• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.78-84
• /
• 2008

Recent earthquakes near nuclear power plants in Korea have triggered public concerns about possible seismicity of the Ulsan Fault Zone in the south-eastern part of the Korean peninsula. To reveal subsurface structures of this fault zone, we conducted high-resolution seismic refraction and reflection surveys, and closely spaced gravity measurements in the Dongchon River valley north of Ulsan, Korea. Here alluvium covers the north-south trending fault zone in a 1-km wide valley. Both source points and receivers were spaced at 5-m intervals for the 24-channel seismic refraction and reflection methods, along two profiles of 835 m and 415 m length. Gravity data were also measured along these profiles at 131 stations using a 10-m interval. Synergetic interpretation of seismic refraction, high-resolution seismic reflection, and gravity surveys across the valley indicates that the Ulsan Fault Zone was formed by apparent north-south strike-slip motions during the Cretaceous, and that some faults may have been reactivated by east-west compressional or transpressional stresses during the Tertiary or Quaternary.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.195-209
• /
• 2016

The understanding of geometric complexity of strike-slip Fault system can be an important factor to control fault reactivation and surface rupture propagation under the regional stress regime. The Kumamoto earthquake was caused by dextral reactivation of the Futagawa-Hinagu Fault system under the E-W maximum horizontal principal stress. The earthquakes are a set of earthquakes, including a foreshock earthquake with a magnitude 6.2 at the northern tip of the Hinagu Fault on April 14, 2016 and a magnitude 7.0 mainshock which generated at the intersection of the two faults on April 16, 2016. The hypocenters of the main shock and aftershocks have moved toward NE direction along the Futagawa Fault and terminated at Mt. Aso area. The intersection of the two faults has a similar configuration of ${\lambda}$-fault. The geometries and kinematics, of these faults were comparable to the Yansan-Ulsan Fault system in SE Korea. But slip rate is little different. The results of age dating show that the Quaternary faults distributed along the northern segment of the Yangsan Fault and the Ulsan Fault are younger than those along the southern segment of the Yansan Fault. This result is well consistent with the previous study with Column stress model. Thus, the seismic activity along the middle and northern segment of the Yangsan Fault and the Ulsan Fault might be relatively active compared with that of the southern segment of the Yangsan Fault. Therefore, more detailed seismic hazard and paleoseismic studies should be carried out in this area.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.54 no.6
• /
• pp.743-752
• /
• 2021

The three-dimensional distribution of the fault was evaluated using gravity field interpretation such as curvature analysis and Euler deconvolution in the Seoul-Gyeonggi region where the Chugaryeong fault zone was developed. In addition, earthquakes that occurred after 2000 and the location of faults were compared. In Bouguer anomaly of Chugaryeong faults, the Pocheon Fault is an approximately 100 km fault that is extended from the northern part of Gyeonggi Province to the west coast through the central part of Seoul. Considering the frequency of epicenters is high, there is a possibility of an active fault. The Wangsukcheon Fault is divided into the northeast and southwest parts of Seoul, but it shows that the fault is connected underground in the bouguer anomaly. The magnitude 3.0 earthquake that occurred in Siheung city in 2010 occurred in an anticipated fault (aF) that developed in the north-south direction. In the western region of the Dongducheon Fault (≒5,500 m), the density boundary of the rock mass is deeper than that in the eastern region (≒4,000 m), suggesting that the tectonic movements of the western and eastern regions of the Dongducheon Fault is different. The maximum depth of the fracture zone developed in the Dongducheon Fault is about 6,500 m, and it is the deepest in the research area. It is estimated that the fracture zone extends to a depth of about 6,000 m for the Pocheon Fault, about 5,000 m for the Wangsukcheon Fault, and about 6,000 m for the Gyeonggang Fault.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2004.06a
• /
• pp.176-181
• /
• 2004

남${\cdot}$북 Bismarck 판은 호주판과 태평양 판 사이의 복잡한 판구조를 보이는 지역에 위치한다. 남${\cdot}$북 Bismarck 판 내부에서는 판구조 활동이 활발하게 일어나 지진의 발생빈도가 높고 활성 및 비활성화산이 많이 존재한다. 한국해양연구원은 Bismarck 해의 서부지역과 동 Manus 분지에서 판 경계부의 구조 및 열수구조의 밝히기 위하여 탄성파 탐사를 수행하였다. 탐사결과에 의하면 남${\cdot}$북 Bismarck 판의 경계부에는 주향이동단층대가 발달되어 있으며 이는 판의 경계를 나타내고 있다. PACMANUS 열수하부에는 돔 형태의 구조가 존재하며 이는 마그마 또는 이의 분화과정에서 형성된 지질학적인 구조로 추정된다.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.185-192
• /
• 2017

A sequence of earthquakes with the main shock $M_L$ 5.8 occurred on September 12 2016 in the Gyeongju area. The main shock was the largest earthquakes in the southern part of the Korean peninsula since the instrumental seismic observation began in the peninsula in 1905 and clearly demonstrated that the Yangsan fault is seismically active. The mean focal depth of the foreshock, main shock, and aftershock of the Gyeongju earthquakes estimated by the crustal model of single layer of the Korean peninsula without the Conrad discontinuity turns out to be 12.9 km, which is 2.8 km lower than that estimated based on the IASP91 reference model with the Conrad discontinuity. The distribution of the historical and instrumental earthquakes in the Gyeongju area indicates that the Yangsan fault system comprising the main Yangsan fault and its subsidiary faults is a large fracture zone. The epicenters of the Gyeongju earthquakes show that a few faults of the Yangsan fault system are involved in the release of the strain energy accumulated in the area. That the major earthquakes of Gyeongju earthquakes occurred not on the surface but below 10 km depth suggests the necessity of the study of the distribution of deep active faults of the Yangsan fault system. The magnitude of maximum earthquake of the Gyeongju area estimated based on the earthquake data of the area turns out to be 7.3. The recurrence intervals of the earthquakes over magnitudes 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0 based on the earthquake data since 1978, which is the most complete data in the peninsula, are estimated as 80, 670, and 5,900 years, respectively. The September 2016 Gyeongju earthquakes are basically intraplate earthquakes not related to the Great East Japan earthquake of March 11 2011 which is interplate earthquake.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.617-634
• /
• 2020

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship of between earthquakes and fluctuation of water level in a groundwater well of the active-fault zone and 124 national groundwater monitoring wells in Gyeongju area. The spatial and temporal relationships between the fluctuation of water level and the earthquake were analyzed by the calculation of earthquake effectiveness (ε) and q-factor which are the function of earthquake magnitude and distance from epicenter. Two earthquake events of E1 (April 22, 2019, M 3.8) and E2 (June 11, 2019, M 2.5) show a close relationship with a post-seismic 83 cm decrease and a pre-seismic 76 cm increase in water level at the active fault zone of Dangu-ri, respectively. The spatial analysis of water level fluctuation data in National Groundwater Monitoring Networks caused by earthquake events shows a more distinct response in deep groundwater around fault zones than other area, and a greater change in deep groundwater than shallow groundwater. It's inferred that the decrease and increase in groundwater level are affected by the expansion of fractures and compression of rock mass due to seismic stress, respectively. The effective ranges of ε-value and q-factor of the monitoring well in Dangu-ri were calculated as 2.70E-10~5.60E-10 and 14.4~18.0, respectively.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.55 no.6
• /
• pp.633-648
• /
• 2022

Gravity data were analyzed to identify the cause of clustered seismicity that occurred intensively in Yeoncheon, located in the central part of the Korean Peninsula. Our analysis suggests that the En echelon faults developed in the northwest-southeast direction. In addition, in the eastern part of the Dongducheon Fault, it was interpreted that high-density lower bedrock intermittently lifts close to the surface due to vertical tectonic movement accompanied by a flower structure. The fracture zone of the Dongducheon Fault is estimated that the width is about 200 m, the depth is at least 5 km, and the density is about 15% lower than the adjacent rocks. It is analyzed that the shallow earthquakes that occurred within 5 km depth was concentrated along the low-density En echelon fault fracture zone developed between the high-density rocks intruding close to the surface. Therefore, the earthquakes can be interpreted as the result that the north-south stress caused by the dextral tectonic movement of the Dongducheon Fault activated the En echelon fault in the northwest-southeast direction.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.1-15
• /
• 2015

In order to outline the kinematics and movement history of a new Quaternary fault, Jingwan Fault in Dangjin, West Korea, we analyzed the geometry of the fault zone composed of a few gouge zones, and made ESR dating for fault gouge materials. The $N55^{\circ}E$ striking Jingwan Fault is a normal fault and exhibits a gradual change in dip (gentle in the lower part, steep in the upper part), indicating a listric fault. As for the fault gouge zone, its thickness varies and reaches 2~3 cm in the lower part or between basement rocks, and 20~30 cm in the middle-upper part or between the basement and Quaternary deposit. It is observed in the latter case that more than three gouge zones develop with different colors, and branch out and re-merge, or they are partly superimposed, indicating different movement episodes. The cumulative displacement is estimated to be about 10 m using the geological cross-sections, from which it is inferred that the total length of fault may be about 2.5 km on the basis of the empirical relation between cumulative displacement and fault length. Therefore, a more study would be needed to verify the entire fault length. The results of ESR dating for three gouge samples at different spots along the fault yields ages of $651{\pm}47$, $649{\pm}96$, and $436{\pm}66ka$, indicating at least two movement episodes. Slickenlines observed on the fault planes indicate a pure dip slip (normal faulting), which suggests that the ENE-WSW trending Jingwan Fault was presumably moved under a NNW-SSE extensional environment.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.93-110
• /
• 2001

한반도 남동부지역에서 이루어진 활단층에 대한 일련의 연구들은 구조운도에 대한 관심을 불러 일으키고 우리나라가 안정지괴라는 생각에 변화를 일으키고 있다. 본고에서는 조선시대 한반도에서 발생한 지진 기록을 세계적으로 유례가 드물게 역사적 사실을 정확하게 기록한 조선왕조실록에서 확인하였다. 이 자료와 20세기에 이루어진 계기관측자료를 종합하여 지난 600년 간의 지진발생의 주기성과 공간분포를 검토하였다. 한반도 지진발생은 시.공간적으로 일정한 패턴이 있었으며, 대략 100-150년을 주기로 활성기와 잠복기를 반복하였다. 지진은 평안분지서안, 옥천변성대와 혼성구, 경상분지에서 높은 빈도로 발생하였다.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2005.05a
• /
• pp.255-260
• /
• 2005

A Gravity characteristic of Svalbard archipelago in Arctic was studied by using ArcGP data. There are situated the Dasan science station. After bouguer correction, an edge effect of free-air anomaly, which is similar to topography, are not shown at passive continent margin, and after terrain correction with GTOPO30 data, gravity anomaly increases from continent to marine. that is deep connected with rise of Moho discontinuity. The correlation of topography and free-air anomaly shows that the isostasy of continent attains a little less than marine. After filtering, the residual anomaly are shown high and low anomalies related to fracture zone in continent and base depression or thick sedimentary layer in continental slope, marine.