• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.181-197
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• 2010

This study is for finding a geoscientific factor for clarifying the source soil of the ancient earthenware finding. The used samples were the earthenware, soil and rocks, which were collected at the Gyeongju, Gyeongsan and Haman area. The chemical and mineralogical study for the samples were carried out for understanding the change of mineralogical and chemical composition among them. The mineralogical compositions of the earthenware are different from those of the soils from the surrounding area, which suggests that the mineralogical approach for clarifying the source soil of the earthenware should be difficult. Major element compositions of the earthenware also are different from those of the surrounding soils, which suggests that the comparison of the chemical composition using the major elements might be difficult for deducing the source soil of the earthenware. However, PAAS-normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns and Nd model ages among the rock, soils and earthenware from the same sampling sites show similar characteristics one another compared to those of the major element compositions. Nd-Sr isotopic systematics among the earthenware, soils and rocks also show a close relationship. Our results suggest that REE and Nd-Sr isotope geochemistry might be more useful than the other geochemical technique in clarifying the source soils of the ancient earthenware.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.81-87
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• 1997

Chonnam and Kyongsang clay alteration areas are distributed in volcanic fields of the Yuchon Group in late Cretaceous period. The host rock of the Chonnam alteration area is generally acidic and that of the Kyongsang alteration area is acidic to dominantly intermediate volcanics. The important difference of two alteration areas is source of fluid; the Chonnam alteration area is characterized by dominantly meteoric water and the Kyongsang alteration area is characterized by dominantly magmatic water. Accordingly, the high temperature minerals such as pyrophyllite and andalusite, and boron bearing minerals such as dumortierite and tourmaline are common in the Kyongsang alteration area. In contrast to this, the lower temperature minerals such as kaolin and alunite are common in the Chonnam alteration area. The mineralogical difference of two alteration areas were depended on the difference of the formation temperature of clay deposits. The other important geochemical difference is the chemistry of hydrothermal solution such as pH. The alteration of "acid-sulfate type" with alteration mineral assemblage of alunite-kaolin-quartz is dominant in the Chonnam alteration area, which was caused by the attack of strong acid and acid solution. In contrast to this, the that of "quartz-sericite type" with the mineral assemblage of sericite-quartz is dominant in the Kyongsang alteration area, which was caused by the attack of neutral or weak acid solution. Also, the Kyongsang and Chonnam alteration areas show the difference in structural setting; the Chonnam alteration area is commonly associated with silicic domes and the Kyongsang alteration area is commonly associated with calderas.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.14 no.4 s.41
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• pp.469-485
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• 2004

The purpose of this study is to investigate the hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater in the Umsung area, and to elucidate the effect of host rock type, well depth and mineralization zone on the groundwater chemistry. The geology of the study area consists of Jurassic granite and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, which are bounded by a fault. Most of shallow groundwaters exploited in the Jurassic granite area are used for agricultural purpose, whereas the deep groundwaters in the Cretaceous sedimentary rocks are used for a drinking water. The shallow groundwater shows weak acidic pH, the electrical conductivity ranging from $142\;to\;903\;{\mu}S/cm$, and the chemical type of $Ca-HCO_3\;to\;Ca-Cl(SO_4,\;NO_3)$. A few of shallow groundwaters are contaminated by nitrate, and show high concentration of Fe, Mn and Zn, that reflects the effect of a mineralization zone. The deep groundwater shows neutral to weak alkaline pH, higher electrical conductivity than that of shallow groundwater, and the chemical type of $Ca-HCO_3$. The seepage water from the abandoned mines does not have the characteristics such as acidic pH, high concentration of heavy metals and high sulfate content. The hydrogen and oxygen isotopes of groundwater indicates an altitude effect of the recharge area between deep groundwater and shallow groundwater. In conclusion, the chemical composition of groundwater complicately reflects the effects of their host rocks, well depth, agricultural activity and mineralization zone in the study area.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.416-423
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• 2017

The subject samples include 150 and 170 samples collected from intake holes in the former and latter half of 2015, respectively. They were analyzed with ICP-MS. The average concentration of detected barium was $10.54{\mu}g/L$ ($0.23{\sim}168.22{\mu}g/L$) and $8.21{\mu}g/L$ ($0{\sim}255.65{\mu}g/L$) for the former and latter halves of 2015, respectively. The concentration distribution was the highest for the precambrian era at $19.07{\mu}g/L$ and the lowest Cenozoic era at $4.92{\mu}g/L$. The average value for sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks was $7.84{\mu}g/L$, $20.84{\mu}g/L$, and $9.47{\mu}g/L$, respectively, which indicates that it was the highest for metamorphic rocks. The study also analyzed correlations between barium and other minerals and found that magnesium recorded 0.44 and 0.71 for the former and latter half of 2015, respectively. As for barium concentration according to depth, it was relatively low in shallow groundwater (under 200 m) with its average concentration at $14.33{\mu}g/L$ and $14.71{\mu}g/L$ for the former and latter half of 2015, respectively. It was $8.53{\mu}g/L$ and $4.04{\mu}g/L$ in deep groundwater (over 200 m) for the two periods, respectively, The risk assessment results show that its average risk was HQ 0.00139 and HQ 0.00163 for the former and latter half of 2015, respectively, being considerably lower than "1", which suggests that barium poses few possibilities of consumption risk.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.36 no.10
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• pp.33-39
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• 2020

A geological repository has been considered as an option for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). The HLW is disposed in a host rock at a depth of 500~1,000 meters below the ground surface based on the concept of engineered barrier system (EBS). The EBS is composed of a disposal canister, buffer material, backfill material, and gap-filling material. The compacted bentonite buffer is very important since it can restrain the release of radionuclide and protect the canister from the inflow of ground water. The saturation of the buffer decreases because high temperature in a disposal canister is released into the surrounding buffer material, but saturation of the buffer increases because of the inflow of ground water. The unsaturated properties of the buffer are critical input parameters for the entire safety assessment of the engineered barrier system. In Korea, Gyeongju bentonite can be considered as a candidate buffer material, but there are few test results of the unsaturated properties considering temperature variation. Therefore, this paper conducted experiment of soil-water characteristic curve for the Gyeongju compacted bentonite considering temperature variation under a constant water content condition. The relative error showed approximately 2% between test results and modified van-Genuchten model values.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.17-34
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• 1989

The distribution characteristics of incised meander river are analysed concerning topography, geology, stream order and altitude. Additionally geomorphological development of the Korean peninsular is considered with incised meander. The main findings are as follows: 1. The incised meander is intensively distributed on the west and north slope of T'aebak and Sobaek mountain range, but sparsely distributed on the opposite slopes. 2. Geologically, the occurrence rate of incised meander is high orderly as follows: Joseon supergroup, Pyeongan supergroup, Daedong supergroup metamorphic rock, Gyeongsang supergroup, and granite. The incised meander is developed well on the following conditions: hard rocks against weathering, stratified structure, geologic arrange across the river channel and contacting zone of geological formations. 3. The higher stream orders are, the higher occurrence of incised meander is. 4. Comparing the altitude of present river bed with the summit level of restored map, it is supposed that the incised meander rivers have been dissected about 300-500m down ward. 5. Considering the distribution characteristic of incised meander, it is suggested that not only T'aebak mountain range but Sobaek mountain range is the axis of asymmetrical up-warping in the Korean peninsular. 6. Considering the distribution characteristic of incised meander on the restored map and the stream order, it seems that present incised meander channel was inherited from antecedent meander river that had flowed on High and Middle level erosion surface. But the channel pattern has been modified.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.261-272
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• 2009

An experimental study of the accelerated weathering was performed to investigate the variations of physicomechanical properties of deteriorated rocks due to freeze-thaw weathering for the Jurassic granite specimens from Wonju, Gangwon-do. Each complete cycle of freeze and thaw was lasted 24 hours, comprising 2 hours saturating in vacuum chamber, 8 hours freezing at -20$\pm1^{\circ}C$ and 14 hours thawing at room temperature. Freeze-thaw cycles were implemented with measuring the index physical properties as well as geometries of microfractures. The seismic velocity was found to decrease with increasing freeze-thaw cycles. On the other hand, absorption tends to increase with freeze-thaw cycles. In the end, it was concluded that variations of the index properties of deteriorated specimen depend on its initial properties and flaws in rock. The size and density of the traces of the microfracture on slab specimen were changed continuously with increasing freeze-thaw weathering. The results obtained in this study show that the box fractal dimension($D_B$) has the strong capability of quantifying the combined effect of size and density of the microfractures.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.763-771
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• 2008

Uncertainties are pervasive in engineering geological problems. Therefore, the presence of uncertainties and their significance in analysis and design of slopes have been recognized. Since the uncertainties cannot be taken into account by the conventional deterministic approaches in slope stability analysis, the probabilistic analysis has been considered as the primary tool for representing uncertainties in mathematical models. However, some uncertainties are caused by incomplete information due to lack of information, and those uncertainties cannot be handled appropriately by the probabilistic approach. For those uncertainties, the theory of fuzzy sets is more appropriate. Therefore, in this study, fuzzy reliability analysis has been proposed in order to deal with the uncertainties which cannot be quantified in the probabilistic analysis due to the limited information. For the practical example, a slope is selected in this study and both the probabilistic analysis and the fuzzy reliability analysis have been carried out for planar failure. In the fuzzy reliability analysis, the dip angle and internal friction angle of discontinuity are considered as triangular fuzzy numbers since the random properties of the variables cannot be obtained completely under the conditions of limited information. In the study, the fuzzy reliability index and the probabilities of failure are evaluated from fuzzy arithmetic and compared to those from the probabilistic approach using Monte Carlo simulation and point estimate method. The analysis results show that the fuzzy reliability analysis is more appropriate for the condition that the uncertainties arise due to incomplete information.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.179-188
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• 2016

Spent fuels from nuclear power plants, as well as high-level radioactive waste from the recycling of spent fuels, should be safely isolated from human environment for an extremely long time. Recently, meaningful studies on the development of deep borehole radioactive waste disposal system in 3-5 km depth have been carried out in USA and some countries in Europe, due to great advance in deep borehole drilling technology. In this paper, domestic deep geoenvironmental characteristics are preliminarily investigated to analyze the applicability of deep borehole disposal technology in Korea. To do this, state-of-the art technologies in USA and some countries in Europe are reviewed, and geological and geothermal data from the deep boreholes for geothermal usage are analyzed. Based on the results on the crystalline rock depth, the geothermal gradient and the spent fuel types generated in Korea, a preliminary deep borehole concept including disposal canister and sealing system, is suggested.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.245-255
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• 2008

Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company(KHNP) conducted site investigations for a low and intermediate-level nuclear waste repository in the Gyeong Ju site. The site characterization work constitutes a description of the site, its regional setting and the current state of the geosphere and biosphere. The main objectives of hydogeological investigation aimed to understand the hydrogeological setting and conditions of the site, and to provide the input parameters for safety evaluation. The hydogeological characterization of the site was performed from the results of surface based investigations, i.e geological mapping and analysis, drilling works and hydraulic testing, and geophysical survey and interpretation. The hydro-structural model based on the hydrogeological characterization consists of one-Hydraulic Soil Domain, three-Hydraulic Rock Domains and five-Hydraulic Conductor Domains. The hydrogeological framework and the hydraulic values provided for each hydraulic unit over a relevant scale were used as the baseline for the conceptualization and interpretation of flow modeling. The current hydrogeological characteristics based on the surface based investigation include some uncertainties resulted from the basic assumption of investigation methods and field data. Therefore, the reassessment of hydrostructure model and hydraulic properties based on the field data obtained during the construction is necessitated for a final hydrogeological characterization.