• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.8-21
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• 2008

A series of three-dimensional numerical simulations using a hydrodynamic dispersion numerical model is performed to analyze quantitatively impacts of layered heterogeneity of geologic media and groundwater pumping schemes on groundwater flow and salt transport in coastal aquifer systems. A two-layer heterogeneous coastal aquifer system composed of a lower sand layer (aquifer) and an upper clay layer (aquitard) and a corresponding single-layer homogeneous coastal aquifer system composed of an equivalent lumped material are simulated to evaluate impacts of layered heterogeneity on seawater intrusion. In addition, a continuous groundwater pumping scheme and two different periodical groundwater pumping schemes, which withdraw the same amount of groundwater during the total simulation time, are applied to the above two coastal aquifer systems to evaluate impacts of groundwater pumping schemes on seawater intrusion. The results of the numerical simulations show that the periodical groundwater pumping schemes have more significant adverse influences on groundwater flow and salt transport not only in the lower sand layer but also in the upper clay layer, and groundwater salinization becomes more intensified spatially and temporally as the pumping intensity is higher under the periodical groundwater pumping schemes. These imply that the continuous groundwater pumping scheme may be more suitable to minimize groundwater salinization due to seawater intrusion. The results of the numerical simulations also show that groundwater salinization in the upper clay layer occurs significantly different from that in the lower sand layer under the periodical groundwater pumping schemes. Such differences in groundwater salinization between the two adjacent layers may result from layered heterogeneity of the layered coastal aquifer system.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.83-94
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• 2011

Extra heavy oil reservoirs are distributed over the world but most of them is deposited in the northern part of the Orinoco River in Venezuela, in the area of 5,500 $km^2$, This region, which has been commonly called "the Orinoco Oil Belt", contains estimated 1.3 trillion barrels of original oil-in-place and 250 billion barrels of established reserves. The Venezuela extra heavy oil has an API gravity of less than 10 degree and in situ viscosity of 5,000 cP at reservoir condition. Although the presence of extra heavy oil in the Orinoco Oil Belt has been initially reported in the 1930's, the commercial development using in situ cold production started in the 1990's. The Orinoco heavy oil deposits are clustered into 4 development areas, Boyaco, Junin, Ayachoco, and Carabobo respectively, and they are subdivided into totally 31 production blocks. Nowadays, PDVSA (Petr$\'{o}$leos de Venzuela, S.A.) makes a development of each production block with the international oil companies from more than 20 countries forming a international joint-venture company. The Eastern Venezuela Basin, the Orinoco Oil Belt is included in, is one of the major oil-bearing sedimentary basins in Venezuela and is first formed as a passive margin basin by the Jurassic tectonic plate motion. The major source rock of heavy oil is the late Cretaceous calcareous shale in the central Eastern Venezuela Basin. Hydrocarbon materials migrated an average of 150 km up dip to the southern margin of the basin. During the migration, lighter fractions in the hydrocarbon were removed by biodegradation and the oil changed into heavy and/or extra heavy oil. Miocene Oficina Formation, the main extra heavy oil reservoir, is the unconsolidated sand and shale alternation formed in fluvial-estuarine environment and also has irregularly a large number of the Cenozoic faults induced by basin subsidence and tectonics. Because Oficina Formation has not only complex lithology distribution but also irregular geology structure, geological evolution and characteristics of the reservoirs have to be determined for economical production well design and effective oil recovery. This study introduces geological formation and evolution of the Venezuela extra heavy oil reservoirs and suggest their significant geological characteristics which are (1) thickness and geometry of reservoir pay sands, (2) continuity and thickness of mud beds, (3) geometry of faults, (4) depth and geothermal character of reservoir, (5) in-situ stress field of reservoir, and (6) chemical composition of extra heavy oil. Newly developed exploration techniques, such as 3-D seismic survey and LWD (logging while drilling), can be expected as powerful methods to recognize the geological reservoir characteristics in the Orinoco Oil Belt.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.38 no.5 s.174
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• pp.571-577
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• 2005

Permeable reactive barrier using iron oxide coated sand is one of effective technologies for As(V) contaminated groundwater. However, this method is restricted to As(III), because As(III) species tends to be more weakly bound to adsorbent. In order to overcome the limitation of iron oxide coated sand application to As(III) contaminated groundwater, manganese oxide materials as promoter of As(III) removal were combined to the conventional technology in this study. For combined use of iron oxide coated sand and manganese oxide coated sand, two kinds of removal methods, sequential removal method and simultaneous removal method, were introduced. Both methods showed similar removal efficiency over $85\%$ for 6 hrs. However, the sequential method converted the As contaminated water to acid state (pH 4.5), on the contrary, the simultaneous method maintained neutral state (pH 6.0). Therefore, simultaneous As removal method was ascertained as a suitable treatment technology of As contaminated water. Moreover, for more effective As(III) remediation technique, polypropylene textile which has the characteristics of high surface area, low specific gravity and flexibility was applied as alternative material of sand. The combined use of coated polypropylenes by simultaneous method showed much more prominent and rapid remediation efficiency over $99\%$ after 6 hrs; besides, it has practical advantages in replacement or disposal of adsorbent for simple conventional removal device.

• Journal of the Geological Society of Korea
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.529-544
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• 2018

Dongrae hot spring belongs to the residual magma type and has a long history of bathing since the Silla dynasty in Korea. Due to long development of hot spring water, it is expected that the amount of hot spring water in Dongrae hot spring has been changed. In this study, long-trem water level data of Dongrae hot spring were examined for recognizing the change of the hot spring. By the fluctuation analysis of the hot spring water level from January 1992 to July 2018, the maximum and minimum annual drawdowns of no. 27 well were 137.70 and 71.60 meters, respectively, with an average drawdown of 103.39 m. On the other hand, the maximum and minimum annual drawdowns of no. 29 well were 137.80 and 71.70 meters, with an average drawdown of 103.49 m. Besides, drawdown rate became bigger in recent years. As a result of analyzing autocorrelation of the two wells, the correlation coefficient ranged from 0.919 to 0.991, showing seasonal groundwater level fluctuation. The cross correlation analysis between water level and precipitation as well as water level and hot spring discharge resulted in the correlation coefficients of -0.280 ~ 0.256 and 0.428 ~ 0.553, respectively. Therefore, using Dongnae hot-spring water level data from 1992 to 2018, the Mann-Kendall test and Sen's test showed that the continuous decline of water level was mainly caused by the pumping of the hot spring water among various reasons.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.113-126
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• 2022

The tectonic history of the Chukchi Abyssal Plain in the Amerasia Basin, Arctic Ocean, has not been fully explored due to the harsh conditions of sea ice preventing detailed observation. Existing models of the tectonic history of the region provide contrasting interpretation of the timing of formation of the crust (Mesozoic to Cenozoic), crust type (from hyper-extended continental crust to oceanic crust), and formation process (from parallel/fan-shaped rifting to transformation faulting). To help determine the age of the oceanic crust, the geothermal gradient was measured at three stations in the south of abyssal plain at depth of 2,160-2,250 m below sea level. Heat flow measurement stations were located perpendicular to the spreading axis over a 40 km-long transect. In-situ thermal conductivity measurement, corrected by the laboratory test, gave observed marine heat flows of 55 to 61 mW/m². All measurements were taken during Arctic expeditions in 2018 (ARA09C expedition) and 2021 (ARA12C expedition) by the Korean ice-breaking research vessel (IBRV) Araon. Given the assumption of oceanic crust, the results correspond to formation in the Late Cretaceous (Mesozoic). The inferred age supports the hypothesis of formation activated by the opening of the Makarov Basin during the Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic. This would make it contemporaneous with rifting of the Chukchi Border Land immediately east of the abyssal plain. The heat flow data indicate the base of the gas hydrate stability zone is located 332-367 m below the seafloor, this will help to identify the gas hydrate-related bottom simulating reflector in the future seismic survey, as already identified on the Chukchi Plateau. Further geophysical surveys, including heat flow measurements, are required to increase our understanding of the formation process and thermal mantle structure of the abyssal plain.