• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.381-393
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• 2021

Physical, mechanical, hydraulic, and geophysical tests were applied to validate methods of inspecting the effectiveness of grouting on an agricultural reservoir dam. Data obtained from series of in situ and laboratory tests considered four stages: before grouting; during grouting; immediately after grouting; and after aging the grouting for 28 days. The results of SPT and triaxial tests, including the unit weight, compressive strength, friction angle, cohesion, and N-value, indicated the extent of ground improvement with respect to grout injection. However, they sometimes contained errors caused by ground heterogeneity. Hydraulic conductivity obtained from in situ variable head permeability testing is most suitable for identifying the effectiveness of grouting because the impermeability of the ground increased immediately after grouting. Electric resistivity surveying is useful for finding a saturated zone and a seepage pathway, and multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) is suitable for analyzing the effectiveness of grouting, as elastic velocity increases distinctly after grouting injection. MASW also allows calculation from the P- and S- wave velocities of dynamic properties (e.g., dynamic elastic modulus and dynamic Poisson's ratio), which can be used in the seismic design of dam structures.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.35-44
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• 2021

As the execution speed of Python is slower than those of other programming languages (e.g., C, C++, and FORTRAN), Python is not considered to be efficient for writing numerical geodynamic code that requires numerous iterations. Recently, many computational techniques, such as the Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler, have been developed to enhance the calculation speed of Python. Here, we developed two-dimensional (2D) numerical geodynamic code that was optimized for the JIT compiler, based on Python. Our code simulates mantle convection by combining the Particle-In-Cell (PIC) scheme and the finite element method (FEM), which are both commonly used in geodynamic modeling. We benchmarked well-known mantle convection problems to evaluate the reliability of our code, which confirmed that the root mean square velocity and Nusselt number obtained from our numerical modeling were consistent with those of the mantle convection problems. The matrix assembly and PIC processes in our code, when run with the JIT compiler, successfully achieved a speed-up 30× and 258× faster than without the JIT compiler, respectively. Our Python-based FEM-PIC code shows the high potential of Python for geodynamic modeling cases that require complex computations.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.99-108
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• 2022

Among induced polarization (IP) methods, spectral IP (SIP) uses alternating current as a transmission source to measure amplitudes and phase of complex electrical resistivity at each source frequency, which disperse with respect to source frequencies. The frequency dependence, which can be explained by a relaxation model such as Cole-Cole model or equivalent models, is analyzed to estimate SIP parameters from dispersion curves of complex resistivity employing multi-objective optimization (MOO). The estimation uses a generic algorithm to optimize two objective functions minimizing data misfits of amplitude and phase based on Cole-Cole model, which is most widely used to explain IP relaxation effects. The MOO-based estimation properly recovered Cole-Cole model parameters for synthetic examples but hardly fitted for the real laboratory measures ones, which have relatively smaller values of phases (less than about 10 mrad). Discrepancies between scales for data misfits of amplitude and phase, used as parameters of MOO method, and it is in necessity to employ other methods such as machine learning, which can deal with the discrepancies, to estimate SIP parameters from dispersion curves of complex resistivity.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.140-161
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• 2022

Seismic data with missing traces are often obtained regularly or irregularly due to environmental and economic constraints in their acquisition. Accordingly, seismic data interpolation is an essential step in seismic data processing. Recently, research activity on machine learning-based seismic data interpolation has been flourishing. In particular, convolutional neural network (CNN) and generative adversarial network (GAN), which are widely used algorithms for super-resolution problem solving in the image processing field, are also used for seismic data interpolation. In this study, CNN-based algorithm, U-Net and GAN-based algorithm, and conditional Wasserstein GAN (cWGAN) were used as seismic data interpolation methods. The results and performances of the methods were evaluated thoroughly to find an optimal interpolation method, which reconstructs with high accuracy missing seismic data. The work process for model training and performance evaluation was divided into two cases (i.e., Cases I and II). In Case I, we trained the model using only the regularly sampled data with 50% missing traces. We evaluated the model performance by applying the trained model to a total of six different test datasets, which consisted of a combination of regular, irregular, and sampling ratios. In Case II, six different models were generated using the training datasets sampled in the same way as the six test datasets. The models were applied to the same test datasets used in Case I to compare the results. We found that cWGAN showed better prediction performance than U-Net with higher PSNR and SSIM. However, cWGAN generated additional noise to the prediction results; thus, an ensemble technique was performed to remove the noise and improve the accuracy. The cWGAN ensemble model removed successfully the noise and showed improved PSNR and SSIM compared with existing individual models.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.77-83
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• 2023

In this study, the expressions of magnetic vector and magnetic gradient tensor due to an elliptical cylinder were derived. Igneous intrusions and kimberlite structures are often shaped like elliptical cylinders with axial symmetry and different radii in the strike and perpendicular directions. The expressions of magnetic fields due to this elliptical cylinder were derived from the Poisson relation, which includes the direction of magnetization in the gravity gradient tensor. The magnetic gradient tensor due to an elliptical cylinder is derived by differentiating the magnetic fields. This method involves obtaining a total of 10 triple derivative functions acquired by differentiating the gravitational potential of the elliptical cylinder three times in each axis direction. As the order of differentiation and integration can be exchanged, the magnetic gradient tensor was derived by differentiating the gravitational potential of the elliptical cylinder three times in each direction, followed by integration in the depth direction. The remaining double integration was converted to a complex line integral along the closed boundary curve of the elliptical cylinder in the complex plane. The expressions of the magnetic field and magnetic gradient tensor derived from the complex line integral in the complex plane were shown to be perfectly consistent with those of the circular cylinder derived by the Lipschitz-Hankel integral.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.203-213
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• 2022

To understand an underlying geological structure via seismic imaging, the velocity information of the subsurface medium is crucial. Although the full-waveform inversion (FWI) method is considered useful for estimating subsurface velocity models, 3D FWI needs a lot-of computing power and time. Herein, we compare the calculation efficiency and accuracy of frequency-domain 2D and 3D acoustic FWIs. Thereafter, we demonstrate that the artifacts from 2D approximation can be partially suppressed via frequency-domain 2D FWI by employing diffraction angle filtering (DAF). By applying DAF, which employs only big reflection angle components, the impact of noise and out-of-plane reflections can be reduced. Additionally, it is anticipated that the DAF can create long-wavelength velocity structures for 3D FWI and migration.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.157-171
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• 2022

Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is a traditional and representative geophysical method for determining the resistivity distributions of surrounding soil and rock volumes. Depth resolution profiles and sensitivity distribution sections of the resistivities with respect to various electrode configurations are calculated and investigated using numerical model data. Shallow vertical resolution decreases in the order of Wenner, Schlumberger, and dipole-dipole arrays. A high investigable depth in homogeneous medium is calculated to be 0.11-0.19 times the active electrode spacing, but is counterbalanced by a low vertical resolution. For the application of ERT depth resolution profiles and sensitivity distributions, we provide subsurface structure models for two types of land-creping failure (planar and curved), subvertical fracture, and weathered layer over felsic and mafic igneous rocks. The dipole-dipole configuration appears to be most effective for mapping land-creeping failure planes (especially for curved planes), whereas the Wenner array gives the best resolution of soil horizons and shallow structures in the weathered zone.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.229-237
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• 2023

The use of artificial sources such as explosives and mechanical vibrations for seismic exploration in urban areas poses challenges, as the vibrations and noise generated can lead to complaints. As an alternative to artificial sources, the surface waves generated by traffic noise can be used to investigate the subsurface properties of urban areas. However, traffic noise takes the form of plane waves moving continuously at a constant speed. To apply existing surface wave processing/inversion techniques to traffic noise, the recorded data need to be transformed into a virtual shot gather format using seismic interferometry. In this study, various seismic interferometry methods were applied to traffic noise data, and the optimal method was derived by comparing the results in the Radon and F-K domains. Additionally, the data acquired using various receiver arrays were processed using seismic interferometry, and the results were compared and analyzed to determine the most optimal receiver array direction for exploration.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.250-262
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• 2008

In order to assess the feasibility of the dipole-dipole electric method to the investigation of metallic ore deposit, both field data simulation and inversion are carried out for several simplified ore deposit models. Our interest is in a vein-type model, because most of the ore deposits (more than 70%) exist in a vein type in Korea. Based on the fact that the width of the vein-type ore deposits ranges from tens of centimeters to 2m, we change the width and the material property of the vein, and we use 40m-electrode spacing for our test. For the vein-type model with too small width, the low resistivity zone is not detected, even though the resistivity of the vein amounts to 1/300 of that of the surrounding rock. Considering a wide electrode interval and cell size used in the inversion, it is natural that the size of the low resistivity zone is overestimated. We also perform field data simulation and inversion for a vein-type model with surrounding hydrothermal alteration zones, which is a typical structure in an epithermal ore deposits. In the model, the material properties are assumed on the basis of resistivity values directly observed in a mine originated from an epithermal ore deposits. From this simulation, we can also note that the high resistivity value of the vein does not affect the results when the width of the vein is narrow. This indicates that our main target should be surrounding hydrothermal alteration zones rather than veins in field survey. From these results, we can summarize that when the vein is placed at the deep part and the difference of resistivity values between the vein and the surrounding rock is not large enough, we cannot detect low resistivity zone and interpret the subsurface structures incorrectly using the electric method performed at the surface. Although this work is a little simple, it can be used as references for field survey design and field data Interpretation. If we perform field data simulation and inversion for a number of models and provide some references, they will be helpful in real field survey and interpretation.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.50-58
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• 2005

Recently, the imaging of geological structures beneath water-covered areas has been in great demand because of numerous tunnel and bridge construction projects on river or lake sites. An electrical resistivity survey can be effective in such a situation because it provides a subsurface image of faults or weak zones beneath the water layer. Even though conventional resistivity surveys in water-covered areas, in which electrodes are installed on the water bottom, do give high-resolution subsurface images, much time and effort is required to install electrodes. Therefore, an easier and more convenient method is sought to find the strike direction of the main zones of weakness, especially for reconnaissance surveys. In this paper, we investigate the applicability of the streamer resistivity survey method, which uses electrodes in a streamer cable towed by ship or boat, for delineating a fault zone. We do this through numerical experiments with models of water-covered areas. We demonstrate that the fault zone can be imaged, not only by installing electrodes on the water bottom, but also by using floating electrodes, when the depth of water is less than twice the electrode spacing. In addition, we compare the signal-to-noise ratio and resolving power of four kinds of electrode arrays that can be adapted to the streamer resistivity method. Following this numerical study, we carried out both conventional and streamer resistivity surveys for the planned tunnel construction site located at the Han River in Seoul, Korea. To obtain high-resolution resistivity images we used the conventional method, and installed electrodes on the water bottom along the planned route of the tunnel beneath the river. Applying a two-dimensional inversion scheme to the measured data, we found three distinctive low-resistivity anomalies, which we interpreted as associated with fault zones. To determine the strike direction of these three fault zones, we used the quick and convenient streamer resistivity.