The Institute for Social Sciences at Seoul National University hosts monthly seminars every regular semester, inviting newly appointed faculty members and distinguished scholars.

We are pleased to invite you to the first monthly seminar of the Spring 2025 semester:

"After the Relocation of Monitoring Stations: Changes in Fine Particulate Matter Concentrations and Sensitivity of Regional Health Impact Analyses"

Air pollution monitoring stations serve as key data sources for spatiotemporal analyses of fine particulate matter (PM), providing representative measurements for each district. Since the mid-2010s, ongoing debates over station placement have led to numerous relocations, yet follow-up studies on their impact remain scarce.

This seminar will present findings from an analysis of air pollution monitoring station relocations managed by the central and local governments from 2010 to 2023. Using a structural time series model, we estimate concentration changes at both station and district levels before and after relocation. Between 2016 and 2022, the total number of monitoring stations increased, while relocation cases also rose. Among the 93 relocated stations, 30 exhibited statistically significant changes in recorded PM levels.

The seminar will explore how shifts in district-level PM values—caused by station relocations—could potentially affect regional health impact assessments. Additionally, we will discuss the broader implications of tracking spatiotemporal variations in "small" datasets.

Speaker: Professor Insang Song (Department of Geography, College of Social Sciences)
Moderator: Professor Yangmi Koo (Department of Geography, College of Social Sciences)
Date & Time: Friday, April 11, 12:00 – 1:30 PM
Venue: Seminar Room (Bldg. 16, Room M111), Institute of Social Sciences, Seoul National University

Light refreshments will be provided during the seminar.

Inquiries: css@snu.ac.kr / +82-2-880-5475