• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.53 no.5
• /
• pp.585-596
• /
• 2020

The 2017 Pohang Earthquakes occurred near a drill site in the Pohang Enhanced Geothermal System. Water injected for well stimulation was believed to have reactivated the buried near-critically stressed Miocene faults by the accumulation of the Quaternary tectonic strain. However, surface expressions of the Quaternary tectonic activity had not been reported near the epicenter of the earthquakes before the site construction. Unusual, large-scale water-escaped structures were identified 4 km away from the epicenter during a post-seismic investigation. The water-escaped structures comprise Miocene mudstones injected into overlying Pleistocene coastal sediments that formed during Marine Isotope Stage 5. This indicates the vulnerable state of the mudstones long after deposition, resulted from the combined effects of rapid tectonic uplift (before significant diagenesis) and the development of an aquifer at their unconformable interface of the mudstone. Based on the detailed field analysis and consideration of all possible endogenic triggers, we interpreted the structures to have been formed by elevated pore pressures in the mudstones (thixotropy), triggered by cyclic ground motion during the earthquakes. This interpretation is strengthened by the presence of faults 400 m from the study area, which cut unconsolidated coastal sediment deposited after Marine Isotope Stage 5. Geological context, including high rates of tectonic uplift in SE Korea, paleo-seismological research on Quaternary faults near the study area, and historical records of paleoearthquakes in SE Korea, also support the interpretation. Thus, epicenter and surrounding areas of the 2017 Pohang Earthquake are considered as a paleoseismologically active area, and the causative fault of the 2017 Pohang Earthquakes was expected to be nearly critical state.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
• /
• 1994.07a
• /
• pp.184-215
• /
• 1994

The Hydrogeologic data of 455 water wells comprising geologic and aquifer test were analyzed to determine hydrogeoloic characteristics of Cheju island. The groundwater of Cheju island is occurred in unconsolidated pyroclastic deposits interbedded in highly jointed basaltic and andesic rocks as high level, basal and parabasal types order unconfined condition. The average transmissivity and specific yield of the aquifer are at about 29,300m$^2$/day and 0.12 respectively. The total storage of groundwater is estimated about 44 billion cubic meters(m$^3$). Average annual precipitation is about 3390 million m$^3$ among which average recharge amount is estimated 1494 million m$^3$ equivalent 44.1% of annual precipitation with 638 million m$^3$ of runoff and 1256 million m$^3$ of evapotranspiration. Based on groundwater budget analysis, the sustainable yield is about 620 million m$^3$(41% of annual recharge)and rest of it is discharging into the sea. The geologic logs of recently drilled thermal water wens indicate that very low-permeable marine sediments(Sehwa-ri formation) composed of loosely cemented sandy sat derived from mainly volcanic ashes, at the 1st stage volcanic activity of the area was situated at the 120$\pm$68m below sea level. And also the other low-permeable sedimentary rock called Segipo-formation which is deemed younger than former marine sediment is occured at the area covering north-west and western part of Cheju at the $\pm$70m below sea level. If these impermeable beds are distributed as a basal formation of fresh water zone of Cheju, most of groundwater in Cheju will be para-basal type. These formations will be one of the most important hydrogeologic boundary and groundwater occurences in the area.