Constructing rainfall depth-frequency curves considering a linear trend in rainfall observations

Comprehensive flood prevention plans are established in large basins to cope with recent abnormal floods in South Korea. In order to make economically effective plans, appropriate design rainfalls are critically determined from the rainfall depth-frequency curves which take the occurrence of abnormal floods into consideration. Conventional approaches to construct the rainfall depth-frequency curves are based on the stationarity assumption. However, this assumption has a critical weak aspect in that it cannot reflect non-stationarities in rainfall observations. As an alternative, this study suggests the non-stationary Gumbel model (NSGM) which incorporates a linear trend of rainfall observations into rainfall frequency analysis to construct the rainfall depth-frequency curves. A comparison of various schemes employed in the model found that the proposed NSGM permits the estimation of the distribution parameters even when shifted in the future by using linear relationships between rainfall statistics and distribution parameters, and produces more acceptable estimates of design rainfalls in the future than the conventional model. The NSGM was applied at several stations in South Korea and then expected the design rainfalls to increase by up to 15–30% in 2050.     

Structural changes in macrozoobenthic communities due to summer hypoxia in Gamak Bay,Korea

The purpose of this study was to examine the structural changes that macrozoobenthic communities underwent as a result of the annual summer hypoxia at the northern part of Gamak Bay, Korea. During this study period, summer hypoxia occurred at the northern part of Gamak Bay in July. Under hypoxic conditions, both the number of species and population density decreased rapidly. Species diversity also manifested lower values during this hypoxic period. Faunal composition changed seasonally with Capitella capitata dominant at the hypoxic sites in spring but disappearing in summer. The health condition of the benthic faunal community assessed by the composition of functional groups within community also changed due to the summer hypoxia from a slightly polluted condition to a highly polluted condition. From these results it has been shown that the recent macrozoobenthic community structure in Gamak Bay has returned to a state similar to what it was before dredging works commenced.     

Understanding of the Common Land Model performance for water and energy fluxes in a farmland during the growing season in Korea

The Common Land Model (CLM) is one of the most widely used land surface models (LSMs) due to the practicality of its simple parameterization scheme and its versatility in embracing a variety of field datasets. The improved assessment of land surface water and energy fluxes using CLM can be an alternative approach for understanding the complex land–atmosphere interactions in data‐limited regions. The understanding of water and energy cycles in a farmland is crucial because it is a dominant land feature in Korea and Asia. However, the applications of CLM to farmland in Korea are in paucity. The simulations of water and energy fluxes by CLM were conducted against those from the tower‐based measurements during the growing season of 2006 at the Haenam site (a farmland site) in Korea without optimization. According to the International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme (IGBP) land cover classification, a homogeneous cropland was selected initially for this study. Although the simulated soil moisture had a similar pattern to that of the observed, the former was relatively drier (at 0·1 m³ m^?3) than the latter. The simulated net radiation showed good agreement with the observed, with a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 41 W m^?2, whereas relatively large discrepancies between the simulation and observation were found in sensible (RMSE of 66 W m^?2) and latent (RMSE of 60 W m^?2) heat fluxes. On the basis of the sensitivity analysis, soil moisture was more receptive to land cover and soil texture parameterizations when compared to soil temperature and turbulent fluxes. Despite the uncertainty in the predictive capability of CLM employed without optimization, the initial performance of CLM suggests usefulness in a data‐limited heterogeneous farmland in Korea. Further studies are required to identify the controls on water and energy fluxes with an improved parameterization. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temporal dynamics of phytoplankton communities in a semi-enclosed mariculture pond and their responses to environmental factors

Variations in physical-chemical factors, species composition, abundance and biomass of nano- and micro-phytoplankton assemblages, as well as their responses to environmental factors, were investigated over a complete cycle (6 months) in a semi-enclosed shrimp-farming pond near Qingdao, northern China. The aim was to establish the temporal patterns of phytoplankton communities and to evaluate protists as suitable bioindicators to water quality in mariculture systems. A total of 34 taxa with nine dominant species were identified, belonging to six taxonomic groups (dinoflagellates, diatoms, cryptophyceans, chlorophyceans, euglenophyceans and chrysophyceans). A single peak of protist abundance occurred in October, mainly due to chlorophyceans, diatoms and chrysophyceans. Two biomass peaks in July and October were primarily due to dinoflagellates and diatoms. Temporal patterns of the phytoplankton communities significantly correlated with the changes in nutrients, temperature and pH, especially phosphate, either alone or in combination with NO₃-N and NH₃-N. Species diversity, evenness and richness indices were clearly correlated with water temperature and/or salinity, whereas the biomass/abundance ratio showed a significant correlation with NO₃-N. The results suggest that phytoplankton are potentially useful bioindicators to water quality in semi-enclosed mariculture systems.     

Application of bivariate frequency analysis to the derivation of rainfall–frequency curves

Bivariate distributions have been recently employed in hydrologic frequency analysis to analyze the joint probabilistic characteristics of multivariate storm events. This study aims to derive practical solutions of application for the bivariate distribution to estimate design rainfalls corresponding to the desired return periods. Using the Gumbel mixed model, this study constructed rainfall–frequency curves at sample stations in Korea which provide joint relationships between amount, duration, and frequency of storm events. Based on comparisons and analyses of the rainfall–frequency curves derived from univariate and bivariate storm frequency analyses, this study found that conditional frequency analysis provides more appropriate estimates of design rainfalls as it more accurately represents the natural relationship between storm properties than the conventional univariate storm frequency analysis.     

Understanding the statistical properties of the percent model affinity index can improve biomonitoring related decision making

The percent model affinity (PMA) index is used to measure the similarity of two probability profiles representing, for example, an ideal profile (i.e. reference condition) and a monitored profile (i.e. possibly impacted condition). The goal of this work is to study the effects of sample size, evenness, true value of the index and number of classes on the statistical properties of the estimator of the PMA index. We derive and extend previous formulas of the expectation and variance of the estimator for estimated monitored profile and fixed reference profile. Using the obtained extension, we find that the estimator is asymptotically unbiased, converging faster when the profiles differ. When both profiles are estimated, we calculate the expectation using transformation rules for expectation and in addition derive the formula for the estimator’s variance. Since the computation of the probabilities in the variance formula is slow, we study the behavior of the variance with simulation experiments and assess whether it could be approximated with the variance for the fixed reference profile. Finally, we provide a set of recommendations for the users of the PMA index to avoid the most common caveats of the index.     

Probabilistic seismic performance assessment of lap-spliced RC columns retrofitted by steel wrapping jackets

In this study, the seismic fragility curves of two reinforced concrete (RC) columns that were lap-spliced at the bottom and retrofitted with steel wrapping jackets were generated. Their seismic performance was probabilistically assessed in comparison to that of lap-spliced or continuous reinforcement RC columns. This study used two types of steel wrapping jackets, a full jacket and a split jacket. Analytical models of the four types of columns were developed based on the experimental results of the columns using OpenSEES, which is effective in conducting nonlinear time history analyses. A suite of ten artificial ground motions, modified from recorded ground motions, was used to perform nonlinear time history analyses of the analytical models with scaling of the peak ground acceleration from 0.1 g to 1.0 g in increments of 0.1 g. The steel wrapping jackets did not increase the medians for yield (slight damage state) of the lap-spiced column and did not exceed the corresponding median of the continuous reinforcement column. However, the two steel jackets increased the medians for failure by 1.872 and 2.017 times, respectively, and exceeded the corresponding median of the continuous reinforcement column by 11.8% and 20.5%, respectively.     

Conservation of Korean Rural Heritage through the Use of Ecomuseums

Rural heritage that involves agricultural heritage could be critical to enhancing community identity through a conservational approach. The purpose of this research is to develop conservational methods for rural heritage that include agricultural heritage areas through the use of ecomuseums. To conduct the research, we first reviewed the concepts of ecomuseum and rural heritage. Secondly, we defined the concept of the Korean rural ecomuseum by taking into consideration the concept defined by Riviere, Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), the rural heritage policy of Europe, and the agricultural heritage systems of Korea. Thirdly, we also describe methods that are applicable to Korean rural ecomuseums, which include type classification and components. Finally, we applied the ecomuseum concept to two pilot models in the Cheongsando and Gurae areas, both Korea Important Agricultural Heritage System (KIAHS) sites. We conclude that it is desirable to expand the range of targets for conservation from agricultural heritage to rural heritage areas. From this point of view, the rural ecomuseum can be a highly valuable tool that can help preserve agricultural heritage sites and neighboring areas. Furthermore, the ecomuseum can enhance community identities, and strengthen local economies.     

Anomalous change in atmospheric radon concentration sourced from broad crustal deformation: A case study of the 1995 Kobe earthquake

Before the Kobe earthquake, an anomalous increase in atmospheric Rn concentration was observed. By separating the measured concentration of atmospheric Rn into three components according to the distance from the monitoring station, the variation of Rn exhalation rate can be estimated for the respective area using the daily minimum and maximum concentrations. The mean rate of Rn exhalation gradually increased in an area of 20 km around the monitoring station, becoming five times higher than normal in the period between October 1994 and the date of the earthquake. This area had a large co-seismic displacement of up to 30 cm, which roughly corresponds to the crustal strain of 10⁻⁶-order, and it is considered the main source for the atmospheric Rn prior to the Kobe earthquake. Analyses revealed that the pre-seismic change in the atmospheric Rn concentration exhibited an anomalous pattern which would yield information on the spatial distribution of the mechanical response of the ground.     

Increased As load to the Uchen stream due to mine drainage and soils in the abandoned Kangwon mining district of Korea

To determine the appropriate allocation of resources for the future restoration of the abandoned mining district of Kangwon in Korea, identification of the main pollutants and the main sources discharging these pollutants is crucial. Therefore, a 2-year study was undertaken to quantify the amount of pollutants in the Uchen stream (a potential sink for contamination), which runs through the district, and to determine the potential sources of these pollutants, including mine drainage and soil. Arsenic (As) was the main pollutant in mine drainage and soils showing concentrations above the Korean regulated standard levels of 50 μg L⁻¹ and 50 mg kg⁻¹ for water and soil, respectively. In addition, the pollution index (PI) showed that mine drainages were polluted by As to a moderate (2 ≤ PI < 3) or strong (4 ≤ PI < 5) degree. Consequently, As load in mine drainage and soil contributed to increased amounts of As in the stream. The As loads in mine drainages (11 and 587 g month⁻¹ for mine adit 1 and 2, respectively) accounted for only 9% of the total As load to the stream (6,378 g month⁻¹); and the influence of mine drainages on As contents in the stream was more reliant on the total volume of mine drainage generated rather than the As concentration in the mine drainage. Approximately 91% of the As in the stream was derived from the soils within the study area.