• Journal of the Korean Geophysical Society
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.189-197
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• 2006

The Korea Plateau is a continental fragment rifted and partially segmented from the Korean Peninsulaat the initial stage of the opening of the East Sea (Japan Sea). We interpreted marine seismic profiles from the South Korea Plateau in conjunction with swath bathymetric to investigate processes of con-tjnental rifting and separation of the southwestern Japan Arc. The SouU-i Korea Plateau preserves funda-mental elements of rift architecture comprising a seaward succession of a rift basin and an uplifted rift flank passing into the slope, typical of a passive continental margin. Two distinguished rift basins (Onnuri and Bandal Basins) in the South Korea Plateau are bounded by major synthetic and smaller antithetic faults, creating wide and symmetric profiles. The large-offset border fault zones of these basins have convex dip slopes and demonstrate a zig-zag arrangement along strike. Rifting was primarily controlled by normal faulting resulting from extension orthogonal to the inferred line of breakup along the base ofthe slope rather U-ian strike-slip deformation. Two extension direcdons for rifdng are recog-nized; U-ie Onnuri Basin was rifted in U-ie EW direction; U-ie Bandal Basin in U-ie EW and NW-SE directions, suggesting two rift stages. We interpret that the E-W direction represents initial rifting at the inner margin; while the Japan Basin widened, rifting propagated repeatedly from the Japan Basin to the southeast toward the Korean margin but could not penetrate the strong continental lithosphere of the Korean Shield and changed direction to the south, resulting in E-W extension to create the rift basins at the Korean margin. The Hupo Basin to the south of the Korea Plateau is estimated to have formed in this process. The NW-SE direction probably represents the direction of rifting orthogonal to the inferred line of breakup along the base of the slope of the South Korea Plateau; after breakup the southwestern Japan Arc separated in the SE direction, indicating a response to tensional tectonics associated with the subduction of the Pacific Plate in the NE direction. We suggest that structural evolution of the eastern Korean margin can be explained by the processes occurring at the passive continental margin.

• The Korean Journal of Petroleum Geology
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• v.9 no.1_2 s.10
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• pp.16-23
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• 2001

The study area in the East Sea is located on the northeastern margins of the Ulleung Basin near the Kita-Yamato Bank. The research area provides the important clue to the development of Miocene basins which are characterized by the normal faults and volcanic activities related to rifting in the continental crust. Kita-Yamato Bank is a small sediment-filled graben which was formed by failed rifting in the Early Miocene. The basins rapidly vary the bathymetry, depth of acoustic basement and thickness of sedimentary layer. The tension in the study area caused the extensional lithospheric deformation before/during the Early Miocene. In consequence, tectonic forces resulted in the depression or subsidence of basement from continental rifting in the Kita-Yamato Bank followed by the opening of the Ulleung Basin, and caused the onset of graben or half-graben structure bounded by large blocked syn-rift faults. Afterward no significant tectonic deformation exists, with the consequence that post-rift normal faults with small heave were formed and reactivated by the resultant forces such as tectonic subsidence, sediment loading and volcanic activity. The Cenozoic sediment layer has a maximum thickness of 1.0 s along the center of the graben or half-graben, which overlies the consolidated acoustic basement. Seismic units V and IV supposed to be syn-rift sedimentary rocks are deformed by both the volcanic activities and numerous basement-involved normal faults induced from extension. In the uppermost layer, slump scars resulted from the slope failure are recognized.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.349-360
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• 1998

The alkali granite occurred as small stock and dyke is distributed in the Kyeomyeongsan Formation in the vicinity of the Chungju city. Geochemical characteristics in major and trace element of alkali granite in the Kyeomyeongsan Formation indicate that the alkali granites are peralkaline and have similar geochemical features to the A-type alkali granite. The rock enriched in HFSE such as Zr, Nb, Y, REE etc. According to the discrimination diagram the alkali granites mostly belong to the within-plate granite field, and to the $A_1$ group of A-type granite. This suggests that they might be emplaced in a extentional rift environment. The alkali granites are characterized by remarkably high total REE content, and enriched, relatively flat to somewhat HREE-depleted patterns with large negative Eu anomaly. The Sm-Nd age of the alkali granite is $338{\pm}30Ma$ with ${\varepsilon}_{Nd(t)}$ beings -7.3 to -8.5. On the basis of the geochemical studies the source magma was derived from a enriched mantle-like source and had a few or clearly interaction with sialic continental crust. In conclusion, the alkali granitic rock of the Kyeomyeongsan Formation might be formed from the high F peralkaline magma that was emplaced in continental rift environment, and generated at the early Carboniferous.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.12a
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• pp.73-83
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• 2007

We interpreted marine seismic profiles in conjunction with swath bathymetric and magnetic data to investigate rifting to breakup processes at the eastern Korean margin that led to the separation of the southwestern Japan Arc. Analysis of rift fault patterns suggests that rifting at the Korean margin was primarily controlled by normal faulting resulting from extension rather than strike-slip deformation. Two extension directions of E-W and NW-SE for rifting are recognized. We interpret that the E-W direction represents initial rifting at the inner margin and the NW-SE direction probably represents the extension in response to tensional tectonics associated with the subduction of the Pacific Plate in the NW direction. No significant volcanism was involved in rifting. In contrast, the inception of sea floor spreading documents a pronounced volcanic phase which appears to reflect asthenospheric upwelling as well as rift-induced convection particularly in the narrow southern margin. We suggest that structural and igneous evolution of the Korean margin, although it is in a back-arc setting, can be explained by the processes occurring at the passive continental margin with magmatism influenced by asthenospheric upwelling.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.39 no.3 s.178
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• pp.235-253
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• 2006

We interpreted marine seismic profiles in conjunction with swath bathymetric and magnetic data to investigate rifting to breakup processes at the Korean margin leading to the separation of the Japan Arc. The Korean margin is rimmed by fundamental elements of rift architecture comprizing a seaward succession of a rift basin and an uplifted rift flank passing into the slope, typical of a passive continental margin. In the northern part, rifting occurred in the Korea Plateau, a continental fragment extended and partially segmented from the Korean Peninsula, that provided a relatively broader zone of extension resulting in a number of rifts. Two distinguished rift basins (Onnuri and Bandal Basins) in the Korea Plateau we bounded by major synthetic and smaller antithetic faults, creating wide and symmetric profiles. The large-offset border fault zones of these basins have convex dip slopes and demonstrate a zig-zag arrangement along strike. In contrast, the southern margin is engraved along its length with a single narrow rift basin (Hupo Basin) that is an elongated asymmetric half-graben. Rifting at the Korean margin was primarily controlled by normal faulting resulting from extension in the west and southeast directions orthogonal to the inferred line of breakup along the base of the slope rather than strike-slip deformation. Although rifting involved no significant volcanism, the inception of sea floor spreading documents a pronounced volcanic phase which seems to reflect slab-induced asthenospheric upwelling as well as rift-induced convection particularly in the narrow southern margin. We suggest that structural and igneous evolution of the Korean margin can be explained by the processes occurring at the passive continental margin with magmatism intensified by asthenospheric upwelling in a back-arc setting.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.155-169
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• 2003

In the northwest Okcheon metamorphic belt, the metaigneous rocks in the Gyemyeongsan Formation have wider chemical ranges for major, trace and REE elements compared with metaigneous rocks in the Munjuri Formation and do not represent bimodal igneous activity which is characteristic for a continental rifting. The metaigneous rocks in the Munjuri Formation are regarded as products of single magmatic evolution, whereas those in the Gyemyeongsan Formation may be formed through multiple magmatic episodes. The felsic metavolcanic rocks in the Gyemyeongsan Formation show weaker Eu negative anomalies compared with those in the Munjuri Formation but those in both formations show similar degrees of enrichment from LREE to HREE. The metabasites in the Munjuri Formation do not show Eu anomalies but those in the Gyemyeongsan Formation show both positive and negative Eu anomalies(0.59

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.127-132
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• 2011

We acquired and interpreted more than 650 km of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles in the Hupo Basin, offshore east coast of Korea at $37^{\circ}N$ in the East Sea (Japan Sea) to image shallow and basement deformation. The seismic profiles reveal that the main depocenter of the Hupo Basin in the study area is bounded by the large offset Hupo Fault on the east and an antithetic fault on the west; however, the antithetic fault is much smaller both in horizontal extension and in vertical displacement than the Hupo Fault. Sediment infill in the Hupo Basin consists of syn-rift (late Oligocene. early Miocene) and post-rift (middle Miocene.Holocene) units. The Hupo Fault and other faults newly defined in the Hupo Basin strike dominantly north and show a sense of normal displacement. Considering that the East Sea has been subjected to compression since the middle Miocene, we interpret that these normal faults were created during continental rifting in late Oligocene to early Miocene times. We suggest that the current ENE direction of maximum principal compressive stress observed in and around the Korean peninsula associated with the motion of the Amurian Plate induces the faults in the Hupo Basin to have reverse and right-lateral, strike-slip motion, when reactivated. A recent earthquake positioned on the Hupo Fault indicates that in the study area and possibly further in the eastern Korean margin, earthquakes would occur on the faults created during continental rifting in the Tertiary.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.113-125
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• 2017

We investigates geochemical and tectonic characteristics for the Triassic Bojangsan trachyte in the southern margin of the Imjingang belt. The geochemical signatures of the thracyte are characterized by enrichments of REE and HFS, and show no Nb trough, suggesting that would not experience arc magmatic processes involving continental crustal materials. The trachyte reveals within-plate setting in tectonic discrimination diagrams using immobile HFS Nb and Y elements. And the trachyte shows typical signatures of A-type volcanic rocks with high Ga abundance and is classified as A1-type volcanic rocks rich in Nb. The geochemical signatures suggest that the trachyte was produced by the differentiation of mantle-derived magmatism at the continental rift in extensional setting subsequent to a major collision during the Permo-Triassic Songrim orogeny. The results provide robust evodence to consider the Imjingang belt as an extension of the the Qinling-Dabie-Sulu belt between the North and South China blocks.

• Journal of the Korean Geophysical Society
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2004

Gravity, magnetic and high-resolution seismic surveys were carried out in the Powell Basin to examine tectonic structure and recent sedimentation on Dec. 2002. The trend of negative gravity anomalies along the spreading axis of the Powell Basin changes from northwest to east-west toward south. Both boundaries of the basin with the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Orkey micro-continent show negative magnetic anomalies, which indicates that the boundaries were continental rift areas in the initial stage of spreading. Magnitude of the magnetic anomalies corresponding to the axis of the basin is rather small compared to those of normal spreading axises in other regions. Such small anomalies would be caused by reduction of magnetic strength of oceanic crust below thick sediments due to thermal alternation. High-resolution (3.5 kHz) seismic profiles reveal that top of the South Scotia Ridge is a flat terrain coverd with thin coarse sediments by glacial erosion. Thick oceanic sediments are deposited in the central part of the basin. Little deformation in the oceanic sediments indicates that the Powell Basin has been in stable tectonic environment after spreading of the basin stopped.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.14 no.3 s.41
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• pp.157-168
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• 2005

Trachytic rocks among the bimodal metavolcanic rocks of the Gyemyeongsan Formation and adjacent areas are investigated. Some rocks reveal very high content of iron and most rocks show very high abundances of rare earth elements and high field strength elements. Most rocks show significant Eu negative anomaly, which can be interpreted as the result of plagioclase fractionation. Lack of noticeable Nb negative anomaly indicates not-involvement of crustal material in their generation, which excludes the arc environment or remelting of continental crust from their genetic process. Metatrachytes of the Gymyeongsan Formation are plotted within the within-plate environment of the tectonic discrimination diagram utilizing immobile high field strength element Nb and Y. They also show typical characteristics of A-type magma, such as high Ga content. Considering their affinity to Al-type of Eby (1992) and their age of 750 Ma (Lee et al., 1998), they seem to have been produced by the differentiation of mantle-derived within-plate magmatism at the rift, related with the separation of Neoproterozoic supercontinent Rodinia. Possible connection of Gyemyeongsan and Munjuri Formations of the Okcheon metamorphic belt, at least part of them, to the Cathaysia block of South China during the Neoproterozoic is strongly suggested.