• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.45-55
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• 2005

The geothermal research has been carried out on the Heunghae, Pohang geothermal area know as having geo-heat-flow area in the Korean peninsula. This study results so far indicate that geothermal water in the area is in peripheral waters of hydrothermal area and is not in equilibrium with the reservoir rock. The average oxygen and hydrogen stable isotope values are as follows: deep groundwater $(average:\;{\delta}^{18}O=-10.1\%_{\circ},\;{\delta}D=-65.8\%_{\circ})$, intermediate groundwater (average: $(average:\;{\delta}^{18}O=-8.9\%_{\circ},\;{\delta}D=-59.6\%_{\circ})$, shallow groundwater $(average:\;{\delta}^{18}O=-8.0\%_{\circ},\;{\delta}D=-53.6\%_{\circ})$, surface water $(average:\;{\delta}^{18}O=-7.9\%_{\circ},\;{\delta}D=-53.3\%_{\circ})$ respectively. Deep groundwaters was originated from a local meteoric water recharged from distant, topographically high mountain region and not affected by the sea water. High temperature zone inferred from water geothermometers is around D-1, D-5, D-6, 1-04 well zones. The estimated enthalpy from Silica-enthalpy mixing model is near 410 kJ/kg, which corresponds to the temperature of $98^{\circ}C$, and in consistent with the result of Na-K and K-Mg geothermometer.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.39 no.5 s.180
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• pp.607-613
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• 2006

For the reasonable use of low grade-shallow geothermal energy by Standing Column Well(SCW) system, the basic requirements are depth-wise increase of earth temperature like $2^{\circ}C$ per every 100m depth, sufficient amount of groundwater production being about 10 to 30% of the design flow rate of GSHP with good water quality and moderate temperature, and non-collapsing of borehole wall during reinjection of circulating water into the SCW. A closed loop type-vertical ground heat exchanger(GHEX) with $100{\sim}150m$ deep can supply geothermal energy of 2 to 3 RT but a SCW with $400{\sim}500m$ deep can provide $30{\sim}40RT$ being equivalent to 10 to 15 numbers of GHEX as well requires smaller space. Being considered as an alternative of vertical GHEX, many numbers of SCW have been widely constructed in whole country without any account for site specific hydrogeologic and geothermal characteristics. When those are designed and constructed under the base of insufficient knowledges of hydrgeothermal properties of the relevant specific site as our current situations, a bad reputation will be created and it will hamper a rational utilization of geothermal energy using SCW in the near future. This paper is prepared for providing a guideline of SCW design comportable to our hydrogeothermal system.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.61-68
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• 2010

A magnetotelluric (MT) survey has been performed to delineate deeply extended fracture systems at the geothermal field in Seokmo Island, Korea. To assist interpretation of the MT data, geological surveying and well logging of existing wells were also performed. The surface geology of the island shows Cretaceous and Jurassic granite in the north and Precambrian schist in the south. The geothermal regime has been found along the boundary between the schist and Cretaceous granite. Because of the deep circulation along the fracture system, geothermal gradient of the target area exceeds $45^{\circ}C/km$, which is much higher than the average geothermal gradient in Korea. 2D and 3D inversions of MT data clearly showed a very conductive anomaly, which is interpreted as a fracture system bearing saline water that extends at least down to 1.5 km depth and is inclined eastwards. After drilling down to the depth of 1280 m, more than 4000 tons/day of geothermal water overflowed with temperature higher than $70^{\circ}C$. This water showed very similar chemical composition and temperature to those from another existing well, so that they can be considered to have the same origin; i.e. from the same fracture system. A new geothermal project for combined heat and power generation was launched in 2009 in Seokmo Island, based on the survey. Additional geophysical investigations including MT surveys to cover a wider area, seismic reflection surveys, borehole surveys, and well logging of more than 20 existing boreholes will be conducted.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.447-460
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• 2001

The geothermal waters from the Busan area belong to Na-CI type and are characterized by much higher EC (921 ~6,520${\mu}$S/cm) and TDS (608-3,390 mg/L) than other geothermal waters in Korea. The concentration of majorions shows a weakly positive relationship with temperature except for Mg ion. The concentrations of the major cat ions have the order of Na>Ca>K>Mg. Ca ion is enriched and Mg ion is depleted compared with seawater. All Br concentrations of geothermal water are lower than those of seawater, showing a positive relationship with temperature. Generally geochemical characteristics of geothermal waters of the Busan area indicate that these waters have relatively increased Ca and Sr contents and depleted Mg, Na and K contents caused by seawater interaction with wall rock at depth during deep circulation of seawater. Base on the relationship between major ions and temperature, saline geothermal waters are diluted and are cooled by mixing of groundwaters during ascent. Isotope study and reaction path modeling of the overall geochemical system are required in order to better quantify the evolution and origin of geothermal waters in the Busan area.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.113-130
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• 1992

Groundwater in crystalline basement is controlled primarily by tectonic fractures. It is evident that the delineation of the heavily faulted area and/or fractures deeply developped should be considerable value in deep-seated low enthalphy geothermal water. Electrical and electromagnetic methods have effectively been employed to map hydraulic faults and shear zones for groundwater exploration. In this study VLi; dipoledipole resistivity, controlled source audio~frequency magneto-telluric(CSAMT) and magnetic methods were applied in the Bomun resort area, adjacent to Kyongju city, southeastern part of Korea. The integrated geophysical tools employed in this experiment can be manifested themselves as: 1. Magnetic high for granite intrusions which is more favorable for geothermal gradient increase in depth. 2. VLF cross-over trends for mapping linear shallow conductive fractures and shear zones. 3. Dipole-dipole resistivity distributions for the deep-seated(less than 500m in depth) fractures and shear zones. The dipole-dipole resistivity field data were inverted to the true resistivity distribution with two-dimensional automatic inversion program based on the finite-difference method. 4. CSAMT provides an efficient way of delineating fractures and fault zones if the depth is greater than about 500m.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.184-196
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• 2008

We perform MT soundings in Bendigo, the northern part of Victoria, Australia, to investigate the deep subsurface geologic structure. The primary purpose of this survey is to figure out whether the discontinuity such as faults extends northward. The time series of MT signal were measured over 11 days at 71 measurement stations together with at remote reference, which help enhance the quality of impedance estimation and its interpretation. The impedances are estimated by robust processing using remote reference technique and then inverted with 2D MT 2D inversion. We can see that known faults are clearly imaged in MT 2D inversion. Comparing resistivity images from MT 2D inversion with interpreted boundary from reflection seismic exploration, two interpretations match well each other.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.21-26
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• 2005

Two-dimensional (2-D) inversion of magnetotelluric (MT) data for two survey lines having south-north direction from Jeiu Island has been carried out. The 2-D models show a thick layer having around 10 ohm-m in the depth of a few hundred meters throughout the survey area, which can be considered as the unconsolidated sedimentary layer. And they also show a conductive anomaly at the central part of each survey lines. But unfortunately by now, we do not have any further information about the anomaly. Comparison of the 2-D inversion model using MT band only and that using both AMT and MT bands said that it is helpful for us to include AMT band as well as MT band in the inversion to interpret not only the shallow part but also the deep structures.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.204-213
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• 2008

This paper presents the analysis about the stability of the Pohang deep geothermal borehole drilled in 2006. Severe wellhole instability problems such as collapse and tight hole occurred in weak rocks while drilling. Optimal mud pressure (mud window) required to prevent instability problems during drilling is obtained from analysis on in-situ stress and rock strength. The window is bounded by vertical stress in its upper limit and by either collapse pressure or pore pressure in its lower limit. Mud window varies with different types of rocks. In the top-most semi-consolidated mudstone formation, no mud window can secure borehole stability. In some weak rock types (basic dyke and crystal tuff), the borehole pressure needs to be higher by $50{\sim}60%$ than hydrostatic pressure. That means a mud density of 1.5 g/$cm^3$ or higher should be applied during drilling in order to prevent excessive collapse around the borehole.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.229-248
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• 2024

This investigated the hydrogeochemical and isotopic characteristics of geothermal waters, groundwaters, and surface waters in Dongrae-gu, Busan, South Korea, in order to determine the origins of the salinity components in the geothermal waters, and their formation mechanisms and heat sources The geothermal waters are Na-Cl-type, distinct from surrounding groundwaters (Na-HCO₃^- and, Ca-HCO₃^- (SO₄, Cl)-type) and surface waters (Ca-HCO₃(SO₄, Cl)-type). This indicates the geothermal waters formed at depth as compared with the groundwaters. δ¹⁸O and δD values of the geothermal waters are relatively depleted as compared with the groundwaters, due to altitude effects and deep circulation of the geothermal waters. Helium and neon isotope ratios (³ He/⁴He and, ⁴He/²⁰Ne) of the geothermal waters plot on a single mixing line between mantle (³He = 3.76~4.01%) and crust (⁴He = 95.99~96.24 %), indirectly suggesting that the heat source is due to the decay of radioactive elements in rocks. The geothermal reservoir temperatures were calculated using the silica-enthalpy and Giggenbach models, yielding values of 82~130℃, and the depth of the geothermal reservoir is estimated to be 1.7~2.9 km below the surface. The correlation between Cl/Na and Cl/HCO₃ for the Dongrae geothermal waters requires the input of salty water. The supply of saline composition is interpreted due to the dissolution of residual paleo-seawater.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.164-173
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• 2004

To delineate geothermal water movement at the Pohang geothermal development site, Self-Potential (SP) survey and monitoring were carried out during pumping tests. Before drilling, background SP data have been gathered to figure out overall potential distribution of the site. The pumping test was performed in two separate periods: 24 hours in December 2003 and 72 hours in March 2004. SP monitoring started several days before the pumping tests with a 128-channel automatic recording system. The background SP survey showed a clear positive anomaly at the northern part of the boreholes, which may be interpreted as an up-flow Bone of the deep geothermal water due to electrokinetic potential generated by hydrothermal circulation. The first and second SP monitoring during the pumping tests performed to figure out the fluid flow in the geothermal reservoir but it was not easy to see clear variations of SP due to pumping and pumping stop. Since the area is covered by some 360 m-thick tertiary sediments with very low electrical resistivity (less than 10 ohm-m), the electrokinetic potential due to deep groundwater flow resulted in being seriously attenuated on the surface. However, when we compared the variation of SP with that of groundwater level and temperature of pumping water, we could identify some areas responsible to the pumping. Dominant SP changes are observed in the south-west part of the boreholes during both the preliminary and long-term pumping periods, where 3-D magnetotelluric survey showed low-resistivity anomaly at the depth of $600m\~1,000m$. Overall analysis suggests that there exist hydraulic connection through the southwestern part to the pumping well.