• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.13-22
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• 2009

The study area is a tunnelling section passing through the Yangsan Fault zone. Kyungbu express highway and national road 35 are located above the tunnel. Previous study showed that fault gouge and fault breccia were widely distributed in the tunnelling section with a maximum width of 100 m. From the present study, it is found that sedimentary rocks consisting mainly of shale are distributed at the eastern block of the Yangsan Fault and these rocks are not subject to mechanical fracturing and hydrothermal alteration. On the other hand, dacitic tuff distributed at the western block of the Yangsan Fault is largely affected by mechanical fracturing and hydrothermal alteration. The large fault zone of $50{\sim}130m$ width was formed by complex processes of mechanical fracturing and hydrothermal alterations such as chloritization, sericitization, and kaolinization. Based on the characteristics of mechanical fracturing and hydrothermal alterations, the Yangsan fault zone in the study area is geotechnically classified as four zones: unaltered zone, altered zone, altered fractured zone, and fault gouge zone. These zones show different degrees and aspects in mechanical fracturing and hydrothermal alterations, resulting in different engineering properties.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.185-192
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• 2017

A sequence of earthquakes with the main shock $M_L$ 5.8 occurred on September 12 2016 in the Gyeongju area. The main shock was the largest earthquakes in the southern part of the Korean peninsula since the instrumental seismic observation began in the peninsula in 1905 and clearly demonstrated that the Yangsan fault is seismically active. The mean focal depth of the foreshock, main shock, and aftershock of the Gyeongju earthquakes estimated by the crustal model of single layer of the Korean peninsula without the Conrad discontinuity turns out to be 12.9 km, which is 2.8 km lower than that estimated based on the IASP91 reference model with the Conrad discontinuity. The distribution of the historical and instrumental earthquakes in the Gyeongju area indicates that the Yangsan fault system comprising the main Yangsan fault and its subsidiary faults is a large fracture zone. The epicenters of the Gyeongju earthquakes show that a few faults of the Yangsan fault system are involved in the release of the strain energy accumulated in the area. That the major earthquakes of Gyeongju earthquakes occurred not on the surface but below 10 km depth suggests the necessity of the study of the distribution of deep active faults of the Yangsan fault system. The magnitude of maximum earthquake of the Gyeongju area estimated based on the earthquake data of the area turns out to be 7.3. The recurrence intervals of the earthquakes over magnitudes 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0 based on the earthquake data since 1978, which is the most complete data in the peninsula, are estimated as 80, 670, and 5,900 years, respectively. The September 2016 Gyeongju earthquakes are basically intraplate earthquakes not related to the Great East Japan earthquake of March 11 2011 which is interplate earthquake.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.195-209
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• 2016

The understanding of geometric complexity of strike-slip Fault system can be an important factor to control fault reactivation and surface rupture propagation under the regional stress regime. The Kumamoto earthquake was caused by dextral reactivation of the Futagawa-Hinagu Fault system under the E-W maximum horizontal principal stress. The earthquakes are a set of earthquakes, including a foreshock earthquake with a magnitude 6.2 at the northern tip of the Hinagu Fault on April 14, 2016 and a magnitude 7.0 mainshock which generated at the intersection of the two faults on April 16, 2016. The hypocenters of the main shock and aftershocks have moved toward NE direction along the Futagawa Fault and terminated at Mt. Aso area. The intersection of the two faults has a similar configuration of ${\lambda}$-fault. The geometries and kinematics, of these faults were comparable to the Yansan-Ulsan Fault system in SE Korea. But slip rate is little different. The results of age dating show that the Quaternary faults distributed along the northern segment of the Yangsan Fault and the Ulsan Fault are younger than those along the southern segment of the Yansan Fault. This result is well consistent with the previous study with Column stress model. Thus, the seismic activity along the middle and northern segment of the Yangsan Fault and the Ulsan Fault might be relatively active compared with that of the southern segment of the Yangsan Fault. Therefore, more detailed seismic hazard and paleoseismic studies should be carried out in this area.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.93-106
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• 2019

The Yangsan Fault is one of the main fault systems in the Korean peninsula. It can be divided into three segments (northern, central, and southern) by its paleoseismic and structural geologic properties. Based on the geomorphic features of the northern segment, which includes the Yugye Fault, we identified deflected streams as a geomorphic marker of strike-slip component of the fault, and knickpoints along the streams as evidence of dip-slip component of the fault. Geomorphic analyses showed that (1) the horizontal displacements of deflected streams decreased and (2) the retreat amounts of knickpoints tend to increased toward north along the lineament. We interpreted the variations caused by strain partitioning; that is, there might be some increases of the vertical component toward north, whereas the main strike-slip fault system dies out, splaying into horsetail structure toward north. Based on the response time of the landforms, these interpretations imply that (1) there were differences between horizontal slip rate and vertical slip rate along strike, and/or (2) there were different timings between horizontal and vertical deformations by fault.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.99-114
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• 1998

The Yangsan fault system of Kyungsang Basin in the southeastern part of Korean peninsula is one of the most important structures in the peninsula. A number of strong earthquakes occurred in the vicinity of the fault. It was suggested that this fault can be divided into three segments: northern, central and southern ones. Earthquake data around the Yangsan fault were classified into two groups as incomplete and complete ones; the former is the data before the Choseon Dynasty and the latter is those since the dynasty. The maximum likelihood method was applied to compute seismicity parameters such as earthquake occurrence rates, b-values of frequency-magnitude relation and maximum possible magnitudes for each segment and the entire fault. These parameters show considerably different values from segment to segment. The b-value for the entire fault turned out to be 0.85 and maximum possible magnitudes for the northern, central and southern segments are 5.2, 6.8 and 6.0, respectively. The mean return periods for the maximum possible magnitudes for each segments are greater than 1000 years. In addition, according to the analysis of the frequency-magnitude relation, the occurrence pattern of earthquakes around the Yangsan fault show more similarity to the characteristic earthquake model than the Gutenberg-Richter model. The data for each segments are, however, too scarce to obtain any physically meaningful results.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.1070-1072
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• 2003

This study focuses on examing the feasibility of differential SAR interferometry (DInSAR) in the Northeastern Kyungsang Basin, Korea. Major faults in the Kyungsang Basin such as Yangsan fault, Dongrae fault, and Ulsan fault had developed during Cretaceous, and the activeness of these faults is still controversial in Korean geology community. We attempt to measure displacements in the study area by applying DInSAR techniques to JERS-1 SAR data sets. Some surface displacements are recognized by DInSAR method at Young-il Bay in which the POSCO Company locates, although the displacements may not be directly associated with geologic structures. We also discuss atmospheric effects for the techniques used.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2004.03b
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• pp.904-909
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• 2004

The study area adjoins with Yangsan fault in Sangbuk-myeon, Samsam-ri, Kyongsang-namdo and consist of the natural steep slope. After drawing data layer which have altitude by using digital topography data, it is converted to lattice DEM of $10m{\times}10m$ size. From this, gradient map of unit lattice, slant direction map and shadow relif map are made. Using flow apportioning algorithm, upper slope contributing area and wetness index by established lattice can be calculated. Area that have high wetness index shows lineament structure of northwest-southeast direction, and this agrees with shear fracture system. The result of electricity specific resistance survey in the study area shows that area of high wetness index has low electricity specific resistance anomaly. That is, wetness index conforms with distribution of fractured zone that accompanied chemical weathering of rock. Therefore, wetness index can be used as the method of detecting fractured zones and judging the stability of the area.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.11-22
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• 2019

This study was conducted to identify the causes of the unusually high number of rock slope failures during an expressway construction in Yangsan fault system. The shear strength (cohesion and internal friction angle) of 128 slopes of discontinuities including bedding, joint, and fault planes were re-evaluated through the examination of face mapping and back analysis. The re-evaluated values were analyzed and then compared with the existing data and values used in the design. As a result, the re-evaluated cohesion and friction angles were very low compared to the existing data and the values applied in the design. This incongruity was pointed as the primary reason for the rock slopes failures during the construction. This may be related to the inherent features of clastic sedimentary rocks in the study area, and the discontinuities in the sedimentary rocks in this region played a significant role. Especially, bedding discontinuity showed a big difference compared to the existing data. The shear strength depended on the type of discontinuity in case of clay filled in discontinuity. However, shear strength was independent on the type of discontinuity in case of shattered materials filled in discontinuity.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.139-152
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• 2018

This study is an analysis of slope failure examples of cut sedimentary hills during construction road in Kyoungsang Basin, especially Yangsan Fault system (Ilkwang-Dongrae fault). This area involved a lot of hillslope failures compared to other areas during road construction. The exposed failure slopes were first face-mapped, and then back analyzed based on the limit equilibrium method to assess the shear strength parameters of discontinuity (bedding). The results of this analysis indicate that the shear strength parameters of discontinuity (bedding) are significantly smaller than those used in the design stage and presented in the existing works. The filling in the bedding and emerging groundwater may be decreasing strength parameters. Especially, the clay in the bedding plays a key role in the effect of the shear strength. The study also suggests that the bedding angle and the internal friction angle are proportional to each other. Using this relationship and knowing the bedding angle, the friction can easily be estimated.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.251-258
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• 2019

During the detailed geological survey around the southern Yangsan Fault, we newly found a Quaternary fault outcrop, which cuts unconsolidated sediments. The fault named the Sinwoo site, located in the Sinwoo pasture, Miho-ri, Duseo-myeon, Ulsan metropolitan city, is the first discovered Quaternary fault near the western part of the south Yangsan Fault. In this study, we provide information on characteristics of fault geometry and unconsolidated sediment at Sinwoo site based on the analysis data of topography, drainage, and lineament around the study site. The fault site is situated at pediment slope, but fan-shaped middle terrace, as well as thick sediment exposed at low terrace, indicates that the unconsolidated sediments have been deposited in the alluvial fan environment. The drainage develops to the third-order drainage system, and the first and the second drainage system meet at right angles to each other and form a radial drainage pattern. In addition, the NE-SW direction lineaments can be identified on the basis of the curvature of the river and the step of the topographic relief, running over the Sinwoo site. The fault of $N30-35^{\circ}E/79-82^{\circ}SE$ shows ~ 5.8 m apparent vertical offset and dominantly reverse-slip sense based on slickenline, rotation of pebbles, and drag folding at footwall. However, some discontinuous sediments observed in the footwall are interpreted as fissure-filling materials due to the strike-slip movement. Now, we are under multidisciplinary investigations of additional field survey and age dating in order to determine the evolution of Sinwoo site fault during the Quaternary.