• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권11호
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• pp.4265-4271
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• 2022

Determination of ¹³⁷Cs, ⁴⁰K and ²¹⁰Po in water, bottom sediments and suspended matter of river systems of the Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, Vietnam was carried out. The average activity concentration of ¹³⁷Cs in waters of Ca Gau and Long Tau was 0.89 ± 0.14 and 1.08 ± 0.15 Bq m^-3 and was comparable to the levels of this radioisotope in waters of the East Sea. The activity concentration of ¹³⁷Cs in bottom sediments was 2.23 ± 0.81 and 3.63 ± 1.24 Bq kg^-1. The activity concentration of ¹³⁷Cs in water and bottom sediments could be characterized as low. So, the water areas of the Ca Gau and Long Tau rivers could be attributed to areas with insignificant pollution by technogenic radionuclides. The ²¹⁰Po activity concentration in bottom sediments of the Ca Gau and Long Tau rivers ranged from 9.2 ± 1.2 to 25.5 ± 2.1 Bq kg^-1, which is typical for river bottom sediments. Such values indicate the absence of anthropogenic enhancement of the entry of this radionuclide into the Can Gio river systems. The ⁴⁰K activity concentration varied within 467 ± 42-651 ± 39 Bq kg^-1 and represented typical values of potassium content in the bottom sediments of coastal water bodies, subject to a significant influence of the lithogenic component of suspended matter.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• 제34권5호
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• pp.349-354
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• 2010

Cheonan, Republic of Korea Navy patrol ship sank had happened by an unknown incident in the vicinity of Baekryeongdo southwest 1.6km(1 mile) sea at 21:45 on March 26, 2010. In terms of coastal researcher's point of view, it is meaningful to provide the sea condition of basic data necessary for search and rescue, more detailed predictions and inference data through the numerical simulations. Thus, in this study, we investigated the weather, wave, tide, tidal current, bottom soil conditions, and suspended sediment are investigated at the coast of Baekryeong-Daechung islands. And based on these data, the characteristics of sea conditions were analyzed. The tidal period at the time of incident corresponds between neap tide to mean tide. Until April 3-4 after March 26, the date of incident, the strongest velocity was progressed towards the spring tide. Thus, it was considered to be difficult to search and rescue operations. Also, because the ebb tide was in progress during 21:00 to 22:00, mass transport seems to be prevailed to the southeast. In particular, as the sudden turbulence due to the irregular topography existed was anticipated, we had carried out particle tracking experiment. From this experiment, depending on the situation of flow, the initial movement of the particles were directed to the southeast but it turned out moving towards the offshore based on the long term prediction. Through this result, it is considered that the scope of the search operation should be expanded towards the open sea.

• The Korean Journal of Petroleum Geology
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• 제10권1_2호
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• pp.18-22
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• 2004

To identify and interpret the distribution and the characteristics of the gas hydrate layers in the Ulleung Basin, we have surveyed and gathered the multi-channel seismic data, Chirp sub-bottom profiler, SeaBeam and 12 m piston core samples since 1996. In previous works, high-resolution seismic profiles showed acoustic anomalies such as acoustic void, acoustic turbidity and pock mark which indicate the presence of gas-charged sediments. The patterns of horizontal degassing cracks originated from free methane expansion is the strong indicator of shallow gas-charged sediments in the core samples. The observation of submarine slides and slumps from destabilizing the sediments in the southern part of the Ulleung Basin may also point out that the gas had been released from gas hydrate dissociation during lowstand of sea level. The multi-channel seismic data show BSR, blanking and phase reversal. The gas hydrate layers above which large-scale shallow gases are distributed exist at the depth of about 200 m from the sea-floor with water depth of 2,100 m. From the interpretation of seismic sections in the southern Ulleung Basin, gas hydrate layers occur in the Pleistocene-Holocene sediments. These gas-charged sediments, acoustic anomalies and BSR may be all related to the existence of gas hydrate layers in the study area.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.257-266
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• 2018

East China Sea (ECS) is known to be supplied with large amounts of sediments form Huanghe, Changjiang and various rivers in Korea. Many studies have been conducted to identify the effects of rivers and deposition process of ECS, but no consensus has been reached. In this study, clay minerals, rare earth elements (REEs) and grain size were analyzed to study the provenance and sedimentation environment of core 99MAP-P63 in ECS. Clay mineral contents of 99MAP-P63 are abundant in order of illite, chlorite, kaolinite, and smectite. The provenance of 99MAP-P63 sediments using clay minerals is interpreted as the Changjiang regardless of depth. As a result of REEs analysis, 99MAP-P63 sediments are very similar to Chinese rivers sediments. Therefore, the provenance of 99MAP-P63 is Changjiang, and the influence of Korean river seems to be insignificant. 99MAP-P63 sediments are generally classified as sandy silt, but the top of the core is divided into sand with a sand contents of 85 %. Compared with surrounding cores, sandy silt sediments arecorresponded to the low stand stage when sea-level was low, and the sediments were thought to have been supplied directly through the paleo-Changjiang. Sandy sediments in uppermost of core are corresponded to transgressive stage. Although distance from estuary was increased due to sea-level rise, it was possible to supply coarse sediments due to high bottom stress, and the paleo-Changjiang sediments deposited in study area were re-deposited.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• 제28권4호
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• pp.158-177
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• 2023

An estuary is a transitional water area that links the land and sea through rivers and streams, transporting various components from the land to the sea, which plays an important role in determining primary productivity in the coastal environment, and this coastal ecosystem captures a huge amount of carbon into biomass, known as blue carbon, which mitigates climate change as a potential carbon reservoir. This study examined the variation of mean grain size and organic carbon content of the surface sediments for 6 years and analyzed their relationship in the western and southern estuarine areas (Han River Estuary, Geum River Estuary, Yeongsan River Estuary, Seomjin River Estuary, and Nakdong River Estuary) and the East Sea upwelling area. During the sampling period (2015 to 2020), seasonal variation of both properties was not observed, because their variations might be controlled by diverse oceanographic environments and hydrographic conditions within each survey area. However, despite the synoptic problem of all samples, the positive relationship was obtained between the averages of mean grain size and organic carbon content, which clearly distinguishes each survey area. The unique positive relationship in all estuarine areas implies that the same process by sediment clay particles is important in the organic carbon accumulation. However, additional important factor may be expected in the organic carbon accumulation in the East Sea upwelling area. Further necessary data (sedimentation rate, dry bulk density etc) should be required for the estimation of carbon stock to evaluate the major estuaries in Korea as potential carbon reservoirs in the coastal environment.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• 제14권3호
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• pp.127-133
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• 2009

In order to determine organic carbon oxidation by manganese and iron oxides, six core sediments were obtained in slope and basin sediments of Ulleung Basin in East Sea. The basin sediments show high organic carbon contents (>2%) at the water depths deeper than 2,000 m; this is rare for deep-sea sediments, except for those of the Black Sea and Chilean upwelling regions. In the Ullleung Basin, the surface sediments were extremely enriched by Manganese oxides with more than 2%. Maximum contents of Fe oxides were found at the depth of $1{\sim}4cm$ in basin sediments. However, the high level of Mn and Fe oxides was not observed in slope sediment. Surface manganese enrichments (>2%) in Ulleung Basin may be explained by two possible mechanisms: high organic carbon contents and optimum sedimentation rates and sufficient supply of dissolved Manganese from slope to the deep basin. Reduction rates of iron and manganese oxides ranged from 0.10 to $0.24\;mmol\;m^{-2}day^{-1}$ and from 0.30 to $0.57\;mmol\;m^{-2}day^{-1}$, respectively. In Ulleung Basin sediments, $13{\sim}26%$ of organic carbon oxidation may be linked to the reduction of iron and manganese oxides. Reduction rates of metal oxides were comparable to those of Chilean upwelling regions, and lower than those of Danish coastal sediments.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.66-75
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• 2014

This study aims to understand environmental factors that determine spatial distribution of macrozoobenthic community in the southern area (ca 100-500 m depth) of East Sea, Korea, known as a candidate site for carbon storage under the seabed. From sixteen locations sampled in the summer of 2012, a total of 158 species were identified, showing density of $843indiv/m^2$ and biomass of $26.2g\;WW/m^2$, with increasing faunal density towards biologically higher diverse locations. Principal component analysis showed that a total of 33 environmental parameters were reduced to three principal components (PC), indicating sediment, bottom water, and depth, respectively. As sand content was increasing, number of species increased but biomass decreased. Six dominant species including two bivalve species favored high concentrations of ${\Omega}$ aragonite and ${\Omega}$ calcite, indicating that the corresponding species can be severely damaged by ocean acidification or $CO_2$ effluent. Cluaster analysis based on more than 1% density dominant species classified the entire study area into four faunal assemblage (location groups), which were delineated by characteristic species, including (A) Ampelisca miharaensis, (B) Edwardsioides japonica, (C) Maldane cristata, (D) Spiophanes kroeyeri, and clearly separated in terms of geography, bottom water and sediment environment. Overall, a discriminant function model was developed to predict four faunal assemblages from five simply-measured environmental variables (depth, sand content in sediment, temperature, salinity and pH in bottom water) with 100% accuracy, implying that benthic faunal assemablages are closed linked to certain combinations of abiotic factors.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• 제32권4호
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• pp.286-296
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• 2014

In this study, we investigated the macrobenthic community structure and spatiotemporal variations in Uljin Marine Ranching area, East Sea of Korea. Macrobenthos were collected using a modified van Veen grab sampler from April to September 2013. Total number of species sampled was 345 and mean density was 5,797 ind. $m^{-2}$, both of which were dominated by the polychaetes. The most dominant species were Spiophanes bombyx (53.64%), followed by Magelona sp.1 (6.96%), Cadella semitorta (2.73%), Lumbrineris longifolia (2.16%) and Alvenius ojianus (2.08%). Cluster analysis and nMDS ordination analysis based on the Bray-Curtis similarity identified 2 station groups. The group 1 (station 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9) was characterized by high abundance of the polychaetes Magelona sp.1, Lumbrineris longifolia, Scoloplos armiger, Praxillella affinis, Maldane cristata and the bivalve Alvenius ojianus, with fine sediment above 30m water depth. On the other hand, the group 2 (station 1, 4, 7 and 10) was numerically dominated by the polychaete Lumbrineriopsis sp. and the bivalve Cadella semitorta, with coarse sediment below 5m water depth. Collectively, the macrobenthic community structure showed a distinct spatial trend, which seemed to be related to the water depth and sediment composition.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• 제47권6호
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• pp.589-599
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• 2014

This study selected optimal sites in Myeongsasimni located in west coast of Korea for stratigraphic research containing extreme climate event during quaternary period by spatio-temporal analyses of changes in sedimentary environment and land use employing 1918 topographic map, 2000 digital terrain map, 1976 and 2012 air photographies. The study area shows no significant changes in topographic characteristics that hilly areas with relatively large variations in elevation are distributed over north and south part of the study area, and sand dues are developed along the coast line. Moreover, flat low lying areas are located at the back side of the sand dues. The movement of surface run off and sediment loads shows two major trends of inland direction flow from back sides of sand dunes and outland direction flow from high terrains inland, and the two flows merge into the stream located in the center of the study area. Two sink with individual area of $0.2km^2$ are observed in Yongjeong-ri and Jaryong-ri which are located in south central part and south part of the study area, respectively. In addition, sea level change simulation reveals that $3.4km^2$ and $3.64km^2$ are inundated with 3 m of sea level rise in 1918 and 2000, respectively, and it would contribute to chase sea level change records preserved in stratigraphy. The inundated areas overlaps well with sink areas where it indicates the low lying areas located in south cental and south part of the study area are identical for sediment accumulation. The areas with minimal human impact on sediment records over last 100 years are $3.51km^2$ distributed over central and south part of the study area with the land use changes of mud and rice field in 1918 to rice field in 2012. The candidate sites of $0.15km^2$ in central part and $0.09km^2$ in south part are identified for preferable locations of geologic record of extreme climate events during quaternary period based on the overlay analysis of optimal sedimentary environment and land use changes.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.110-123
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• 2021

We investigated geochemical constituents of pore-water and sediment, rates of organic carbon (C_org) oxidation and sulfate reduction (SR), and benthic nutrient flux (BNF) to elucidate characteristic of C_org oxidation and its control in the coastal area near Lake Shihwa. The study sites were selected in the vicinity of Soraepogu (E0), Songdo tidalflat (E1) and Oido dock (E3) and in front of floodgate Shihwa tidal plant (E5). The C_org contents in the sediments and concentrations of ammonium and phosphate in pore water exhibited the highest value at EO, and gradually decreased toward the outer sea (E1, E3, E5). Rates of anaerobic C_org oxidation (260.6 mmol C m^-2 d^-1) and SR (91.4 mmol S m^-2 d^-1) at E0 were 4-9 and 6-54 times higher than at the site of outer sea (E1, E3, E5). Rates of SR at E3 and E5 accounted for 11-23% of anaerobic C_org oxidation, whereas it comprised 47-70% of anaerobic C_org oxidation at E0 and E1. Rates of C_org oxidation and SR showed a highly positive correlation with the concentration of dissolved organic carbon (r² = 0.795 and 0.777, respectively). The BNF at E0, E1, and E3 accounted for 120-510% and 26-178%, respectively, of the N and P required for primary production in the water column. Overall results suggest that the C_org oxidation in the sediment controlled by concentration of dissolved organic carbon in the pore water and the excessive C_org oxidation stimulates the benthic nutrient flux, which may cause a phytoplankton bloom in the water column.