Determination of moisture index in Korea

Abstract

"This study aimed to obtain basic climate information for effective moisture control in wood in Korea. Two independent climate indexes, namely drying index (DI) and wetting index (WI), were determined using hourly weather data for 82 locations recorded from 2009 to 2017. These data were collected from the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Hourly data had not been measured prior to 2009. DI and WI revealed that all regions were cold and wet except Baengnyeongdo, which was classified as a cold and dry region. DI and WI were normalized assuming that wetting and drying were equally important phenomena. Then, the normalized indexes were combined into moisture index (MI) to rank the moisture loading of the regions. The MIs showed that Seogwipo had the greatest moisture loading in Korea, followed by Seongsan, Namhae, and Geoje. The MIs suggested that Korea exhibited severe moisture loading. Further studies are required to investigate the relation between MI and moisture content on wood surfaces from a wood maintenance point of view. ? 2018, Korean Society of Wood Science Technology. All rights reserved.