• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.215-225
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• 1996

All the radionuclides in high-level nuclear waste will decay to harmless levels eventually but for some radionuclides decay is so slow that their radiation remains dangerous for times on the order of tens or hundreds of thousands of years. At the present time, the most favorite disposal plan for high-level radioactive waste is a mined geological disposal in which canister enclosing stable solid form of radioactive waste is placed in mined cavities locating hundred meters below the surface. The chief hazard in such disposal is dissolution of radionuclides from the waste in the groundwater that will eventually carry the dissolved radionuclides to surface environments. The hazard from possible escape of the radionuclides through groundwater can be delayed by engineered and geologic barriers. The engineered barriers can become useless by unexpected geologic catastrophe such as volcanism, earthquake, and tectonic movement and by fraudulent work such as careless construction, improperly welded canisters within the first few decades or centuries. As a result, dangerously radioactive waste which is still intensively radioactive is directly exposed to attack by moving groundwater. All the more, it is almost impossible to control repositories for times more than 10,000 years. Therefore, naturally controlled geologic, barriers whose properties will not be changed within 10,000 years are important to guarantee the safety of repositories of high-level radioactive waste. In Sweden and France, the suitability of granite for the mined geological disposal of high-level waste has been studied intensively. According to the research in Sweden and France, granites has the following physio-chemical characteristics which can delay the transportation of radionuclide by groundwater. First, the permeabilities of granites decreases as the depth increases and is $10^{-8}{\sim}10^{-12}m/s$ at depth below 300 m. Second, groundwater at depth below 300 m has pH=7-9 and reducing condition (Eh=-0.1~0.4). This geochemical condition is desirable to prevent both canister and solid waste from corrosion. Third most radionuclides are not transported by low solubilities and some radionuclide with high solubility such as Cs and Sr are retarded by absorption of geologic media through which ground water flows. Therefore, if high-level waste is disposed at depth below 300 m in the granite body which has a low permeability and is geologically stable more than 10,000 years, the safety of repositories from the hazard due to radionuclide escape can guaranteed for more than 10,000 years.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.213-220
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• 2020

When CO₂ foam is injected into the saline aquifer, the relative permeability of CO₂ decreases and its viscosity increases, thereby reducing mobility in porous media and ultimately improving CO₂ storge with enhanced sweep efficiency. In general, surfactants were used to fabricate CO₂ foam. Recently, nanoparticles have been used to form stable foam than surfactant. This paper introduces CO₂ storage technology using nanoparticle stabilized CO₂ foam. If the surface of the hydrophilic nanoparticles is partially modified into a CO₂-philic portion, the particles have an affinity for CO₂ and water, thus forming a stable CO₂ foam even in deep saline aquifers under high temperature and high salinity conditions, thereby it can be stored in the pores of the rock. In terms of economics, injection method using nanopaticle-stabilized CO₂ foam is more expensive than the conventional CO₂ injection, but it is estimated that it will have price competitiveness because the injection efficiency is improved. From an environmental point of view, it is possible to inject chemical substances such as surfactants and nanomaterials into aquifers or reservoirs for specific purposes such as pollutant removal and oil production. However, some studies have shown that nanoparticles and surfactants are toxic to aquatic animals, so environmentally proven substances should be used. Therefore, further research and development will be needed to study the production and injection of nanoparticle-stabilized CO₂ foam that are environmentally safe and economically reasonable.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.14 no.3 s.40
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• pp.301-311
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• 2004

This study is suggested a new dielectric tracer test method to understand geological structure of porous media and groundwater flow to use the dielectric constant which is one of electrical special quality of various geological materials. To measure their parameters, tracer material is made an ethanol mixing liquid(EML) having a same specific gravity of water. Also, soil materials are prepared a dielectric tracer test using the FDR system that could measure dielectric constant for saturated standard sand and river sand layers which have different initial porosity. To compare with their results, we discussed with the concentration variation of saline water having a saline concentration $3\%$ which is general tracer material by using the electro multi-meter system in the laboratory or field test. In two tracer experiment results, EML tracer test could confirm definitely EML concentration variation from each saturated soil layer as standard and river sands. However, tracer test of saline water $3\%$ concentration could not confirm permeating movement of water by degree of salinity change because these are settled at lower part column in a whole column area continuously. These causes are that specific gravity of saline water is heavier than water. That is, it could know that deposition of saline water is composed of lower part of soil column continuously independently of the direction of water into saturated soil material.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.63-72
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• 2009

Recently the importance and interest for the microbes has been increased because several important results for the effects of microbes on the radioactive waste disposal have been published continuously. In this study, research status and major results on the various roles and effects of microbes in the radioactive waste disposal have been investigated. We investigated and summarized the roles and major results of microbes in a multi-barrier system consisting of an engineered barrier and a natural barrier which is considered in radioactive waste disposal systems. For the engineered barrier, we discussed about the effects of microbes on the corrosion of a waste container and investigated the survival possibility and roles of microbes in a compacted bentonite buffer. For the natural barrier, the roles of microbes present in groundwaters and rocks were discussed and summarized with major results from natural analogue studies. Furthermore, we investigated and summarized the roles and various interactions processes of microbes and their effects on the radionuclide migration and retardation including recent research status. Therefore, it is expected that the effects and roles of microbes on the radioactive waste disposal can be rigorously evaluated if further researches are carried out for a long-term behavior of the disposal system in the deep geological environments and for the effects of microbes on the radionuclide migration through geological media.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.229-240
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• 2007

In this study, seismic anisotropic tomography algorithm was developed for imaging the seismic velocity anisotropy of the subsurface. This algorithm includes several inversion schemes in order to make the inversion process stable and robust. First of all, the set of the inversion parameters is limited to one slowness, two ratios of slowness and one direction of the anisotropy symmetric axis. The ranges of the inversion parameters are localized by the pseudobeta transform to obtain the reasonable inversion results and the inversion constraints are controlled efficiently by ACB(Active Constraint Balancing) method. Especially, the inversion using the Fresnel volume is applied to the anisotropic tomography and it can make the anisotropic tomography more stable than ray tomography as it widens the propagation angle coverage. The algorithm of anisotropic tomography is verified through the numerical experiments. And, it is applied to the real field data measured at limestone region and the results are discussed with the drill log and geological survey data. The anisotropic tomography algorithm will be able to provide the useful tool to evaluate and understand the geological structure of the subsurface more reasonably with the anisotropic characteristics.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.367-376
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• 2022

This study is a preliminary step to understand the reaction between various liquids and zeolite in the subduction zone environment. Stilbite, NaCa₄(Al₉Si₂₇)O₇₂·28(H₂O), was selected and high pressure study was conducted on compressional behavior by the pressure-transmitting medium (PTM). Water and NaHCO₃ solution that can exist in the subduction zone was used as PTM, and samples were pressurized from ambient to a maximum of 2.5 GPa. Below 1.0 GPa, both experiments show a low linear compressibility in the range of 0.001 to 0.004 GPa^-1 and a high bulk modulus of 220(1) GPa. This is presumably because the structure of the stilbite becomes very dense due to insertion of water molecules or cations into the channel. On the other hand, at 1.0 GPa or higher, the trends of the two experiments are different. In the water run, the linear compressibility of the c-axis is increased to 0.006(1) GPa^-1. In the NaHCO₃ run, the linear compressibility of the b- and c-axis is increased to 0.006(1) GPa^-1. The bulk modulus after 1.0 GPa shows values of 40(1) and 52(7) GPa in water and NaHCO₃ run, respectively, confirming that stilbite becomes more compressible than that before 1.0 GPa. It is caused by the migration of cations and water molecules inside the channel, as the water molecules in the PTM start to freeze and stop to insert toward the channel at 1.0 GPa or more. In the NaHCO₃ run, it is assumed that the distribution of extra-framework species inside the structure is changed by substitution of the Na⁺ cation. It can be expected from tendency of the relative intensity ratio of the (001) and (020) peaks which show a different from that of the water run.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.185-192
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• 2006

Cares should be taken when performing the P and S wave velocity loggings in engineering and environmental fields. Some of them are the effect of casing, which is installed to prevent the borehole collapsing when the drilling is done on the loose ground such as soil and/or soft rock, and the discrepancy of the velocities of the same media according to the difference of the source wave frequency spectrum. The elastic moduli obtained from the P and S wave velocity logging have the dynamic characteristics. To overcome these difficulties, the following suggestions are recommended; (1) develop and apply a careful drilling technique that can keep the borehole wall without a casing, and (2) apply the logging methods with the suitable frequency bandwidth for the object of the velocity logging. It is important to make the aseismological engineers understand the difference between the dynamic elastic moduli and the static ones obtained from mechanical test, and to advise them to use the information properly.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.164-171
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• 2021

The europium sorption on Tamusu clay was investigated by batch sorption experiments and spectroscopic study under the condition of strong ionic strength. The results demonstrated that europium sorption on Tamusu clay increased rapidly with pH value, but decreased with the ionic strength of solution increased. The europium sorption also increased in the presence of humic acid, especially at low pH value. The sorption could be fitted by Freundlich isotherm model and the europium sorption on clay was spontaneous and endothermic reaction. Besides, the result indicates that ion exchange was the main process at low pH value, while inner-sphere surface complexation dominated the sorption process at high pH value. The Backscatter electron scanning/Energy Dispersive Spectrometer(BSE/EDS) and the effect of Na for europium sorption results further suggested that europium sorption on Tamusu clay mainly competed with Na at low pH value. Overall, the results in this research were of significance to understand the sorption behavior of europium on the geological media under high ionic strength.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.367-375
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• 2010

Understanding the interactions between earth materials and fluids is essential for studying the diverse geological processes in the Earth's surface and interior. In order to better understand the interactions between earth materials and fluids, we explore the effect of specific surface area and porosity on structural parameters of pore structures. We obtained 3D pore structures, using random packing simulations of porous media composed of single sized spheres with varying the particle size and porosity, and then we analyzed configurational entropy for 2D cross sections of porous media and cube counting fractal dimension for 3D porous networks. The results of the configurational entropy analysis show that the entropy length decreases from 0.8 to 0.2 with increasing specific surface area from 2.4 to $8.3mm^2/mm^3$, and the maximum configurational entropy increases from 0.94 to 0.99 with increasing porosity from 0.33 to 0.46. On the basis of the strong correlation between the liquid volume fraction (i.e., porosity) and configurational entropy, we suggest that elastic properties and viscosity of mantle melts can be expressed using configurational entropy. The results of the cube counting fractal dimension analysis show that cube counting fractal dimension increases with increasing porosity at constant specific surface area, and increases from 2.65 to 2.98 with increasing specific surface area from 2.4 to $8.3mm^2/mm^3$. On the basis of the strong correlation among cube counting fractal dimension, specific surface area, and porosity, we suggest that seismic wave attenuation and structural disorder in fluid-rock-melt composites can be described using cube counting fractal dimension.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.703-713
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• 2020

In many geological fields, including hydrogeology, it is of great importance to determine the heterogeneity of the subsurface media. This study briefly introduces the concept and theory of the method that can estimate the hydraulic properties of the media constituting the aquifer, which was recently introduced by Park (2020). After the introduction, the method was applied to the synthetic aquifer to demonstrate the practicality, from which various implications were drawn. The introduced technique uses a global optimization technique called the covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy (CMA-ES). Conceptually, it is a methodology to characterize the aquifer heterogeneity by assimilating the groundwater level time-series data due to the imposed hydraulic stress. As a result of applying the developed technique to estimate the hydraulic conductivity of a hypothetical aquifer, it was confirmed that a total of 40000 unknown values were estimated in an affordable computational time. In addition, the results of the estimates showed a close numerical and structural similarity to the reference hydraulic conductivity field, confirming that the quality of the estimation by the proposed method is high. In this study, the developed method was applied to a limited case, but it is expected that it can be applied to a wider variety of cases through additional development of the method. The development technique has the potential to be applied not only to the field of hydrogeology, but also to various fields of geology and geophysics. Further development of the method is currently underway.