Arctic/North Atlantic atmospheric variability causes Severe PM10 events in South Korea

Jeong-Hun Kim; Maeng-Ki Kim; Seong-Joong Kim; Joo-Hong Kim; Sang-Wook Yeh; Sang-Hyun Lee; Youngseok Lee

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169714

Arctic/North Atlantic atmospheric variability causes Severe PM₁₀ events in South Korea

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Mar 1:914:169714. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169714. Epub 2024 Jan 3.

Authors

Jeong-Hun Kim¹, Maeng-Ki Kim², Seong-Joong Kim³, Joo-Hong Kim³, Sang-Wook Yeh⁴, Sang-Hyun Lee⁵, Youngseok Lee⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Kongju National University, Gongju 32588, Republic of Korea; Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea; Earth Environment Research Center, Kongju National University, Gongju 32588, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Kongju National University, Gongju 32588, Republic of Korea; Particle Pollution Research and Management Center, Gongju 32588, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: mkkim@kongju.ac.kr.
³ Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon 21990, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Marine Science and Convergence Engineering, Hanyang University, Ansan 15588, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Kongju National University, Gongju 32588, Republic of Korea; Particle Pollution Research and Management Center, Gongju 32588, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Kongju National University, Gongju 32588, Republic of Korea.

PMID: 38176554
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169714

Abstract

Severe PM₁₀ (particulate matter with a diameter of <10 μm) events in South Korea are known to be caused by stable atmospheric circulation conditions related to high-pressure anomalies in the upper troposphere. However, research on why these atmospheric circulation patterns occur is unknown. In this study, we propose new large-scale teleconnection pathways that cause severe PM₁₀ events during the midwinter in South Korea. This study investigated instances of extremely high (EH)-PM₁₀ in South Korea during mid-winter and examined the corresponding atmospheric teleconnection patterns to identify the factors contributing to EH-PM₁₀ events. K-means clustering analysis revealed that EH-PM₁₀ instances were associated with two large-scale teleconnection patterns. Cluster 1 exhibited a wave train pattern originating in the North Atlantic that developed from Eurasia to the Korean Peninsula. Cluster 2 was associated with a wave-like teleconnection pattern from the Barents-Kara Sea to the Korean Peninsula. The Rossby waves, triggered by the North Atlantic and the Arctic, propagated and weakened the surface pressure system. This led to a high-pressure anomaly over the Korean Peninsula, reducing atmospheric ventilation and causing a rapid increase in PM₁₀ concentration within a few days. Furthermore, an experiment involving a linear baroclinic model established that atmospheric forcing in upstream regions has the potential to induce large-scale atmospheric teleconnection patterns, resulting in EH-PM₁₀ cases in South Korea. These findings emphasize the ventilation effect and transport of PM₁₀ concentrations modulated by two large-scale teleconnection patterns originating from the Arctic and North Atlantic, leading to EH-PM₁₀ events in South Korea. Understanding this combined phenomenon may assist in the implementation of emission reduction measures based on the results of short-term forecasts of severe PM₁₀ events.

Keywords: Atmospheric stagnant; PM(10) transport; Particulate matter; Severe PM(10) events; Teleconnection; Ventilation effect; Wave propagation.