• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.183-197
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• 2022

Geochemical data, including Sr-Nd-Pb-Mg-Zn isotopes, reported on the late Cenozoic intraplate basaltic rocks in the Korean Peninsula (Mt. Baekdu, Jeongok, Baengnyeong Island, Pyeongtaek, Asan, Ganseong, Ulleung Island, Dok Island, and Jeju Island) are summarized to constrain their mantle source lithologies, and the nature of mantle end-members required. In the Sr-Nd isotope correlation diagram, Jeju basalts plot in the field of EM2-type oceanic island basalts (OIB), while the other basalts fall in the EM1-type OIB field. In Pb-Pb isotope space, Jeju basalts show a mixing array between Indian MORB and EM2 component, whereas the other basalts display an array with EM1 component. The Korean basalts were derived from a hybrid source of garnet lherzolite and recycled stagnant slab materials (eclogite/pyroxenite, pelagic sediments, carbonates) in the mantle transition zone. The EM1 component could be ancient (~2.0 Ga) K-hollandite-bearing pelagic sediments that were isolated for a long period in the mantle transition zone due to their neutral buoyancy. The EM2 component might have been relatively young (probably Pacific slab) and recently recycled clay-rich pelagic sediments. Eclogite and carbonates are unlikely to account for the EM components, but they are common in the mantle source of the Korean basalts.

• Journal of the Geological Society of Korea
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.657-675
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• 2018

The apparent thickening of the subducting slab in the shallow lower mantle has been attributed to slab buckling. However, the scaling laws have not been quantitatively evaluated for the buckling behavior of the subducting slab when phase transformations are considered. Thus, two-dimensional dynamic subduction experiments are formulated to evaluate the effect of phase transformations on the buckling behavior of the subducting slab. The model calculations show that the phase transformation from olivine to wadsleyite at a depth of 410 km plays an important role in the development of slab buckling; increased slab pull due to the endothermic phase transformation accelerates slab sinking in the upper mantle and the subducting slab reaches the lower mantle in a shorter time than that of the experiments without the phase transformation. However, the phase transformation from ringwoodite to perovskite plus $magnesiow{\ddot{u}}stite$ at a depth of 660 km retards slab sinking into the lower mantle and the subducting slab tends to be accumulated in the transformation (transition) zone. Buckling analyses show that the scaling laws predict the buckling amplitude and period of the subducting slab with small relative errors even if the phase transformations are considered. The universal phenomenon of the slab buckling can explain apparent slab thickening in the shallow lower mantle and transformation zone under the subduction zones such as Java-Sunda and Northeast Japan. In addition, the buckling behavior of the subducting slab may be related to the periodic compressions and extensions in the Cretaceous Gyeongsang basin.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.161-169
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• 2003

A phase transformation study on a synthetic amorphous diopside, $(Ca,Mg)SiO_3$has been carried out up to ∼30 GPa, and ∼$1000^{\circ}C$ using a diamond anvil cell and YAG laser heating system, respectively. A starting amorphous material shows a direct transition to cubic $(Ca,Mg)SiO_3$perovskite at high pressure, which contradicts to the crystalline diopside phase transformation sequence disproportionating into mixtures of the orthorhombic$ MgSiO_3$perovskite and the cubic $CaSiO_3$perovskite phases. This discrepancy might be due to the different starting materials as well as the temperature variations at each specific experiment performed. The present phase transfor mation sequence would modify the mineralogical assemblage in the Earth transition region and the lower mantle depending upon the pressure, temperature and the oxygen partial pressure.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2024

The Melanesian region in the western Pacific is dominated by complex plate tectonics, with the largest oceanic plateau, the OntongJava plateau, and a hotspot, the Caroline Islands. To better understand the complex geodynamics of the region, we estimate P- and S-velocity models and 𝛿 (V_P/V_S) model by using relative teleseismic travel times measured at seismometers on land and the seafloor. Our results show high-velocity anomalies in the subduction zones of the Melanesian region to a depth of about 400 km, which is thought to be subducting Solomon Sea, Bismarck, and Australian plates along plate boundaries. Along subduction zones, positive 𝛿 (V_P/V_S) anomalies are found, which may be caused by partial melting due to dehydration. A broad high-velocity anomaly is observed at 600 km depth below the Ontong-Java plateau, with a negative 𝛿 (V_P/V_S) anomaly. This is thought to be a viscous and dry remnant of the Pacific plate that subducted at 45-25 Ma, with a low volume of fluids due to dehydration for a long period in the mantle transition zone. Beneath the Caroline Islands, a strong low-velocity anomaly is obseved to a depth of 800 km and appears to be connected to the underside of the remnant Pacific plate in the mantle transition zone. This suggests that the mantle plume originating in the lower mantle has been redirected due to the interaction with the remnant Pacific plate and has reached its current location. The mantle plume also has a positive 𝛿 (V_P/V_S) anomaly, which is thought to be due to the influence of embedded fluids or partial melting. A high-velocity anomaly, interpreted as an effect of the thick lithosphere beneath the Ontong-Java plateau, is observed down to 300 km depth with a negative 𝛿 (V_P/V_S) anomaly, which likely indicate that little fluid remains in the melt residue accumulated in the lithosphere.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 2017

We performed seismic imaging based on relative S-wave travel times to examine S-wave velocity of upper mantle structure beneath East Asia. We used teleseismic events recorded at 129 broadband stations of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), and National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED). Relative travel time residuals were obtained by a multi-channel cross-correlation method designed to automatically determine accurate relative phase arrival times. The resulting images show high-velocity anomalies along plate boundaries around the Japanese islands region. These anomalies may indicate subducting Pacific and Philippine Sea plates. On the other hand, a low-velocity anomaly is revealed beneath east of the Korean peninsula down to around 300 km depth, which is thought to be related to the formation of the Ulleung basin and the Ulleung island. Low-velocity anomalies revealed beneath the Jeju island may imply that the formation and volcanism of the Jeju island have been caused by magmatic sources from the deep mantle.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.201-208
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• 2004

$CaSiO_3$-garnet phase was observed in the phase transformation sequences on a natural hedenbergite, (Ca, Fe)$ SiO_3$ between 14 and 24 GPa when quenched from $～1200^{\circ}C$. Bulk modulus K = 155 GPa, $V_{\Phi}$ = 6.58 km/sec and other elastic properties of the $CaSiO_3$-garnet were obtaiend on the basis of the systematics of structural analogs in varius garnet phases and relationship of $KV_{m}$ = constant and $V_{\Phi}$$M^{$\frac{1}{2}$}$ = constant. The quenchable garnet phase apears to be stabilized by the considerable amount of Mn and other cations, and shows a wide stability range. As one of the host minerals of Ca composition, $CaSiO_3$-garnet would be one of the important mineral phases in the mantle transition region.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.365-384
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• 2023

We applied the partitioned waveform inversion to 2,026 event data recorded at 173 seismic stations from the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Data Managing Center and the Ocean Hemisphere network Project to estimate S-wave velocity and radial anisotropy models beneath the Western Pacific. In the Philippine Sea plate, high-Vs anomalies reach deeper in the West Philippine basin than in the Parece-Vela basin. Low-Vs anomalies found at 80 km below the Parece-Vela basin extend deeper into the West Philippine Basin. This velocity contrast between the basins may be caused by differences in lithospheric age. Low-Vs anomalies are observed beneath the Caroline seamount chain and the Caroline plate. Overall positive radial anisotropy anomalies are observed in the Western Pacific, but negative radial anisotropy is found at > 220 km depth on the subducting plate along the Mariana trench and at ~50 km in the Parece-Vela basin. Positive radial anisotropy is found at > 200 km depth beneath the Caroline seamount chain, which may indicate the 'drag' between the plume and the moving Pacific plate. High-Vs anomalies are found at 40 ~ 180 km depth beneath the Ontong-Java plateau, which may indicate the presence of unusually thick lithosphere due to underplating of dehydrated plume material.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
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• v.1 no.1 s.1
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• pp.139-155
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• 2001

We investigate the vertical velocity models beneath the newly installed broadband seismic network of KMA (Korea Meteorological Administration) by using receiver function inversion technique. The seismic phases are primarily P-to-S conversions and reverberations generated at the two highest impedance interfaces like the Moho (crust-mantle boundary) and the sediment-basement contact. We obtained the teleseismic P-wave receiver functions, which were derived from teleseismic records of Seoul (SEO), Inchon (INCN), Tejeon (TEJ) , Sosan (SOS/SES), Kangnung (KAN), Ulchin (ULC/ULJ), Taegu (TAG), Pusan (PUS), and Ullung-do (ULL) stations. For Kwangju (KWA/KWJ) and Chunchon (CHU) stations, the Moho conversion Ps arrivals and waveforms of radial receiver functions are azimuthally inconsistent and unclear. From the receiver function inversion result, we found that crustal thickness is 29 km at INCN, SEO, and SOS (SES) stations, 28 km at KAN station in the Kyonggi Massif, 32 km at TEJ station in Okchon Folded Belt, 34 km at TAG, 33 km at PUS station in the Kyongsang Basin, 32 km at KWJ station (readjusted station by prior KWA station) included in the Youngdong-Kwangju Depression Zone, 28 km at ULC station in the eastern margin of the Ryongnam Massif, and 17 km at ULL station in the Ullung Island of the East Sea, respectively. The Moho configuration of INCN, SOS, KWJ, and KAN stations show a laminated smooth transition zone with a 3-5 km thick. The upper crusts(${\sim}5km$) of KAN, ULC, and PUS stations show complex structures with a high velocity. The unusually thick crusts are found at the TAG and PUS stations in the Kyongsang Basin compared to the thin (29-32 km) crust of the western part (INCN, SEO, SOS, TEJ, and KWA stations) The crustal thickness beneath Ullung Island (ULL station) shows the suboceanic crust with about 17 km thickness and complex with a high velocity layer of the upper crust, and the amplitudes of Incoming Ps waves from the western direction are relatively large compared to those from othor directions.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.95-104
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• 2000

Depths to four seismic sequence boundaries and the thickness of each sequence were estimated and mapped based on multi-channel seismic data in the Ulleung Basin. These depth-structure and isopach maps were incorporated into the interpretation of gravity and magnetic anomaly maps. The sediment thickness ranges from 3,000 m to 4,000 m in the central basin, while it reaches 6,000 m locally along the southwestern, western, and southeastern margins. The acoustic basement forms a northeast-southwest elongated depression deeper than 5000 m, and locally deepens up to 7,500 m in the southwestern and western margins. Low gravity anomalies along the western and southern margins are associated with basement depressions with thick sediment as well as the transitional crust between the continental and oceanic crusts. Higher gravity anomalies, dominant in the central Ulleung basin, broaden from southwest toward northeast, are likely due to the shallow mantle and a dense crust. A pair of magnetic elongations in the southeastern and northwestern margins appear to separate the central Ulleung basin from its margin. These magnetic elongations are largely dominated by intrusive or extrusive volcanics which occurred along the rifted margin of the Ulleung basin formed during the basin opening. The crust in the central Ulleung Basin, surrounded by the magnetic elongations, is possibly oceanic as inferred from the seismic velocity. The oceanic crust can be mapped in the central zone where it widens to 120 km from the southwest toward northeast. Bending of the crustal boundary in the southern part of the Ulleung Basin suggests that the Ulleung Basin has been deformed by a collision of the Phillipine plate into the Japan arc.