• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.37-50
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• 2019

It is possible that radon removal in groundwater of small-scale water supply system (SWSS) is caused by atmospheric storage and aeration facilities installed in the water tank. Radon removal rates at water tank and tap of the 32 SWSS during summer season ranged from -69.3% to 62.7% (average 25.7%) and from -64.3% to 83.1% (average 30.3%) while those of 16 SWSS during autumn season ranged from 21.3% to 78.0% (average 42.8%) and from 17.7% to 66.9% (average 44.8%). The reason of higher radon removal rate in the autumn season compared with the summer season is due to higher atmospheric storage effect by lower groundwater use rate. The radon removal rates at the water tank from 12 SWSS were 47.4~94.0% (average 78.9%), in which the removal rates at the atmospheric storage are also included. Atmospheric storage and aeration can be used to reduce radon concentration in SWSS groundwater. For more efficient use of radon reduction, further studies are necessary to assess the radon removal rate considering variation conditions of radon concentration in groundwater, size and forms of water tank, change in groundwater usage rate, aeration capacity and ventilation facilities.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2023.05a
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• pp.281-281
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• 2023

최근 급격한 기후변화와 하천수 사용량의 증가로 수문학적 변동성이 증가하면서 지표수와 지하수의 통합 관리 필요성이 증대되고 있다. 이에 따라 SWAT-MODFLOW 모델은 지표수와 지하수 간의 수문학적 상호작용을 고려한 시공간적 지하수함양량의 분포와 하천과 대수층 간의 물 교환량, 장기 유출 및 수질 거동 해석 등에 널리 사용되고 있다. 그러나 이 모델은 국내 농업 유역 내 담수 논에서의 영농활동을 고려한 시단위 유출 및 수질 예측과 지표수-지하수 통합 해석에 어려움이 있다. 우리나라의 경우 전국 농지 면적 중 논이 약 50%를 차지하고 있음에도 불구하고 아직까지 국내 담수 논 특성을 고려하여 지표수-지하수 통합 해석이 가능한 수문 모델이 개발 된 바 없다. 이에 본 연구에서는 고해상도 시강우량에 따른 담수 논에서의 증발, 침투, 관개, 배수 등 모의가 가능한 Hourly SWAT-PADDY 모듈을 개발하고, SWAT-MODFLOW 모델의 수문 프로세스와의 연계를 통해 지표수-지하수 통합 해석이 가능한 Hourly SWAT-MODFLOW-PADDY 모델을 개발하였다. Hourly SWAT-MODFLOW-PADDY 모델은 사용자가 구축한 담수 논의 입력자료(담수, 관개, 낙수 일정 등)를 기준으로 논의 담수 및 비담수 시기에 따른 시단위 물수지 해석과 이를 고려한 유출량, 수질, 지하수함양량, 하천과 대수층 간의 물 교환량 산정이 가능하다. 본 연구에서 개발 된 Hourly SWAT-MODFLOW-PADDY 모델은 국내 농업 유역에서의 지표수-지하수 통합 관리 대책 수립 방향을 제시하기 위한 도구로 활용될 수 있을 것이다. 또한, 향후 논의 관개 용수 공급원 연계를 통한 모델의 고도화 방안과 최적의 논 영농 데이터베이스가 마련된다면 보다 정량적인 물수지 해석 기반의 지표수-지하수 통합 모델링이 가능할 것으로 보인다.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.95-100
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• 2009

Strategies incorporating more efficient energy use into remediation of contaminated sites, which are those of important elements in green remediation, are developed and discussed in this work. Firstly, from several case studies of remedial actions in Korea, thermal desorption and/or in-situ method including pump-and-treat were found energy intensive and soil washing less intensive. In order to use energy efficiently and minimize use of fossil fuels during land revitalization process, it is necessary to optimize energy intensive systems, to use low energy remediation systems (such as bioremediation), and to integrate renewable energy sources. Furthermore, economic incentive systems such as subsidy need to be adopted if renewable energy sources are incorporated into remediation of contaminated sites.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.105-121
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• 1995

Nitrate contamination problems from groundwater supplies have been documented throughout many countries in the world, including Korea. Nitrate salts can induce methemoglobinemia and possibly human gastric cancer. In farmed areas. intensive agricultural activities have caused a major increase in nitrate loading to groundwater. To determine whether decision makers must take farm-management actions to control the increase of groundwater nitrate concentration and to decide the timing of such actions, it is important to predict groundwater Nitrate levels that would result over time from various farm-management practices. However, the input values such as soil, fertilizer and crop data) used to examine the effects of various farm-management practices on groundwater nitrate level are usually uncertain due to a lack of available information. In this paper. the ease of a community with a nitrate water quality problem is illustrated to examine the effects of various farm-management practices and to show bow to perform, with uncertain information. a time-series analysis on groundwater nitrate levels that would result. from each farm-management practice.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.437-448
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• 2022

This work aims to assess the threat to human health of hazardous materials in groundwater that is used domestically and for drinking. Two distinct sub-assessments are considered: cancer and non-cancer risk. The studied groundwater is in an agricultural area of Gyeongnam Province, Korea, and is contaminated by arsenic at a mean level of 16.27 ㎍/L, far greater than the WHO guideline (10 ㎍/L for drinking water). We collected groundwater data from the National Groundwater Information Center (gims.go.kr) and assessed the risk to human health following the methodology of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. We considered three exposure scenarios: domestic use (scenario 1) and drinking use with different doses (scenarios 2 and 3). Scenario 1 had a median hazard quotient (HQ) of 0.77 and a cancer risk (CR) of 0.013. Scenario 2 had a median HQ of 0.08 and a CR of 3.69 × 10^-5, and the values for scenario 3 were 0.11 and 4.82 × 10^-5, respectively. Scenario 1 is likely the most hazardous to human health. Further study of the origin of arsenic in groundwater in the study area is required, as are remedial measures to mitigate its health effects.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.133-139
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• 1999

The geostatistical method Kriging is used to estimate the areal distributions of the depth to the water table and the altitude of the water table measured from the sea level. A northern part of the city of Pohang, Kyeong-Buk, Korea has been chosen and the digital map of the area with 1:5,000 scale from the National Geographic Information System (NGIS) project by National Geographic Institute has bun used to reproduce the ground surface distribution. The water table depth appears to be in the range between 7 m and 9.5 m except a few localities where mountain tops exist and the use of groundwater for agicultural purposes is believed to be heavy. The overall distribution of the water table altitude shows a monotonic gradual decrease from the west to the east (seaward direction from the inland) and to the south with maximum rate approximately at 90 m over 6 km in horizontal distance and indicates that the groundwater is moving several meters per day there.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.51-58
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• 2023

In this study, an empirical experiment was conducted to assess the feasibility of replacing groundwater with rainwater in melon cultivation using a smart rainwater harvesting system. The rainwater harvesting efficiency was calculated under three different melon cultivation scenarios. After cultivation, the quality of the fruits grown with rainwater and groundwater was compared by examining the weight, degree of sweetness, and flesh hardness of the products. The results revealed that the water quality of the smart rainwater harvesting device was suitable for melon cultivation to provide better hardness and chloride levels than groundwater. It was also estimated that about 40% of the total water demand for full growth of the melon could be supplied by rainwater. The fruit weight and sweetness were equivalent or slightly better for the melons cultivated with rainwater than those cultivated with groundwater. In particular, the flesh hardness was significantly improved by rainwater cultivation. These results collectively suggest that rainwater can be used as a substitute for groundwater to preserve groundwater resources without compromizing the produced fruit quality.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.471-484
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• 2002

Alluviums in the Keum River watershed cover an areal extent of $3,029{\;}\textrm{km}^2$ and contain about 8.1 billion tons of groundwater. However, the waters are severely polluted by nitrate, possibly due to the application of nitrogen fertilizer (>250 N kg/ha) on agricultural land. This paper aims to elucidate the pollution status and behaviors of nitrate in alluvial groundwaters in the Keum River watershed area, based on regional hydrogeochemical study. Most of the collected samples (n = 186) are polluted by nitrate (average = 42.2 mg/L, maximum = 295 mg/L). About 29% of the samples have the nitrate concentrations exceeding Korean Drinking Water Standard (44 mg/L $NO_3$). The distribution of nitrate concentrations in the study area is largely dependant on geochemical environments of alluvial aquifers. In particular, the decrease of redox potential of alluvial groundwaters showed a good correlation with the decreases of nitrate, iron, and manganese concentrations. Thus, the change of redox state in alluvial aquifers, likely reflecting their sedimentary environments, controls both the behavior and fate of nitrogen compounds and their natural attenuation (denitrification) in aquifers. A carbon-rich, silty layer within alluvium strata forms a reducing condition and possesses a buffering capacity on nitrate pollution.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.387-398
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• 2012

Korean agricultural areas that employ water curtain cultivation (WCC) have recently suffered extensive groundwater shortages due to an increase in the number of facilities. The primary focus of this study is to measure the daily groundwater use and discharge rates in the Cheongweon and Chungju pilot areas, while the second focus is to estimate the total amount of groundwater used in WCC areas nationwide in Korea. Taking into consideration several factors, including motor type, outflow abilities of wells, records of daily minimum temperatures below $0^{\circ}C$, and the number of running wells according to weather variations, we estimated that $53,138m^3/ha$ of groundwater had been used in the 4-hectare Cheongweon pilot area during the winter period of late 2011 through early 2012. On a prorated areal basis, we can calculate that the total groundwater used nationwide was 0.57 billion $m^3$ in WCC areas of $10,746m^2$. This value is equivalent to 33.7% of the total agricultural groundwater use (1.69 billion $m^3$) in Korea. During 9-22 February 2012, the daily water discharge rate in the 4-ha Cheongweon pilot area ranged from 2,079 to $2,628m^3$, averaging $2,341m^3$. Combining this value with meteorological records for 94 days with a daily minimum temperature below $0^{\circ}C$ results in an estimated groundwater volume of $54,990m^3/ha$ for the pilot area during the 2011-2012 winter period. The total amount of groundwater used nationwide in WCC areas would then be 0.59 billion $m^3$, equivalent to 34.9% of the total agricultural groundwater use in Korea. In the Chungju area, the groundwater discharge rate was estimated to be less than 805 $m^3$/ha. This value, combined with weather data for 108 days with a daily minimum temperature below $0^{\circ}C$ in this area, can be applied to infer that the total groundwater volume used in WCC areas nationwide is no more than 55% of the total agricultural groundwater use in Korea.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.483-492
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• 2008

The characteristics of joint system (joint orientation and density) were studied for Cretaceous sedimentary rocks in the Nakdong River mid-basin (Haman-Gun, Changnyeong-Gun, and Uiryeong-Gun areas), and were related with faults, river system, and groundwater usage in the study area. The joint system was classified into JI ($N90^{\circ}-110^{\circ}E$), J2 ($N0^{\circ}-35^{\circ}E$), and J3 ($(N0^{\circ}-35^{\circ}W$), and was dominant along N-S and E-W directions. The N-S trending joint system is dominant in Haman Formation in the eastern and western parts of the study area, while the E-W trending joint system is prevalent in Chilgok Formation in the central part. The joint system may be associated with the faults located in the eastern and western parts in the study area which are elongated to NNE-SSW direction. Additionally, the joint density is higher along the Nakdong River, indicating close relationship between E-W trending joints and the river. Daily groundwater discharge versus joint density shows weak positive relationship, and specific capacity versus joint density appears negatively related. This indicates that groundwater occurrence does not greatly rely on joint density.