scholarly journals The Effect of Reduced Flow on Downstream Water Systems Due to the Kumgangsan Dam under Dry Conditions

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee ◽  
Lee ◽  
Lee ◽  
Choi ◽  
Yang ◽  
...  

Water resource disputes for Transboundary Rivers are frequent and critical issues among countries. The Kumgangsan Dam was constructed (in North Korea) in the Transboundary River (North Han river) that affects the water resources downstream (in South Korea) of the dam. The amount of water resource (e.g., streamflow, discharge) downstream of the Kumgangsan dam has decreased after the dam construction which might cause decreased hydroelectric power and water pollution in the downstream dams, especially during the dry season. Thus, this study analyzed the changes in the inflow into the Euiam Lake (North Han River) by the construction of the Kumgangsan Dam through hydrological modeling and examined the discharge of Chuncheon Dam (inflow into Euiam Lake) considering the flow control in the Kumgangsan Dam under the dry condition scenario. In addition, the changes of base flow during different seasons were analyzed because the majority of streamflow is contributed by the base flow during dry and drought seasons. As shown in the results, it was found that the discharge from the Kumgangsan Dam has a wide effect on the downstream dams located in South Korea. The inflow of downstream dams was significantly influenced by the discharge of the upstream dam, and the base flow was also affected by the decreased discharge of dams. Based on these findings, upstream dam managements should be carefully considered to maintain the water resource and aquatic ecosystem for the downstream dam watershed. Furthermore, the results of this study can be used as the preliminary information when discussing the problems of water allocation and flood prevention with North Korea.

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sang Kim ◽  
Xiao Yu

Water resource planning in a trans-boundary river basin is complex because of different institutional and scientific concerns and it may become increasingly difficult as a consequence of water scarcity caused by climate change. The analysis of discharge variations in a trans-boundary river basin is very important because the results can be key to resolve complex problems including decreased hydropower generation, degraded water quality, and deficient water supplies. Despite its importance, there are relatively few studies dealing with hydrological variation in a trans-boundary river basin. Therefore, this study used the hydrological sensitivity method to identify the discharge variation in the Hwacheon dam upper basin, a representative trans-boundary river basin between South Korea and North Korea. This particular basin was selected because the inflow into the Hwacheon dam in South Korea has decreased significantly after the construction of the Imnam dam in North Korea in 2000. The hydrological sensitivity method is a simple approach to analyze variations in discharge. After collecting 51 years (1967–2017) of rainfall and inflow data, a change point that represents an abrupt change in the time series was detected by using moving average, double-mass curve analysis, Pettitt’s test, and Bayesian change-point analysis. The change point detected by these methods was 1999. The hydrological sensitivity method using five Budyko-based functions was applied to a time series divided into before and after the detected change point. The average decrease after 1999 was 464.91 mm/y (or 1899 × 106 m3/y). Also, the maximum and minimum decreases after 1999 were 515.24 mm/y (or 2105 × 106 m3/y) and 435.32 mm/y (or 1778 × 106 m3/y), respectively. Because of the increase in rainfall and the decrease in inflow since 2000, the values determined in this study are slightly larger than those from conventional studies. Finally, it is suggested that the results from this study can be used effectively to establish reasonable water resource planning in the trans-boundary river basin between South Korea and North Korea.


Transfers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 99-108
Author(s):  
Jooyoung Kim ◽  
Taehee Kim ◽  
Jinhyoung Lee ◽  
Inseop Shin

This think piece approaches urban travel from a mobility humanities perspective, using the example of Seoul, South Korea, a leading metropolis in Asia. The article demonstrates three modes of interpreting urban travel in Seoul: (1) representation by means of mobile video technologies embodying a paradoxical relationship of powers; (2) literary imagination confining a possible mobile community in a restricted region; and (3) philosophical speculation presenting “crossing the Han River” as a spiritual and emotional reproduction of the connection between, and consequential rupture of, heterogeneous territories. The article pays particular attention to the represented, imagined, and speculated dimensions of urban travel, which is understood as a physically practiced and cognitively elaborated production, rather than a predefined movement per se.


1999 ◽  
Vol 39 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 353-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gideon Tredoux ◽  
Peter King ◽  
Lisa Cavé

The Atlantis Water Resource Management Scheme uses artificial recharge of urban stormwater and treated wastewater to augment the natural groundwater resource. The key to the success of the scheme is the fractionation of the stormwater into components of distinctly different quality, and the separate treatment of domestic and industrial wastewater for different end-uses. The groundwater exploitation strategy is largely controlled by water quality requirements. Reuse of domestic and industrial wastewater depends on quality parameters. Tertiary treated domestic effluent is destined for indirect reuse via the aquifer, while treated industrial wastewater is used together with spent regenerant brine and stormwater from the noxious trade area for preventing seawater intrusion. Both residential and industrial stormwater is separated into the base flow and storm flow components and utilised for various purposes. The sustainable operation of the water resource scheme serves as a prototype for the optimal use of water and protection of the environment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongjoo Choi ◽  
Yugo Kanaya ◽  
Seung-Myung Park ◽  
Atsushi Matsuki ◽  
Yasuhiro Sadanaga ◽  
...  

Abstract. The black carbon (BC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emission ratios were estimated and compiled from long-term, harmonized observations of the ΔBC∕ΔCO ratios under conditions unaffected by wet deposition at four sites in East Asia, including two sites in South Korea (Baengnyeong and Gosan) and two sites in Japan (Noto and Fukuoka). Extended spatio-temporal coverage enabled estimation of the full seasonality and elucidation of the emission ratio in North Korea for the first time. The estimated ratios were used to validate the Regional Emission inventory in ASia (REAS) version 2.1 based on six study domains (“East China”, “North China”, “Northeast China”, South Korea, North Korea, and Japan). We found that the ΔBC∕ΔCO ratios from four sites converged into a narrow range (6.2–7.9 ng m−3 ppb−1), suggesting consistency in the results from independent observations and similarity in source profiles over the regions. The BC∕CO ratios from the REAS emission inventory (7.7 ng m−3 ppb−1 for East China – 23.2 ng m−3 ppb−1 for South Korea) were overestimated by factors of 1.1 for East China to 3.0 for South Korea, whereas the ratio for North Korea (3.7 ng m−3 ppb−1 from REAS) was underestimated by a factor of 2.0, most likely due to inaccurate emissions from the road transportation sector. Seasonal variation in the BC∕CO ratio from REAS was found to be the highest in winter (China and North Korea) or summer (South Korea and Japan), whereas the measured ΔBC∕ΔCO ratio was the highest in spring in all source regions, indicating the need for further characterization of the seasonality when creating a bottom-up emission inventory. At levels of administrative districts, overestimation in Seoul, the southwestern regions of South Korea, and Northeast China was noticeable, and underestimation was mainly observed in the western regions in North Korea, including Pyongyang. These diagnoses are useful for identifying regions where revisions in the inventory are necessary, providing guidance for the refinement of BC and CO emission rate estimates over East Asia.


2001 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei N. Lankov

This article, based on newly declassified material from the Russian archives, deals with the fate of non-Communist parties in North Korea in the 1950s. Like the “people's democracies” in Eastern Europe, North Korea had (and still technically has) a few non-Communist parties. The ruling Communist party included these parties within the framework of a “united front,” designed to project the facade of a multiparty state, to control domestic dissent, and to establish links with parties in South Korea. The article traces the history of these parties under Soviet and local Communist control from the mid-1940s to their gradual evisceration in the 1950s.


Asian Survey ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-110
Author(s):  
Gi-Wook Shin ◽  
Rennie J. Moon

President Park faced a leadership crisis after revelations that she relied on a confidant with no official position for key decision-making in state affairs. Heavy industry met with serious financial difficulties, and a strong anti-corruption law was enacted. North Korea tested more nuclear weapons and missiles. Controversy over the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense strained South Korea’s relations with China.


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