A study on carbon dioxide emissions from bituminous coal in Korea

Consumption of primary energy in Korea increased 5.25 % per year over a 10 years span starting in 1990. Korea ranked 8th in primary energy consumption in 2011; coal consumption increased 35 % from 87,827 million tons in 2006–119,321 tons in 2010. Heavy energy-consuming countries consistently conduct research to develop an emission factor of Tier 2 level, reflecting the characteristics of the fuel that they use. To calculate the emission factor of bituminous coal for fuel, this study developed emission factor and calculated emission amount by implementing fuel analysis on bituminous coal consumed in Korea between 2007 and 2009. CO₂ emission factor calculated by fuel analysis method is 95,315 kg/TJ, which is 0.75 % higher than the default value suggested by IPCC. The emission amount calculated by using the CO₂ emission factor in this study is 231.881 million tons, which has a difference of 1.739 million tons compared to the IPCC default value.     

Influence of trace element fluxes from submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) on their inventories in coastal waters off volcanic island,Jeju, Korea

The concentrations of trace elements in groundwater and seawater were measured in a coastal embayment (Bangdu Bay) of a volcanic island (Jeju) off the southernmost coast of Korea in August and December of 2009. The concentrations of trace elements (Al, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) in the groundwater in summer were approximately 20-fold higher than those in winter, with good correlation to each other. Overall, the concentrations of most of the trace elements in the groundwater were 3- to 70-fold higher than those in the seawater of this Bay. Simple budget calculations showed that large fluxes of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD)-driven trace elements were responsible for the unusually enhanced concentrations of trace elements (particularly for Al, Fe and Co) in the summer seawater. The results imply that the temporal changes in SGD-driven trace element fluxes are large and may contribute considerably to the budget of trace elements in the coastal ocean, particularly off a highly permeable volcanic island.     

Geological consequences of the Saemangeum Dyke, mid-west coast of korea: A review

The Saemangeum Dyke is located in an estuarine setting, regulated in a complicated manner by a macrotidal regime, rivers, and winter monsoon. Accordingly, the constructed dyke resulted in a variety of artificial changes in geological characteristics in the estuary and its vicinity. To investigate those dyke-induced changes, the KORDI (Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute) performed sedimentological and sediment-dynamical observations from 2002 to 2010. On the basis of the KORDI results, the major geological changes and associated dynamical processes are reviewed. Five phenomena, among others, are focused on: depositional-channel creation; gap-related erosion; forced movements of surface sands; tidal-flat growth inside the dyke; and blanketing of mud over the sandy seafloor. These phenomena were unforeseen before the dyke construction, and reflect that the dyke could cause both erosion and deposition on an estuarine scale. The investigations conclude that the sediments in the dyke-influenced region were derived from the two rivers, Mangyeong and Dongjin, of the estuary. This is completely contrary to the offshore origin proposed before the dyke construction. As a result, the review supports the proposal that a thorough geological investigation and rational forecast is necessary prior to dyke construction to avoid economic loss and a fractious environmental debate.     

Spatial and seasonal variations in the water quality of Jinhae Bay,Korea

The chemical and biological characteristics of surface waters in Jinhae Bay were investigated over four seasons to understand water quality in light of the growing industrialisation occurring within this area. Jinhae Bay includes four smaller bays: Masan; Hangam; Jindong; and Gohyun. The water quality in Jinhae Bay varied spatially and seasonally. The water quality of both Hangam Bay and Masan Bay was highly degraded, demonstrating high concentrations of ammonia, nitrate, chlorophyll a and particulate organic carbon. Contamination from sewage was the dominant cause of the water quality deterioration in these bays. Conversely, the water quality in Jindong Bay and Gohyun Bay was not as severely affected as that of the above two bays. Water quality in Jinhae Bay was particularly poor in summer when nutrient loading was highest due to the run-off associated with high precipitation. Principal component analysis indicated that nitrogen contamination was a major factor influencing the water quality of Jinhae Bay. The effective reduction in high-nitrogen discharges is essential to improve water quality in Jinghae Bay.     

Three species of Ditrichocorycaeus (Copepoda, Cyclopoida, Corycaeidae) from Korean waters, with new identification parameters

Three species of Ditrichocorycaeus [D. dahli (Tanaka, 1957), D. lubbocki (Giesbrecht, 1981), and D. subtilis (Dahl, 1912)] are first redescribed from southern area of Jeju Island, Korea. Morphological details such as mouthparts, ornamentation of genital double-somite, spine lengths of legs, and proportional lengths of caudal setae, are provided as new identification keys separating each species within Ditrichocorycaeus and/or each genus within Corycaeidae. In particular, the number and location of each segment on the body and antenna are re-examined and precisely defined. Also, few valid morphological characters of this genus distinguishing it from other genera are newly proposed as follows: 1) prosomes of both sexes are five-segmented; 2) basis of maxilliped with relatively longer proximal seta than in other genera.     

Morphology and molecular characterization of the epiphytic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum cf. rhathymum in temperate waters off Jeju Island, Korea

Prorocentrum spp. are planktonic and/or benthic species. Benthic Prorocentrum species are of primary concern to scientists and the public because some of them are toxic. We established clonal cultures of 3 strains of Prorocentrum species that were collected from the thalli of a macroalga in the coastal waters off Jeju Island, located at the southern end of Korea. The Korean strains of P. cf. rhathymum, which are morphologically almost identical to the Virgin Island strain of P. rhathymum, were different from P. mexicanum because the former dinoflagellate has one simple collar-like spine in the periflagellar area, while the latter dinoflagellate has a 2- or 3-horned spine. In addition, the sequences of the small subunit (SSU) rDNA of the Korean strains were identical to those of the Malaysian and Floridian strains of P. rhathymum, while the sequences of the large subunit (LSU) rDNA of the Korean strains were 0.1–0.9% different from those of the Iranian and Malaysian strains of P. rhathymum. In phylogenetic trees based on the SSU rDNA sequences, the Korean strains of P. rhathymum formed a clade with the Malaysian and Floridian strains of P. rhathymum and the Vietnamese and Polynesian strains of P. mexicanum. However, in phylogenetic trees based on the LSU rDNA sequences, the Korean strains of P. rhathymum formed a clade with the Iranian strain of P. rhathymum and the Spanish and Mexican strains of P. mexicanum. Therefore, the molecular characterization of the Korean strains does not allow us to clearly classify them as P. rhathymum, nor P. mexicanum, although their morphology has so far been reported to be closer to that of P. rhathymum than P. mexicanum and thus we designated them as P. cf. rhathymum.     

The potential of vegetation feedback to alleviate climate aridity over the United States associated with a 2×CO2 climate condition

This study examines the potential impact of vegetation feedback on changes in summer climate aridity over the contiguous United States (US) due to the doubling of atmospheric CO₂ concentration using a set of 100-year-long climate simulations made by a global climate model interactively coupled with a dynamic vegetation model. The Thornthwaite moisture index (I _m ), which quantifies climate aridity on the basis of atmospheric water supply (i.e., precipitation) and atmospheric water demand (i.e., potential evapotranspiration, PET), is used to measure climate aridity. Warmer atmosphere and drier surface resulting from increased CO₂ concentration increase climate aridity over most of the contiguous US. This phenomenon is due to larger increments in PET than in precipitation, regardless of the presence or absence of vegetation feedback. Compared to simulations without active dynamic vegetation feedback, the presence of vegetation feedback significantly alleviates the increase in aridity. This vegetation-feedback effect is most noticeable in the subhumid regions such as southern, midwestern and northwestern US, primarily by the increasing vegetation greenness. In these regions, the greening in response to warmer temperatures enhances moisture transfer from soil to atmosphere by evapotranspiration (ET). The increased ET and subsequent moistening over land areas result in weaker surface warming (1–2?K) and PET (3–10?mm?month^?1), and greater precipitation (4–10?mm?month^?1). Collectively, they result in moderate increases in I _m . Our results suggest that moistening by enhanced vegetation feedback may prevent aridification under climatic warming especially in areas vulnerable to climate change, with consequent implications for mitigation strategies.