• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.543-551
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• 2018

The uranium concentrations were determined in groundwater collected from 3,820 community groundwater system (CGS) located in remote rural areas where access to the nationwide water work is not easy. The frequency distribution of uranium concentrations shows a lognormal distribution which is common in most radionuclide surveys. The measured maximum uranium concentration was $1,757.0{\mu}g/L$ with an average of $6.46{\mu}g/L$ and a median of $0.76{\mu}g/L$. When grouping the uranium concentration results of CGS into 10 geological units, the median uranium concentration was high ($0.99-2.05{\mu}g/L$) in three granite areas, and low in sedimentary rocks areas and porous volcanic rocks areas ($0.04-0.50{\mu}g/L$). Of the 3,820 samples, 3.8% are above the guideline value of $30{\mu}g/L$ (WHO, 2011). On the other hand, the exceeding rates of JGRA and PGRA CGS are 8.5% and 7.5%, respectively. Therefore, attention should be paid for the development of new CGS along with the management of the existing CGS in JGRA and PGRA areas.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.619-630
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to investigate the existence of faults and intrusive rocks in the volcanic rock mass of Ulleung-do using magnetic anomalies. The magnetic survey data show that basaltic (mafic) rocks have high magnetic anomalies and that trachytic (felsic) rocks have low magnetic anomalies, implying that the anomaly distributions can be used to distinguish between different volcanic rock types that may be covered by regolith (such as alluvial and colluvial deposits) and other sedimentary layers. Our results show that basaltic rocks are not present within the Nari caldera. However, outside the caldera, the occurrence of high magnetic anomaly values of >$1,000{\gamma}$ is presumed to reflect the existence of basaltic craters or volcanic vents that formed prior to the eruption of the trachytic rocks. In particular, the area with anomaly values of >$1,000{\gamma}$ in the vicinity of Namyang-ri, southwest of Ulleung-do, is interpreted as having a high probability of hosting a crater and vent originating from mafic volcanism.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.703-713
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• 2020

In many geological fields, including hydrogeology, it is of great importance to determine the heterogeneity of the subsurface media. This study briefly introduces the concept and theory of the method that can estimate the hydraulic properties of the media constituting the aquifer, which was recently introduced by Park (2020). After the introduction, the method was applied to the synthetic aquifer to demonstrate the practicality, from which various implications were drawn. The introduced technique uses a global optimization technique called the covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy (CMA-ES). Conceptually, it is a methodology to characterize the aquifer heterogeneity by assimilating the groundwater level time-series data due to the imposed hydraulic stress. As a result of applying the developed technique to estimate the hydraulic conductivity of a hypothetical aquifer, it was confirmed that a total of 40000 unknown values were estimated in an affordable computational time. In addition, the results of the estimates showed a close numerical and structural similarity to the reference hydraulic conductivity field, confirming that the quality of the estimation by the proposed method is high. In this study, the developed method was applied to a limited case, but it is expected that it can be applied to a wider variety of cases through additional development of the method. The development technique has the potential to be applied not only to the field of hydrogeology, but also to various fields of geology and geophysics. Further development of the method is currently underway.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.91-103
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• 2021

In order to estimate the vertical and horizontal structural in the Yangsan fault core line (Naengsuri area, Pohang), we carried out gravity field measurements and interpretation procedures such as Euler deconvolution method and curvature analysis in addition to the forward modelling technique (i.e. IGMAS+). We found a prominent gravity difference of more than 1.5 mGal across the fault core. This indicates a distinct density difference between the western and eastern crustal area across the Yangsan fault line. Comparing this gravity field interpretation with other existent geologic and geophysical survey data (e.g. LiDAR, trenching, electric resistivity measurements), It is concluded that (1) the prominent gravity difference is caused by the density difference of about 0.1 g/㎤ between the Bulguksa Granite in the west and the Cretaceous Sandstone in the east side, (2) the fault core is elongated vertically into a depth of about 2,000 meters and extended horizontally 3,000 meters to the NNE direction from Naengsuri area. Our results present that the gravity field method is a very effective tool to estimate a three -dimensional image of the active fault core.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.16-25
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• 2020

Multi-setting smart-investigation of the ground and large uncharged hole boring (MSP) method to reduce the blast-induced vibration in a tunnel excavation is carried out over 50m of long-distance boring in a horizontal direction and thus has been accompanied by deviations in boring alignment because of the heavy and one-directional rotation of the rod. Therefore, the deviation has been adjusted through the boring machine's variable setting rely on the previous construction records and expert's experience. However, the geological characteristics, machine conditions, and inexperienced workers have caused significant deviation from the target alignment. The excessive deviation from the boring target may cause a delay in the construction schedule and economic losses. A deep learning-based prediction model has been developed to discover an ideal initial setting of the MSP machine. Dropout, early stopping, pre-training techniques have been employed to prevent overfitting in the training phase and, significantly improved the prediction results. These results showed the high possibility of developing the model to suggest the boring machine's optimum initial setting. We expect that optimized setting guidelines can be further developed through the continuous addition of the data and the additional consideration of the other factors.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.38 no.10
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• pp.49-60
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• 2022

Underground urbanization appears to be a promising solution in response to the shortage of construction sites in the above-ground space. In this context, an accurate evaluation of a construction site ensures the long-term performance of geosystems. This study characterizes potential sites for complex plants built in underground space using geophysical methods (i.e., seismic refraction exploration and electrical resistivity survey) and in situ tests (i.e., standard penetration tests (SPTs) and downhole tests). SPTs are conducted in nine boreholes BH-1-BH-9 to estimate the groundwater level and vertical distribution of geological structures. The seismic refraction method enables us to obtain the elastic wave velocity and thickness of each soil layer for each cross-sectional area. An electrical resistivity survey conducted using the dipole array method provides the electrical resistivity profiles of the cross-sectional area. Data obtained using geophysical techniques are used to assess the classification of the soil layer and bedrock, particularly the fracture zone. This study suggests that geotechnical information using in situ tests and geophysical methods are useful references to design an underground complex plant construction.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.507-520
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• 2022

The Sr isotope ratio, which is used as basic data for rock formation time, crustal and mantle evolution studies, is determined by mass spectrometer such as thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) or multi-detector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). In this technical report, we compared how incomplete chemical separation of elements affects the determination of Sr isotope ratios. For the experiment, commercial resin, NBS987(NIST SRM987) Sr isotope standard, and rock standard samples from the Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ) such as JG1a, JB3 and JA1 were used. As a result of the comparative experiment, it was clearly observed that the measured values of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr change when Rb remains due to incomplete separation of the NBS987 Sr isotope standard sample as well as the rock standard samples of GSJ. This indicates that complete separation is an important factor since the calculated value deviates from the true value even though correction for isotope interference by isobar is performed when measuring the isotope ratio with MC-ICP-MS. This also suggests that, when reporting the measurement result of Sr isotope ratio using MC-ICP-MS, the measurement strength of ⁸⁵Rb should be reported together with the measurement strength of all isotopes of Sr so that isotope interference by isobar can be judged.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.183-197
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• 2022

Geochemical data, including Sr-Nd-Pb-Mg-Zn isotopes, reported on the late Cenozoic intraplate basaltic rocks in the Korean Peninsula (Mt. Baekdu, Jeongok, Baengnyeong Island, Pyeongtaek, Asan, Ganseong, Ulleung Island, Dok Island, and Jeju Island) are summarized to constrain their mantle source lithologies, and the nature of mantle end-members required. In the Sr-Nd isotope correlation diagram, Jeju basalts plot in the field of EM2-type oceanic island basalts (OIB), while the other basalts fall in the EM1-type OIB field. In Pb-Pb isotope space, Jeju basalts show a mixing array between Indian MORB and EM2 component, whereas the other basalts display an array with EM1 component. The Korean basalts were derived from a hybrid source of garnet lherzolite and recycled stagnant slab materials (eclogite/pyroxenite, pelagic sediments, carbonates) in the mantle transition zone. The EM1 component could be ancient (~2.0 Ga) K-hollandite-bearing pelagic sediments that were isolated for a long period in the mantle transition zone due to their neutral buoyancy. The EM2 component might have been relatively young (probably Pacific slab) and recently recycled clay-rich pelagic sediments. Eclogite and carbonates are unlikely to account for the EM components, but they are common in the mantle source of the Korean basalts.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.129-139
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• 2022

Analog-based streamers for ultra-high-resolution seismic surveys are capable of additional noise ingress in water, but the specifications cannot be expanded through interconnections. Foreign-produced digital streamers have been introduced and used primarily at domestic research institutes; however, the cost is high and smooth maintenance is challenging. This study investigates the localization of ultra-high-resolution digital streamers capable of high-resolution imaging of a geological structure. A digital streamer capable of 24-bit, 10 kHz digital sampling of up to 64 channel data was developed through research and development. Various quantitative specifications of the system were designed and developed close to the benchmark model, Geometrics' GeoEel streamer, and the number of modules that make up the system was drastically reduced, reducing development costs and making it easier to use. The field applicability of the developed streamer system was evaluated in an in situ experiment conducted in the waters around the Port of Yeong-il Bay in Pohang in April 2022.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.31-40
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• 2023

We installed temporary strong motion seismometers at the ground surface, 1 m, 2 m, and 9 m at an existing seismic station that houses permanent seismometers installed at 20 m and 100 m, to investigate the influence of installation depth on the recorded ambient and anthropogenic noise level and the characteristics of earthquake signals. Analysis of the ambient noise shows that anthropogenic noise dominates where vibration period T < 1 s at the studied site, whereas wind speed appears to be strongly correlated with the noise level at T > 1 s. Frequency-wavenumber analysis of 2D seismometer array suggests that ambient noise in short periods are predominantly body waves, rather than surface waves. The level of ambient noise was low at 9 m and 20 m, but strong amplification of noise level at T < 0.1 s was observed at the shallow seismometers. Both the active-source test result and the recorded earthquake data demonstrated that the signal level is decreased with the increase of depth. Our result also shows that recorded motions at the ground and 1 m are strongly amplified at 20 Hz (T = 0.05 s), likely due to the resonance of the 3 m thick soil layer. This study demonstrates that analysis of ambient and active-source vibration may help find optimal installation depth of strong motion seismometers. We expect that further research considering various noise environments and geological conditions will be helpful in establishing a guideline for optimal installation of strong motion seismometers.