• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.69-91
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• 1993

A total of 76 surface sediment samples, collected from the Korean west coast and the eastern Yellow Sea areas, were analyzed for their elemental composition in order to understand the geochemical characteristics of these deposits. The analyzed elements included 9 major elements (Al, Fe, Na, K, Mg, Ca, Ti, P, Mn), 8 minor elements (Sr, Ba, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn), organic carbon and calcium carbonate. Contents of most analyzed elements, excluding K and Ba, were generally low compared to those of average crust. Contents of most elements, except K and Ca, also correlated with sediment grain size, though the degree of relationship varied widely from one element to another. For fine-grained sediments, a distinction could be made between those in the central Yellow Sea and those in the Keum Estuary based on their characteristic elemental composition: the former were rich in Fe, Na, K, Mg, Ca and V, and the latter in Mn, Co and Ni. The element/aluminium ratios, on the other hand, showed that the central Yellow Sea muds were enriched in Fe, Mg, V, Ni, Cu and Zn and depleted in K, Mn, Ba and Sr relative to the mud located near the Korean Peninsula. Based on the analysis of these results, as well as of the influences of particular mineral phases or pollution effects, we could suggest geochemical criteria which can be used in distinguishing muds from the two different sources, the Keum River and the Yellow River: the former by the higher Mn content and the latter by the higher Mg and V contents, relative to each other.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.129-136
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• 2006

Engineered mixtures, which consist of rigid sand particles and soft fine-grained rubber particles, are tested to characterize their small and large-strain responses. Engineered soils are prepared with different volumetric sand fraction, sf, to identify the transition from a rigid to a soft granular skeleton using wave propagation, $K_{o}-loading$, and triaxial testing. Deformation moduli at small, middle and large-strain do not change linearly with the volume fraction of rigid particles; instead, deformation moduli increase dramatically when the sand fraction exceeds a threshold value between sf=0.6 to 0.8 that marks the formation of a percolating network of stiff particles. The friction angle increases with the volume fraction of rigid particles. Conversely, the axial strain at peak strength increases with the content of soft particles, and no apparent peak strength is observed in specimens when sand fraction is less than 60%. The presence of soft particles alters the formation of force chains. While soft particles are not part of high-load carrying chains, they play the important role of preventing the buckling of stiff particle chains.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.130-142
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• 1987

Sedimentological characteristics of the surface sediments in the southern sea off Cheju Island are described from analyses of bottom sediments. The sediments are subdivided into seven textural classes, muddy sand, slightly gravelly muddy sand, sand, clayey sand, sandy clay, sandymud, silty sand. Sand-size sediments are distributed in the southeastern part and/or around the Island, whereas sandy and muddy sediments are mainly distributed in the central and southern parts of the study area. A small portion of mud patch is located in the southwestern part of the area. According to the textural parameters analysis, sediments in the study area are poorly sorted(av.2.52 ), positive skewed(av.1.61 ), leptokurtic(av.1.74 ), transported by saltation and/or suspension, and roundness of quartz is varied from angular to surrounded, which suggesting that the depositional environment is not simple. The calcium carbonate content is on the average 26.99%, and commonly abundant in sand-size sediments, whereas organic matter content in the bulk sediment is on the average 6.70% and usually dominant in fine-grained sediments.Light minerals consist of quartz(av56.01%),Na-Ca feldspar(av.6.15%),K-feldspar(av.9.22%) and rock fragments(av28.11%).The contect onquartz and K-feldspar increases continuously away from the Cheju Island. As a result of geochemical analysis,concentrations of the elements are as follow:Zn:19.42-43.52 ppm (av.30.67ppm),Mn:50-304 ppm(av139.39ppm),Cr:3.54-10.68ppm(av6.50ppm),Pb:5.52-41.68ppm(av.15.60ppm), Co:7.08-14.68ppm (av.10.78ppm),Ni:19.70-42.42ppm(av.29.57ppm),Cu:3.14-9.12ppm(av.5.14ppm),Fe:0.48-2.08% (av1.22%),Ca:0.32-13.16%(av6.60%),Al:0.06-0.08%(av.0.27%),Mg:0.12-0.76%(av.0.53%)na:0.11-0.51%(av.0.36%) Ag:0.48-4.08ppm(av.1.22ppm).Among these elements,the content of Zn,Cu,Cr,Mn,Fe,Al,Mg,Pb and Na increase toward the southwestern area,while the content of Ca and Ag SHOWS the reversed distribution trend.Such a distribution pattern seems to imply that spatial distrivution of heavy metals is closely related to the variation in grain size. X-ray diffractogram show that the minerals in clay from the southwestern mud patch are illite ,chlorite, kaolinte,feldspar and calcite.The bulk of illite in th mud zone is believed to be originated from Huanghe and Yangytze River.The mud patch in this region contains the diagnostic calcite peak,and the concentration of Ca,ni,Pb,Ag are similar to Huanghe type,which indicates that the greater part of these clay fractions may have been derived from the Huanghe River.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.427-437
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• 2020

Manganese nodules, which are evaluated as potential metal resources, have been found in the Arctic Ocean as well as in the abyssal plains of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Manganese nodules exhibit strong variations in the morphology, internal texture, chemical composition and mineralogy as they grow. The relationship between the texture and chemical elemental composition during the growth process is well documented, but the mineral composition variation during the growth process is not. Because the manganese oxide minerals in nodules are fine-grained and poorly crystalline, quantitative analysis for the mineral composition is challenging for the bulk nodule sample. This study investigated the internal texture and Mn-oxide mineral composition of manganese nodules obtained from the East Siberian Sea. Semi-quantitative analysis was attempted for three main Mn-oxide minerals constituting the manganese nodules (i.e., todorokite, buserite and birnessite) using the peak area ratio of X-ray diffraction analysis graphs. In the East Siberian Sea manganese nodules, birnessite is more abundant than buserite or todorokite, and no correlation is found between the mineral composition and the internal texture. Instead a correlation is found between the relative content of todorokite and the lamellae depth. The todorokite content tends to increase from the surface to the core of the nodules, which can be attributed to a recrystallization process or difference in the growth rate within the nodule. This study shows that semi-quantitative analysis of manganese oxide minerals using the peak area ratio is useful in the mineralogical study of manganese nodules.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2010

The Yugeum deposit in Youngduk in Gyungsangbuk-do is emplaced in the Cretaceous granitoids located in the Northeastem Gyeongsang Basin. Gold-bearing quartz veins filling the fracture with a direction of $N19^{\circ}{\sim}38^{\circ}W$ are most abundantly distributed within the Younghae granodiorite body. The formation of quartz veins can be classified into three main stages: barren quartz stage, auriferous quartz vein stage, and finally the extensive sulfide mineralization stage. Various sulfide minerals such as pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, and arsenopyrite were precipitated during the hydrothermal gold mineralization process. Gold commonly occurs as fine-grained electrum in sulfides with high Au concentration (up to 93 wt%) compared to Ag. During the early gold mineralization stage, the temperature and pressure of the fluids are in the range of $220{\sim}250^{\circ}C$ and 730~1800 bar, and the oxygen fugacity is between $10^{-27}$ and $10^{-31.7}$ atm. On the other hand, the fluids of the late stage mineralization are characterized by temperature of $290{\sim}350^{\circ}C$ and pressure of 206~472 bar, and the oxygen fugacity is in the range of $10^{-26.3}{\sim}10^{-28.6}$ atm. The sulfur isotope compositions of sulfide minerals are in the range of $0.2{\sim}4.2^{\circ}/_{\circ\circ}$, while the ${\delta}^{34}SH_2S$ values range from 1.0 to $3.7^{\circ}/_{\circ\circ}$. The Ag/Au atomic ratios of electrum ranges from 0.15 to 1.10, and Au content is higher than Ag in most electrum. During the main gold mineralization stage at the relatively high temperature condition and with pH from 4.5 to 5.5, the stability of ${AuCl_2}^-$ increased while the stability of ${Au(HS)_2}^-$ decreased. Considering the pressure estimated in this deposit, the temperature of the ore fluid reached higher than $350^{\circ}C$ and ${AuCl_2}^-$ became an important species for the gold transportation. As mineralization proceeded with decreasing temperature and increasing pH and $f_{o2}$, the precipitation of sulfide minerals and accompanying electrum occurred.

• The Korean Journal of Petroleum Geology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2008

As conventional oil and gas reservoirs become depleted, interests for oil sands has rapidly increased in the last decade. Oil sands are mixture of bitumen, water, and host sediments of sand and clay. Most oil sand is unconsolidated sand that is held together by bitumen. Bitumen has hydrocarbon in situ viscosity of >10,000 centipoises (cP) at reservoir condition and has API gravity between $8-14^{\circ}$. The largest oil sand deposits are in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. The reverves are approximated at 1.7 trillion barrels of initial oil-in-place and 173 billion barrels of remaining established reserves. Alberta has a number of oil sands deposits which are grouped into three oil sand development areas - the Athabasca, Cold Lake, and Peace River, with the largest current bitumen production from Athabasca. Principal oil sands deposits consist of the McMurray Fm and Wabiskaw Mbr in Athabasca area, the Gething and Bluesky formations in Peace River area, and relatively thin multi-reservoir deposits of McMurray, Clearwater, and Grand Rapid formations in Cold Lake area. The reservoir sediments were deposited in the foreland basin (Western Canada Sedimentary Basin) formed by collision between the Pacific and North America plates and the subsequent thrusting movements in the Mesozoic. The deposits are underlain by basement rocks of Paleozoic carbonates with highly variable topography. The oil sands deposits were formed during the Early Cretaceous transgression which occurred along the Cretaceous Interior Seaway in North America. The oil-sands-hosting McMurray and Wabiskaw deposits in the Athabasca area consist of the lower fluvial and the upper estuarine-offshore sediments, reflecting the broad and overall transgression. The deposits are characterized by facies heterogeneity of channelized reservoir sands and non-reservoir muds. Main reservoir bodies of the McMurray Formation are fluvial and estuarine channel-point bar complexes which are interbedded with fine-grained deposits formed in floodplain, tidal flat, and estuarine bay. The Wabiskaw deposits (basal member of the Clearwater Formation) commonly comprise sheet-shaped offshore muds and sands, but occasionally show deep-incision into the McMurray deposits, forming channelized reservoir sand bodies of oil sands. In Canada, bitumen of oil sands deposits is produced by surface mining or in-situ thermal recovery processes. Bitumen sands recovered by surface mining are changed into synthetic crude oil through extraction and upgrading processes. On the other hand, bitumen produced by in-situ thermal recovery is transported to refinery only through bitumen blending process. The in-situ thermal recovery technology is represented by Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage and Cyclic Steam Stimulation. These technologies are based on steam injection into bitumen sand reservoirs for increase in reservoir in-situ temperature and in bitumen mobility. In oil sands reservoirs, efficiency for steam propagation is controlled mainly by reservoir geology. Accordingly, understanding of geological factors and characteristics of oil sands reservoir deposits is prerequisite for well-designed development planning and effective bitumen production. As significant geological factors and characteristics in oil sands reservoir deposits, this study suggests (1) pay of bitumen sands and connectivity, (2) bitumen content and saturation, (3) geologic structure, (4) distribution of mud baffles and plugs, (5) thickness and lateral continuity of mud interbeds, (6) distribution of water-saturated sands, (7) distribution of gas-saturated sands, (8) direction of lateral accretion of point bar, (9) distribution of diagenetic layers and nodules, and (10) texture and fabric change within reservoir sand body.