• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.189-197
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• 2019

HLW (High Level Radioactive Waste) is one of the problems that must be solved in the countries that implement nuclear power generation. Most countries that are concerned about HLW treatment are considering complete isolation from human society by disposing them deep underground. For perfect isolation, understanding the characteristics of underground rocks is very important. In particular, understanding the characteristics of discontinuity as a path way is one of the first things in order to predict the movement of exposed nuclear species to the surface. In this study, we used 500m underground core samples obtained from granite and gneiss area. The purpose of this study is to understand the characteristics of the discontinuities in each rock type and to analyze the properties of the joints in the underground relative to the surrounding environment. For this purpose, the types of discontinuities were classified and the distribution of each discontinuity were analyzed through visual analysis of the each sample obtained at 500m underground. This study can be used as a basic data for understanding the properties of discontinuities in the rock of the survey area and it can be also used as an important data for understanding the distribution characteristics of discontinuities according to the rock types.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.397-416
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• 2024

This study assessed the hydrogeological properties of the deep geological environment to develop safety criteria for the natural barriers used in the deep geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste in Korea. The assessment focused on the distribution and trends of hydraulic conductivity and permeability properties appropriate for the domestic geological environment, using various in-situ hydraulic test data collected for groundwater development and management. To develop a depth-hydrogeological property relationship model suitable for domestic conditions, the study reviewed various international research examples and applied a representative model that explains the trends of hydraulic conductivity and permeability with depth. The development of the model suitable for Korea involved applying ensemble regression analysis to account for the uncertainty of various factors in the collected data. The results confirmed that existing international depth-hydrogeological property relationship models adequately describe the characteristics of the domestic geological environment. Considering the preferred hydrogeological criteria suggested by countries like Sweden, Germany, and Canada, there is a high likelihood that a suitable geological environment exists in Korea. Additionally, the application of hydrogeological criteria indicative of low-permeability environments showed that suitable conditions for disposal construction increase at depths greater than 300 m, where the influence of fractures on groundwater flow might be minimal at depths exceeding 500 m. This research can serve as foundational information for establishing hydrogeological safety standards for natural barriers in Korea according to international regulatory guidelines.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.73-79
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• 1990

Controlled source audio-frequency magnetotelluric (CSAMT) has the great advantage of efficient mapping resistivity distribution and relatively deep depth of investigation. Moreover, CSAMT may be regarded more attractive than audio-frequency magnetotelluric in the sense of the strong and controllable signal. However, it has the problem such as undershoot and/or near-field effect that is hard to be interpreted if the interpretation method of MT is directly applied. The problem arises from the existance of controlled source which makes CSAMT attractive. So the characteristics of CSAMT response should be thoroughly understood prior to interpretation stage. In this study, numerical modeling program for horizontally layered earth was developped for the interpretation of CSAMT field data. CSAMT field survey was run as a follow-up to resistivity dipole-dipole study over the same survey line at Bongmyung coal mine. The survey used a grounded dipole source 2 Km in length and located 7.5Km south in this study. A good agreement between field CSAMT data and calculated data was demonstrated even in geologically complex earth situations.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.335-346
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• 1991

It is observed that calcareous nodules of the Hwajeol Formation are locally skarnized in the Sangdong district, in which the skarn mineralization extends 5 Km westward from the Sangdong mine area to the Hwajeolchi area. After a hidden granite beneath the Sangdong mine was discovered by exploration drillings, the exploration teams of the Sangdong mine and the Korean Mining Promotion Corporation have assumed that the skarn nodule of the Hwajeol Formation was derived from emplacement of a granite in deep place and the occurrence of hidden ore bodies below the skarn, and they have discovered high grades of tungsten orebody in the same horizon of the Sangdong ore body. Mutual genetic relatioships between epidote and garnet may be explained by following chemical reactions $Ca_2FeA_{12}$ $Si_3O_{12}(OH)+CaCO_3=Ca_3(Fe,\;Al)_2$ $SiO_{12}+1/2CO_2+1/2H^+Ca_3FeSi_3O_{12}+SiO_2+CO_2=2CaFeSi_{12}O_6+CaCO_3+1/2O_3$. It is concluded that epidote and garnet are useful as target minerals indicating a potential occurrence of deep seated hidden ore body. Since the epidote may inform the emplacement of the granite, while the garnet in the skarn nodule of the Hwajeol Formation may reflect a strong hydrothermal mineralization taking place from the depth.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.253-257
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• 2013

Geology, hydrogeology, and geochemistry are the main technical siting factors of a geological repository for spent nuclear fuels. This paper evaluated the siting criteria of overseas geological repository with related to hydrogeologic properties, such as hydraulic conductivity, partitioning coefficient, dispersion coefficient, boundary condition, and water age. Each country establishes the siting criteria based on its important geological backgrounds and information, and social environment. For example, Sweden and Finland that have decided a crystalline rock as a host rock of a geological repository show different siting criteria for hydraulic conductivity. In Sweden, it is preferable to avoid area where the hydraulic conductivity on a deposition hole scale (~30m) exceeds $10^{-8}m/s$, whereas Finland does not decide any criterion for the hydraulic conductivity because of limited data for it. In addition, partitioning coefficients should be less than 10-1 of average value in Swedish crystalline bedrock. However, the area where shows 100 times less than average partitioning coefficients of radionuclides in crystalline rock should be avoided in Sweden. In German, the partitioning coefficients for the majority of the long-term-relevant radionuclides should be greater than or equal to $0.001m^3/kg$. Therefore, it is strongly required to collect much and exact information for the hydrogeologic properties in order to set up the siting criteria.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.121-136
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• 2002

The $CO_2$-rich springs in the Kyungpook Province has been found at 16 locations. Most of the $CO_2$-rich springs outflow along either fault zones or the geologic boundary between Mesozoic granites and their adjacent rocks. The $CO_2$-rich water samples show a high $CO_2$ concentration ( $P_{CO2}0.46 to 5.21 atm), weak acidic pHs, wide electrical conductivity values ranging from 422 to 2,280 $\mu\textrm{S}$/cm, and high re content. They are classified into the ca-HC $O_3$ type in chemical composition.$\delta$$^{18}$ O and $\delta$$^2$H data indicate that $CO_2$-rich water is meteoric origin. The $\delta$$^{13}$ C values (-1.5$\textperthousand$ to -6.1$\textperthousand$ PDB) suggest that dissolved $H_2$C $O_3$$^{0}$ C $O_3$- are mainly derived from a deep-seated $CO_2$ and carbonate minerals. The thermodynamic equilibrium state between $CO_2$-rich water and major minerals, and hydrochemical characteristics indicate that major source minerals determining the chemical composition of $CO_2$-rich water are carbonate minerals, plagioclase, K-feldspar and Fe-oxides. Under high $CO_2$ pressure and the weak acidic condition, most of the $CO_2$-rich water samples are thermodynamically in the dissolution state with respect to albite and carbonate minerals.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.117-126
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• 2021

Satellite magnetic observations reflect the magnetic properties of deep crust about the depth of Curie isotherm that is a boundary where the magnetic nature of the rocks is disappeared, showing long wavelength anomalies that are not easily detected in near-surface data from airborne and shipborne surveys. For this reason, they are important not only in the analyses on such as plate reconstruction of tectonic boundaries and deep crustal structures, but in the studies of geothermal distribution in Antarctic and Greenland crust, related to global warming issue. It is a conventional method to compute the spherical harmonic coefficients from global coverage of satellite magnetic observations but it should be noted that inclusion of erroneous data from the equator and the poles where magnetic observations are highly disturbed might mislead the global model of the coefficients. Otherwise, the reduced anomaly model can be obtained with less corruption by choosing the area of interest with proper data processing to the area. In this study, I produced a satellite crustal magnetic anomaly map over East Asia (20° ~ 55°N, 108° ~ 150°E) centered on Korean Peninsula, from CHAMP satellite magnetic measurements about mean altitude of 280 km during the last year of the mission, and compared with the one from global crustal magnetic model (MF7). Also, a comparison was made with long wavelength anomalies from EMAG2 model compiled from all near-surface data over the globe.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.55-58
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• 2003

제주도 동부지역에 위치한 심부관측정(해수면 하 60m 이상 착정) 11개소를 대상으로 2001 년 11월부터 2002년 10월까지 1년간 담.염수 경계면의 분포와 변화에 대하여 조사를 실시하였다. 담.염수 경계면의 두께는 대체로 해안에서 내륙 쪽으로 향함에 따라 두터워지는 경향을 나타냈고, 해안에서 6~6.kmm 이상 지역에는 담.염수 경계면을 갖는 기저지하수체가 발달하지 않는 것으로 조사되었다. 또한, 담.염수 경계면은 조석의 영향에 의해 1일 동안 최대 8.1m, 최소 0.14m의 변화를 나타냈으며, 계절에 따라서는 최대 33.2m, 최소 2m의 수축 및 확장을 일으키는 것으로 조사되었다. 조석과 계절에 따른 담.염수 경계면의 수축과 확장의 폭은 조사대상 관측정의 위치, 지하지질, 강우량 등의 여러 가지 요인에 의해 좌우되고 있는 것으로 해석되었다.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.477-495
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• 2022

This study examined the sustainability of CO₂-rich water by analyzing the water level and water quality change pattern with the amount of its use in Angseong area, Chungju. The origin and supply of CO₂ component were discussed in consideration of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio, occurrence of CO₂-rich fluid inclusions in nearby W-Mo deposits and other surrounding geological characteristics. According to the data from 1986 to 2017, the depth of the water level of CO₂-rich water was significantly lowered in the late period (2009-2015) than in the early period (1986-1992) of the development of hot spa wells, and the optimal yields for pumping tests also showed a tendency to gradual decrease. Concentrations of CO₂ component also decreased continuously in the later stages compared to the early stages of development, but it has been stable since 2012. It is inferred that the geological environment related to forming W-Mo quartz vein deposits (0.5×1.5×several km) around the study area are largely involved in the origin and supply of CO₂ component, and the supply of CO₂ component is not infinitely supplied from deep current magma activity. Rather, since it is finitely supplied from a restricted subsurface region formed in the past geological period, it is necessary to efficiently control its use in order to maintain the sustainability of CO₂-rich water in the study area.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.73-88
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• 2000

The geochemistry of the $CO_2$-rich waters ($Pco_2\leq$about 1 atm) in NE part of the Kangwon province was investigated. The $CO_2$-rich waters can be divided to three types based on chemical compositions: Na-$HCO_3$, Ca-Na-$HCO_3$and Ca-$HCO_3$types. The water chemistry indicates that these type waters were evolved through reaction with host rocks by supply of deep-seated $CO_2$during deep circulation, and their geochemical environments in depth might have been different each other. The dissolution process of plagioclase is important in water/granite interactions and its solubility change according to reaction temperature played an important role in the determination of chemical compositions. The higher reaction temperature coincides with the lower different in solubility between albite and anorthite. It means that calcium is mainly released to the water in the lower temperature, whereas sodium in the higher temperature due to high Na/Ca ratio in plagioclase. The application of various chemical geothermometries on the $CO_2$-rich waters shows that the calculated reservoir temperature of Na-$HCO_3$type (about 15$0^{\circ}C$) is higher than those of Ca-$HCO_3$type. Therefore, we now interpret the recognized chemical difference was mainly due to the difference of reaction temperature. Considering normal thermal gradient, we can understand that the Na-$HCO_3$type was evolved from deeper crustal depth than the Ca-$HCO_3$type.