• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.80-88
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• 2016

In order to reconstruct a benthic foodweb structure and assess the role of benthic microalgaes as a diet source for benthos, we analyzed the carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of diverse benthos (bivalves, crustaceans, gastropods and fishes) and potential diets (particulate organic matter, sedimentary organic matter, benthic microalgae, seagrass, and macroalgaes) in the intertidal mudflat surrounding Yeongheung Island. The ${\delta}^{13}C$ values of the diets indicated wide ranges (- 26.5‰ to - 8.4‰) while benthos showed a small range of ${\delta}^{13}C$ values (-12.1‰ to - 17.8‰), although they were in the same range. Except for green algaes among the macroalgaes as well as sedimentary organic matter, ${\delta}^{15}N$ values of the diet candidates ($5.7{\pm}1.0$‰) were lighter in comparison to those of the benthos ($11.8{\pm}1.9$‰). Based on the ${\delta}^{13}C$ and ${\delta}^{15}N$ data, the benthos were classified into 3 groups, indicating a different diet and trophic position. But benthic microalgae is the most important diet source for all three benthos groups based on their stable isotope ratios, suggesting benthic microalgae should be a main diet to the intertidal ecosystem. Hence this study highlights that the biomass of benthic microalgae as biological resource should be evaluated for the management of the intertidal ecosystem of Yeongheung Island.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 1990

A couple of Au-Ag-bearing epithermal quartz veins of Cretaceous(87.9Ma) in age are developed in the Cretaceous(112Ma) granodiorite batholith which was emplaced in Mesozoic Baegyari sedimentary formation. Au minerals consist mostly of electrum with a 54.2-61.9 wt% Au and are closely associated with sulfide minerals including pyrite, chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, galena and sphalerite. Homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions in quartz, fluorite and calcite are $196-368^{\circ}C$ (avg. $240^{\circ}C$), $74-176^{\circ}C$ (avg. $115^{\circ}C$) and $75-200^{\circ}C$ (avg. $119^{\circ}C$) respectively. Sulfur isotopic compositions( +5- +8‰) of ore sulfides indicate a deep-seated sulfur origin. Oxygen isotope compositions of different stages of quartz vary from +5.6 to +9.3‰ and calculated ${\delta}^{18}O$ values of ore fluid at $250^{\circ}C$ range from -3.2 to +0.4‰, reflecting an isotopically evolved ore fluid mixed with a $^{18}O$ depleted meteoric water under the variable mixing ratios between hydrothermal and meteoric waters. Isotopic data of calcite minerals support the above conclusions.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.685-694
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• 2018

We measured ecological niche space (ENS) using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of benthic macroinvertebrates to estimate its applicability for large river assessment. In particular, we compared ENSs of selected macroinvertebrates between upper and lower area of Seungchon Weir in Yeongsan River to estimate the impact of weir on biological community. We also measured basic water quality and community indices including benthic macroinvertebrates index (BMI) to estimate their correlations with calculated ENS. ENS was calculated using the Bayesian Stable Isotope in R statistics (package "SIBER"). The results showed that seasonal variations in water quality and community indices were found, but there was no apparent tendency between upper and lower area of the Seungchon Weir in June (before rainy season) and August (after rainy season). However, ENS of benthic macroinvertebrates markedly decreased across the weir in both June and August regardless of changes in water quality. This means the physical change of the stream due to the weir cause decrease of ecological isotopic niche space of benthic macroinvertebrates regardless of water quality, suggesting physical modification by the weir can affect the interaction between habitat condition and macroinvertebrates. Therefore, the ecological isotopic niche space can be a useful supplementary indicator for the river ecosystem assessment.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.51-62
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• 2012

Effects of climate change on groundwater system requires understanding the groundwater system in temporal and spatial scales through the long-term monitoring. In this study, the spatio-temporal variations of groundwater were analyzed through the continuous observation of water level, electrical conductivity (EC) and water temperature with automatic data-loggers and sampling in a Gwangneung catchment, Korea, for the four years from 2008 to 2011. Groundwater monitoring were performed at the nest-type wells, MW1 and MW2, located in upsteam and downstream of the catchment, respectively. During the survey period, both the total amount of annual precipitation and the frequency of concentrated rainfall have increased resulting in the elevation of runoff. Water level of MW1 showed no significant fluctuations even during the rainy season, indicating the confined groundwater system. In contrast, that of MW2 showed clear seasonal changes, indicating the unconfined system. The lag-time of temperature at both wells ranged from one to three months depending on the screened depths. Results of chemical analyses indicated that major water compositions were maintained constantly, except for the EC decreases due to the dilution effect. Values of the stable-isotope ratios for oxygen and deuterium were higher at MW2 than MW1, implying the confined system at the upstream area could be locally developed.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.77-82
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• 2012

The spatial variation of organic matter sources in tidal flat sediment of the Nanakita River estuary, involving Gamo lagoon on the north-east coast of Honshu Island, Japan, was examined using carbon stable isotopes and fatty acid biomarkers. The spatial variation of total organic carbon (TOC) contents and ${\delta}^{13}C$ values were highly variable in between the stations, such as sandy flat (1.3 mg/g, -21.0‰), sand-muddy flat (2.6 mg/g, -21.9‰), and muddy flat (24.9 mg/g, -25.9‰), respectively. Particularly, at the muddy flat, high TOC content and low ${\delta}^{13}C$ value of the sediments indicated that the surface sediment was composed largely of terrestrial organic matter. Whereas, at the sandy flat and sand-muddy flat, the high ratios of diatom and bacteria biomarkers indicated the high contribution of abundant microorganism along with marine organic matter in sediment composition. From these results, it considered that the amount and origin of transported sedimentary organic matter indicated different characteristics in this study stations.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.29 no.11
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• pp.1089-1098
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• 2020

To assess the trophic function of an artificial macroalgal habitat, we compared the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of two amphipods (Caprella sp. and Ampithoe sp.) and their potential food sources in a transplanted macroalgal habitat (Grateloupia asiatica) with those in a natural habitat. There were no significant differences in the isotopic values of both consumers and their potential food sources between the transplanted and natural habitats. Such isotopic similarities between the two sites indicate a comparable resource consumer relationship. Additionally, our results showed similar isotopic niche areas and high dietary overlap (>65%) of the two amphipods between the transplanted and natural sites, suggesting that the transplanted habitat plays ecological roles similar to the natural habitat. Overall, isotopic assessment can provide information on the trophic function of diverse transplanted macroalgal habitats and improve post-monitoring efforts in the management of artificial ecosystems.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.40-46
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• 2013

The isotope ratios of $^{13}C/^{12}C$ and $^{18}O/^{16}O$ for a sample in a mass spectrometer are measured relative to those of a pure $CO_2$ reference gas (i.e., laboratory working standard). Thus, the calibration of a laboratory working standard gas to the international isotope scales (Pee Dee Belemnite (PDB) for ${\delta}^{13}C$ and Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (V-SMOW) for ${\delta}^{18}O$) is essential for comparisons between data sets obtained by other groups on other mass spectrometers. However, one often finds difficulties in getting well-calibrated standard gases, because of their production time and high price. Additional difficulty is that fractionation processes can occur inside the gas cylinder most likely due to pressure drop in long-term use. Therefore, studies on laboratory production of pure $CO_2$ isotope standard gas from stable solid calcium carbonate standard materials, have been performed. For this study, we propose a method to extract pure $CO_2$ gas without isotope fractionation from a solid calcium carbonate material. The method is similar to that suggested by Coplen et al., (1983), but is better optimized particularly to make a large amount of pure $CO_2$ gas from calcium carbonate material. The $CaCO_3$ releases $CO_2$ in reaction with 100% pure phosphoric acid at $25^{\circ}C$ in a custom designed, evacuated reaction vessel. Here we introduce optimal procedure, reaction conditions, and samples/reactants size for calcium carbonate-phosphoric acid reaction and also provide the details for extracting, purifying and collecting $CO_2$ gas out of the reaction vessel. The measurements for ${\delta}^{18}O$ and ${\delta}^{13}C$ of $CO_2$ were performed at Seoul National University using a stable isotope ratio mass spectrometer (VG Isotech, SIRA Series II) operated in dual-inlet mode. The entire analysis precisions for ${\delta}^{18}O$ and ${\delta}^{13}C$ were evaluated based on the standard deviations of multiple measurements on 15 separate samples of purified $CO_2$. The pure $CO_2$ samples were taken from 100-mg aliquots of a solid calcium carbonate (Solenhofen-ori $CaCO_3$) during 8-day experimental period. The multiple measurements yielded the $1{\sigma}$ precisions of ${\pm}0.01$‰ for ${\delta}^{13}C$ and ${\pm}0.05$‰ for ${\delta}^{18}O$, comparable to the internal instrumental precisions of SIRA. Therefore, we conclude the method proposed in this study can serve as a way to produce an accurate secondary and/or laboratory $CO_2$ standard gas. We hope this study helps resolve difficulties in placing a laboratory working standard onto the international isotope scales and does make accurate comparisons with other data sets from other groups.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.147-152
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• 2015

Nitrogen (N) loading from domestic, agricultural and industrial sources can lead to excessive growth of macrophytes or phytoplankton in aquatic environment. Many studies have used nitrogen stable isotope ratios to identify anthropogenic nitrogen in aquatic systems as a useful method for studying nitrogen cycle. In this study to evaluate the precision and accuracy of Kjeldahl processes, two reference materials (IAEA-NO-3, N-1) were analyzed repeatedly. Measured the ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ values of IAEA-NO-3 and IAEA-N-1 were $4.7{\pm}0.2$‰ and $0.4{\pm}0.3$‰, respectively, which are within recommended values of analytical uncertainties. Also, we investigated spatial patterns of ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ in effluent plumes from a waste water treatment plant in Han River, Korea. ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ values are enriched at downstream areas of water treatment plant suggesting that dissolved nitrogen in effluent plumes should be one of the main N sources in those areas. The current study clarifies the reliability of Kjeldahl analytical method and the usefulness of stable isotopic techniques to trace the contamination source of dissolved nitrogen such as nitrate and ammonia.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.305-321
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• 2022

The stone chamber tomb in Eungpyeong-ri, Buyeo, is a joint tomb that contains the bodies of two individuals. This paper investigates the relationship between the buried persons and the characteristics of the stone chamber tomb. Based on the geographical location, relics, and the excavated human bones, it was determined that the tomb was built during the Sabi Period of the Baekje Dynasty and that the buried individuals were most probably residents of high stature or government officials. To study the excavated bones, the remains were carefully collected and conservation was carried out. Before collecting samples from the human bones for the analytical research, the results of near-infrared analysis were used to collect the samples for the isotope analysis and DNA analysis. The most important issue when handling the excavation site was the reinforcing agent and the concentration of the agent used. In situations like this, Paraloid B-72 is the most suitable agent. When the shape of human bones was difficult to distinguish from the soil, conservation was performed using X-ray and CT imaging data. The same chemical used for the reinforcement of the site was used to complete a minimum level of conservation to the surface areas where the conservation treatment of removing foreign substances, the reinforcement areas, and bonded areas were carried out. The collagen yield from the sample obtained at selected position was 3.8% to 6.1%. The results of analyzing the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen found in the extracted collagen showed that the stable isotope ratios came out to δ¹³C -18.3‰±0.1‰, -19.0‰±0.1‰ for EBW and δ¹⁵N 10.7‰±0.5‰, 10.6‰±0.1‰ for EBE. It is believed the two individuals consumed small amounts of minor cereals, mainly from C₃ plants, and protein was obtained from eating terrestrial animals. What's more, the deviations in data obtained from the two individuals were so small that it could be inferred that the individuals ate similar foods. Considering the preservation state of the sample, amplifying DNA for the DNA analysis would have been very difficult since the amount of surviving DNA was so deficient. For DNA analysis, it is anticipated that the results could be derived by applying improved extraction methods that will be developed in the future. In this research, any association between scientific analysis(DNA and stable isotope ratio) and near-infrared spectroscopy was difficult to establish. Further research is needed on the utilization of near-infrared analysis for gathering samples from human bones.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.315-327
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• 2007

This study investigated temporal and spatial variation of Pb and stable Pb isotopes accumulated in Ulleung Basin core sediments (4) using MC ICP/MS in order to identify the sources of anthropogenic Pb in the East/Japan Sea. Leached (1M HCl) Pb concentration and isotope ratios ($^{207}Pb/^{206}Pb\;and\;^{208}Pb/^{206}Pb$) were nearly constant during 300 yrs past than 1930, but increased up to twice in concentration and as much as 3.41% (1.70%) after 2000. On the other hand, residual Pb concentrations were nearly constant for past 400 yrs. The accumulation rates of anthropogenic Pb in the basin area were in the range of $3.1-3.5mg/m^2/yr$, which were similar levels to total atmospheric Pb deposition fluxes from 1990s to the present. In the slope area, more increase of anthropogenic Pb accumulation than the levels expected from mass accumulation rate could be found after the middle of 1990s. From the detailed evaluation for the temporal and spatial variation of accumulation rate and isotope ratios of anthropogenic Pb, we proposed probable sources and pathways of anthropogenic Pb. Pb emmision by coal burning from the China and Korea initiated the accumulation of anthropogenic Pb in the sediments of East/Japan Sea from 1930s. The accumulation of Pb increased by the addition of anti-nocking agents from both countries untill the beginning of 1990s, but from the middle of 1990s to the present, the phase-out of gasoline additives and the rapid increase of coal burning from the China maintained the atmospheric Pb levels in the Ulleung basin nearly similar to before. However, the local sources within this basin might take an important role in the rapid increase of anthropogenic Pb accumulation in slope areas from the middle of 1990s.