• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.534-543
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• 2012

The relationship between tectonic uplift and geophysical analysis of gravity anomalies and the in-situ stress fields in the Otway Ranges, SE Australia is addressed in this study to understand the nature and possible mechanism for the neotectonic movements. The uplift axis of the ranges is coincident with the regional Bouguer gravity highs whereas thick Tertiary sedimentary successions are highly correlated with the gravity lows along the basin rift geometry. This result suggests that the gravity highs are separated by the thick Tertiary sedimentary successions. Regional structural trends associated with faults and foldings of the deformed surfaces are consistent with the prevailing NW-SE $S_{Hmax}$ trend in this part of the continent. The anomalously positive correlation between topography and Bouguer gravity fields suggests possibly a lithospheric flexural deformation mode at a long wavelength (order of $10^2$ kms) in the region. It also suggests that the reactivation of pre-existing lithospheric structures driven by plate boundary forces plays a key role in this mode.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.397-409
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• 1994

The seemingly scattered plot of heat flow versus crustal thickness is explained by geodynamic processes and simple thermal relaxation in two contrasting tectonic elements. Elevated heat flow is characteristic of rift provinces where the crust is attenuated by stretching but also of orogenic belts where thrust tectonics thickens the crust and significantly enhances crustal heat production. With the progression of time, isostatic processes thin the thickened crust through uplift and erosion and thicken the rifted crust through subsidence and sedimentation. Heat flow relaxes to a value in equilibrium with background mantle heat flow.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.153-163
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• 2012

The Earth's surface deforms vertically in response to a variety of sources relating to lithospheric and sub-lithospheric processes, and distinguishing the continental mechanisms for vertical motions of the lithosphere remains a fundamental challenge in geosciences. A key prerequisite to the challenge is documentation of the temporal and spatial pattern of vertical motions in different tectonic settings. This study is aimed at elucidating the geodynamic factors that can contribute to vertical motions of the Earth's surface in intraplate continental settings including the Neogene uplift in the Korean peninsula based on numerous recent achievements in relevant fields. Ultimately, deciphering the interplay between the Earth's surface and the Earth's interior processes leads us to the notion of "the importance of geomorphic landscape" as a prism to view the dynamics of the Earth's inside.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.328-346
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• 2012

This study provides quantitative constraints on Neogene uplift in the Korean peninsula using onshore paleo-shoreline records and seismic data. The eastern margin of Northeast Asia including Korea sits in the back-arc system behind the Western Pacific Subduction Zone, a complex trench triple junction of the Philippine Sea, Pacific, and Eurasian (Amurian) plates. An analysis of seismic data in the subduction zone shows that the pattern of uplift in the peninsula mirrors the extent of deep seismicity in subducting Pacific plate beneath. Combined with previous tomographic studies it is proposed that uplift is partly driven by asthenospheric upwelling caused by a sinking slab during the Neogene. In addition, the SHmax orientations of E-W and N-S trends in the peninsula are consistent with the prevailing in-situ stress fields in the eastern Eurasian continent generated by various plate boundary forces. The uplift in Korea during the Late Neogene is attributed, in part, to lithospheric failure relating to faulting movements, thus providing a link between dynamic effects of mantle upwelling at sinking slab edge and lithospheric responses driven by plate boundary forces.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.239-247
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• 2014

The (U-Th)/He dating utilizes the production of alpha particles ($^4He$ atoms) during natural radioactive decays of $^{238}U$, $^{235}U$ and $^{232}Th$. (U-Th)/He age can be determined from the abundances of the parent nuclides $^{238}U$, $^{235}U$ and $^{232}Th$ and the radiogenic $^4He$. Because helium is one of the noble gases (non-reactive) with a relatively small radius, it diffuses rapidly in many geological materials, even at low temperatures. Therefore, ingrowth of $^4He$ during radioactive decay competes with diffusive loss at elevated temperatures during the geologic time scale, determining the amount of $^4He$ existing today in natural samples. For example, He diffusion in apatite is known to be very rapid compared to that in most other minerals, causing a significant diffusive loss at ${\sim}80^{\circ}C$ or higher. At ${\sim}40^{\circ}C$, He diffusion in apatite becomes slow enough to preserve most $^4He$ in the sample. Thus, an apatite's (U-Th)/He age represents the timing when the sample passed through the temperature range of $80-40^{\circ}C$. The crustal depth corresponding to this temperature range is called a "partial retention zone." Normal closure temperatures for a typical grain size and cooling rate are ${\sim}60-70^{\circ}C$ for apatite and ${\sim}200^{\circ}C$ for zircon and titanite. Because the apatite He closure temperature is lower than that of most other thermochronometers, it can provide critical constraints on relatively recent or shallow-crustal exhumation histories.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.233-242
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• 2003

The southeasternmost coastal area of the Korean peninsula has been regarded as a seismologically stable area as neither Quaternary faults nor earthquake activity has been reported. To clarify whether the active tectonic movement has occurred or not, a digital marine terrace mapping and fracture mapping have been done in the coastal area. Bed rocks are composed of the Cretaceous volcanic and sedimentary rocks and the Paleogene granite. Wave-cut platform in the area is smaller and narrower relative to that of the northern coastal area. Most of the platforms in the area have little Quaternary sediment. The platforms except the Holocene terrace (1 st terrace) can be divided into three steps. The lowest platform (2nd terrace) has an altitude of 8-11 m. The broad middle one (3rd terrace) is 17 to 22 m high. The highest terrace (4th terrace) is a narrow and sporadic bench with an altitude of about 44 m high. The lowest terrace is correlated to the 2nd terrace of the northern area, which corresponds to the oxygen isotopic stage 5a. The uplift rate calculated from a graphic method is 0.19 m/ky. This low uplift is typical of an intra-plate, suggesting that the area is tectonically stable. The elevation of the platforms tends slightly lower from the north to the south in the survey area. The decreasing altitude of the platforms towards the south is interpreted to result from a local block tilting during the Latest Pleistocene. This also indicates that the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula has been suffering a subsidence to the south.