Analysis of hourly variations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) concentrations affected by regional climates for the period of yellow sandy dusts was carried out from March 31 through April 9, 1993.
The concentration of SO2 at a coastal city, Kangnung city, was much higher than that at an inland city Wonju in the west, but the hourly distributions of SO2 concentrations show a similar tendency at both cities. Under the prevailing synoptic-scale westerly winds blowing over a high Mt. Taegualyang in the west toward Kangnung city in the eastern coastal region, the SO2 at Kangnung is trapped by an easterly sea-breeze during the day and under prevailing easterly winds, it is also isolated by the high wall of Mt. Taegualyang, with its high concentration from 14 to 16 LST.
Furthermore, when the westerly winds were dominent all day long, the high SO2 concentrations at Kangnung were produced by its intrusion from a urban city, Wonju or China in the west into a mountainous coastal city, Kangnung, to some extent, and when the air becomes rapidly cooled down at the clear daytime or the nighttime, their concentrations are also increased by a great amount of heating fuel combustion.
Especilly, its maximum concentrations were shown in Wonju and Kangnung from 08 LST through 10 LST, due to the increase of auto vehicles near the beginning time of office hour and were detected again after sunset due to both increases of vehicles at the end of office hour and heating fuel combustion.
During the period of Yellow Sandy Dusts which are transported from China into Korea, the SO2 concentrations on rainy days at Wonju and Kangnung were much lower than the monthly mean values of SO2, and their low concentrations could be caused by the scavenging process of rain.

• 최효(강릉대학교 대기과학과) | Hyo CHOI