• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.42 no.6
• /
• pp.683-694
• /
• 2009

High-resolution (Chirp and Sparker system) seismic profiles were analyzed to investigate the sedimentary sequence and distribution pattern of the late Holocene deposits in Gyunggi Bay, the Yellow Sea. The bay is located in the western part of Korea, east of the Yellow Sea. The sedimentary sequence divided into three units bounded by erosional bounding surface: (1) acoustically parallel to subparallel reflectors with cross bedding structures (Unit 1); (2) confused inner reflectors and top of unit exposed partially at the seafloor (Unit 2); and (3) approximately parallel reflections and regressive to transgressive incision-fills (Unit 3). On the basis of seafloor morphology, surface bedforms, and subbotom acoustic characters, echo types in the study area were identified following the schemes of Chough et al. (2002); (1) flat seafloor with sharp bottom echoes (echo types 1-1, 1-2 and 1-3; transgressive sediment sheets or relict sands), (2) mounded seafloor with either smooth surface or superposed bedforms (echo types 2-1 and 2-2; tidal ridges), and (3) various-scale eroded seafloor (echo types 3-1 and 3-2; channels). Suspect features of acoustic turbid zones which is related to gas charged sediment are reported.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.447-468
• /
• 1996

The peat layer was deposited on the abandoned channel of incised meander of River Banbyuncheon with 7 meter thickness on Youngyang basin. The late Quaternary environmental change on the study area was discussed based on pollen anaalysis and radiocarbon-dating from this peat. The swamp which was caused to sediment the peat, was produced by which the fan debris from the adjacent slope damed the waterflow on the abandoned channel. The peat layer contains continuous vegetational history from 60,000y.B.P. to Recent. The peat deposit was divided into two layers by the organic thin sand horizon, which was sedimented at one time and made unconformity between the lower decomposed compact peat layers and the upper fresh fiberous peat layer. As the result of the pollen analysis, both peat layers from the two boring sites, Profile YY1 and Profile YY2 were divided into five Pollenzones(Pollenzone I, II, III, IV and V) and 12 Subzones which were mainly corresponded by the AP (Arboreal Pollen)-Dominance. The two profiles have some differences on the sedimentary facies and on the pollen composition as well. Therefore these were in common with the Pollenone III, however the Pollenzone I and II existed only on the Profile YY1 and the Pollenzone IV and V existed only on the Profile YY2. The lower layer containing the Pollenzone I, II and III revealed vegetational records of Pleistocene, which was characterized as tundra-like landscape and thin forested landscapes. It represented the NAP (Non-Arboreal Pollen)-period with a plenty of Artemisia sp., Sanguisorba sp., Umbelliferae, Gramineae and Cyperaceae. However a relatively high proportion of the boreal trees with Picea sp., Pinus sp. and Betula sp. as AP was observed in the lower layer. The upper layer contained the Pollenzone IVb and V and vegetational history in Holocene which was characterized by thick forested landscape with rich tree pollen. It represented AP-period with plenty of Pinus sp. and Quercus sp. as temperate trees. The temperature fluctuation supposed from the vegetational records is as follows; the Pollenzone I(Betula-Dominance, about 57,000y.B.P.) represents relatively cold period. The Pollenzone II(EMW-Domi-nance, 57,000-43,000y.B.P.)represents relatively warm period. This period is supposed to be Interstadial, the transi-tional stage from Alt- to Mittel Wurm. The Pollenzone III(Butula-, Pinus- and Picea-Dominace in turns, 43,000-15,000y.B.P.) reproesents cold period which had been built from Mittel-to Jung Wurm. Especially the Subzone IIId represents the coldest period throughout the Pollenzone III. It is corresponds to Wurm Glacial Maximu. It is supposed that the mean temperature in July of this period was coller about 10${^\circ}$C than present. The Pollenzone IV and V represent the vegetational history of Holocene. Tilia, Quercus and Pinus were dominant in turns during this period. Subzone IVb and Pollenzone I and II at east coastal plain of Korean penninsula reported by JO(1979).

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.333-341
• /
• 2010

Fluvial sediments are widely distributed in present and old river-beds of the mid-Keum River, the tributaries of which are the Yugu and Jeongan Rivers. The basement of the mid-Keum River area consists of Mesozoic granites which are easily eroded compared to Precambrian gneisses, which are exposed in the upper-Keum River area. The provenance of the fluvial sediments includes both the Precambrian gneisses and Mesozoic granites, which occur in the catchment of the mid-Keum River. The coarse-grained sediments were probably transported from the river-beds and the overbank floodings of the main Keum River and its tributaries when the climate was warm and wet. The oldest mud deposits were dated at ca. 9,400 yr BP by the radiocarbon method. It has been estimated that the sand deposits below the dated muds were formed in a period from the Late Pleistocene to the Early Holocene. However we have revealed that the major part of the present river-bed sediments was formed at ca. 3,000-6,000 yr BP, i.e., in the mid- to late Holocene, when summer monsoon was very strong due to climatic changes. We have calculated fluvial sedimentation rates of 0.12-0.16 cm/yr and 0.02-0.09 cm/yr for borehole KJ-29 river-bed sediments and borehole KJ-28 floodplain deposits, respectively. We conclude that the sedimentation rate is higher near the present stream channel than near the floodplain.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.127-132
• /
• 2011

We acquired and interpreted more than 650 km of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles in the Hupo Basin, offshore east coast of Korea at $37^{\circ}N$ in the East Sea (Japan Sea) to image shallow and basement deformation. The seismic profiles reveal that the main depocenter of the Hupo Basin in the study area is bounded by the large offset Hupo Fault on the east and an antithetic fault on the west; however, the antithetic fault is much smaller both in horizontal extension and in vertical displacement than the Hupo Fault. Sediment infill in the Hupo Basin consists of syn-rift (late Oligocene. early Miocene) and post-rift (middle Miocene.Holocene) units. The Hupo Fault and other faults newly defined in the Hupo Basin strike dominantly north and show a sense of normal displacement. Considering that the East Sea has been subjected to compression since the middle Miocene, we interpret that these normal faults were created during continental rifting in late Oligocene to early Miocene times. We suggest that the current ENE direction of maximum principal compressive stress observed in and around the Korean peninsula associated with the motion of the Amurian Plate induces the faults in the Hupo Basin to have reverse and right-lateral, strike-slip motion, when reactivated. A recent earthquake positioned on the Hupo Fault indicates that in the study area and possibly further in the eastern Korean margin, earthquakes would occur on the faults created during continental rifting in the Tertiary.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
• /
• v.50 no.2
• /
• pp.165-183
• /
• 2015

It is well known that, since the 15th century, the amount of soil loss in our country due to change in land use by human has increased more rapidly than ever before. However we cannot answer the question 'How long can the soil persist under the current rates of soil loss?', because it was difficult to quantify the soil production rate. With the advancement of accelerated mass spectrometry, the attempt to quantify rate of soil production and derive soil production function succeeded, and recently it was also applied into the Daegwanryeong Plateau. Here we introduce the principles for quantifying soil production and deriving soil production function using terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides, and then compare the soil production rates from the plateau with soil loss data after the late 20th century, and finally estimate how long the soil can persist. Averaged soil production rate since the Holocene derived from the plateau is revealed as ${\sim}0.05[mm\;yr^{-1}]$, and, however, the recent soil loss rate of intensively used farmlands at the same region is up to sixty times greater than the soil production rate. Thus, if current land use system is maintained, top soils on the cultivated lands over hillslopes especially in upland areas are expected to disappear within several decades at the earliest.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.35-43
• /
• 2003

Recent geomorphological changes and late Quaternary depositional sequences of Gwangyang Bay are studied based on bathymetric maps, surface sediments, and seismic profiles. As a result of the reclamation of coastal area for an industrial complex construction, the coastline of Gwangyang Bay has rapidly been changed and the area of it has now been reduced by about 25 ％ in the last 30 years. In addition, the bottom topography is actively modified by dredging for navigation channels. In surfical sediment distribution, the western part of Gwangyang Bay is dominated by mud facies, whereas the eastern part of the Bay is dominated by sand-mud mixing facies. Depositional sequences above the basement are divided into two units: Unit I in upper layer and Unit II in lower one. These depositional units are unconformably bounded by middle reflector-M. Unit II, mostly occupying the channel areas, is interpreted as fluvial-origin deposits during sea-level lowstand. Unit I typically shows a progradational pattern from the Seomjin River mouth to the Yeosu Strait, which is interpreted as deltaic deposits supplied from the Seomjin River during the Holocene sea-level highstand. The shallow gas within the sediments Is widely distributed in most area, and locally exposed onto the sea-bed due to dredging.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.454-465
• /
• 2008

Benthic foraminiferal assemblage and AMS radiocarbon dating of core sediments from the northern shelf of the East China Sea were analyzed in order to understand the paleoenvironment and sedimentary environmental changes around the Korean marginal seas since the last glacial maximum (LGM). The core sediments, containing continuous records of the last 16,000 years, reveal a series of well-defined vertical changes in number of species (S), P/T ratio and species diversity (H) as well as foraminiferal assemblage. Such down-core variations display a sharp change at a core depth of approximately 240 cm, which corresponds to ca. 10,000 year B.P. The sediments of the lower part of the core (240${\sim}$560 cm, Zone I), including the well-developed tide-influenced sedimentary structures, are characterized by high abundances of Ammonia beccarii and Elphidium clavatum (s.l.) and low values in number of species, P/T ratio and diversity. These tide-influenced signatures and foraminiferal assemblage characters suggest that the sediments of Zone I were deposited in a coastal environment (water depths of 20${\sim}$30 m) such as tidal estuary with an influence of the paleo-rivers (e.g., old-Huanghe and Yangtze rivers) during the early phase of the sea-level rise (ca. 16,000 to 10,000 years) since the LGM. In contrast, the upper core sediments (0${\sim}$240 cm, Zone II) are characterized by abundant Eilohedra nipponica and Bolivina robusta with a minor contribution of A. ketienziensis angulata and B. marginata. and high values in number of species, P/T ratio and diversity. Based on relative abundance of these assemblage, Zone II can be divided into two subzones (IIa and IIb). Zone IIa is interpreted to be deposited under the inner-to-middle shelf environment during the marine transgression in the early Holocene (after ca. 9,000 yr B.P.) when sea level rapidly increased. The sediments of zone IIb most likely deposited after 6,000 yr B.P. under the outer shelf environment (80${\sim}$100 m water depth), which is similar to modem depositional environments. The muddy sediments of zone IIb were probably transported from the old-Huanghe and Yangtze Rivers during the late Holocene. We suggest that the present-day oceanographic conditions over the Yellow and the East China Seas have been established after ca. 7,000${\sim}$6,000 yr B.P. when the Kuroshio Current began to influence this area.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.42 no.1
• /
• pp.39-54
• /
• 2021

Damyang Wetland, a riverine wetland, has been designated as the first wetland protection area in South Korea and is a candidate area for the Mudeungsan Area UNESCO Global Geopark. The Damyang Wetland area is the upstream part of the Yeongsan River and is now a relatively wide plain. To reconstruct the sedimentary environment around the Damyang Wetland, core samples were obtained, and sedimentary facies analysis, AMS and OSL age dataings, grain size, and geochemical analyses were carried out. In addition, comprehensive sedimentary environment changes were reconstructed using previous core data obtained from this wetland area. In the Yeongsan River upstream area, where the Damyang Wetland is located, fluvial terrace deposits formed during the late Pleistocene are distributed in an area relatively far from the river. As a gravel layer is widely distributed throughout the plains, Holocene sediments were likely deposited in a braided river environment when the sea level stabilized after the middle Holocene. Then, as the sedimentary environment changed from a braided river to a meandering river, the influx of sand-dominated sediments increased, and a floodplain environment was formed around the river. In addition, based on the pollen data, it is inferred that the climate was warm and humid around 6,000 years ago, with wetland deposits forming afterward. The the trench survey results of the river area around the Damyang Wetland show that a well-rounded gravel layer occurs in the lower part, covered by the sand layer. The Damyang Wetland was likely formed after the construction of Damyang Lake in the 1970s, as muddy sediments were deposited on the sand layer.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 1995

One of the oldest fossil of conifers and taxads in the Korean peninsula includes Elatocladus, Ullmannia, Walchia and dates back to the Permian period of the Palaeozoic era. The only conifer which successfully survived since the Cretaceous period is Pinus and still thrives in Korea. The extinction of Miocene conifers, such as Sciadopitys, Taxodiaceae, Metasequoia and Cryptomeria may due to the climatic deteriorations during the late Pleistocene period. However, the cryophilous conifers and taxads, e.g..Pinus, Juniperus, Abies, Picea, Cupressaceae, Larix and Taxus continued to exist from the Miocene to the late Pleistocene and became major vegetational elements in the mountainous areas of Korea. As the temperature ameliorates in the late Holocene period, thermophilous Pinus (Diploxylon) gradually had increased in numbers and became a dominant vegetation in the lowland and montane areas since 2,000 years B.P. in korea. Out of various Korean conifers and taxads, Pinus which surviving since the Cretaceous period of Mesozoic era, ranges spatially from southern coastal area to northern alpine belt of the Korean peninsula. Pinus which contains largest species number in conifers is one of the most well-adapted genus to the Korean environment. The next important conifer Juniperus dates back to the Miocene period of Cenozoic era and continuously maintains speciation and expansion of distributional range. Other major conifers and taxads of Korea include Picea, Abies, Lorix and Taxus. The restriction of distributional range of Cephralotaxus and Tsuga may due to the climatic deterioration during the Pleistocene period of Cenozoic era. The patterns of the temporal and spatial distribution of Korean conifers and taxads may provide invaluable informations for the better understanding of present-day distributional range and ecology.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.145-153
• /
• 2013

High-resolution chirp profiles were analyzed to investigate the echo types of near-surface sediments in the Yellow Sea off the Baegryeong Island. On the basis of seafloor morphology and subbottom echo characters, 7 echo types were identified. Flat seafloor with no internal reflectors or moderately to well-developed subbottom reflectors (echo type 1-1 and 1-2) is mainly distributed in the southern part of the study area. Flat seafloor with superposed wavy bedforms (echo type 1-3) is also distributed in the middle part. Mounded seafloor with either smooth surface or superposed bedforms (echo type 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3) occurs in the middle part of the study area. Irregular and eroded seafloor with no subbottom reflectors (echo type 3-1) is present in the northern part of the study area off the Baegryeong Island. According to the distribution pattern and sedimentary facies of echo types, depositional environments can be divided into three distinctive areas: (1) active erosional zone due to strong tidal currents in the northern part; (2) formation of tidal sand ridges in response to tidal currents associated with sea-level rise distributed in the middle part; and (3) transgressive sand sheets in the southern part. Such a depositional pattern, including 7 echo types, in this area reflects depositional process related to the sea-level rise and strong tidal currents during the Holocene transgression.