• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.365-384
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• 2023

We applied the partitioned waveform inversion to 2,026 event data recorded at 173 seismic stations from the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology Data Managing Center and the Ocean Hemisphere network Project to estimate S-wave velocity and radial anisotropy models beneath the Western Pacific. In the Philippine Sea plate, high-Vs anomalies reach deeper in the West Philippine basin than in the Parece-Vela basin. Low-Vs anomalies found at 80 km below the Parece-Vela basin extend deeper into the West Philippine Basin. This velocity contrast between the basins may be caused by differences in lithospheric age. Low-Vs anomalies are observed beneath the Caroline seamount chain and the Caroline plate. Overall positive radial anisotropy anomalies are observed in the Western Pacific, but negative radial anisotropy is found at > 220 km depth on the subducting plate along the Mariana trench and at ~50 km in the Parece-Vela basin. Positive radial anisotropy is found at > 200 km depth beneath the Caroline seamount chain, which may indicate the 'drag' between the plume and the moving Pacific plate. High-Vs anomalies are found at 40 ~ 180 km depth beneath the Ontong-Java plateau, which may indicate the presence of unusually thick lithosphere due to underplating of dehydrated plume material.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.98-104
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• 2011

Numerical simulation in exploration geophysics provides important insights into subsurface wave propagation phenomena. Although elastic wave simulations take longer to compute than acoustic simulations, an elastic simulator can construct more realistic wavefields including shear components. Therefore, it is suitable for exploration of the responses of elastic bodies. To overcome the long duration of the calculations, we use a Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) to accelerate the elastic wave simulation. Because a GPU has many processors and a wide memory bandwidth, we can use it in a parallelised computing architecture. The GPU board used in this study is an NVIDIA Tesla C1060, which has 240 processors and a 102 GB/s memory bandwidth. Despite the availability of a parallel computing architecture (CUDA), developed by NVIDIA, we must optimise the usage of the different types of memory on the GPU device, and the sequence of calculations, to obtain a significant speedup of the computation. In this study, we simulate two- (2D) and threedimensional (3D) elastic wave propagation using the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) method on GPUs. In the wave propagation simulation, we adopt the staggered-grid method, which is one of the conventional FD schemes, since this method can achieve sufficient accuracy for use in numerical modelling in geophysics. Our simulator optimises the usage of memory on the GPU device to reduce data access times, and uses faster memory as much as possible. This is a key factor in GPU computing. By using one GPU device and optimising its memory usage, we improved the computation time by more than 14 times in the 2D simulation, and over six times in the 3D simulation, compared with one CPU. Furthermore, by using three GPUs, we succeeded in accelerating the 3D simulation 10 times.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.09a
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• pp.21-36
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• 2005

Although the main geology of Korea consists of granite and gneiss, it Is not uncommon to encounter anisotropy Phenomena in crosshole radar tomography even when the basement is crystalline rock. To solve the anisotropy Problem, we have developed and continuously upgraded an anisotropic inversion algorithm assuming a heterogeneous elliptic anisotropy to reconstruct three kinds of tomograms: tomograms of maximum and minimum velocities, and of the direction of the symmetry axis. In this paper, we discuss the developed algorithm and introduce some case histories on the application of anisotropic radar tomography in Korea. The first two case histories were conducted for the construction of infrastructure, and their main objective was to locate cavities in limestone. The last two were performed In a granite and gneiss area. The anisotropy in the granite area was caused by fine fissures aligned in the same direction, while that in the gneiss and limestone area by the alignment of the constituent minerals. Through these case histories we showed that the anisotropic characteristic itself gives us additional important information for understanding the internal status of basement rock. In particular, the anisotropy ratio defined by the normalized difference between maximum and minimum velocities as well as the direction of maximum velocity are helpful to interpret the borehole radar tomogram.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.67-72
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• 2006

Injection of $CO_2$ into underground saline formations, due to their large storage capacity, is probably the most promising approach for the reduction of $CO_2$ emissions into the atmosphere. $CO_2$ storage must be carefully planned and monitored to ensure that the $CO_2$ is safely retained in the formation for periods of at least thousands of years. Seismic methods, particularly for offshore reservoirs, are the primary tool for monitoring the injection process and distribution of $CO_2$ in the reservoir over time provided that reservoir properties are favourable. Seismic methods are equally essential for the characterisation of a potential trap, determining the reservoir properties, and estimating its capacity. Hence, an assessment of the change in seismic response to $CO_2$ storage needs to be carried out at a very early stage. This must be revisited at later stages, to assess potential changes in seismic response arising from changes in fluid properties or mineral composition that may arise from chemical interactions between the host rock and the $CO_2$. Thus, carefully structured modelling of the seismic response changes caused by injection of $CO_2$ into a reservoir over time helps in the design of a long-term monitoring program. For that purpose we have developed a Graphical User Interface (GUI) driven rock physics simulator, designed to model both short and long-term 4D seismic responses to injected $CO_2$. The application incorporates $CO_2$ phase changes, local pressure and temperature changes. chemical reactions and mineral precipitation. By incorporating anisotropic Gassmann equations into the simulator, the seismic response of faults and fractures reactivated by $CO_2$ can also be predicted. We show field examples (potential $CO_2$ sequestration sites offshore and onshore) where we have tested our rock physics simulator. 4D seismic responses are modelled to help design the monitoring program.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2009

In field surveys using the dipole-dipole electrical resistivity method, we often encounter negative apparent resistivity. The term 'negative apparent resistivity' refers to apparent resistivity values with the opposite sign to surrounding data in a pseudosection. Because these negative apparent resistivity values have been regarded as measurement errors, we have discarded the negative apparent resistivity data. Some people have even used negative apparent resistivity data in an inversion process, by taking absolute values of the data. Our field experiments lead us to believe that the main cause for negative apparent resistivity is neither measurement errors nor the influence of self potentials. Furthermore, we also believe that it is not caused by the effects of induced polarization. One possible cause for negative apparent resistivity is the subsurface geological structure. In this study, we provide some numerical examples showing that negative apparent resistivity can arise from geological structures. In numerical examples, we simulate field data using a 3D numerical modelling algorithm, and then extract 2D sections. Our numerical experiments demonstrate that the negative apparent resistivity can be caused by geological structures modelled by U-shaped and crescent-shaped conductive models. Negative apparent resistivity usually occurs when potentials increase with distance from the current electrodes. By plotting the voltage-electrode position curves, we could confirm that when the voltage curves intersect each other, negative apparent resistivity appears. These numerical examples suggest that when we observe negative apparent resistivity in field surveys, we should consider the possibility that the negative apparent resistivity has been caused by geological structure.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.85-103
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• 2023

The in-situ remediation of a solidified stratum containing a large amount of fine-texture material like clay or organic matter in contaminated soil faces limitations such as increased remediation cost resulting from decreased purification efficiency. Even if the soil conditions are good, remediation generally requires a long time to complete because of non-uniform soil properties and low permeability. This study assessed the remediation effect and evaluated the field applicability of a methodology that combines pneumatic fracturing, vacuum extraction, and plasma blasting (the PPV method) to improve the limitations facing existing underground remediation methods. For comparison, underground remediation was performed over 80 days using the experimental PPV method and chemical oxidation (the control method). The control group showed no decrease in the degree of contamination due to the poor delivery of the soil remediation agent, whereas the PPV method clearly reduced the degree of contamination during the remediation period. Remediation effect, as assessed by the reduction of the highest TPH (Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons) concentration by distance from the injection well, was uncleared in the control group, whereas the PPV method showed a remediation effect of 62.6% within a 1 m radius of the injection well radius, 90.1% within 1.1~2.0 m, and 92.1% within 2.1~3.0 m. When evaluating the remediation efficiency by considering the average rate of TPH concentration reduction by distance from the injection well, the control group was not clear; in contrast, the PPV method showed 53.6% remediation effect within 1 m of the injection well, 82.4% within 1.1~2.0 m, and 68.7% within 2.1~3.0 m. Both ways of considering purification efficiency (based on changes in TPH maximum and average contamination concentration) found the PPV method to increase the remediation effect by 149.0~184.8% compared with the control group; its average increase in remediation effect was ~167%. The time taken to reduce contamination by 80% of the initial concentration was evaluated by deriving a correlation equation through analysis of the TPH concentration: the PPV method could reduce the purification time by 184.4% compared with chemical oxidation. However, the present evaluation of a single site cannot be equally applied to all strata, so additional research is necessary to explore more clearly the proposed method's effect.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.371-388
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• 2023

A stratum with a complex composition and a distributed low-permeability soil layer is difficult to remediate quickly because the soil remediation does not proceed easily. For efficient purification, the permeability should be improved and the soil remediation agent (H₂O₂) should be injected into the contaminated section to make sufficient contact with the TPH (Total petroleum hydrocarbons). This study analyzed a method for crack formation and effective delivery of the soil remediation agent based on pneumatic fracturing, plasma blasting, and vacuum suction (the PPV method) and compared its improvement effect relative to chemical oxidation. A demonstration test confirmed the effective delivery of the soil remediation agent to a site contaminated with TPH. The injection amount and injection time were monitored to calculate the delivery characteristics and the range of influence, and electrical resistivity surveying qualitatively confirmed changes in the underground environment. Permeability tests also evaluated and compared the permeability changes for each method. The amount of soil remediation agent injected was increased by about 4.74 to 7.48 times in the experimental group (PPV method) compared with the control group (chemical oxidation); the PPV method allowed injection rates per unit time (L/min) about 5.00 to 7.54 times quicker than the control method. Electrical resistivity measurements assessed that in the PPV method, the diffusion of H₂O₂2 and other fluids to the surface soil layer reduced the low resistivity change ratio: the horizontal change ratio between the injection well and the extraction well decreased the resistivity by about 1.12 to 2.38 times. Quantitative evaluation of hydraulic conductivity at the end of the test found that the control group had 21.1% of the original hydraulic conductivity and the experimental group retained 81.3% of the initial value, close to the initial permeability coefficient. Calculated radii of influence based on the survey results showed that the results of the PPV method were improved by 220% on average compared with those of the control group.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.337-342
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• 2007

The representative Cretaceous-Tertiary paleomagnetic poles of the Korean Peninsula have been obtained from primary remanences of unremagnetized rocks: $59.6^{\circ}N$, $194.7^{\circ}E$ for $K_{1M}$; $67.6^{\circ}N$, $207.7^{\circ}E$ for $K_{1L}$; $71.1^{\circ}N$, $215.2^{\circ}E$ for $K_2$; and $84.9^{\circ}N$, $292.6^{\circ}E$ for the Miocene. Chemical remanences of remagnetized rocks also yield Early Tertiary paleomagnetic pole ($83.9^{\circ}N$, $88.3^{\circ}E$). These paleopoles provide the tentative APWP of the Korean Peninsula since the Cretaceous, and suggest some tectonic interpretations as follows. The Korean Peninsula was located at similar latitude to the present position, and rotated clockwise with respect to the adjacent blocks during the Cretaceous. The Korean Peninsula experienced latitudinal movement during the Early Tertiary, which was possibly associated with the continental collision between India and Asia. The Korean Peninsula and Southwest Japan might be independent terrains during the Cretaceous based on the temporal discrepancies of the southward movements and the clockwise rotations of the two blocks with respect to Eurasia.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.310-317
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• 2008

Lg amplitude decrease $Q^{-1}$ is very important because the Lg phase is the largest seismic phase in Korea if hazardous earthquakes occurred at neighbor nations such as Japan and China. Since reliable $Q^{-1}$ from two station method can be obtained by long pair distance of stations or events, we used seismic stations both Korea and Japans recording Korean events. The obtained $Q^{-1}$ values, however, were anomalously high; these misguided values, inconsistent with tectonic activity of Korean Peninsula, seems to be related with high $Q^{-1}$ values of Japan region.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.293-299
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• 2013

The recent Multiple Lapse Time Window (MLTW) analysis of Korean Peninsula event showed that the focal depth was far greater influence factor than the velocity structure of the model, applying the analysis of the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. Thus, using the events with focal depth of about 10 km, this study considered 330 paths connecting 41 events and 71 stations, and re-examined uniform and depth-dependent velocity models previously studied. As a result, the residual of misfit function greatly decrease from analytic model to DSMC model, reflecting variation of the focal depth from 0 to 10 km. On the other hand, the difference of residuals for each velocity model were relatively small.