• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.73-77
• /
• 2021

Induced polarization (IP) is useful for mineral exploration and hydrogeological studies by visualizing the electrochemical reactions at the interface between polarized minerals and groundwater. Frequency-domain IP (FDIP) is not actively applied to field surveys because it takes longer to acquire data, despite its higher data quality than conventional time-domain IP. However, data quality is more important in current mineral exploration as the targets gradually shift to deep or low-grade ore bodies. In addition, the measurement time reduced by automated instrumentation increases the potential for FDIP field applications. Therefore, we demonstrate that FDIP can detect mineral exploration targets by performing geophysical logging in the boreholes of a skarn deposit, in South Korea. Alternating current (AC) resistivity, percent frequency effect (PFE) and metal factor (MF) were calculated from impedance values obtained at two different frequencies. Skarn zones containing magnetite or pyrite showed relatively low AC resistivity, high PFE, and high MF compared to other zones. Therefore, FDIP surveys are considered to be useful for mineral exploration.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.81-92
• /
• 2001

According to analyses of high-resolution seismic profiles (air gun, sparker, and SBP) and a deep-drill core(YSDP 105) in the mid-eastern Yellow Sea, stratigraphic and geoacoustic models have been established and seismo-acoustic modeling has been fulfilled using ray tracing of finite element method. Stratigraphic model reflects seismo-, litho-, and chrono-stratigraphic sequences formed under a significant influence of Quaternary glacio-eustatic sea-level fluctuations. Each sequence consists of terrestrial to very-shallow-marine coarse-grained lowstand systems tract and tidal fine-grained transgressive to highstand systems tract. Based on mean grain-size data (121 samples) of the drill core, bulk density and P-wave velocity of depositional units have been inferred and extrapolated down to a depth of the recovery using the Hamilton's regression equations. As goo-acoustic parameters, the 121 pairs of bulk density and P-wave velocity have been averaged on each unit of the stratigraphic model. As a result of computer ray-tracing simulation of the subsurface strata, we have found that there are complex ray paths and many acoustic-shadow zones owing to the presence of irregular layer boundaries and low-velocity layers.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.46 no.3
• /
• pp.221-234
• /
• 2013

Laboratory experiments for the reaction with supercritical $CO_2$ under the $CO_2$ sequestration condition were performed to investigate the mineralogical and geochemical weathering process of the sandstones and mudstones in the Pohang basin. To simulate the supercritical $CO_2$-rock-groundwater reaction, rock samples used in the experiment were pulverized and the high pressurized cell (200 ml of capacity) was filled with 100 ml of groundwater and 30 g of powdered rock samples. The void space of the high pressurized cell was saturated with the supercritical $CO_2$ and maintained at 100 bar and $50^{\circ}C$ for 60 days. The changes of mineralogical and geochemical properties of rocks were measured by using XRD (X-Ray Diffractometer) and BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller). Concentrations of dissolved cations in groundwater were also measured for 60 days of the supercritical $CO_2$-rock-groundwater reaction. Results of XRD analyses indicated that the proportion of plagioclase and K-feldspar in the sandstone decreased and the proportion of illite, pyrite and smectite increased during the reaction. In the case of mudstone, the proportion of illite and kaolinite and cabonate-fluorapatite increased during the reaction. Concentration of $Ca^{2+}$ and $Na^+$ dissolved in groundwater increased during the reaction, suggesting that calcite and feldspars of the sandstone and mudstone would be significantly dissolved when it contacts with supercritical $CO_2$ and groundwater at $CO_2$ sequestration sites in Pohang basin. The average specific surface area of sandstone and mudstone using BET analysis increased from $27.3m^2/g$ and $19.6m^2/g$ to $28.6m^2/g$ and $26.6m^2/g$, respectively, and the average size of micro scale void spaces for the sandstone and mudstone decreased over 60 days reaction, resulting in the increase of micro pore spaces of rocks by the dissolution. Results suggested that the injection of supercritical $CO_2$ in Pohang basin would affect the physical property change of rocks and also $CO_2$ storage capacity in Pohang basin.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.23-32
• /
• 2020

Geological CO₂ sequestration is a global warming response technology to limit atmospheric emissions by injecting CO₂ captured on a large scale into deep geological formations. The presented results concern mineralogical and hydrogeological investigations (FE-SEM, XRD, XRF, and MICP) of mudstone samples from drilling cores of the Pohang basin, which is the research area for the first demonstration-scale CO₂ storage project in Korea. They aim to identify the mineral properties of the mudstone constituting the caprock and to quantitatively evaluate the hydrogeologic sealing capacity that directly affects the stability and reliability of geological CO₂ storage. Mineralogical analysis showed that the mudstone samples are mainly composed of quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase and a small amount of pyrite, calcite, clay minerals, etc. Mercury intrusion capillary pressure analysis also showed that the samples generally had uniform particle configurations and pore distribution and there was no distinct correlation between the estimated porosity and air permeability. The allowable CO₂ column heights based on the estimated pore-entry pressures and breakthrough pressures were found to be significantly higher than the thickness of the targeting CO₂ injection layer. These results showed that the mudstone layers in the Yeongil group, Pohang basin, Korea have sufficient sealing capacity to suppress the leakage of CO₂ injected during the demonstration-scale CO₂ storage project. It should be noticed, however, that the applicability of results and analyses in this study is limited by the lack of available samples. For rigorous assessment of the sealing efficiency for geological CO₂ storage operations, significant efforts on collection and multi-aspect evaluation for core samples over entire caprock formations should be accompanied.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.313-327
• /
• 2013

In the study, three-dimensional geostatistical simulations on McMurray Formation which is the largest oil sand reservoir in Athabasca area, Canada were performed, and the optimal site for steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) was selected based on the predictions. In the selection, the factors related to the vertical extendibility of steam chamber were considered as the criteria for an optimal site. For the predictions, 110 borehole data acquired from the study area were analyzed in the Markovian transition probability (TP) framework and three-dimensional distributions of the composing media were predicted stochastically through an existing TP based geostatistical model. The potential of a specific medium at a position within the prediction domain was estimated from the ensemble probability based on the multiple realizations. From the ensemble map, the cumulative thickness of the permeable media (i.e. Breccia and Sand) was analyzed and the locations with the highest potential for SAGD applications were delineated. As a supportive criterion for an optimal SAGD site, mean vertical extension of a unit permeable media was also delineated through transition rate based computations. The mean vertical extension of a permeable media show rough agreement with the cumulative thickness in their general distribution. However, the distributions show distinctive disagreement at a few locations where the cumulative thickness was higher due to highly alternating juxtaposition of the permeable and the less permeable media. This observation implies that the cumulative thickness alone may not be a sufficient criterion for an optimal SAGD site and the mean vertical extension of the permeable media needs to be jointly considered for the sound selections.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.89-97
• /
• 2007

A three-dimensional (3D) magnetotelluric (MT) survey has been carried out to delineate subsurface structures and possible fractures, for development of low-temperature geothermal resources in Pohang, Korea. Quite good quality MT data could be obtained throughout the survey region by locating the remote reference in Kyushu, Japan, which is ${\sim}480\;km$ from the centre of the field site. 3D modelling and inversion are performed taking into account the sea effect in MT measurements near the seashore. The nearby sea in the Pohang area affects MT data at frequencies below $1\;Hz{\sim}0.2\;Hz$, depending on the distance from the seashore. The most severe sea effects were observed in the south-east parts of the survey area, closer to Youngil Bay. 3D inversion with and without the seawater constraint showed very similar results at shallow depths, roughly down to 2 km. At greater depths, however, a strong sea effect seems to form a fictitious conductive structure in ordinary 3D inversion, especially in the south-eastern part of the survey region. Comparison between drilling results and the resistivity profiles from inversions showed that five layered structures can be distinguished the subsurface beneath the target area. They are: (a) semi-consolidated mudstones with resistivity less than $10\;{\Omega}m$, which are ${\sim}300\;m$ thick in the northern part and ${\sim}600\;m$ thick in the southern part of the survey area; (b) occasional occurrence of trachybasalt and lapilli tuff within the mudstone layer has resistivity of a few tens of${\Omega}m$, (c) intrusive rhyolite ${\sim}400\;m$ thick has resistivity of several hundreds of ${\Omega}m$, (d) alternating sandstone and mudstone down to 1.5 km depth shows resistivity of ${\sim}100\;{\Omega}m$, (e) a conductive structure was found at a depth of ${\sim}3\;km$, but more geological and geophysical study should be carried out to identify this structure.

• 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.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.268-277
• /
• 2009

Recently as the interest in the development of domestic ore deposits has increased, we can easily find some studies on exploration geophysics-based ore deposit survey in literature. Geophysical surveys have been applied to the investigation of both metallic and non-metallic ore deposit. For metallic ore-deposit survey, the 2D electrical resistivity method has been popularly used, because metallic mineral deposits are generally more conductive than surrounding media. However, geological structures are 3D rather than 2D structures, which may lead to misinterpretation in 2D inversion section. In this study, 3D effects are examined for several 3D structures such as a width-varying dyke model and a wedge-shaped model. We also investigate the effects of the direction of survey line. Numerical results show that the width-varying dyke model yields some low resistivity zone in the deep part, which is independent of real ore-body location. For the wedge-shaped model, even though the survey line is located apart from the ore body, the 2D inversion section still shows low resistivity zone in the deep part. When the survey line is not perpendicular to the strike of the ore body, the low resistivity zone is slightly broader but shallower than that obtained along the survey line perpendicular to the strike. For the survey lines that have an angle smaller than $45^{\circ}$ with the strike of the ore body, the inversion results are totally distorted. From these results, we conclude that 2-D survey and interpretation can lead to misinterpretation of subsurface structures, which may be linked to economical loss. Eventually, we recommend to apply 3-D rather than 2-D electrical resistivity survey for ore-deposit survey.

• Journal of the Korean Geophysical Society
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.39-44
• /
• 1999

High-resolution images are drawn from existing seismic data which were originally obtained by Korea Ocean Research & Development Institute (KORDI) during 1994-1997 for deep seismic studies on the East Sea of Korea. These images are analyzed for mapping Quaternary faults and near-bottom gas pockets. First 12 channels are selected from shot gathers for reprocessing. The processing sequence adopted for high-resolution seismic images comprises data copy, trace editing, true amplitude recovery, common-midpoint sorting, initial muting, prestack deconvolution, bandpass filtering, stacking, highpass filtering, poststack deconvolution, f-x migration, and automatic gain control (AGC). Among these processing steps, predictive deconvolution, highpass filtering, and short window AGC are the most significant in enhancement of resolution. More than 200 Quaternanry faults are interpreted on the migrated sections in the shallow depths beneath the seafloor. Although numerous faults are found mostly at the western continental slope and boundaries of the Ulleung Basin, significant amount of the faults are also indicated within the basin. Many of these faults are believed to be formed with reactivation of basement, from geotectonic activities including volcanism, and often originated in Tertiary, indicating that the tectonic regime of the East Sea might be unstable. Existence of shallow gas pockets casts real hazardous warnings to deep-sea drillings and/or to underwater constructions such as inter-island cables and gas pipelines. On the other hand, discovery of these gas pockets heightens the interests in developing natural resources in the East Sea. Reprocessed seismic sections, however, show no typical seismic characteristics for gas hydrates such as bottom-simulating reflectors in the western continental slope and ocean floor.