이 연구에서는 TEC-BNR공법을 사용하는 하수처리장에서 강수발생시와 같은 저농도 유입수에, 하수처리장의 생슬러지, 분뇨처리수, 그리고 음식물 쓰레기 처리액을 산발효하여 생성된 유기산을 외부탄소원으로 투입하였을 때, 비탈질율과 인방출율의 변화를 정량적으로 측정하였다. 이 연구에 의하면 산발효액 투입하였을 때 평균 비탈질율은 산발효액의 투입율이 0.5%일 때 215%, 투입율이 1%일 때는 169% 증가하였고, 평균 인방출양은 산발효액의 투입율이 0.5%일 때 46%, 투입율이 1%일 때는 63%로 증가하는 것으로 밝혀졌다. 또한 이 연구의 결과를 통하여 탈질에 이용된 VFA양(12.6∼32.3 mgVFA/mgNO₃-N)과 인방출에 이용된 VFA양(1.7∼2.4 mgVFA/mgPO₄-P)도 계산할 수 있었다. 이 연구의 결과를 활용하면 하수처리장에서 저농도 유입수에 산발효액을 외부탄소원으로 사용할 경우, 탈질과 인 제거를 최적화하기 위한 산발효액(VFA)의 양을 정량화할 수 있을 것으로 생각된다.

BaCeO3를 첨가하여 용융공정으로 제조한 단결정형 YBa2Cu3Ox</TEX>(1-2-3) 초전도체의 온도에 대한 자화특성을 연구하였다. 고상반응법과 용융공정으로 0에서 30wt% BaCeO3를 1-2-3 결정내에 미세 분산시켰다. 초전도체의 자화특성은 VSM(vibrating sample magnetometer)을 사용하여 77K, 60K, 40K와 20K, 2 Tesla 자장범위에서 측정하였다. BaCeO3를 첨가하지 않은 겨우나 5wt% BaCeO3를 첨가한 1-2-3 결정의 경우, 77K, 외부자장이 증가시 자화율 차이가 증가하는 비정상 자화특성이 관찰된다. 측정온도가 60K에서는 제2차 최대점이 나타나는 자장값이 고자장쪽으로 이동한다. 20K와 40K의 저온에서는 비정상자화특성이 2 T의 자장범위까지 관찰되지 않았다. 15wt%와 20wt% BaCeO3첨가한 시편에서는 자장이 증가하면 자화율차이가 단순히 감소한다. Y-Ba-Cu-O의 flux pinning 기구를 BaCeO3첨가에 의한 미세조직변화로 설명하였다.

Recent studies have suggested that detectable ionospheric disturbances precede earthquakes. In the present study, variations in the vertical total electron content (TEC) for eight earthquakes with magnitudes of M ≥ 5.5 in the western United States were investigated during the solar maximum of 2013–2015 using United States total electron content (US-TEC) data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Analyses of 12 earthquakes with magnitudes of 5.0 ≤ M < 5.5 in the same region were also performed. The TEC variations were examined for 40 days, including the times when the earthquakes occurred. The results indicated a correlation between earthquakes with magnitudes of M ≥ 5.0 and ionospheric TEC anomalies. TEC anomalies occurred before 60% of the earthquakes. Additionally, they were more frequently observed for large earthquakes (75%, M ≥ 5.5) than for small earthquakes (50%, 5.5 > M ≥ 5.0). Anomalous increases in the TEC occurred 2–18 days before the earthquakes as an ionospheric precursor, whereas solar and geomagnetic activities were low or moderate.

As a part of collaborative efforts to understand ionospheric irregularities, the Korea ionospheric scintillation sites (KISS) network has been built based on global positioning system (GPS) receivers with sampling rates higher than 1 Hz. We produce the rate of TEC index (ROTI) to represent GPS TEC fluctuations related to ionospheric irregularities. In the KISS network, two ground-based GPS sites at Kiruna (marker: KIRN; geographic: 67.9° N, 21.4° E; geomagnetic: 65.2° N) and Chuuk (marker: CHUK; geographic: 7.5° N, 151.9° E; geomagnetic: 0.4° N) were selected to evaluate the ROTI value for ionospheric irregularities during the occurrence of the 2015 St. Patrick’s Day storm. The KIRN ROTI values in the aurora region appear to be generally much higher than the CHUK ROTI values in the EIA region. The CHUK ROTI values increased to ~0.5 TECU/min around UT=13:00 (LT=23:00) on March 16 in the quiet geomagnetic condition. On March 17, 2015, CHUK ROTI values more than 1.0 TECU/min were measured between UT=9:00 and 12:00 (LT=19:00 and 22:00) during the first main phase of the St. Patrick’s Day storm. This may be due to ionospheric irregularities by increased pre-reversal enhancement (PRE) after sunset during the geomagnetic storm. Post-midnight, the CHUK ROTI showed two peaks of ~0.5 TECU/min and ~0.3 TECU/min near UT=15:00 (LT=01:00) and UT=18:00 (LT=04:00) at the second main phase. The KIRN site showed significant peaks of ROTI around geomagnetic latitude=63.3° N and MLT=15:40 on the same day. These can be explained by enhanced ionospheric irregularities in the auroral oval at the maximum of AE index

Using the Total Electron Content (TEC) data from the Global Navigation Service System (GNSS) site in Jeju, operated by the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (geographic location: 33.3° N, 126.5° E; geomagnetic location: 23.6° N) for 2002– 2014 in Korea, the results of the statistical analysis of positive and negative ionospheric storms are presented for the first time. In this paper, ionospheric storms are defined as turbulences that exceed 50% of the percentage differential Global Positioning System (GPS) TEC ratio (ΔTEC) with monthly median GPS TEC. During the period of observations, the total number of positive ionospheric storms (ΔTEC > 50%) was 170, which is greater than five times the number of negative ionospheric storms (ΔTEC < - 50%) of 33. The numbers of ionospheric storms recorded during solar cycles 23 and 24 were 134 and 69, respectively. Both positive and negative ionospheric storms showed yearly variation with solar activity during solar cycle 23, but during solar cycle 24, the occurrence of negative ionospheric storms did not show any particular trend with solar activity. This result indicates that the ionosphere is actively perturbed during solar cycle 23, whereas it is relatively quiet during solar cycle 24. The monthly variations of the ionospheric storms were not very clear although there seems to be stronger occurrence during solstice than during equinox. We also investigated the variations of GPS positioning accuracy caused by ionospheric storms during November 7–10, 2004. During this storm period, the GPS positioning accuracies from a single frequency receiver are 3.26 m and 2.97 m on November 8 and 10, respectively, which is much worse than the quiet conditions on November 7 and 9 with the accuracy of 1.54 m and 1.69 m, respectively.

Ionosphere is one of the largest error sources when the navigational signals produced by Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites are transmitted. Therefore it is very important to estimate total electron contents (TEC) in ionosphere precisely for navigation, precise positioning and some other applications. When we provide ionospheric TEC values in real-time, its application can be expanded to other areas. In this study we have used data obtained from nine Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reference stations which have been operated by Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) to detect ionospheric TEC over South Korea in real-time. We performed data processing that covers converting 1Hz raw data delivered from GNSS reference stations to Receiver INdependent Exchange (RINEX) format files at intervals of 5 minutes. We also analyzed the elevation angles of GPS satellites, vertical TEC (VTEC) values and their changes.