• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2012

Analysis on high-resolution seismic and core data reveals that the sedimentary strata in Gyeonggi Bay consists of four sedimentary units (Unit I-IV, from top to bottom) formed during the late Quaternary period. Unit I is interpreted as sediments of tidal flat and channel-fill deposits, formed during the Holocene transgression. Unit II is divided into shallow-marine facies unit in offshore area and channelized fluvial to estuarine facies unit in nearshore sand ridge and tidal flat. Unit III is considered as tidal flat deposits with the uppermost severely weathered and oxydized layers. This unit is composed of shallow marine sedimentary successions formed during the MIS-5 highstand. The lowermost Unit IV rests on Mesozoic basement rocks, considered as the shallow marine and shelf deposits formed before the MIS-5 lowstand.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.182-188
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• 1990

The sedimentation processes and heavy metal distributions at the Nakdong estuary were investigated during October 1987 and September 1988. The depositional sedimentary environment of the studied area was estuarine environments and was divided into three provinces depending on its textural parameters such as barrier, tidal falt, and water passes. The relationship between the textural parameters showed that the barrier was under strong wave action, that the tidal flat was under relatively weak wind-driven currents, and that the water passes were under strong and continuous tidal currents. Each environments was resulted from different transport mechanism. the sand barrier sediments were transported by all three populations including suspension, saltation, and bed load, and water pass-deposited sediments were by the bad load with some suspension population. In water mass over the studied area, the concentrations of heavy metals including Cu, Cd, $Cr^{+6}$, Pb and Zn were recorded to be 27.8, 6.7, 20.4, 16.3, and 37.3 ppb in their highest concentrations, respectively. and those in sediments were 20.0, 1.65, 25.4, 15.4, and 132.0 ppm, respectively. The total up take factored of Cu, Cd, $Cr^{+6}$, Pb, and Zn by V. Muller (corbicula fluminea) were 1600, 310, 310, 490 and 7900, respectively.

• ALGAE
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.149-161
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• 2009

Characteristics of benthic microalgae and sediment properties were investigated for the intertidal flats of Kwangyang Bay, Korea. Sampling stations were selected every 100 m in the intertidal flats from land-side to open ocean at two different sampling sites. Samples were collected in June 2004, July, September, November, February and May 2005. Sediments properties were measured including temperature, water contents, sediment bulk density, nutrient concentrations in porewater. Chlorophyll a concentrations in surface sediment (0.5 cm) were measured and relationships between the chlorophyll a and various sediment properties were analyzed to identify major mechanisms regulating biomass of benthic microalgae in the intertidal flats using simple linear regression analysis. Sediment chlorophyll a concentrations were maximum during winter and minimum during warm seasons ranging from 4.4 mg $m^{-2}\;to\;81.2\;mg\;m^{-2}$. No clear spatial variations were observed for the sediment chlorophyll a in the study sites. Results from regression analysis suggested that benthic microalgae biomass was affected by sediment temperature and nutrients especially ammonium and silicate. Grazing effect was estimated using chlorophyll: pheopigments ratio, indirect indicator of grazing activity, and the positive correlation of the ratio and chlorophyll a implied that microalgae biomass is affected by grazing of zoobenthos although direct measurement of grazing activity is required to determine the importance of top-down controls in the benthic microalgae dynamics.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.37-51
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• 2011

Geomorphic changes and sedimentary changes are investigated by sediment analysis from estuarine tidal flat, Mosan Bay Estuary, which is a tide-dominated and rias estuary. Sediments separatedly deposited during the early Holocene and the late Holocene. There are unconformities between the early Holocene sediment unit and the late Holocene sediment unit. Developments of these unconformities were related with fluctuated sea level change during the mid Holocene. Three deposit zones are spatially classified, which are named "intermittent tide channel deposit zone"(A1, B1, D3), "flood-dominated deposit zone"(A3, B3, C1, C3), and "fluvial sediment deposit zone"(A2, B2). This classification is explained by three main effects; laterally restricted migration of a tidal channel, diffract flood effect and settling lag effect, and fluvial induced reworking. These effects are deserved as main factors which have formed estuarine geomorphology in tidedominated and rias estuary. This study suggests research directions in reconstructing estuarine geomorphic and sedimentary change in west coast of Korea. Furthermore, it gives useful data for making a "land-ocean interaction" model for west coast of Korea.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.242-258
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• 2012

The Yellow Sea has sensitively responded to high-amplitude sea-level fluctuations during the late Quaternary. The repeated inundation and exposure have produced distinct transgression-regression successions with extensive exposure surfaces in Kyeonggi Bay. The late Quaternary strata consist of four seismic stratigraphic units, considered as depositional sequences (DS-1, DS-2, DS-3, and DS-4). DS-1 was interpreted as ridge-forming sediments of tidal-flat and estuarine channel-fill facies, formed during the Holocene highstand. DS-2 consists of shallow-marine facies in offshore area, which was formed during the regression of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS)-3 period. DS-3 comprises the lower transgressive facies and the upper highstand tidal-flat facies in proximal ridges and forced regression facies in distal ridges and offshore area. The lowermost DS-4 rests on acoustic basement rocks, considered as the shallow-marine and shelf deposits formed before the MIS-6 lowstand. This study suggests six depositional stages. During the first stage-A, MIS-6 lowstand, the Yellow Sea shelf was subaerially exposed with intensive fluvial incision and weathering. The subsequent rapid and high amplitude rise of sea level in stage-B until the MIS-5e highstand produced transgressive deposits in the lowermost part of the MIS-5 sequence, and the successive regression during the MIS-5d to -5a and the MIS-4 lowstand formed the upperpart of the MIS-5 sequence in stage-C. During the stage-D, from the MIS-4 lowstand to MIS-3c highstand period, the transgressive MIS-3 sequence formed in a subtidal environment characterized by repetitive fluvial incision and channel-fill deposition in exposed area. The subsequent sea-level fall culminating the last glacial maximum (Stage-E) made shallow-marine regressive deposits of MIS-3 sequence in offshore distal area, whereas it formed fluvial channel-fills and floodplain deposits in the proximal area. After the last glacial maximum, the overall Yellow Sea shelf was inundated by the Holocene transgression and highstand (Stage-F), forming the Holocene transgressive shelf sands and tidal ridges.

• The Korean Journal of Petroleum Geology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2008

As conventional oil and gas reservoirs become depleted, interests for oil sands has rapidly increased in the last decade. Oil sands are mixture of bitumen, water, and host sediments of sand and clay. Most oil sand is unconsolidated sand that is held together by bitumen. Bitumen has hydrocarbon in situ viscosity of >10,000 centipoises (cP) at reservoir condition and has API gravity between $8-14^{\circ}$. The largest oil sand deposits are in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada. The reverves are approximated at 1.7 trillion barrels of initial oil-in-place and 173 billion barrels of remaining established reserves. Alberta has a number of oil sands deposits which are grouped into three oil sand development areas - the Athabasca, Cold Lake, and Peace River, with the largest current bitumen production from Athabasca. Principal oil sands deposits consist of the McMurray Fm and Wabiskaw Mbr in Athabasca area, the Gething and Bluesky formations in Peace River area, and relatively thin multi-reservoir deposits of McMurray, Clearwater, and Grand Rapid formations in Cold Lake area. The reservoir sediments were deposited in the foreland basin (Western Canada Sedimentary Basin) formed by collision between the Pacific and North America plates and the subsequent thrusting movements in the Mesozoic. The deposits are underlain by basement rocks of Paleozoic carbonates with highly variable topography. The oil sands deposits were formed during the Early Cretaceous transgression which occurred along the Cretaceous Interior Seaway in North America. The oil-sands-hosting McMurray and Wabiskaw deposits in the Athabasca area consist of the lower fluvial and the upper estuarine-offshore sediments, reflecting the broad and overall transgression. The deposits are characterized by facies heterogeneity of channelized reservoir sands and non-reservoir muds. Main reservoir bodies of the McMurray Formation are fluvial and estuarine channel-point bar complexes which are interbedded with fine-grained deposits formed in floodplain, tidal flat, and estuarine bay. The Wabiskaw deposits (basal member of the Clearwater Formation) commonly comprise sheet-shaped offshore muds and sands, but occasionally show deep-incision into the McMurray deposits, forming channelized reservoir sand bodies of oil sands. In Canada, bitumen of oil sands deposits is produced by surface mining or in-situ thermal recovery processes. Bitumen sands recovered by surface mining are changed into synthetic crude oil through extraction and upgrading processes. On the other hand, bitumen produced by in-situ thermal recovery is transported to refinery only through bitumen blending process. The in-situ thermal recovery technology is represented by Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage and Cyclic Steam Stimulation. These technologies are based on steam injection into bitumen sand reservoirs for increase in reservoir in-situ temperature and in bitumen mobility. In oil sands reservoirs, efficiency for steam propagation is controlled mainly by reservoir geology. Accordingly, understanding of geological factors and characteristics of oil sands reservoir deposits is prerequisite for well-designed development planning and effective bitumen production. As significant geological factors and characteristics in oil sands reservoir deposits, this study suggests (1) pay of bitumen sands and connectivity, (2) bitumen content and saturation, (3) geologic structure, (4) distribution of mud baffles and plugs, (5) thickness and lateral continuity of mud interbeds, (6) distribution of water-saturated sands, (7) distribution of gas-saturated sands, (8) direction of lateral accretion of point bar, (9) distribution of diagenetic layers and nodules, and (10) texture and fabric change within reservoir sand body.