• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.63-75
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• 2016

The ratio of fractured reservoir is very high in oil & gas fields around the world. The demand of drilling technology for fractured reservoir is expected to increase continuously if oil and gas prices are economical. The purpose of the review study is to help operator or driller in selecting of proper drilling technology for preventing a lost circulation in the fractured formation. In order to achieve this goal, fractured reservoir(formation) they are classified into partial lost circulation formation and total lost circulation formation. In case of partial lost circulation formation, the drilling problem can be solved by using LCM(lost circulation material) mud additive and squeezing cement. For shallow depth, total lost circulation formation can be drilled safely and economically with casing drilling method. Also, for deeper depth, problems of total lost circulation in formation can be solved by applying mud cap, which is one of the drilling methods. This was confirmed through field application such as Italy's Medusa-1 field and Qatar's North field.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.20-27
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• 2021

Subsurface rock produces heat from the decay of radioactive isotopes in constituent minerals and gamma-ray emissions, of which the magnitude is dominated by the contents of the major radioactive isotopes (e.g., U, Th, and K). The heat production is generally calculated from the rock density and contents of major isotopes, which can be determined by mass spectrometry of drilled core samples or rock fragments. However, such methods are not easily applicable to deep boreholes because core samples recovered from depths of several hundred meters to a few kilometers are rarely available. A geophysical logging technique for boreholes is available where the U, Th, and K contents are measured from the gamma-ray spectrum. However, this technique requires the density to be measured separately, and the measurement depth of the equipment is still limited. As an alternative method, a normal gamma-ray logging tool was adopted to estimate the heat production from the total gamma activity, which is relatively easy to measure. This technical report introduces the development of the proposed method for evaluating the heat production of a granitic rock mass with domestic commercial borehole logging tools, as well as its application to a ~2 km deep borehole for verification.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.167-185
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• 2014

SHRIMP zircon U-Pb ages and major element and Sr-Nd isotopic compositions were determined for drill cores (374-3390 m in depth) recovered from three boreholes in the Pohonag basin, southeastern Korea. Shallow-seated volcanic rocks and underlain plutonic rocks were geochemically classified as rhyolite and gabbro-granite, respectively. They showed high-K calc-alkaline trends on the $K_2O-SiO_2$ and AFM diagrams. Zircons from volcanic rocks of borehole PB-1 yielded concordia ages of $66.84{\pm}0.66Ma$ (n=12, MSWD=0.02) and $66.52{\pm}0.55Ma$ (n=12, MSWD=0.46). Zircons from volcanic rocks of borehole PB-2 gave a concordia age of $71.34{\pm}0.85Ma$ (n=11, MSWD=0.79) and a weighted mean $^{206}Pb/^{238}U$ ages of $49.40{\pm}0.37Ma$ (n=11, MSWD=1.9). On the other hand, zircons from plutonic rocks of borehole PB-3 yielded weighted mean $^{206}Pb/^{238}U$ ages of $262.4{\pm}3.6Ma$ (n=21, MSWD=4.5), $252.4{\pm}3.6Ma$ (n=8, MSWD=1.9) and $261.8{\pm}1.5Ma$ (n=31, MSWD=1.3). Detrital zircons from the sedimentary strata overlain the volcanic rocks showed a wide age span from Neoproterozoic to Cenozoic, with the youngest population corresponding to $21.89{\pm}1.1Ma$ (n=15, MSWD=0.04) and $21.68{\pm}1.2Ma$ (n=10, MSWD=19). These dating results indicate that the basement of the Pohang basin is composed of Late Permian plutonic rocks and overlain Late Cretaceous to Eocene volcanic sequences. Miocene sediments were deposited in the uppermost part of the basin, possibly associated with the opening of the East Sea. The Sr-Nd isotopic compositions of the Permian plutonic rocks were comparable with those reported from Permian-Triassic granitoids in the Yeongdeok area, northern Gyeongsang basin. They may have been recycled into parts of the Cretaceous-Paleogene magmatic rocks within the Gyeongsang basin.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.654-664
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• 2011

A field campaign of magnetotelluric (MT) and audio-frequency MT (AMT) survey was done at 36 measurement points as a complementary for the previous 44 MT measurements completed during the period of 2005-2006. The purpose of additional MT survey is to investigate the possible fracture system in Seokmo Island, which is conceived to be crucial in accumulation and migration of geothermal hot spring in this area. We have done 2D and 3D inversions of overall MT and AMT data distributed on a grid to interpret subsurface of extended area. The inversion results reveal that at least two major faults are imaged in the inversion results, one of which is in NNE-SWW with steep dip, and another is in E-W direction.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.189-197
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• 2012

Geochemical composition of fracture filling minerals and groundwater was investigated to characterize geochemical characteristics of groundwater system at the KURT site. Minerals such as calcite, illite, laumontite, chlorite, epidote, montmorillonite, and kaolinite, as well as I/S mixed layer minerals were detected in the minerals extracted from the fracture surfaces of the core samples. The groundwater from the DB-1, YS-1 and YS-4 boreholes showed alkaline conditions with pH of higher than 8. The electrical conductivity (EC) values of the groundwater samples were around $200{\mu}S/cm$, except for the YS-1 borehole. Dissolved oxygen was almost zero in the DB-1 borehole indicating highly reduced conditions. The Cl- concentration was estimated around 5 mg/L and showed homogeneous distribution along depths at the KURT site. It might indicate the mixing between shallow groundwater and deep groundwater. The shallow groundwater from boreholes showed $Ca-HCO_3$ type, whereas deep groundwater below 300 m from the surface indicated $Na-HCO_3$ type. The isotopic values observed in the groundwater ranged from -10.4 to -8.2‰ for ${\delta}^{18}O$ and from -71.3 to -55.0‰for ${\delta}D$. In addition, the isotope-depleted water contained higher fluoride concentration. The oxygen and hydrogen isotopic values of deep groundwater were more depleted compared to the shallow groundwater. The results from age dating analysis using $^{14}C$ indicated relatively younger (2000~6000yr old) groundwater compared to other european granitic groundwaters such as Stripa (Sweden).

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.93-101
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• 2006

In this study, we propose a joint inversion method, using genetic algorithms, to determine the shear-wave velocity structure of deep sedimentary layers from receiver functions and surface-wave phase velocity. Numerical experiments with synthetic data indicate that the proposed method can avoid the trade-off between shear-wave velocity and thickness that arises when inverting the receiver function only, and the uncertainty in deep structure from surface-wave phase velocity inversion alone. We apply the method to receiver functions obtained from earthquake records with epicentral distances of about 100 km, and Rayleigh-wave phase velocities obtained from a microtremor array survey in the Kanto Plain, Japan. The estimated subsurface structure is in good agreement with the previous results of seismic refraction surveys and deep borehole data.

• The Korean Journal of Petroleum Geology
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• v.7 no.1_2 s.8
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• pp.35-40
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• 1999

Chemical and isotopic compositions of hydrocarbon gases were analyBed to characterize the properties of the shallow gases distributed in the southeastern part of the Ulleung Basin, offshore Korea. Sediments from the core were also analyzed to determine the characteristics and relationship to shallow gases. Hydrocarbon gases in the sediments consisted of methane (697.9-6054.4 ppm), ethane, propane, butane and hexane. The total carbon content of the sediments ranges from 1.84fe to $5.11{\%}$ and the total organic carbon content ranges from $0.29{\%} \;to\; 2.65{\%}$. High C/N ratio (>10) indicates that input of terrestrial organic matter was prevalent at the time of deposition. The methane content and stable isotopic data indicate that hydrocarbon gases from the sediments are identified to be thermogenic gas and mixture of both biogenic and thermal gases. Based on the Rock-Eval and carbon isotopic data, the level of thermal maturity of organic matter in the sediments $(Tmax<425^{\circ}C)$ is lower than that of gas. It suggests that thermal gases in the sediments migrated from the deeper sediments than the penetrated depth.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.503-526
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• 2024

In the research project for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste, where the deep rock environment is considered as the main target for the disposal facilities, the hydrogeological characteristics of rock aquifers are utilized as the most important evaluation factor for the suitability of the disposal site, design/construction of facilities and stability analysis during operation. Such hydrogeological data are obtained by conducting in-situ hydraulic tests using deep boreholes located at the target sites. In this process, the reliability and accuracy of the investigation results are closely linked to various factors including the selection of the optimal testing methods, the performance of testing equipment, the standardization of testing procedures, and data interpretation methods. In this paper, to improve the reliability of the evaluation of hydrogeological characteristics in deep rock aquifers, we conducted a comparative analysis of the hydraulic conductivity characteristics derived from the injection and recovery phases of the most representative hydraulic test, the constant pressure injection test. A high-performance hydraulic testing equipment and standardized testing procedures were applied to deep boreholes in the fractured rock aquifers located in granite/volcanic rock areas in Korea, to obtain the downhole pressure-flow rate, and the hydraulic conductivity was derived by using various transient flow analysis solutions. The results of the study showed a high consistency between the hydraulic conductivity values obtained during the injection and recovery phases within the same test section, even under different permeability conditions (low-permeability/high-permeability). This research case, which precisely conducted a comparative analysis of two different phases (injection/recovery) within a single specific hydraulic testing process using actual field data from deep rock aquifers in Korea, is expected to help overcome the inherent limitations of in-situ field tests, where the validation and verification of measurement results are challenging, and ultimately contribute to enhancing the reliability of deriving in-situ hydrogeological characteristics information.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.79-89
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• 1999

Three deep borings to obtain vertical continuous samples including weathered basement soils (KP-1, KP-2 and KP-3) were carried out in the reclaimed Kimpo tidal flat with purposes to establish late Quaternary stratigraphy. On the basis of detailed observations and descriptions on color, sedimentary structure and textural composition of cored sediments, four lithostratigraphic units are classified. From the stratigraphic top to bottom, they are Holocene tidal sand and muddy deposit (Unit I), early Holocene freshwater marsh muddy deposit (Unit II), late Pleistocene tidal sand and muddy deposit (Unit III) and late Pleistocene basal fluvial gravel deposit (Unit IV). In particular, Unit III is divided into two parts: the upper part-weathered and cryoturbated part during the Last Glacial Maximum (Unit III-a) and the lower part-unweathered tidal sand and muddy deposit (Unit III-b).

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.35-53
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• 2007

Geochemical and isotope studies on the groundwater system of the Youngcheon area were carried out. Most groundwaters belong to Ca-$HCO_3$ and Ca-$SO_4$ types and some groundwaters belong to Na-$HCO_3$ type. Geochemical characteristics of these groundwaters were mainly affected by their basement rocks around the boreholes. High $SO_4$ content of groundwater is the result of reaction with sulfate or sulfide minerals in the host rock. Ca was originated from the carbonate minerals in the sedimentary rock. After the groundwater was saturated with calcite, the Na-$HCO_3$ type groundwaters were evolved by the reaction with plagioclase for a relatively long residence time. This explanation was supported by low tritium contents of Na-$HCO_3$ type groundwaters. ${\delt}a^{18}O$ and ${\delta}D$ data indicate that the groundwaters are of meteoric water origin and there was no difference between the various types of waters. Grondwaters from the boreholes BH-1, BH-9 and BH-12 showed the geochemical and isotopic characteristics of deep groundwater. Most borehole groundwaters except them did not show the systematic geochemical variations with sampling depth indicating that the shallow and deep groundwaters were mixed with each other throughout the study area. The results of water quality analysis indicate that the study area is highly contaminated by the introduction of agricultural sewage.