• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.47-56
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• 1999

$^{15}N$-Isotope concentrations of groundwater from l4 wells with different land-use types in Kyonggi Province were measured to investigate the nitrate contamination sources. Water samples were collected monthly from January to December 1997 and analyzed for pH. PC, anions (fluoride, chloride, nitrate, sulfate, inorganic phosphate, and bicarbonate), and canons (calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium). For the analysis of the $^{15}N/^{14}N$ ratio as ${\delta}^{15}N$, $N_2$ samples were prepared through Kjeldahl-Rittenberg method and were analyzed using an isotope ratio mass spectrometer (VG Optima IRMS). Reproducibility of the method and precision of the IRMS were below 1.0‰ and 0.1‰, respectively. The ionic composition of each groundwater sample was only slightly different according to the land-use type. The nitrate concentrations of groundwater in cropland or livestock farming areas were higher than those in the residential area. The percentages of nitrate to total anions of groundwater samples from the livestock farming area were higher than those of other areas. The ${\delta}^{15}N$ values of ammonium sulfate, urea, groundwater sample in the non-contaminated area, and water from the animal manure septic tank were -2.7, 1.4, 5.5, and 27.2‰, respectively. Based on the ${\delta}^{15}N$ values, the sources of nitrate could be classified as originated from chemical fertilizers with ${\delta}^{15}N$ values below 5% and as from animal manure or municipal waste with ${\delta}^{15}N$ values over 10‰. In most cases, contamination sources investigated from ${\delta}^{15}N$ values of groundwater samples were correlated with the specific sources according to the land-use types. However, some ${\delta}^{15}N$ values did not matched the apparent land-use types, and there were seasonal variations of ${\delta}^{15}N$ values within the same well. These results suggest that the groundwater quality was affected by two or more contamination sources and the contribution of each source to the groundwater quality varied depending on the sampling season.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.147-152
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• 2015

Nitrogen (N) loading from domestic, agricultural and industrial sources can lead to excessive growth of macrophytes or phytoplankton in aquatic environment. Many studies have used nitrogen stable isotope ratios to identify anthropogenic nitrogen in aquatic systems as a useful method for studying nitrogen cycle. In this study to evaluate the precision and accuracy of Kjeldahl processes, two reference materials (IAEA-NO-3, N-1) were analyzed repeatedly. Measured the ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ values of IAEA-NO-3 and IAEA-N-1 were $4.7{\pm}0.2$‰ and $0.4{\pm}0.3$‰, respectively, which are within recommended values of analytical uncertainties. Also, we investigated spatial patterns of ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ in effluent plumes from a waste water treatment plant in Han River, Korea. ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ values are enriched at downstream areas of water treatment plant suggesting that dissolved nitrogen in effluent plumes should be one of the main N sources in those areas. The current study clarifies the reliability of Kjeldahl analytical method and the usefulness of stable isotopic techniques to trace the contamination source of dissolved nitrogen such as nitrate and ammonia.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.305-321
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• 2022

The stone chamber tomb in Eungpyeong-ri, Buyeo, is a joint tomb that contains the bodies of two individuals. This paper investigates the relationship between the buried persons and the characteristics of the stone chamber tomb. Based on the geographical location, relics, and the excavated human bones, it was determined that the tomb was built during the Sabi Period of the Baekje Dynasty and that the buried individuals were most probably residents of high stature or government officials. To study the excavated bones, the remains were carefully collected and conservation was carried out. Before collecting samples from the human bones for the analytical research, the results of near-infrared analysis were used to collect the samples for the isotope analysis and DNA analysis. The most important issue when handling the excavation site was the reinforcing agent and the concentration of the agent used. In situations like this, Paraloid B-72 is the most suitable agent. When the shape of human bones was difficult to distinguish from the soil, conservation was performed using X-ray and CT imaging data. The same chemical used for the reinforcement of the site was used to complete a minimum level of conservation to the surface areas where the conservation treatment of removing foreign substances, the reinforcement areas, and bonded areas were carried out. The collagen yield from the sample obtained at selected position was 3.8% to 6.1%. The results of analyzing the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen found in the extracted collagen showed that the stable isotope ratios came out to δ¹³C -18.3‰±0.1‰, -19.0‰±0.1‰ for EBW and δ¹⁵N 10.7‰±0.5‰, 10.6‰±0.1‰ for EBE. It is believed the two individuals consumed small amounts of minor cereals, mainly from C₃ plants, and protein was obtained from eating terrestrial animals. What's more, the deviations in data obtained from the two individuals were so small that it could be inferred that the individuals ate similar foods. Considering the preservation state of the sample, amplifying DNA for the DNA analysis would have been very difficult since the amount of surviving DNA was so deficient. For DNA analysis, it is anticipated that the results could be derived by applying improved extraction methods that will be developed in the future. In this research, any association between scientific analysis(DNA and stable isotope ratio) and near-infrared spectroscopy was difficult to establish. Further research is needed on the utilization of near-infrared analysis for gathering samples from human bones.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.53-69
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• 2000

To reveal the origin of the Chuncheon nephrite deposit, radiogenic isotopes of Sr and Pb, stable isotopes of 0 and H, and rare earth elements concentrations were analyzed. Such geochemical data were integrated to track the stepwise changes during the various ore formation stages. All the samples from the nephrite deposit have significantly low 0 isotopic ratios compared with the marble from which they had been formed, which reflects the very important role of the crustal circulating water with low 6180 and 6D in every stage of ore formation. There were progressive decrease of 6180 and 6D during the genesis of Chuncheon nephrite deposit. Newly formed minerals during the ore formation reveal disequilibrium with existing minerals in the respect of 0 isotope, which suggests that the ore-forming fluid of circulating water origin was involved with significant water-rock ratios in every step of ore formation process. The ore samples have Sr and Pb isotopic ratios similar to the values of Kyeonggi gneiss complex within which the deposit is located, which also suggests the important role of crustal circulating water in the genesis of the deposit. In conclusion, all the geochemical data support that major portion of the ore-forming fluid of Chuncheon nephrite deposit was derived ultimately from the surface water of meteoric origin. The meteoric water supplied Sr and Pb through leaching the rocks surrounding the ore deposits.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.84-90
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• 2020

We investigated carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) of the slipmouth Leiognathus nuchalis to reveal the effects of body size, feeding strategy and spatial distribution on the food resource utilization during the migration in the Seomjin estuary and Gwangyang Bay. The δ¹³C values of L. nuchalis caught in the Seomjin estuary where the salinity is lower than 30 psu were much lower than those in the deep-bay area of Gwangyang Bay. Such a spatial heterogeneity in δ¹³C values of the L. nuchalis clearly indicates active feeding within the estuarine habitat. In contrast, the δ¹⁵N values of L. nuchalis showed a consistency among sites, indicating that this species occupies identical trophic level across the whole area. The slipmouth distributed throughout the bay area, reflecting its euryhaline characteristics. However, the distribution pattern appeared to be separated according to body size into smaller individuals in the low-saline estuary and larger ones in the deep bay. Overall results support the plastic feeding strategy of the slipmouth from zooplanktonic (estuarine habitat) to epibenthic (deep-bay habitat) feeder during the migration between estuarine to deep-bay habitats.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.211-221
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• 2011

Contents of biogenic components [opal, $CaCO_3$, TOC (total organic carbon)] were measured in Core LHB-3PC sediments collected off Lutzow-Holm Bay, in order to understand glacial-interglacial cyclic variation of the high-latitude surface-water paleoproductivity, in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean. An age model was established from the correlation of ARM/IRM ratios of Core LHB-3PC with LR04 stack benthic ${\delta}^{18}O$ records, in complement with radiocarbon isotope ages and biostratigraphic Last Appearance Datum (LAD). The core-bottom age was estimated to be about 700 ka. Although the $CaCO_3$ content is very low less than 1.0% throughout the core, the opal and TOC contents show clear glacial-interglacial cyclic variation such that they are high during the interglacial periods (7.2-50.3% and 0.05-1.00%, respectively) and low during the glacial periods (5.2-25.2% and 0.01-0.68%, respectively). According to the spectral analysis, the variation of opal content is controlled mainly by eccentricity forcing and subsequently by obliquity forcing during the last 700 kyrs. The opal contents of Core LHB-3PC also represent the apparent Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT)-related climatic variation in the glacial-interglacial cycles. In particular, the orbital variation of the opal contents shows increasing amplitudes since marine isotope stage (MIS) 11, which defines one of the important paleoclimatic events during the late Quaternary, called the "Mid-Brunhes Event". Based on the variation of the opal contents in Core LHB-3PC, we suggest that the surface-water paleoproductivity in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean followed the orbital (glacial-interglacial) cycles, and was controlled mainly by the extent of sea ice distribution during the last 700 kyrs.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.275-288
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• 2019

We investigated flux, grain size distribution, Nd-Sr isotope composition, mineral composition, and trace metal composition (REEs and Sc) of inorganic silicate fraction (ISF, mainly Asian dust with an unrestricted amount of volcanic materials) deposited during 600~1000 ka across the Mid-Pleistocene Transition at core NPGP 1401-2A (32°01'N, 178°59'E, 5205m) taken from the central part of the North Pacific. Our results reveal about a 2-fold increase in ISF flux after 800 ka, which is associated with an increase in La/Sc and a decrease in mean grain size. Asian dusts are finer than volcanic materials and La/Sc increases with the enhanced contribution of Asian dusts. Thus, increased flux after 800 ka can be explained by the increased contribution of Asian dusts relative to volcanic materials, likely due to an intensified Westerly Jet (WJ) and the drying of the Asian continent after the MPT. Mean grain size of ISF varies systematically in relation to glacial-interglacial cycles with a decrease during glacial stages, which is consistent with the previous results in the study area. Such a cyclical pattern is also attributed to the increase in the relative contribution of Asian dusts over volcanic components in glacial stages due to intensified WJ and drying of the Asian continent. Thus, it can be concluded that climate changes that had occurred across the MPT were similar to those of interglacial to glacial transitions at least in terms of the dust budget. Different from the Shatsky Rise, however, compositional changes associated with glacial-interglacial mean grain size fluctuations are not observed in Nd-Sr isotope ratios and trace element composition in our study of the Hess Rise. This may be attributed to the location of the study site far (> 4,000 km) from the volcanic sources. The volcanic component at the study site comprises less than 10% and varies within 3% over glacial-interglacial cycles. Such a small variation was not enough to imprint geochemical signals.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.243-244
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• 2013

Over the past 15 years, several groups have incorporated radio-frequency quadrupole (RFQ) based instruments before the accelerator in accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) systems for ion-gas interactions at low kinetic energy (＜40 eV). Most AMS systems arebased on a tandem accelerator, which requires negative ions at injection. Typically, AMS sensitivity abundance ratios for radioactive-to-stable isotope are limited to Xr/Xs ＞10^-15, and the range of isotopes that can be analyzed is limited because of theneed to produce rather large negative ion beams and the presence of atomic isobaric interferences after stripping. The potential of using low-kinetic energy ion-gas interactions for isobar suppression before the accelerator has been demonstrated for several negative ion isobar systems with a prototype RFQ system incorporated into the AMS system at IsoTrace Laboratory, Canada (Ontario, Toronto). Requisite for any such RFQ system applied to very rare isotope analysis is large transmission of the analyte ion. This requires proper phase-space matching between the RFQ acceptance and the ion beam phase space (e.g. 35 keV, ${\varphi}3mm$, +-35 mrad), and the ability to control the average ion energy during interactions with the gas. A segmented RFQ instrument is currently being designed at Korea Institute for Science and Technology (한국과학기술연구원, KIST). It will consist of: a) an initial static voltage electrode deceleration region, to lower the ion energy from 35 keV down to ＜40 eV at injection into the first RFQ segment; b) the segmented quadrupole ion-gas interaction region; c) a static voltage electrode re-acceleration region for ion injection into a tandem accelerator. Design considerations and modeling will be discussed. This system should greatly lower the detection limits of the 6 MV AMS system currently being commissioned at KIST. As an example, current detection sensitivity of 41Ca/Ca is limited to the order of 10^-15 while the 41Ca/Ca abundance in modern samples is typically 41Ca/Ca~10^-14 - 10^-15. The major atomic isobaric interference in AMS is 41K. Proof-of-principal work at IsoTrace Lab. has demonstrated that a properly designed system can achieve a relative suppression of KF3-/41CaF3- ＞4 orders of magnitude while maintaining very high transmission of the 41CaF3- ion. This would lower the 41Ca detection limits of the KIST AMS system to at least 41Ca/Ca~10^-19. As Ca is found in bones and shells, this would potentially allow direct dating of valuable anthropological archives and archives relevant to our understanding of the most pronounced climate change events over the past million years that cannot be directly dated with the presently accessible isotopes.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.117-129
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• 2004

Amitrole in environment, difficult to be analyzed by GC or GC/MS due to high polarity and low volatility, was analyzed by LC/ESI/MS in the study. Maximum peak intensity of amitrole in LC/MS/ESI mass spectrum is m/z 85 of protonated molecular ion $(M+H)^+$ with 30V of cone voltage at SIR mode. It was confirmed that ratios between main ion of amitrole, 85 of protonated molecular ion, and m/z 58 fragmented ion of amitrole, had increased corresponding with the increment of cone voltage from 20V to 70V. The isotope molecular weight of amitrole was $86([M+H])^+$ at LC/MS analysis and the mass spectrum ratio between 85 mass and 86 mass was not different by the change of concentration but similar to theoretical ratio(less than 10% standard deviation).The linearity of standard calibration curve under same condition with sample treatment method had $y=1.09354e^6X+26947.2$ and $r^2=0.99$. Recovery rates in water and soil samples were 77.64~83.44% and 71.11~79.44%, respectively. Reliability of the analysis was performed with 5 repeated measurements at each level of standard concentration and the result showed that relative standard deviation was less than 10%; therefore, the extraction and analysis method in the study suggested that it would be reliable to measure amitrole in water and soil media.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.567-575
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• 2021

Residents in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, in which large-scale emissions facilities such as coal-fired power plants and steel mills are concentrated, are very much concerned about their health despite the local government's aggressive efforts to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gases. To understand the impact of coal-fired power plants and external factors on local air pollution, the origins of local pollutants were investigated using stable carbon isotopes that are generally used as tracers of the provenance of fine or ultrafine dust. The origins of the pollutants were analyzed with the data library, built using the seasonally measured data for the two separate locations selected considering the distance from the coal-fired power plant and the analysis of previous studies, and with the back trajectory analysis. As a result of analyzing stable isotope ratios, the tendency of high concentration was found in the order of winter > spring > fall > summer. According to the data matching with the library, the mobile pollutants and open-air incineration had a relatively higher impact on the local air pollution. It is believed that this study, as a pilot study, should focus on securing the reliability of the study results through continuous monitoring and data accumulation.