• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.37 no.6_1
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• pp.1657-1667
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• 2021

Anthropogenic activities and natural processes have been causes of land subsidence which is sudden sinking or gradual settlement of the earth's solid surface. Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, is one of the most severe land subsidence areas which are resulted from excessive groundwater extraction. Because groundwater is the primary water resource occupies almost 70% of total water usage in the city. Traditional terrestrial observations like the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) or leveling survey have been preferred to measure land subsidence accurately. Although the GNSS observations have highly accurate information of the surfaces' displacement with a very high temporal resolution, it has often been limited due to its sparse spatial resolution and highly time-consuming and high cost. However, space-based synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry has been widely used as a powerful tool to monitor surfaces' displacement with high spatial resolution and high accuracy from mm to cm-scale, regardless of day-or-night and weather conditions. In this paper, advanced interferometric approaches have been applied to get a time-series of land subsidence of Mexico City using four-year-long twenty ALOS PALSAR L-band observations acquired from Feb-11, 2007 to Feb-22, 2011. We utilized persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) and small baseline subset (SBAS) techniques to suppress atmospheric artifacts and topography errors. The results show that the maximum subsidence rates of the PSI and SBAS method were -29.5 cm/year and -27.0 cm/year, respectively. In addition, we discuss the different subsidence rates where the study area is discriminated into three districts according to distinctive geotechnical characteristics. The significant subsidence rate occurred in the lacustrine sediments with higher compressibility than harder bedrock.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.34-48
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• 2019

Naeseong Stream is a natural sand-bed river that flows through mountainous and cultivated area in northern part of Gyeongbuk province. It had maintained its inherent landscape characterized by white sandbars before 2010s. However, since then changes occurred, which include construction of Yeongju Dam and the extensive vegetation development around 2015. In this study, long-term monitoring was carried out on Naeseong Stream to analyze these changes objectively. This paper aims to provide a dataset of the investigation on channel morphology and vegetation for the period 2012-2018. Methods of investigation include drone/terrestrial photography, LiDAR aerial survey and on-site fieldwork. The main findings are as follows. Vegetation development in the channel of Naeseong Stream began around 1987. Before 2013 it occurred along the downstream reach and since then in the entire reach. Some of the sites where riverbed is covered with vegetation during 2014~2015 were rejuvenated to bare bars due to the floods afterwards, but woody vegetation was established in many sites. Bed changes occurred due to deposition of sediment on the vegetated surfaces. Though Naeseong Stream has maintained its substantial sand-bed characteristics, there has been a slight tendency in bed material coarsening. Riverbed degradation at the thalweg was observed in the surveyed cross sections. Considering all the results together with the hydrological characteristics mentioned in the precedent paper (I), it is thought that the change in vegetation and landscape along Naeseong Stream was mainly due to decrease of flow. The effect of Yeongju Dam on the change of the riverbed degradation was briefly discussed as well.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2022

An estuary is an area where a freshwater river or stream meets the ocean. Even before the importance of the value of estuaries was recognized, the estuary was lost because of large-scale conversion by draining, filling, damming, and dredging. In South Korea, 643 estuaries are located, and the total area is 3,248,300 ha, accounting for 32.5% of the total area of South Korea. Over 35% of Korean estuaries are closed estuaries which are only temporally connected with the sea, either permanently or periodically. Since 2008, in order to preserve the estuary ecosystem and solve major issues in the estuary by accumulating knowledge about the estuarine ecosystem, the Ministry of Environment of Republic of Korea has been conducting the "Estuarine Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment Project". At 668 sites of 325 estuaries, epilithic diatom, benthic macroinvertebrate, fish, and vegetation are investigated, and the habitat condition of each site is evaluated using the newly developed biotic index. More than 100 researchers annually record 2,097 species of estuaries according to the standardized survey guidelines over the past 14 years and provide strictly managed data necessary for establishing estuaries conservation policies. As a result of bibliometric analysis of 1,195 research articles related to the monitoring and assessment of the estuarine ecosystem, research on pollutants such as heavy metals and sediment control have recently been conducted. "Estuarine Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment Project" is an ecological monitoring type of long-term mandated monitoring that is usually focused on identifying trends. Although it is difficult to identify the mechanism influencing a change in an ecosystem through long-term mandated monitoring, providing empirical data for supporting evidence-based policy, decision-making, and the management of ecosystems. In order to increase the efficiency of the project, research to investigate the relationship between sediments and pollutants and organisms can be conducted at specific estuaries or sites to compensate for the shortcomings of mandatory monitoring.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.343-363
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• 2023

Sulawesi island, as a global producer of nickel resources, is leading the rapid growth of nickel industry of Indonesia. Nickel laterite deposits in Sulawesi was formed by lateritization of the world-scale East Sulawesi Ophiolite (ESO) under the active tectonic setting and tropical rainforest climate. In this paper, exploration cases for nickel laterite deposits in five regions of Sulawesi are reported. Regional characteristics on nickel laterite deposits in Sulawesi are understood based on various exploration activities such as outcrop, trench and pit survey, petrological observation, geochemical analysis, and interpretation of drilling data, etc.. In the northeastern part of 'Southeast-Arm', which is a strategic location for nickel industry of Indonesia, ESO is extensively exposed to the surface. In the Morombo and Morowali regions, typical high-grade saprolite-type orebodies with a thickness of 10 to 20 m occur. The cases showed that topographic relief tends to regulate Ni-grade distribution and orebody thickness, and that high grade intervals tend to occur in places where joints and garnierite veins are dense. In the Tinanggea and South Palangga regions in the southern part of the Southeast-Arm, overburden composed of Neogene to Quaternary deposits is a major factor affecting the preservation and profitability of nickel laterite deposits. Despite the overburden, high-grade saprolite-type orebodies composed of Ni-bearing serpentine with garnierite veins occur in a thickness of around 10 m to secure economic feasibility. In contrast, in the Ampana region in the northern part of 'East-Arm', low-grade nickel laterite deposits with immature laterite profile was identified, which is thought to be the result of active denudation due to tectonic uplift. Exploration cases in this paper will help to understand characteristics and controlling factors on nickel laterite deposits in Sulawesi, Indonesia.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.643-654
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• 2023

The West Philippine Basin, an oceanic basin half the size of the Philippine Sea Plate, lies in the western part of the plate and south of the Korean Peninsula on the Eurasian Plate. It subducts beneath the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Islands bordering the Ryukyu Trench and the Philippine Trench with 25-50% of this basin already consumed. However, the history of the opening of the basin's southern region has been a topic of debate. The non-transform discontinuity formed during the seafloor spreading is similar to the transform fault boundaries normally perpendicular to mid-ocean ridge axes; however, it was created irregularly due to ridge propagations caused by variations of mantle convection attributable to magma supply changes. By analyzing high-resolution multi-beam echo-sounding data, we confirmed that the non-transform discontinuity due to the propagating rift evolved in the entire basin and that the abyssal hill strike direction changed from E-W to NNW-SSE from the fossil spreading center. In the early stage of basin extension, the Amami-Sankaku Basin was rotated 90 degrees clockwise from its current orientation, and it bordered the Palau Basin along the Mindanao Fracture Zone. The Amami-Sankaku Basin separated from the Palau Basin while the spreading of the West Philippine Basin began with a counter-clockwise rotation. This indicates that the non-transform discontinuities formed by a sudden change in magma supply due to the drift of the Philippine Sea Plate and simultaneously with the rapid changes in the spreading direction from ENE-WSW to N-S. The Palau Basin was considered to be the sub-south of the West Philippine Basin, but recent studies have shown that it extends into an independent system. Evidence from sediment layers and crustal thickness hints at the possibility of its existence before the West Philippine Basin opened, although its evolution continues to be debated. We performed a combined analysis using high-resolution multi-beam bathymetry and satellite gravity data to uncover new insights into the evolution of the West Philippine Basin. This information illuminates the complex plate interactions and provides a crucial contribution toward understanding the opening history of the basin and the Philippine Sea Plate.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.230-236
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• 2010

Jeju Island is a volanic island which is located about 96 km south of Korean Peninsula. Volcanic ejecta, and volcaniclastic materials are widespread as soil parent materials throughout the island. Soils on the island have the characteristics of typical volcanic ash soils. This study was conducted to reclassify Jeju series based on the second edition of Soil Taxonomy and to discuss the formation of Jeju series in Jeju Island. Morphological properties of typifying pedon of Jeju series were investigated, and physico-chemical properties were analyzed according to Soil survey laboratory methods manual. The typifying pedon has dark brown (10YR 3/3) silt clay loam A horizon (0~22 cm), strong brown (7.5YR 4/6) silty clay BAt horizon (22~43 cm), brown (7.5YR 4/4) silty clay Bt1 horizon (43~80 cm), brown (7.5YR 4/6) silty clay loamBt2 horizon (80~105 cm), and brown (10YR 5/4) silty clay loam Bt3 horizon (105~150 cm). It is developed in elevated lava plain, and are derived from basalt, and pyroclastic materials. The typifying pedon contains 1.3~2.1% oxalate extractable (Al + 1/2 Fe), less than 85%phosphate retention, and higher bulk density than 0.90 Mg $m^{-3}$. That can not be classified as Andisol. But it has an argillic horizon from a depth of 22 to 150 cm, and a base saturation (sum of cations) of less than 35% at 125 cm below the upper boundary of the argillic horizon. That can be classified as Ultisol, not as Andisol. Its has 0.9% or more organic carbon in the upper 15 cm of the argillic horizon, and can be classified as Humult. It dose not have fragipan, kandic horizon, sombric horizon, plinthite, etc. in the given depths, and key out as Haplohumult. A hoizon (0~22 cm) has a fine-earth fraction with both a bulk density of 1.0 Mg $cm^{-3}$ or less, and Al plus 1/2 Fe percentages (by ammonium oxalate) totaling more than 1.0. Thus, it keys out as Andic Haplohumult. It has 35% or more clay at the particle-size control section, and has thermic soil temperature regime. Jeju series can be classified as fine, mixed, themic family of Andic Haplohumults, not as ashy, thermic family of Typic Hapludands. In the western, and northern coastal areas which have a relatively dry climate in Jeju Island, non Andisols are widely distributed. Mean annual precipitation increase 110 mm, and mean annual temperature decrease $0.8^{\circ}C$ with increasing elevation of 100m. In the western, and northern mid-mountaineous areas Andisols, and non Andisols are distributed simultaneously. Jeju series distributed mainly in the western and northern mid-mountaineous areas are developed as Ultisols with Andic subgroup.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.217-223
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• 2010

This study was conducted to reclassify Dongsong series based on the second edition of Soil Taxonomy and to discuss the formation of Dongsong series distributed on the lava plain at Cheolweon in Korea. Morphological properties of typifying pedon of Dongsong series were investigated, and physico-chemical properties were analyzed according to Soil Survey Laboratory Methods Manual. The typifying pedon of Dongsong series has brown (7.5YR 4/2) silty clay loam Ap horizon (0-16 cm), brown (7.5YR 4/2) silty clay loam BA horizon (16-22 cm), brown (7.5YR 4/2) silty clay Bt1 horizon (22-50 cm), reddish brown (5YR 5/4) silty clay Bt2 horizon (50-92 cm), and brown (7.5YR 4/3) silty clay loam Bt3 horizon (92-120 cm). It occurs on lava plain derived from baslt materials. The typifying pedon has higher bulk density than 0.90 Mg $m^{-3}$. That can not be classified as Andisol. But it has an argillic horizon from a depth of 22 to more than 120 cm, and a base saturation (sum of cations) of less than 35% at 125 cm below the upper boundary of the argillic horizon. It can be classified as Ultisol, not as Andisol or Alfisol. It has aquic conditions for some time in normal years in one or more horizons within 50 cm of the mineral soil surface, redoximorphic features between a depth of 25 cm, and a depth of 40 cm from the mineral soil surface, and redox concentrations, and 50%or more redox depletions with chroma of 2 or less in the matrix within the upper 12.5 cm of the argillic horizon. Therefore it can be classified as Aquult. It has episaturation, and keys out as Epiaquult. It has 50% or more chroma of 3 or more in one or more horizons between a depth of 25 cm from the mineral soil surface, and a depth of 75 cm. It can be classified as Aeric Aquult. Dongsong series have 35%or more clay at the particle-size control section, and have mesic soil temperature regime. Therefore they can be classified as fine, mesic family of Aeric Epiaquults, not as fine, mesic family of Typic Epiaqualfs. The Quarternary volcanic activities occurred in Jeju Island, Ulrung Island, Baekryeong Island, Cheolweon area, and Mt. Paekdu et al. in the Korean Penninsula. Most of them belong to the central eruption type, but Cheolweon area may be of the fissure eruption type. Dongsong series occur on Cheolweon lava plains derived from basaltic materials. Most soils distributed in Jeju Island, and derived from mainly pyroclastics are developed as Andisols. But Dongsong series distributed in Cheolweon lava plains which have a relatively dry climate and derived from basaltic materials are developed as Ultisols.

• 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.