• The Korean Journal of Petroleum Geology
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• v.10 no.1_2 s.11
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• pp.10-17
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• 2004

The Doowoo-ri tidal flat in the southwestern Korean coast is a typical open-coast tidal flat which has no barriers in the offshore such as barrier island and sand bars. The difference of induced wave energy with seasons is affected directly on the distribution of surface sediment and the formation of sedimentary structures because the sedimentation by wind wave is relatively much important element in this open-coast tidal flat. This open-coast tidal flat can be classified into tidal beach, intertidal flat and lower mudflat according to the pattern of geomorphology and sediment type. The intertidal flat can be again divided into 3 types: sand flat, mixed flat and mud flat based on the primary sedimentary structure and sand/mud ratio. Doowoori tidal flat shows a seasonal change in the surface sedimentary facies based on sediment composition and primary sedimentary structure. The change is closely related to the direction and magnitude of monsoon wind and also to storm frequency. In winter and spring, when northwesterly wind is most dominant and strong and also storms are common, sand-flat facies is largely distributed on the intertidal flat, whereas mud-flat facies is most dominant during summer when weak southeasterly wind is common. In the fall season, mixed-flat facies is dominant on the flat. The Doowoori intertidal flat is covered by mud sediment which is ca. 20 cm in thickness in summer season. In winter season, surface sediment is changed from mud to sand because the summer mud is mostly eroded by strong wave action. Can-core peels in the intertidal flat show that parallel laminated mud or sand/mud and climbing ripple cross-laminated sandy silt are dominant on the upper intertidal flat $(0-1.3 {\cal}km)$ during summer season. On the other hand, on lower intertidal flat $(1.7-2.3 {\cal}km)$, dominant sedimentary facies is homogeneous mud. In winter, it is changed into parallel laminated and ripple cross-laminated sand facies.