• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.20-34
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• 2006

This study was undertaken to assess the anthropogenic impact on trace metal concentrations (Zn, Cu, Pb, Cr, Ni, and Cd) of roadside sediments (N = 70) from No.7 national road within the watershed of Hoidong Reservoir in Pusan City and to estimate the potential mobility of selected metals using sequential extraction. We generally found high concentrations of metals, especially Zn, Cu and Pb, affected by anthropogenic inputs. Compared to the trace metal concentrations of uncontaminated stream sediments, arithmetic mean concentrations of roadside sediments were about 7 times higher for Cu, 4 times higher for Zn, 3 times higher for Pb and Cr and, 2 times higher for Ni and As. Speciation data on the basis of sequential extraction indicate that most of the trace metals considered do not occur in significant quantities in the exchangeable fraction, except for Cd and Ni whose exchangeable fractions are appreciable (average 29.3 and 25.8%, respectively). Other metals such as Zn (51.4%) and Pb (45.2%) are preferentially bound to the reducible fraction, and therefore they can be potentially released by a pH decrease and/or redox change. Copper is mainly found in the organic fraction, while Cd is highest in the exchangeable fraction, and Cr and Ni in the residual fraction. Considering the proportion of metals bound to the exchangeable and carbonate fractions, the comparative mobility of metals probably decreases in the order of Cd>Ni>Pb>Zn>Cr>Cu. Although the total concentration data showed that Zn was typically present in potentially harmful concentration levels, the data on metal partitioning indicated that Cd, Ni and Pb pose the highest potential hazard for runoff water. As potential changes of redox state and pH may remobilize the metals bound to carbonates, amorphous oxides, and/or organic matter, and may release and flush them through drain networks into the watershed of Hoidong Reservoir, careful monitoring of environmental conditions appears to be very important.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.1-12
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• 2005

Policies regarding to soil quality of the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Demark were analyzed to suggest Korean policy for improving soil quality concept and it's implementation. All countries met four criteria: I) Soil quality levels of contaminants are indebt to concept of contaminant risk to recipients (human and ecosystem); ii) Any soil quality value can't be a magic number to determine whether a site is contaminated or not. To determine risk of sites, risk assessment of the sites should be followed; iii) Concentrations of contaminants of sites are not always significantly certain to risk of human and ecosystem of the sites; and iv) Soil quality levels are adopted based on land uses and plans. Considering our rooms to improve policies and analysis of the other country reports on their legislations about soil quality levels, our policy implementation could be approached from these directions: i) Our concept for soil quality levels needs to develop in scientific and rational. ii) Soil quality levels and risk assessment should be implemented as determining tools of site contamination in parallel, and iii) Soil quality levels depending on land uses and plans should be developed in debt with rational and scientific concept of risk. Increasing efficacy of Korea policy regarding the soil quality levels would be in dept to applying concepts of SCL (Soil Contamination Level) and SRL (Soil Regulatory Level) developed, implementing soil quality levels and risk assessment of contaminated sites in conjunction, and classifying three distinctions of land uses based on sensitiveness of recipients (human and ecosystem) to contaminants in soil in this research.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.67-72
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• 2005

To investigate the feasibility of a new concept of storing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in a lined hard rock cavern, and to develop essential technologies for constructing underground LNG storage facilities, a small pilot plant storing liquid nitrogen (LN2) has been constructed at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM). The LN2 stored in the cavern will subject the host rock around the cavern to very low temperatures, which is expected to cause the development of an ice ring and the change of ground condition around the storage cavern. To investigate and monitor changes in ground conditions at this pilot plant site, geophysical, hydrogeological, and rock mechanical investigations were carried out. In particular, geophysical methods including borehole radar and three-dimensional (3D) resistivity surveys were used to identify and monitor the development of an ice ring, and other possible changes in ground conditions resulting from the very low temperature of LN2 in the storage tank. We acquired 3D resistivity data before and after storing the LN2, and the results were compared. From the 3D images obtained during the three phases of the resistivity monitoring survey, we delineated zones of distinct resistivity changes that are closely related to the storage of LN2. In these results, we observed a decrease in resistivity at the eastern part of the storage cavern. Comparing the hydrogeological data and Joint patterns around the storage cavern, we interpret this change in resistivity to result from changes in the groundwater flow pattern. Freezing of the host rock by the very low temperature of LN2 causes a drastic change in the hydrogeological conditions and groundwater flow patterns in this pilot plant.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.23-32
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• 2009

The sorption of europium (Eu (III)) onto kaolinite and the influence of humic acids over a range of pH 3 ~ 11 has been studied by batch adsorption experiment (V/m = 250 : 1 mL/g, $C_{Eu(III)}\;=\;1\;{\times}\;10^{-5}\;mol/L$, $C_{HA}\;=\;5{\sim}50\;mg/L$, $P_{CO2}=10^{-3.5}\;atm$). The concentrations of HA and Eu(III) in aqueous phase were measured by UV absorbance at 254nm (e.g., $UV_{254}$) and ICP-MS after microwave digestion for HA removals, respectively. Results showed that the HA sorption onto kaolinite was decreased with increasing pH and their sorption isotherms fit well with the Langmuir adsorption model (except pH 3). Maximum amount ($q_{max}$) for the HA sorption at pH 4 to 11 was ranged from 4.73 to 0.47 mg/g. Europium adsorption onto the kaolinite in the absence of HA was typical, showing an increases with pH and a distinct adsorption edge at pH 3 to 5. However in the presence of HA, Eu adsorption to kaolinite was significantly affected. HA was shown to enhance Eu adsorption in the acidic pH range (pH 3 ~ 4) due to the formation of additional binding sites for Eu coming from HA adsorbed onto kaolinite surface, but reduce Eu adsorption in the intermediate and high pH above 6 due to the formation of aqueous Eu-HA complexes. The results on the ternary interaction of kaolinte-Eu-HA are compared with those on the binary system of kaolinite-HA and kaolinite-Eu and adsorption mechanism with pH was discussed.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1-13
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• 2009

Alkalinity and total carbon contents were measured by acid neutralizing titration (ANT), back titration (BT), gravitational weighing (GW), non-dispersive infrared-total carbon (NDIR-TC) methods for assessing precision and accuracy of alkalinity and total carbon concentration in $CO_2$-rich water. Artificial $CO_2$-rich water(ACW: pH 6.3, alkalinity 68.8 meq/L, $HCO_3^-$ 2,235 mg/L) was used for comparing the measurements. When alkalinity measured in 0 hr, percent errors of all measurement were 0~12% and coefficient of variation were less than 4%. As the result of post-hoc analysis after repeated measure analysis of variance (RM-AMOVA), the differences between the pair of methods were not significant (within confidence level of 95%), which indicates that the alkalinity measured by any method could be accurate and precise when it measured just in time of sampling. In addition, alkalinity measured by ANT and NDIR-TC were not change after 24 and 48 hours open to atmosphere, which can be explained by conservative nature of alkalinity although $CO_2$ degas from ACW. On the other hand, alkalinity measured by BT and GW increased after 24 and 48 hours open to atmosphere, which was caused by relatively high concentration of measured total carbon and increasing pH. The comparison between geochemical modeling of $CO_2$ degassing and observed data showed that pH of observed ACW was higher than calculated pH. This can be happen when degassed $CO_2$ does not come out from the solution and/or exist in solution as $CO_{2(g)}$ bubble. In that case, $CO_{2(g)}$ bubble doesn't affect the pH and alkalinity. Thus alkalinity measured by ANT and NDIR-TC could not detect the $CO_2$ bubble although measured alkalinity was similar to the calculated alkalinity. Moreover, total carbon measured by ANT and NDIR-TC could be underestimated. Consequently, it is necessary to compare the alkalinity and total carbon data from various kind of methods and interpret very carefully. This study provide technical information of measurement of dissolve $CO_2$ from $CO_2$-rich water which could be natural analogue of geologic sequestration of $CO_2$.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.49-60
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• 2016

Distribution and behavior of baseline soil CO₂ were investigated in a candidate geologic CO₂ storage site in Pohang, with measuring CO₂ concentrations and carbon isotopes in the vadose zone as well as CO₂ fluxes and concentrations through ground surface. This investigation aimed to assess the baseline CO₂ levels and to build the CO₂ monitoring system before injecting CO₂. The gas in the vadose zone was collected using a peristaltic pump from the depth of 60 cm below ground surface, and stored at gas bags. Then the gas components (CO₂, O₂, N₂, CH₄) and δ¹³C_CO2 were analyzed using GC and CRDS (cavity ringdown spectroscopy) respectively in laboratory. CO₂ fluxes and CO₂ concentrations through ground surface were measured using Li-COR in field. In result, the median of the CO₂ concentrations in the vadose zone was about 3,000 ppm, and the δ¹³C_CO2 were in the wide range between −36.9‰ and −10.6‰. The results imply that the fate of CO₂ in the vadose zone was affected by soil property and vegetations. CO₂ in sandy or loamy soils originated from the respiration of microorganisms and the decomposition of C₃ plants. In gravel areas, the CO₂ concentrations decreased while the δ¹³C_CO2 increased because of the mixing with the atmospheric gas. In addition, the relation between O₂ and CO₂, N₂, and the relation between N₂/O₂ and CO₂ implied that the gases in the vadose zone dissolved in the infiltrating precipitation or the soil moisture. The median CO₂ flux through ground surface was 2.9 g/m²/d which is lower than the reported soil CO₂ fluxes in areas with temperate climates. CO₂ fluxes measured in sandy and loamy soil areas were higher (median 5.2 g/m²/d) than those in gravel areas (2.6 g/m²/d). The relationships between CO₂ fluxes and concentrations suggested that the transport of CO₂ from the vadose zone to ground surface was dominated by diffusion in the study area. In gravel areas, the mixing with atmospheric gases was significant. Based on this study result, a soil monitoring procedure has been established for a candidate geologic CO₂ storage site. Also, this study result provides ideas for innovating soil monitoring technologies.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2007

Objective of this experiment was to investigate the growth effects of Chinese cabbage and soil salinity to alternative irrigation waters for drought periods. The treatments were consisted of the discharge water from industrial wastewater treatment plant (DIWT), the discharge water from municipal wastewater treatment plant (DMWT) and ground water as the control. For the chemical compositions of alternative water, it appeared that concentrations of the $Ni^+$ and SAR values in DIWT were over the reuse criteria of other countries for irrigation, but CODcr concentration in DMWT was higher than the reuse criteria for agricultural irrigation. According to classification of water by $EC_i$ value, DIWT and DMWT are ranged from 0.7 to $2.0dS\;m^{-1}$, slight salinity. Average harvest indexes were 0.64 for DIWT and 0.63 for DMWT as compared to 0.61 of the control regardless of irrigation periods. SAR value in soil was increased with prolonging the irrigation periods at head forming stage, but not much difference except for 30 days of irrigation period at harvesting time for DIWT. However, it was not much difference along with irrigation periods through the growth stages for DMWT as compared with the groundwater. At harvesting time, average $EC_e$ for the soil irrigated with alternative agricultural waters was $0.017dS\;m^{-1}$ for its DIMT and $0.036dS\;m^{-1}$ for its DMWT as compared to $0.013dS\;m^{-1}$ of its groundwater as the control. For $NH_4-N$ concentrations, it observed that there were no differences among the treatments with different irrigation periods at head forming stage in soil after irrigation. Also, $NO_3-N$ concentration in soil was increased up to 20 days after irrigation, and then decreased at 30 days after irrigation with DMWT at head forming stage. The $Ni^+$ concentration in upper layer soil (0-15 cm) irrigated with DIWT was increased with prolonging the irrigation period at head forming stage, but it was dramatically decreased and almost constant in all the treatments at harvesting time. Therefore, it might be concluded that there was potentially safe to irrigate the discharge water from municipal wastewater treatment plant for 20 days after transplanting to drought periods with cultivating the Chinese cabbage.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.37 no.6_1
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• pp.1657-1667
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• 2021

Anthropogenic activities and natural processes have been causes of land subsidence which is sudden sinking or gradual settlement of the earth's solid surface. Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, is one of the most severe land subsidence areas which are resulted from excessive groundwater extraction. Because groundwater is the primary water resource occupies almost 70% of total water usage in the city. Traditional terrestrial observations like the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) or leveling survey have been preferred to measure land subsidence accurately. Although the GNSS observations have highly accurate information of the surfaces' displacement with a very high temporal resolution, it has often been limited due to its sparse spatial resolution and highly time-consuming and high cost. However, space-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry has been widely used as a powerful tool to monitor surfaces' displacement with high spatial resolution and high accuracy from mm to cm-scale, regardless of day-or-night and weather conditions. In this paper, advanced interferometric approaches have been applied to get a time-series of land subsidence of Mexico City using four-year-long twenty ALOS PALSAR L-band observations acquired from Feb-11, 2007 to Feb-22, 2011. We utilized persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) and small baseline subset (SBAS) techniques to suppress atmospheric artifacts and topography errors. The results show that the maximum subsidence rates of the PSI and SBAS method were -29.5 cm/year and -27.0 cm/year, respectively. In addition, we discuss the different subsidence rates where the study area is discriminated into three districts according to distinctive geotechnical characteristics. The significant subsidence rate occurred in the lacustrine sediments with higher compressibility than harder bedrock.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.565-582
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• 2018

We investigated the hydrochemical properties of ChusanYongchulso Spring located in Buk-myeon, Ulleung Island, focusing on the formation and characteristics of aquifers in and around the Nari caldera. Abundant pumice with high permeability and numerous fractures (including faults and joints) that formed as a result of caldera subsidence are widely distributed in the subsurface, favoring the formation of aquifers. Because of the presence of porous pyroclastic rocks with a high internal surface area, the water type of the springs is characterized by $NaHCO_3$, with upper stream waters and the upper spring being characterized by $NaHCO_3$ and NaCl, respectively. Components with a high coefficient of determination with EC are $HCO_3$, Na, F, Ca, Mg, Cl, $SiO_2$, and $SO_4$. The high concentrations of Na and Cl might be attributable to the main lithologies in the area, given that alkaline volcanic rocks are distributed extensively across Ulleung Island. Eh and pH, which are considered to be important indicators of water-rock interaction, are unrelated to most components. According to the results obtained from factor analysis, the variance explained by factor 1 is 54% and by factor 2 is 25.8%. Components with a high loading on factor 1 are F, Na, EC, Cl, $HCO_3$, $SO_4$, $SiO_2$, Ca, $NO_3$, and Mg, whereas components with a high loading on factor 2 are Mg and Ca, along with K, $NO_3$, and DO with negative loadings. It is suggested that the high concentrations of Na, Cl, F, and $SO_4$ are closely related to the presence of fine-grained alkaline pyroclastic rocks with high permeability and porosity, which favorintensewater-rock interaction. However, a wide-ranging investigation that encompasses methods such as geophysical prospecting and geochemical analysis (including isotope, trace-element, and tracer techniques) will be necessary to gain a better understanding of the groundwater chemistry, aquifer distribution, and water cycling of Ulleung Island.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.97-109
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• 2022

This study focused on the physicochemical effects of bottom ash dissolved precipitation on the soil and groundwater environment. The iced column and percolation experiments showed that most of the bottom ash particles were drained as the ash-dissolved solution, while the charcoal powder was filtered through the soil. Ion species of Al, As, Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, Fe, Mn, Ca, K, Si, F, NO₃, SO₄ were analyzed from the eluates collected during the 24 h column test. In the charcoal powder eluates, a high concentration of K was detected at the beginning of the reaction, but it decreased with time. The concentrations of Al and Ca were observed to increase with time, although they existed in trace amount. In the bottom ash eluates, the concentrations of Ca and SO₄ decreased by 30 mg·L^-1 and 67 mg·L^-1, respectively, over 24 h. It is regarded that the infiltration patterns of the bottom ash and biochar in the unsaturated zone were different owing to their particle sizes and solvent properties. It is expected that a significant amount of the bottom ash will mix with the precipitation and percolate below the water table, especially in the case of thin and highly permeable unsaturated zone. The biochar was filtered through the unsaturated zone. The biochar did not dissolve in the groundwater, although it reached the saturation zone. For these reasons, it is considered that the direct contamination by the bottom ash and biochar are unlikely to occur.