• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.409-421
• /
• 2022

Achieving a highly resolved spatial distribution of Mn-bearing minerals and elements in the natural ferromanganese nodules can provide detailed knowledge of the temporal variations of geochemical conditions affecting the formation processes of nodules. While a recent study utilizing Raman spectroscopy has reported the changes in the manganate mineral phases with growth for spherical nodules from the Arctic Sea, the distributions of minerals and elements in the nodules from the shallow Arctic Sea with non-spherical forms have not yet fully elucidated. Here, we reported the micro-laser Raman spectra with varying data acquisition points along three different profiles from the center to the outermost rim of the non-spherical ferromanganese nodules collected from the East Siberian Sea (~73 m). The elemental distributions in the nodule (such as Mn, Fe, etc.) were also investigated by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis to observe the internal structure and mineralogical details. Based on the microscopic observation, the internal structures of a non-spherical nodule can be divided into three different regions, which are sediment-rich core, iron-rich substrate, and Mn-Fe layers. The Raman results show that the Mn-bearing mineral phases vary with the data acquisition points in the Mn-Fe layer, suggesting the changes in the geochemical conditions during nodule formation. In addition, we also observe that the mineral composition and structural characteristics depend on the profile direction from the core to the rim. Particularly, the Raman spectra obtained along one profile show the lack of Fe-(oxy)hydroxides and the noticeably high crystallinity of Mn-bearing minerals such as birnessite and todorokite. On the other hand, the spectra obtained along the other two profiles present the presence of significant amount of amorphous or poorly-ordered Fe-bearing minerals and the low crystallinity of Mn-bearing minerals. These results suggest that the diagenetic conditions varied with the different growth directions. We also observed the presence of halite in several layers in the nodule, which can be evidence of the alteration of seawater after nodule formation. The current results can provide the opportunity to obtain detailed knowledge of the formation process and geochemical environments recorded in the natural non-spherical ferromanganese nodule.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.55 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2022

An estuary is an area where a freshwater river or stream meets the ocean. Even before the importance of the value of estuaries was recognized, the estuary was lost because of large-scale conversion by draining, filling, damming, and dredging. In South Korea, 643 estuaries are located, and the total area is 3,248,300 ha, accounting for 32.5% of the total area of South Korea. Over 35% of Korean estuaries are closed estuaries which are only temporally connected with the sea, either permanently or periodically. Since 2008, in order to preserve the estuary ecosystem and solve major issues in the estuary by accumulating knowledge about the estuarine ecosystem, the Ministry of Environment of Republic of Korea has been conducting the "Estuarine Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment Project". At 668 sites of 325 estuaries, epilithic diatom, benthic macroinvertebrate, fish, and vegetation are investigated, and the habitat condition of each site is evaluated using the newly developed biotic index. More than 100 researchers annually record 2,097 species of estuaries according to the standardized survey guidelines over the past 14 years and provide strictly managed data necessary for establishing estuaries conservation policies. As a result of bibliometric analysis of 1,195 research articles related to the monitoring and assessment of the estuarine ecosystem, research on pollutants such as heavy metals and sediment control have recently been conducted. "Estuarine Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment Project" is an ecological monitoring type of long-term mandated monitoring that is usually focused on identifying trends. Although it is difficult to identify the mechanism influencing a change in an ecosystem through long-term mandated monitoring, providing empirical data for supporting evidence-based policy, decision-making, and the management of ecosystems. In order to increase the efficiency of the project, research to investigate the relationship between sediments and pollutants and organisms can be conducted at specific estuaries or sites to compensate for the shortcomings of mandatory monitoring.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.44 no.6
• /
• pp.643-654
• /
• 2023

The West Philippine Basin, an oceanic basin half the size of the Philippine Sea Plate, lies in the western part of the plate and south of the Korean Peninsula on the Eurasian Plate. It subducts beneath the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Islands bordering the Ryukyu Trench and the Philippine Trench with 25-50% of this basin already consumed. However, the history of the opening of the basin's southern region has been a topic of debate. The non-transform discontinuity formed during the seafloor spreading is similar to the transform fault boundaries normally perpendicular to mid-ocean ridge axes; however, it was created irregularly due to ridge propagations caused by variations of mantle convection attributable to magma supply changes. By analyzing high-resolution multi-beam echo-sounding data, we confirmed that the non-transform discontinuity due to the propagating rift evolved in the entire basin and that the abyssal hill strike direction changed from E-W to NNW-SSE from the fossil spreading center. In the early stage of basin extension, the Amami-Sankaku Basin was rotated 90 degrees clockwise from its current orientation, and it bordered the Palau Basin along the Mindanao Fracture Zone. The Amami-Sankaku Basin separated from the Palau Basin while the spreading of the West Philippine Basin began with a counter-clockwise rotation. This indicates that the non-transform discontinuities formed by a sudden change in magma supply due to the drift of the Philippine Sea Plate and simultaneously with the rapid changes in the spreading direction from ENE-WSW to N-S. The Palau Basin was considered to be the sub-south of the West Philippine Basin, but recent studies have shown that it extends into an independent system. Evidence from sediment layers and crustal thickness hints at the possibility of its existence before the West Philippine Basin opened, although its evolution continues to be debated. We performed a combined analysis using high-resolution multi-beam bathymetry and satellite gravity data to uncover new insights into the evolution of the West Philippine Basin. This information illuminates the complex plate interactions and provides a crucial contribution toward understanding the opening history of the basin and the Philippine Sea Plate.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.56 no.5
• /
• pp.589-601
• /
• 2023

We compare high-resolution seabed bathymetry data and seafloor backscattering data acquired, using multi-beam, between 2018 and 2021 to understand topographic changes in the coastal area of Dokdo. The study area, conducted within a 500 m × 500 m in the southern coast between the islands where Dongdo Port is located, has been greatly affected by human activities, waves and ocean currents. The depth variations exhibit between 5 - 70 m. Irregular underwater rocks are distributed in areas with a depth of 20 m or less and 30 - 40 m. As a whole, water depth ranges similar in the east-west direction and become flatter and deeper. The bathymetry contour in 2020 tends to move south as a whole compared to 2018 and 2019. The south moving of the contours in the survey area indicates that the water depth is shallower than before. Since the area where the change in the depth occurred is mainly formed of sedimentary layers, the change in the coast of Dokdo were mainly caused by the inflow of sediments, due to the influence of wind and waves caused by these typhoons (Maysak and Haishen) in 2020. In the Talus area, which developed on the shallow coast between Dongdo and Seodo, the bathymetry changed in 2020 due to erosion or sedimentation, compared to the bathymetry in 2019 and 2018. It is inferred that the changes in the seabed environment occur as the coastal area is directly affected by the typhoons. Due to the influence of the typhoons with strong southerly winds, there was a large amount of sediment inflow, and the overall tendency of the changes was to be deposited. The contours in 2021 appears to have shifted mainly northward, compared to 2020, meaning the area has eroded more than 2020. In 2020, sediments were mainly moved northward and deposited on the coast of Dokdo by the successive typhoons. On the contrary, the coast of Dokdo was eroded as these sediments moved south again in 2021. Dokdo has been largely affected by the north wind in winter, so sediments mainly move southward. But it is understood that sediments move northward when affected by strong typhoons. Such continuous coastal change monitoring and analysis results will be used as important data for longterm conservation policies in relation to topographical changes in Dokdo.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.552-561
• /
• 2023

The seafloor topography of Gomso Bay on the west coast of Korea was investigated using subtidal bathymetry and tidal-flat altimetry. Gomso Bay consists of 80% tidal flats and 20% subtidal zone, and is divided into an outer bay and an inner bay by the Jujincheon esturary channel. The outer bay tidal flat, has few tidal channels, has a concave topographic profile, and is characterized by the development of chenier and intertidal sand bars, giving it the appearance of gently sloping, dissipative beaches. The inner bay tidal flat has wide upper and middle tidal flats with a well-developed tidal channel system without cheniers. Moreover, the topographical cross-section between these tidal channels is convex upward, and shows the characteristics of a depositional environment greatly influenced by tidal channels and tidal action. An analysis of the horizontal movement of the tidal flat environment over the past 37 years investigating changes in the iso-depth lines in the Gomso-Bay tidal flat between 1981 and 2018 revealed that the Gomso-Bay tidal flat retreated gradually landward. As a result of analyzing the erosion and sedimentation characteristics of Gomso Bay, assuming that most of the water depth changes were due to changes in the elevation of the sea floor and sea level, an average of 1 cm (0 mm/y) of sediment was eroded in the outer bay over the past 37 years (1981-2018), In the inner bay, an average of 50 cm (14 mm/y) was deposited. Notably, the high tidal flats of the outer bay were largely eroded. Monitoring photographs of the coast showed that most of the erosion of the high tidal flats in the outer bay occurred in a short period around 1999 (probably 1997-2002), and that the erosion resulted from the erosion of sand dunes and high-tide beaches caused by temporarily greatly raised high tide levels and storms.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.40 no.3
• /
• pp.295-305
• /
• 2024

This study aims to analyze the micro-sedimentary structures of the Hwangdo tidal flats using ultra-high resolution unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data. Tidal flats, located in the transitional area between land and sea, constantly change due to tidal activities and provide a unique environment important for understanding sedimentary processes and environmental conditions. Traditional field observation methods are limited in spatial and temporal coverage, and existing satellite imagery does not provide sufficient resolution to study micro-sedimentary structures. To overcome these limitations, high-resolution images of the Hwangdo tidal flats in Chungcheongnam-do were acquired using UAVs. This area has experienced significant changes in its sedimentary environment due to coastal development projects such as sea wall construction. From May 17 to 18, 2022, sediment samples were collected from 91 points during field surveys and 25 in-situ points were intensively analyzed. UAV data with a spatial resolution of approximately 0.9 mm allowed identifying and extracting parameters related to micro-sedimentary structures. For mud cracks, the length of the major axis of the polygons was extracted, and the wavelength and ripple symmetry index were extracted for ripple marks. The results of the study showed that in areas with mud content above 80%, mud cracks formed at an average major axis length of 37.3 cm. In regions with sand content above 60%, ripples with an average wavelength of 8 cm and a ripple symmetry index of 2.0 were formed. This study demonstrated that micro-sedimentary structures of tidal flats can be effectively analyzed using ultra-high resolution UAV data without field surveys. This highlights the potential of UAV technology as an important tool in environmental monitoring and coastal management and shows its usefulness in the study of sedimentary structures. In addition, the results of this study are expected to serve as baseline data for more accurate sedimentary facies classification.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.147-160
• /
• 2015

In 2014, on 31 August and 1 September, the emissions of $CH_4$, $CO_2$, and $O_2$ gases were measured six times using the closed chamber method from exposed tidal flat sediments in the same position relative to the low point of the tidal cycle in the Eoeun-ri, Taean-gun, on the Mid-western Coast of Korea. The concentrations of $CH_4$ in the air sample collected in the chamber were measured using gas chromatography with an EG analyzer, model GS-23, within 6 hours of collection, and the other gases were measured in real time using a multi-gas monitor. The gas emission fluxes (source (+), and sink (-)) were calculated from a simple linear regression analysis of the changes in the concentrations over time. In order to see the surrounding parameters (water content, temperature, total organic carbon, average mean size of sediments, and the temperature of the inner chamber) were measured at the study site. On the first day, across three measurements during 5 hours 20 minutes, the observed $CO_2$ flux absorption was -137.00 to $-81.73mg/m^2/hr$, and the $O_2$ absorption, measured simultaneously, was -0.03 to $0.00mg/m^2/hr$. On the second day using an identical number of measurements, the $CO_2$ absorption was -20.43 to $-2.11mg/m^2/hr$, and the $O_2$ absorption -0.18 to $-0.14mg/m^2/hr$. The $CH_4$ absorption before low tide was $-0.02mg/m^2/hr$ (first day, Pearson correlation coefficient using the SPSS statistical analysis is -0.555(n=5, p=0.332, pronounced negative linear relationship)), and $-0.15mg/m^2/hr$ (second day, -0.915(n=5, p=0.030, strong negative linear relationship)) on both measurement days. The emitted flux after low tide on both measurement days reached a minimum of $+0.00mg/m^2/hr$ (+0.713(n=5, p=0.176, linear relationship which can be almost ignored)), and a maximum of $+0.03mg/m^2/hr$ (+0.194(n=5, p=0.754, weak positive linear relationship)) after low tide. However, the absolute values of the $CH_4$ fluxes were analyzed at different times. These results suggest that rate for $CH_4$ fluxes, even the same time and area, were influenced by changes in the tidal cycle characteristics of surface sediments for understanding their correlation with these gas emissions, and surrounding parameters such as physiochemical sediments conditions.

• 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).