Silver Grasses...and Fine Dust - Yangjaecheon

I recently took a little stroll along Yangjaecheon - something I hadn't done in a while. Terribly preoccupied with school exams among so many things, I had waited an entire week for the day, eagerly anticipating a winter wonderland of snow, ice, evergreen trees and winter birds. To my utter dismay, however, the previous night's news and friends' anxious worries alerted me that the smog of fine particles (atmospheric particulate matter) heading from China would settle over Seoul the next day. I was on the verge of giving it up...but I "triumphantly" strode out into the brilliant winter sunshine (however concentrated the air may be of fine dust). I'm not exactly sure what made me do it, but the biggest reason was that I really wanted to see Yangjaecheon on such a day. It might have been a stupid thing to do, but my carefree and naive self couldn't have cared too much about it.

*      I'm sure most of us are familiar with the health implications that fine particulate air pollution brings. But far less are aware of the particles themselves and the impact they have on the Earth's climate! 
        Atmospheric particulate matter is suspended in the air as atmospheric aerosol. Aerosols are - put simply - a bunch of tiny particles and droplets in the atmosphere. Whereas some are dark-colored, others have shiny surfaces and can reflect the energy from the Sun back to space. Thus, aerosols are capable of imposing a cooling effect on the earth. Note that the the climatic effects happen on a regional scale. (Ex. The failure of the Indian Monsoon is thought to be attributed to the lack of evaporation of water in the Indian Ocean due to anthropogenic aerosol) 
       Volcanoes are a natural source of aerosol - after erupting, there is a temporary cooling effect over the area. Engineers are pondering whether artificial injections of aerosol of similar composition could help curb global warming. However, the effect of atmospheric particulates still remains unclear and so such measures are being debated over.

Ever so different from Summer

I went down by my usual route, and paused before I went under the bridge. I remembered a picture I had taken last summer of the same place (on blog post  'The Sunflowers of Yanjaecheon' http://ecoheal-ing.blogspot.kr/2013_08_01_archive.html) This time, there were no mothers heading down with their babies in prams; fine particles are especially harmful for babies' health. Even with the sunshine, it felt cold with the branches dry and bare and few hanging leaves parched and shriveled. 

Something nostalgic in how
the tree held itself

A maple tree was almost a rusty brown. It still seemed beautiful to me. The majority of leaves above were completely dried up, yet there was that new shade of scarlet among other leaves - something between copper, henna and russet. With an intensity that only time can give, there was something nostalgic in how the tree held itself, not letting go of its leaves when its colors were fading away.

Looking a little hazy, maybe?

As I walked along the stream, I noticed that not many people were around. The image of invisible dust diffusing through my arterioles and bronchioles flashed. The sky didn't seem too different  - I could still see the clear sky-blue and birds flying past. The buildings seemed a little hazier than usual, but that was the only difference I could feel.











Suddenly, I held my breath.

A sea of Lilliputian fluffs - from café-au-lait beige to shimmering pale grey - rippled before me. The stalks were almost of a coppery tan, yet the silky flowers were of a pearly glow. Waves went through hundreds of Miscanthus sinensus (Eulalia grass, maiden grass, zebra grass, porcupine grass) each time wind blew. The cold gust of air was stinging against my flushed cheeks, yet the flowers gracefully swayed, sending troughs and crests through . Their satiny fibers evoked warmth and affection, startlingly distant from the harsh weather. 

 I went to Yangjaecheon anticipating something that only winter can give, and I was right.  It wasn't exactly what I hoped it would be, nor could I be completely relaxed breathing in the contaminated air. But the silvery grasses made up for it. Totally.

As I type the last few words for this blog post, I'm only a quarter away from the beginning of 2014 in local time!

Happy New Year, everyone! 
More refreshing posts and updates are to come!