High-Concentration Fine Dust from China Caught by Cheollian Satellite [Reading Science]

KARI Presents 'Evidence' with World's First Geostationary Satellite Atmospheric Monitoring Images

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] For the first time, 'definitive evidence' that high concentrations of fine dust originating from China are flowing into Korea has been captured in real-time by a satellite developed by Korea. This is evidence that the Chinese authorities, who had denied responsibility despite the satellite being built at a cost of hundreds of billions of won, can no longer refute.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) revealed satellite images of springtime fine dust inflow from China taken by the Chollian Satellite 2B on the 29th of last month via their blog. The images clearly show high concentrations of fine dust originating from northern China, marked in red, flooding towards Korea. Until now, Chinese authorities have avoided demands for countermeasures by claiming there is no evidence that they are responsible for the high levels of fine dust affecting Koreans.

Virtual image of Cheollian Satellite 2B. Photo by Korea Aerospace Research Institute blog

The Chollian Satellite 2B, developed by KARI and launched in February 2020, is the world's first geostationary orbit environmental monitoring satellite. Positioned in a geostationary orbit at an altitude of 36,000 km, it can observe the atmospheric and oceanic conditions of the entire East Asia region six times in winter and ten times in summer in real-time. Previously, atmospheric and ocean monitoring satellites operated in low Earth orbit (700?1000 km), allowing only one observation per day. The Chollian Satellite 2B is placed in a geostationary orbit (GEO) moving at the same rotational speed as the Earth, enabling continuous 24-hour monitoring of the Korean Peninsula area. It began full-scale service in June last year and is expected to operate effectively for about ten years.

Ozone conditions over East Asia captured by the Cheollian Satellite 2B. High concentrations of ozone are occurring in the Manchuria region of China and east of Japan, posing a threat to the Korean Peninsula. Photo by Korea Aerospace Research Institute blog.

The Chollian Satellite 2B was developed with an investment of 318 billion won and is equipped with the precision atmospheric environment monitoring instrument 'GEMS' (Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer) and the ocean observation instrument 'GOCI-II' (Geostationary Ocean Color Imager-II). It detects over 20 types of atmospheric pollutants, including fine dust, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, ozone, aerosols, and other substances that cause climate change. The ocean payload provides 26 types of information such as red tides, floating algae, sea fog, and sea ice occurring within Korean territorial waters.

KARI also released images capturing high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide emissions from major East Asian metropolitan areas, industrial zones, and coal-fired power plants in Korea, China, and Japan. Included are scenes of high concentrations of sulfur dioxide gas flowing towards Korea during the eruption of the Nishinoshima volcano in Japan in August last year. There are also images showing high concentrations of ozone layers observed in the Manchuria region of China and eastern Japan.

Observation image of nitrogen dioxide concentration over East Asia captured by the Cheollian Satellite 2B. It shows that nitrogen dioxide levels, an air pollutant, are high in metropolitan areas, industrial zones, and thermal power plant regions. Photo by Korea Aerospace Research Institute blog