• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.157-169
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• 2019

Pseudotachylytes, produced by frictional heating during seismic slip, provide information that is critical to understanding the physics of earthquakes. We report the results of occurrence, structural characteristics, scanning electron microscopic observation and geochemical analysis of pseudotachylytes, which is presumed to have formed after the Late Cretaceous in outcrops of the Paleoproterozoic granitic gneiss on the Bulil waterfall of the Jirisan area, Yeongnam massif, Korea. Fault rocks, which are the products of brittle deformation under the same shear stress regime in the study area, are classified as pseudotachylyte and foliated cataclasite. The occurrences of pseudotachylyte identified on the basis of thickness and morphology are fault vein-type and injection vein-type pseudotachylyte. A number of fault vein-type pseudotachylytes occur as thin (as thick as 2 cm) layers generated on the fault plane, and are cutting general foliation and sheared foliation developed in granitic gneiss. Smaller injection vein-type pseudotachylytes are found along the fault vein-type pseudotachylytes, and appear in a variety of shapes based on field occurrence and vein geometry. At a first glance fault vein-type seudotachylyte looks like a mafic vein, but it has a chemical composition almost identical to the wall rock of granitic gneiss. Also, it has many subrounded clasts which consist predominantly of quartz, feldspar, biotite and secondary minerals including clay minerals, calcite and glassy materials. Embayed clasts, phenocryst with reaction rim, oxide droplets, amygdules, and flow structures are also observed. All of these evidences indicate the pseudotachylyte formed due to frictional melting of the wall rock minerals during fault slip related to strong seismic faulting events in the shallow depth of low temperature-low pressure. Further studies will be conducted to determine the age and mechanical aspect of the pseudotachylyte formation.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.313-331
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• 2022

Natural or native abiotic molecular hydrogen (H₂) is a major component in natural gas, however yet its importance in the global energy sector's usage as clean and renewable energy is underestimated. Here we review the occurrence and geological settings of native hydrogen to demonstrate the much widesprease H₂ occurrence in nature by comparison with previous estimations. Three main types of source rocks have been identified: (1) ultramafic rocks; (2) cratons comprising iron (Fe²⁺)-rich rocks; and (3) uranium-rich rocks. The rocks are closely associated with Precambrian crystalline basement and serpentinized ultramafic rocks from ophiolite and peridotite either at mid-ocean ridges or within continental margin(Zgonnik, 2020). Inorganic geological processes producing H₂ in the source rocks include (a) the reduction of water during the oxidation of Fe²⁺ in minerals (e.g., olivine), (b) water splitting due to radioactive decay, (c) degassing of magma at low pressure, and (d) the reaction of water with surface radicals during mechanical breaking (e.g., fault) of silicate rocks. Native hydrogen are found as a free gas (51%), fluid inclusions in various rock types (29%), and dissolved gas in underground water (20%) (Zgonnik, 2020). Although research on H₂ has not yet been carried out in Korea, the potential H₂ reservoirs in the Gyeongsang Basin are highly probable based on geological and geochemical characteristics including occurrence of ultramafic rocks, inter-bedded basaltic layers and iron-copper deposits within thick sedimentary basin and igneous activities at an active continental margin during the Permian-Paleogene. The native hydrogen is expected to be clean and renewable energy source in the near future. Therefore it is clear that the origin and exploration of the native hydrogen, not yet been revealed by an integrated studies of rock-fluid interaction studies, are a field of special interest, regardless of the presence of economic native hydrogen reservoirs in Korea.