• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.38 no.2 s.171
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• pp.165-176
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• 2005

Natural gas in deep sediment may occur in three phases based on the physical and chemical conditions. If the concentration of gas in pore water is less than the solubility, gas is dissolved. If the concentration of gas is greater than its solubility (water is saturated or supersaturated with gas), gas occurs as a fee gas below the gas hydrate stability Lone (GHSZ) and is present as solid hydrate within the GHSZ. The knowledge of gas concentration in deep sediment appears critical to determine the phase of natural gases and to understand the formation and distribution of gas hydrate. However, reliable data on gas concentration are usually available only from the upper section of marine sediment by the headspace gas technique, which is widely used for sampling of gases from the sediments. The headspace gas technique represents only a fraction of gases present in situ because sediments release most of the gases during recovery and sampling. The PCS (Pressure Core Sampler) is a downhole tool developed to recover a nominal $1{\cal}m$ long, $4.32{\cal}cm$ diameter core containing $1,465cm^3$ of sediment, pore water and gas at in situ pressure up to 68.9 MPa. During Leg 204, the PCS was deployed at 6 Sites. In situ methane gas concentration and distribution of gas hydrate was measured by using PCS tool. Characteristics of methane concentration and distribution is different from site to site. Distribution of gas hydrate in the study area is closely related to characteristics of in situ gas concentration measured by PCS.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.387-396
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• 2024

The geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) involves permanently isolating the wastes in stable geological formations deep underground. Mudstone (siltstone and claystone) containing abundant clay minerals is proposed as a host rock for geological disposal of HLW because clay minerals have low permeability and high ion sorption/exchange capacity. Despite the widespread occurrence of sedimentary basins in Korea, there is a lack of evaluation of mudstone as host rocks for geological disposal. In this study, we utilized the JBH-1 borehole (7-754 m) obtained from the Jinju Formation to investigate the distribution trend and mineral compositions of mudstone. Additionally, we conducted comparative analyses with the Opalinus Clay in Switzerland considered as host rock of geological disposal of HLW. Claystone containing more than 40% clay minerals exhibit thick layers primarily in the upper section (7-350 m) of the JBH-1 borehole. While the clay minerals content of claystone does not show significant variation with depth, there are differences in the characteristics of feldspar and carbonate minerals. These mineralogical variations can led change in pore water chemistry and rock mechanical properties. The clay minerals content of claystone in the Jinju Formation is similar to that of the Opalinus Clay. However, there are notable differences in clay minerals composition. While the Opalinus Clay contains smectite-illite mixed-layer minerals, the Jinju Formation are dominated by illite indicating higher burial temperatures. This information will be useful for studying the host rock of HLW geological disposal site in Korea.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.227-233
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• 2011

Attention has been focused on geothermal energy as an alternative energy because it is continuously operable without external supply. Most of geothermal anomalies in Korea are related to deep circulation of groundwater through a fracture system in granite area. Therefore it is very important to understand the distribution of the fracture system which is the main channel of ground water. In this research, we constructed the velocity models with a fracture system and the layered sediments, respectively, and generated synthetic data sets with them to verify the presented vertical seismic profiling (VSP) preprocessing scheme. We compared the results from conventional VSP preprocessing flow to those from VSP preprocessing flow considering fracture system. We noticed that the preprocessing flow considering fracture system retains more sufficient signal including down-going wave than conventional preprocessing. In addition, we applied 3D VSP prestack phase screen migration to the preprocessed reversed VSP (RVSP) data from Seokmo Island so that we were able to image fracture structure of the geothermal site in Seokmo Island.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.267-278
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• 1993

Ground-water temperature is one of the parameters for observing diarges in the state of the ground-water regime in time and space, which relate to conditions for recharge as well as the influence of various natural and man-induced fadors on the regime. Because ground-water satura tes much of the rock materiats in the upper layer of the earth's csust the water temperature reflects in part the temperature of the water-bearing rocks. The mobffity and thennal capadty of groud-waters, however, serves to redistribute some of the heat within the stratosphere and to influence the developement of the geothermal regime within this sphere. The utilization of temperature data of the study area(25 points) in the solution of hydrogeologic problems requires an understanding of some of the fundamental aspects of subsurtice temperatures. These include the depth of penetration of heat waves generated of the surtace, the rate of propagation of the waves, and the geothermal gradient in the study area of Taegu.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.138-152
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• 2003

Three-dimensional computer modeling using FLAC3D had been carried out fur evaluating the thermal-mechanical stability of a high-level radioactive waste repository excavated in several hundred deep location. For effective modeling, a FISH program was made and the geological conditions and rock properties achieved from the drilling sites in Kosung and Yusung areas were used. Sensitivity analysis fer the stresses and temperatures from the modeling designed utilizing fractional factorial design was carried out. From the sensitivity analysis, the important design parameters and their interactions could be determined. From this study, it was found that deposition hole spacing is the most important parameter on the thermal and mechanical stability. The second and third most important parameters were disposal tunnel and buffer thickness.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.67-72
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• 2003

제주도 동부지역에 설치한 심부관측정과 지하수 개발공에 대한 시추코아 지질검층, EC 및 수온검층, 지하수위 관측, 수질조사 등의 자료를 기초로 이 지역의 지하지질 분포와 지하수 부존특성에 대해 해석을 실시하였다. 제주도 동부 해발 200m 이하지역은 평균 해수면 하 90~120m 깊이까지 투수성이 좋은 용암류 누층으로 이뤄져 있으며, 일부지역에서는 서귀포층 상부에 유리쇄 설성 각력암층(hyaloclastite breccia)이 두껍게 분포하고 있어 담수지하수의 확산과 해수의 유입이 잘 일어날 수 있는 지질상태를 이루고 있다. 특히 서귀포층은 G-H비에 의한 담.염수 경계면 분포 깊이보다 깊은 위치에 존재하고 있어 제주도 서부지역에서처럼 담수지하수를 저류 해주는 역할을 기대하기 어려운 것으로 판단된다. 제주도 동부지역 지하수체는 수직적으로 담수지하수, 저염지하수, 염수지하수로 구분할 수 있으며, Ghyben-Herzberg 원리가 적용되는 담수렌즈(기저지하수) 두께는 일반적인 G-H비 보다 훨씬 얇은 평균 1:20의 비율을 나타냈다. 담수렌즈는 대체로 해안으로부터 내륙쪽 8km 지역까지 광범위하게 발달하고 있으며, 담수렌즈 포장량은 822백만톤(공극율 5%)에서 1,970백만톤(공극율 12%)의 범위로 추정되었다.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.377-382
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• 2007

Several prospecting methods have been used to detect deep seated small tunnel in Korea. Tunnel interpretation of seismic method has been performed mainly by wave traveltime inversion method. But it often gives inacurate solution for the exact tunnel position because of the short distance between two measuring boreholes and picking errors of first arrivals. In this study, "error tomogram" was proposed to detect tunnel position and applied to theoretical and field dat using multi-source amplitude data.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.301-312
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• 2015

A commercial gas field was found in the southwestern continental shelf of the Ulleung Basin, East Sea in the late 1990s. To develop additional gas field, an exploration well was drilled through the coarse infill of submarine canyon near the gas field, but it was uneconomic to develop hydrocarbons. Using newly acquired deep seismic reflection and previous well data, we have identified additional geological structure which has hydrocarbon potentials below submarine canyons in the southwestern margin of the basin. Based on the interpretation of the deep seismic reflection and well data, the sequences of the study area can be classified into the syn-rift megasequence(MS1), post-rift megasequence(MS2), syn-compressional megasequence(MS3), and post-compressional megasequence(MS4) in relation to the tectonic events. MS1, deposited simultaneously with the basin formation before the middle Miocene, is characterized by chaotic seismic facies with low- to moderate-amplitude and low frequency reflections. MS2 comprises laterally continuous, low- to moderate-amplitude reflections, showing progradational stacking patterns due to high rates of sediment supply during basin expansion in the middle Miocene. MS3 is mainly composed of continuous reflections with high amplitude and moderate- to high-frequency which are interpreted as coarse-grained sediments. The coarse-grained sediments of MS3 sequence is widely truncated by several submarine canyons which filled with fine-grained sediment of MS4 to form a stratigraphic trap of hydrocarbon. Therefore, the reservoir and seal of the hydrocarbon trap in the study area are coarse-grained sediment of MS3 and submarine canyon filled with fine-grained sediment of MS4, respectively. A flat-spot seismic anomaly, which may indicate the presence of hydrocarbon, is observed within the stratigraphic trap.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.164-173
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• 2004

To delineate geothermal water movement at the Pohang geothermal development site, Self-Potential (SP) survey and monitoring were carried out during pumping tests. Before drilling, background SP data have been gathered to figure out overall potential distribution of the site. The pumping test was performed in two separate periods: 24 hours in December 2003 and 72 hours in March 2004. SP monitoring started several days before the pumping tests with a 128-channel automatic recording system. The background SP survey showed a clear positive anomaly at the northern part of the boreholes, which may be interpreted as an up-flow Bone of the deep geothermal water due to electrokinetic potential generated by hydrothermal circulation. The first and second SP monitoring during the pumping tests performed to figure out the fluid flow in the geothermal reservoir but it was not easy to see clear variations of SP due to pumping and pumping stop. Since the area is covered by some 360 m-thick tertiary sediments with very low electrical resistivity (less than 10 ohm-m), the electrokinetic potential due to deep groundwater flow resulted in being seriously attenuated on the surface. However, when we compared the variation of SP with that of groundwater level and temperature of pumping water, we could identify some areas responsible to the pumping. Dominant SP changes are observed in the south-west part of the boreholes during both the preliminary and long-term pumping periods, where 3-D magnetotelluric survey showed low-resistivity anomaly at the depth of $600m\~1,000m$. Overall analysis suggests that there exist hydraulic connection through the southwestern part to the pumping well.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.69-79
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• 2010

In order to reduce leakage from a reservoir, a large amount of cement milk (grout) was injected from boreholes drilled around the shores of the reservoir, and monitored to establish the infiltration of cement milk into the bedrock under the reservoir. From laboratory tests using rock core samples, it was revealed that the resistivity of cement milk is much lower than that of the groundwater at this location. Therefore, it was expected that the resistivity of the zones filled with cement milk would be significantly reduced. Geophysical surveys are expected to be suitable methods to check the effectiveness of grouting in improving the water-retaining performance of a reservoir. DC electrical surveys (seven in total) and two Controlled Source Audio-frequency Magneto-Telluric (CSAMT) surveys were conducted along survey lines in the reservoir to monitor the infiltration of cement milk during the grouting. Extremely low resistivity zones ($10\;{\Omega}m$ or less) were observed in resistivity sections obtained by 2D inversion. The zones are inferred to be fractured zones filled with cement milk. In sections showing the rate of change of resistivity, three zones that showed significant change showed gradual expansion to deeper parts as the grouting progressed. These zones correspond to highly permeable zones detected by Lugeon tests at grout boreholes. We have confirmed that it is possible to measure the resistivity change by DC electrical and CSAMT surveys from the surface of the reservoir. It seems that such monitoring results could be reflected in future grouting plans.