• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.99-106
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• 2004

Pollution reduction and/or control technology becomes one of the pressing post-semiconductor research field to lead an advanced industrial structure. Soil/groundwater remediation techniques may act as a core technology which will create many demands on pollution reduction areas. A plenty numbers of abandoned metal mines were left without any remediation action in Korea, and it may be potential sources of heavy metal and As contamination in the ecosystem. In order to bring this soil contamination to a settlement, the emerging soil/groundwater remediation techniques should be introduced. Main research topics in the United States and Europe move towards the clean remediation technology without any secondary impact and the feasible application of developing technique into the field scale study. With these advantages, several soil/groundwater techniques such as electrokinetic soil processing, permeable reactive barrier, stabilization/solidification, biosorption, soil flushing with biosurfactant, bioleaching and phytoremediation will be summarized in this paper.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.28 no.spc
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• pp.18-39
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• 2023

Rapid development of geophysical exploration and hydrogeologic monitoring techniques has yielded remarkable increase of datasets related to groundwater systems. Increased number of datasets contribute to understanding of general aquifer characteristics such as groundwater yield and flow, but understanding of complex heterogenous aquifers system is still a challenging task. Recently, applications of data science technique have become popular in the fields of geophysical explorations and monitoring, and such attempts are also extended in the groundwater field. This work reviewed current status and advancement in utilization of data science in groundwater field. The application of data science techniques facilitates effective and realistic analyses of aquifer system, and allows accurate prediction of aquifer system change in response to extreme climate events. Due to such benefits, data science techniques have become an effective tool to establish more sustainable groundwater management systems. It is expected that the techniques will further strengthen the theoretical framework in groundwater management to cope with upcoming challenges and limitations.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.334-337
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• 2002

The drinking water industry faces a growing number of difficultiesin the treatment of groundwater for drinking water production. Groundwater sources are frequently contaminated with nitrates and phosphates due to usage of chemical fertilizer In this study, feasibility of micellar enhanced ultrafiltation (MEUF) was investigated to remediate groundwater contaminated with nitrate and phosphate. Ultrafiltration membrane was cellulose acetate with molecular weight cut off (MWCO) 10,000 and celtyl pyridinium chloride (CPC) was used to form pollutant-micelle complex with nitrate and phosphate. The results show that nitrate and phosphate rejections are satisfactory. The removal efficiency of nitrate and phosphate show 80% and 84% in single pollutant system, respectively with 3 molar ratio of CPC to pollutants. In the multi-pollutant systems, the removalefficiency increased to 90 % and 89 % for nitrate and phosphate, respectively, The presence of nitrate in the solutions did not affect the removal of phosphate and that of phosphate did not affect the removal of nitrate. The concentration of CPC in the permeate and removal efficiency of CPC was a function of the concentration of CPC in the feed solutions.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.186-195
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• 2021

In Korea, groundwater quality is monitored through National Groundwater Quality Monitoring Network (NGQMN) administered by Ministry of Environment. For a given contaminant, compliance to groundwater quality standards is assessed on a annual basis by monitoring the number of incidents that concentration exceeds the regulatory limit. However, this approach provides only a fractional information about groundwater quality degradation, and more crucial information such as location and severity of the contamination cannot be obtained. For better groundwater quality management on a watershed, a more spatially informative and intuitive method is required. This study presents two statistical methods to convert point-wise monitoring data into information on groundwater quality status of a watershed by using a proposed grading scale. The proposed grading system is based on readily available reference standards that classify the water quality into 4 grades. The methods were evaluated with NO₃^-, Cl^-, and total coliform data in Geum River basin. The analyses revealed that groundwater in most watersheds of Geum River basin is good for domestic or/and drinking with no treatment. But, there was notable quality degradation in Bunam seawall and So-oak downstream standard watersheds contaminated by NO₃^- and Cl^-, respectively.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.228-235
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• 2015

The efficiency and applicability of the solid phase extraction disk method in a ²²⁶Ra analysis were examined by the gamma ray spectrometer (GRS) method using a Marinelli beaker and the liquid scintillation counter (LSC) method for groundwater. The recovered ²²⁶Ra, which was filtered by the solid phase extraction disk, was analyzed using gamma ray spectrometer The disks, which were pretreated for caulking the daughter nuclide, were sealed with polyethylene film. Distilled water was used for the blank value of the ²²⁶Ra activity. The recovery values of ²¹⁴Bi and ²¹⁴Pb in the solid phase extraction disk, which used ²²⁶Ra standard material, were 80% (295.21 Kev) and 104% (351.92 Kev), respectively, which were higher than 75% determined by the LSC. The injection of nitrogen gas into the measuring chamber reduced the interference values by about 10%. The detection limits of the ²²⁶Ra activity in a blank sample of 5 L were 0.17~0.40 pCi/L after 80,000 seconds of measuring time. The relationship of the ²²⁶Ra activity in the solid phase extraction disk method and in the LSC method in seven groundwater samples showed a correlation coefficient value 0.987, which implies the applicability of the solid phase extraction disk method. The results showed that ²²⁶Ra activity in groundwater using the solid phase extraction disk method has the following benefits: simple pretreatment, time saving, high recovery values, a low detection limit, and so on. Compared with the LSC method and the GRS method using the Marinelli beaker for the ²²⁶Ra analysis, the solid phase extraction disk method could be useful in groundwater samples with low levels of activities of radionuclides because the method is not restricted by the volume of the sample.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.16-25
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• 2018

The Quaternary volcanic rocks, clastic sedimentary rocks of Kyongsang System, and carbonate rocks of Joseon and Pyongan System are known as good productive and potential aquifer systems in South Korea. National Groundwater Informaton Mangement and Service System (GIMS) indicates that the exploitable, sustainable, and current use of groundwater are about 18.8, 12.9, and $3.73billion\;m^3/a$, respectively. The rest amount ($9.1billion\;m^3/a$) can still be used for an additional water supply source. Therefore. comprehensive groundwater survey work comprising hydrogeological mapping, subsurface investigation and quantitative aquifer test etc. are highly required to establish rational groundwater management strategy.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.27-33
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• 2011

Infiltration plays an important role in the urban water cycle. Infiltration has a potential to contribute to groundwater recharge in addition to runoff reduction. However, infiltration in urban areas has been considered only as a means of runoff reduction. Conventional design methods for infiltration facilities assume soils to be fully-saturated for the sake of simplicity. The amount of groundwater recharge can not be estimated properly with this scheme. Hence, the characteristics of the unsaturated soil condition need to be considered. The finite element model using SEEP/W to estimate infiltration under the unsaturated condition is presented. Infiltration tests for Joomonjin sand are performed and the infiltration behavior of Joomoonjin sand under the unsaturated condition is measured experimentally to verify the validity of the finite element model. The results from comparing infiltrated volume between the saturated and the unsaturated conditions under the same soil and rainfall conditions show that the infiltrated volume in the unsaturated condition is two times bigger than that in the saturated condition.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.195-202
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• 2023

In this study, the ground settlement in backside of retaining wall and the behavior of the retaining wall were analyzed according to the method of groundwater drawdown due to excavation by using two-dimensional(2D) finite element analysis. Numerical analysis was performed by applying 1) fixed groundwater level, 2) constant groundwater drawdown, and 3) transient groundwater drawdown. In addition, the behavior of the retaining wall according to the initial groundwater level, ground conditions, and surcharge pressure in backside of retaining wall was evaluated. Based on the numerical analysis results, it was confirmed that when the groundwater level is at 0.1H from the ground surface (H: Excavation soil height), the wall displacement and ground settlement are not affected by the method of groundwater drawdown, regardless of soil conditions (dense or loose) and surcharge pressure. On the other hand, when the groundwater level is at 0.5H from the ground surface, the method of groundwater drawdown was found to have a significant effect on wall displacement and ground settlement. In this case, the difference in ground settlement presents by up to 4 times depending on the method of groundwater drawdown, and the surcharge load could increase the ground settlement by up to 1.5 times.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.28-36
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• 2012

This study carried out several kinds of investigations such as geology, hydrogeology, groundwater level and quality, surface-water quality, and the quantity and quality of groundwater discharge from the subway to identify the causes of groundwater contamination around the subway tunnel at Suyeong District in Busan City. Geostatistical analyses were also conducted to understand the characteristics of groundwater level and quality distributions. There are Kwanganri Beach and Suyeong River in the study area, which are basically influenced by seawater. The total quantities of groundwater utilization and groundwater discharge from the subway tunnel in Suyeong District are 2,282,000 $m^3$/year, which is 2.4 times larger than the sustainable development yield of groundwater. The lowest groundwater level around the subway tunnel is about 32 m below the mean sea-level. The large drawdown of groundwater led to the inflow of seawater and salinized river water toward the subway tunnel, and therefore the quality of groundwater didn't satisfy the criteria of potable, domestic, agricultural and industrial uses. Distribution maps of groundwater level and qualities produced by kriging were very useful for determining the causes of groundwater contamination in the study area. The distribution maps of electrical conductivity, chloride and sulfate showed the extent of seawater intrusion and the forceful infiltration of the salinized Suyeong River. This study revealed that seawater and salinized river water infiltrated into the inland groundwater and contaminated the groundwater around the subway tunnel, because the groundwater level was seriously drawdowned by groundwater discharge from the subway tunnel. The countermeasure for the minimization of groundwater discharge from the subway tunnel is necessary to prevent the groundwater obstacles such as groundwater depletion, groundwater-quality deterioration, and land subsidence.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.1-9
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• 2017

The numerical analysis of groundwater flow is indispensable for predicting problems associated with water resource development, civil works, environmental hazards, and nuclear power plant construction. Korea lacks public regulatory procedures and guidelines for groundwater flow modeling, especially in nuclear facility sites, which makes adequate evaluation difficult. Feasible step-by-step guidelines are also unavailable. Consequently, reports on groundwater flow modeling have low-grade quality and often present controversial opinions. Additionally, without public guidelines, maintaining consistency in reviewing reports and enforcing laws is more challenging. In this study, the guidelines for groundwater flow modeling were reviewed for three countries - the United States (Documenting Groundwater Modeling at Sites Contaminated with Radioactive Substances), Canada (Guidelines for Groundwater Modelling to Assess Impacts of Proposed Natural Resource Development Activities), and Australia (Australian Groundwater Modelling Guidelines), with the aim of developing groundwater flow modeling regulatory guidelines that can be applied to nuclear facilities in Korea, in accordance with the Groundwater Act, Environmental Impact Assessment Act, and the Nuclear Safety Act.