that the warming due to the positive core winter intensifies changes from snow to rain at the rate of $4.7cm/^{\circ}C$. The high pressure anomaly pattern has also contributed to decreases of air-sea thermal gradient which are associated with the reduction of snow could formation. Modeled data predict that a fingerprint of wintertime global warming causing changes from snow to rain will continue to be observed over the 21st century.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2008

This study intends to clarify the characteristics and causes of current changes in wintertime precipitation in Korea and to predict the future directions based on surface observational $(1973/04\sim2006/07)$ and modeled (GFDL 2.1) climate data. Analyses of surface observation data demonstrate that without changes in the total amount of precipitation, snowfall in winter (November-April) has reduced by 4.3cm/decade over the $1973\sim2007$ period. Moreover, the frequency and intensity of snowfall have decreased; the duration of snow season has shortened; and the snow-to-rain day ratio (STDR) has decreased. These patterns indicate that the type of wintertime precipitation has changed from snow to rain in recent decades. The snow-to-rain change in winter is associated with the increases of air temperature (AT) over South Korea. Analyses of synoptic charts reveal that the warming pattern is associated with the formation of a positive pressure anomaly core over northeast Asia by a hemispheric positive winter Arctic Oscillation (AO) mode. Moreover, the differentiated warming of AT versus sea surface temperature (SST) under the high pressure anomaly core reduces the air-sea temperature gradient, and subsequently it increases the atmospheric stability above oceans, which is associated with less formation of snow cloud. Comparisons of modeled data between torrent $(1981\sim2000)$ and future $(2081\sim2100)$ periods suggest that the intensified warming with larger anthropogenic greenhouse gas emission in the $21^{st}$ century will amplify the magnitude of these changes. More reduction of snow impossible days as well as more abbreviation of snow seasons is predicted in the $21^{st}$ century.