• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.333-341
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• 2010

Fluvial sediments are widely distributed in present and old river-beds of the mid-Keum River, the tributaries of which are the Yugu and Jeongan Rivers. The basement of the mid-Keum River area consists of Mesozoic granites which are easily eroded compared to Precambrian gneisses, which are exposed in the upper-Keum River area. The provenance of the fluvial sediments includes both the Precambrian gneisses and Mesozoic granites, which occur in the catchment of the mid-Keum River. The coarse-grained sediments were probably transported from the river-beds and the overbank floodings of the main Keum River and its tributaries when the climate was warm and wet. The oldest mud deposits were dated at ca. 9,400 yr BP by the radiocarbon method. It has been estimated that the sand deposits below the dated muds were formed in a period from the Late Pleistocene to the Early Holocene. However we have revealed that the major part of the present river-bed sediments was formed at ca. 3,000-6,000 yr BP, i.e., in the mid- to late Holocene, when summer monsoon was very strong due to climatic changes. We have calculated fluvial sedimentation rates of 0.12-0.16 cm/yr and 0.02-0.09 cm/yr for borehole KJ-29 river-bed sediments and borehole KJ-28 floodplain deposits, respectively. We conclude that the sedimentation rate is higher near the present stream channel than near the floodplain.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.89-97
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• 1986

To clarify the soil characteristics and genesis of the clayey terrace soils in Yeongnam area, the study were carried out with 9 typifying pedons of toposequential terrace soils in Yeongcheon (inland area) and Yeongil (coastal area) region. The results of soil genesis oriented investigations on soil mineralogical compositions and weathering characteristics were summarized as follows; 1. The contents of heavy minerals contained in sand fraction of the terrace soils were less than 5%, but the content in soil layers considered to be originated from other than terrace deposits had 9.8-16.2%. The content of feldspars in light minerals were higher in Yeongcheon sequence while the Yeongil sequence were characterized by having higher content in quartz. The ratios of quartz/feldspars in the soil layers where expecting lithological discontinuity, were different from that of terrace deposits. 2. The resistate index of maturity ranged around 76.7-29.9 in Yeongcheon area and around 85.6-67.2 in Yeongil area. The indices increased with the elevations of terraces. 3. The molar ratios of $SiO_2/Al_2O_3$ in clay fraction were around 1.93-2.65. The parent materials of the terrace deposits judged by the ratios of $Al_2O_3/TiO_2$ and $Fe_2O_3/Al_2O_3$ were considered to be the felsic materials. 4. The compositions of clay minerals detected by X-ray diffractogram and D.T.A. thermogram were dominated by kaolin and illite with subsidiary minerals of vermiculite, quartz, vermiculite intergrading to illite etc. It was distinguished from terrace deposits that by having higher amount of kaolin and montmorin minerals in the substrata of Bancheon soils in Yeongcheon area and Upyeong soils in Yeongil area, respectively.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.38 no.6 s.175
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• pp.689-697
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• 2005

Mineralogical composition, $^{137}Cs$ activity, total organic carbon (TOC), and particle size of marine sediments near Wuljin Nuclear Powerplant were analyzed and the relationships among those components were investigated. The particle sizes of sediments were equivalent to sand size and in the range of $-0.48\~3.6\;Md\phi$. TOC contents and $^{137}Cs$ activities were in the range of $0.06\~1.75\%$ and minimum detectable activity (MDA) $\~4.0Bq/kg-dry$ with the average value of $1.15{\pm}0.62$ Bq/kg-dry, respectively. The sediments in study area were characterized by large particle size and small TOC contents, and $^{137}Cs$ activity compared with other marine sediments. The main mineral components were quartz and feldspar (albite, microcline, and small amount of orthoclase) with small amount of pyroxene, calcite, hornblende. Minerals with $10{\AA}$ XRD peak (mainly biotite) and chlorite were also identified. Among those minerals, biotite shows the linear relationship with $^{137}Cs$ content probably due to the frayed edge site (FES) on biotite or small amount of mixed illite. However, TOC content shows most linear relationship with $^{137}Cs$ content because no significant amount of clay minerals, which can adsorb significant amount of Cs, were observed in the study area, indicating that the distribution of $^{137}Cs$ in this study area was more significantly affected by the TOC content than mineral composition.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.373-388
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• 2016

To understand human activity in the past, the information about past environmental change including geomorphological and climatic conditions is essential and this can be traced by using age dating and geochemical analysis of sediments from the prehistoric sites. The sedimentary sequence of Seokgwan-dong Paleolithic Site located in Seoul was 5m long unconsolidated sediments and consists of lower part bedrock weathering sediments, slope deposits and upper-part fluvial deposits. In this study, upper part sediments were used to reconstruct past environmental change through age dating and various physical and chemical analyses including grain size, magnetic susceptibility and mineral and elements. The fluvial sediments can be divided into 4 units including three organic layers. Grain size analysis results showed that the sediments were very poorly sorted with fining upward features. Magnetic susceptibility was relatively high in the organic layers, indicating environmental changes causing mineral composition change at that times. The mineral and major element composition are similar to Jurassic biotite granite which mainly consists of quartz, K-feldspar, biotite and muscovite. The radiocarbon age of $14,240{\pm}80yr$ BP was obtained from the lower most organic layer of Unit III(O), suggesting that the fluvial sediments formed at least from the early stage of deglacial period after the end of Last Glacial Maximum. Subsequent wet and warm climates and resultant fluvial process including slope sedimentation during the Holocene may have been responsible for the sedimentary sequence in Seokgwan-dong paleolithic site and surrounding area. The observed organic layers suggests frequent wetland occurrence combined with natural levee changes in this area.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.35-52
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• 1973

Red Yellow Soils occur very commonly in Korea and constitute the important upland soils of the country which are either presently being cultivated or are suitable for reclaiming and cultivating. These soils are distributed on rolling, moutain foot slopes, and terraces in the southern and western parts of the central districts of Korea, and are derived from granite, granite gneiss, old alluvium and locally from limestone and shale. This report is a summary of the morphology, physical and chemical characteristics of Red Yellow Soils. The data obtained from detailed soil surveys since 1964 are summarized as follows. 1. Red-Yellows Soils have an A, Bt, C profile. The A horizon is dark colored coarse loamy or fine loamy with the thin layer of organic matter. The B horizon is dominantly strong brown, reddish brown or yellowish red, clayey or fine loamy with clay cutans on the soil peds. The C horizon varies with parent materials, and is coarser texture and has a less developed structure than the Bt horizon. Soil depth, varied with relief and parent materials, is predominantly around 100cm. 2. In the physical characteristics, the clay content of surface soil is 18 to 35 percent, and of subsoil is 30 to 90 percent nearly two times higher than the surface soil. Bulk density is 1.2 to 1.3 in the surface soil and 1.3 to 1.5 in the subsoil. The range of 3-phase is mostly narrow with 45 to 50 percent in solid phase, 30 to 45 percent in liquid one, and 5 to 25 percent in gaseous state in the surface soil; and 50 to 60 solid, 35 to 45 percent liquid and less than 15 percent gaseous in the subsoil. Available soil moisture capacity ranges from 10 to 23 percent in the surface soil, and 5 to 16 percent in the subsoil. 3. Chemically, soil reaction is neutral to alkaline in soils derived from limestone or old fluviomarine deposits, and acid to strong acid in other ones. The organic matter content of surface soil varying considerably with vegetation, erosion and cultivation, ranges from 1.0 to 5.0 percent. The cation exchange capacity is 5 to 40 me/100gr soil and closely related to the content of organic matter, clay and silt. Base saturation is low, on the whole, due to the leaching of extractable cations, but is high in soils derived from limestone with high content of lime and magnesium. 4. Most of these soils mainly contain halloysite (a part of kaolin minerals), vermiculite (weathered mica), and illite, including small amount of chlorite, gibbsite, hematite, quartz and feldspar. 5. Characteristically they are similar to Red Yellow Podzolic Soils and a part of Reddish Brown Lateritic Soils of the United States, and Red Yellow Soils of Japan. According to USDA 7th Approximation, they can be classified as Udu Its or Udalfs, and in FAO classification system to Acrisols, Luvisols, and Nitosols.