• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.351-367
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• 1995

The elemental geochemistry and oxygen isotopes of illite/smectite (I/S) have been studied in relationship to the mineralogical trend in the Reindeer D-27 well, Beaufort-Mackenzie Basin. The increase in concentrations of $K_2O$, Rb and rare earth elements (REE), the decrease in concentrations of tetrahedral elements such as Mg, Ti, Sc, Zn and Zr, and the increase in concentrations of tetrahedral elements such as Be and V can be related to I/S compositions that vary systematically with depth. Layer formulae of S- and I-layers are estimated as $[Al_{1.57}Fe_{.19}Mg_{.31}Ti_{.07}][Si_{3.84}Al_{.16}]O_{10}(OH)_2$ and $[Al_{1.84}Mg_{.16}][Si_{3.33}Al_{.67}]O_{10}(OH)_2$, respectively. The mobilization of REE appears to occur during illitization. The increase in concentrations of REE, especially La and Ce, with depth is probably linked to incorporation of ions with high valency (e.g. $V^{5+}$) in tetrahedral sites. The excess valency due to V is partly counter-balanced by ions with low valency (e.g. $Be^{2+}$) and, in turn, the local valency deficiency caused by $Be^{2+}$ could be compensated by high-charge interlayer cations such as REE (＋3). ${\delta}^{18}O$ values of I/S range from 2.91 to 15.72‰ (SMOW), and increase with depth, contrasting to trends observed in the Gulf Coast and elsewhere. The increase in ${\delta}^{18}O$ of I/S results from the rapid increase in ${\delta}^{18}O$ of pore water that overcomes the decrease in temperature-dependent fractionation values with increasing burial depth (${\delta}^{18}O_{pore\;water}>-d{\Delta}/_{I/S-water};\;d{\delta}^{18}O_{I/S}>0$). Calculated ${\delta}^{18}O$ values of pore water in equilibrium with I/S suggest that the original water was probably meteoric water. The stratification of pore water is postulated from the presence of an isotopically light interval, about 450m thick. The depth range of the isotopically light zone overlaps, but does not coincide with the interval of lowered I-content and $K_2O$ concentrations, suggesting that oxygens may have been exchanged independently of mineralogical and geochemical reactions.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.40 no.4 s.109
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• pp.428-440
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• 2005

There is currently no agreement among archaeologists, environmental historians, and paleoecologists as to the relative significance of pre- and post-Conquest human impact on the environments of Highland Mexico. This paper presents the results of pollen, microscopic charcoal, dung fungal spore, isotope, and magnetic susceptibility analyses on ca. 4m sediment core. The coring site is Hoya Rincon de Parangueo, one of the seven maar lakes in the Valle do Santiago. Amaranthaceae pollen, one of important disturbance indicators and Zea mays pollen obviously indicate two periods of agricultural activities. The first period begins ca. 400 B.C. and ends ca. A.D. 850. The second begins around A.D. 1550 and continues to the present. During the first period, the degree of agricultural activities was related to periodical sunspot cycles and the most intense activities were present between ca. A.D. 150-ca. A.D. 400. The abrupt increase of $\delta^{18}O$ around 280cm may reflect that an important transition to a dry phase took place around A.D. 450. People probably stopped cultivating crops due to dry conditions prevailing since ca. A.D. 450. The second period, the post-Conquest, exhibits a dramatic increase of sporormiella, dung fungal spores resulted fron the introduction of cattle. Low Poaceae frequency and charcoal production and high $\delta^{13}C$ values, magnetic susceptibility, and organic contents all indicate the arrival of the Spanish. Most importantly, it seems that mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) could have benefits from declined fire frequencies caused by cattle grazing. The study area is now entirely dominated by woody plants like mesquite, which clearly demonstrates that serious vegetation change occurred in the study area.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.105-120
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• 2016

Most of riverside in Korea, in case of application of water curtain cultivation (WCC) technique, has been inveterately suffering from the gradual drawdown of groundwater level and related shortage of water resources during the WCC peak time. We believe that the water resources issue in these riverside areas can be effectively solved when the interaction between groundwater and nearby surface water is well understood. To investigate the connection between stream and ground water, and the influence of stream water on the nearby aquifer, this study examined the water temperature and oxygen and hydrogen stable isotopic compositions. The study area is well-known strawberry field applying the WCC technique in Sangdae-ri, Gadeok-myon, Cheongju City, and the sampling was done from February 2012 through June 2014 for stream and ground water. Some groundwater wells near stream showed big temporal variations in water temperature, and their oxygen and hydrogen stable isotopes showed similar compositions to those of adjacent stream water. This indicates that the influence of stream water is highly reflected in the stable isotopic composition of groundwater. Four cross-sectional lines from stream to hillside were established in the study area to determine the spatial differences in water quality of wells. At the late stage of WCC in February to March, groundwater of wells in line with short cross-sectional length showed the narrow range of isotopic compositions; however, those in the long cross-sectional line showed a wide compositional range. It was shown that the influence of the stream water at the late WCC stage have reached to the distance of 160 to 165 m from stream line, which is equivalent to the whole length and one-third point in each short and long cross-sectional line, respectively. Therefore, the wide compositional range in the long cross-sectional lines was not only due to the influence of stream water, but apparently resulted from the change of relative impact of each groundwater supplying from two or more aquifers. In view of stable isotopic compositions, there seems to be three different aquifers in this study area, which is competing for dominance of water quality in wells at each period of WCC.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.18-29
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• 2016

The effects of water temperature, salinity, water column nutrient contents, and phytoplankton primary productivity on pigment composition and concentration, as well as primary productivity of Pyropia yezoensis Ueda purple lavers were studied at the primary cultivation areas in the Manho (Jindo-Haenam) region on the southwestern coast of Korea in March 2014. The water temperature was $9.1{\sim}9.6^{\circ}C$, salinity was 32.5~33.1, and transparency was 0.7~1.5 m. The shallow euphotic depth resulted from the high turbidity. Water column dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), and silicate concentrations were $3.59{\sim}5.73{\mu}M$, $0.16{\sim}0.41{\mu}M$, and $12.41{\sim}13.94{\mu}M$, respectively. Chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration was $0.51{\sim}1.25{\mu}g\;L^{-1}$. Nanoplankton ($0.7{\sim}20{\mu}m$ size class) accounted for 58% of the total Chl a concentration. Fucoxanthin was the dominant photosynthetic pigment at all sites. Microplankton ($20{\sim}200{\mu}m$ size class) accounted for 64% of the total fucoxanthin concentration. The primary productivity of phytoplankton was $57.72{\pm}4.67(51.05{\sim}66.71)mg\;C\;m^{-2}d^{-1}$. The nanoplankton ($0.7{\sim}20{\mu}m$ size class) accounted for 77% of the total phytoplankton primary productivity. The calculated phytoplankton primary productivity was $11,337kg\;C\;d^{-1}$. The primary productivity of Pyropia blades was $1,926{\pm}192(1,102{\sim}2,597)mg\;C\:m^{-2}d^{-1}$, i.e., calculated as $39,295kg\;C\;d^{-1}$. The total primary productivity of phytoplankton and Pyropia blades was $50,632kg\;C\;d^{-1}$. The primary productivity of Pyropia blades was 3.5 times greater than that of phytoplankton in the Manho region on the southwestern coast of Korea.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.163-178
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• 2011

A test borehole was drilled in the Cheongwon area to investigate the relationship between geochemical environment and the natural occurrence of radioactive materials (uranium and Rn-222) in borehole groundwater. The borehole encountered mainly biotite schist and biotite granite, with minor porphyritic granite and basic dykes. Six groundwater samples were collected at different depths in the borehole using the double-packed system. The groundwater pH ranges from 5.66 to 8.34, and the chemical type of the groundwater is Ca-$HCO_3$. The contents of uranium and Rn-222 in the groundwater are 0.03-683 ppb and 1,290-7,600 pCi/L, respectively. The contents of uranium and thorium in the rocks within the borehole are 0.51-23.4 ppm and 0.89-62.6 ppm, respectively. Microscope observations of the rock core and analyses by electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) show that most of the radioactive elements occur in the biotite schist, within accessory minerals such as monazite and limenite in biotite, and in feldspar and quartz. The high uranium content of groundwater at depths of -50 to -70 m is due to groundwater chemistry (weakly alkaline pH, an oxidizing environment, and high concentrations of bicarbonate). The origin of Rn-222 could be determined by analyzing noble gas isotopes (e.g., $^3He/^4He$ and $^4He/^{20}Ne$).

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.459-469
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• 2017

Nitrogen (N) loading from domestic, agricultural and industrial sources can lead to excessive growth of macrophytes or phytoplankton in aquatic environment. Many studies have used stable isotope ratios to identify anthropogenic nitrogen in aquatic systems as a useful method for studying nitrogen cycle. In this study to evaluate the precision and accuracy of denitrification bacteria method (Pseudomonas chlororaphis ssp. Aureofaciens ($ATCC^{(R)}$ 13985)), three reference (IAEA-NO-3 (Potassium nitrate $KNO_3$), USGS34 (Potassium nitrate $KNO_3$), USGS35 (Sodium nitrate $KNO_3$)) were analyzed 5 times repeatedly. Measured the ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{18}O-NO_3$ values of IAEA-NO-3, USGS 34 and USGS35 were ${\delta}^{15}N:4.7{\pm}0.1$‰ ${\delta}^{18}O:25.6{\pm}0.5$‰, ${\delta}^{15}N:-1.8{\pm}0.1$‰ ${\delta}^{18}O:-27.8{\pm}0.4$‰, and ${\delta}^{15}N:2.7{\pm}0.2$‰ ${\delta}^{18}O:57.5{\pm}0.7$‰, respectively, which are within recommended values of analytical uncertainties. Also, we investigated isotope values of potential nitrogen source (soil, synthetic fertilizer and organic-animal manures) and temporal patterns of ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{18}O-NO_3$ values in river samples during from May to December. ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{18}O-NO_3$ values are enriched in December suggesting that organic-animal manures should be one of the main N sources in those areas. The current study clarifies the reliability of denitrification bacteria method and the usefulness of stable isotopic techniques to trace the anthropogenic nitrogen source in freshwater ecosystem.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.98-105
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• 1994

The search for tumor-avid agents for use in nuclear medicine imaging or therapy is a field of ongoing importance. Metallothionein (MT) is an intracellular protein that binds many metals with isotopes having imaging or radiotherapeutic potential. The purpose of the study was to determine whether uptake of radioisotopes that bind to MT is increased in tumor. We measured the uptake of Cd-109 and Ga-67 in tumor and normal tissues of sarcoma-bearing mice. Tumors were grown subcutaneously in female Balb/C mice from cultured Balb/3T3 cells transformed by the Moloney murine sarcoma virus (MMSV). When the tumors reached about 1 cm in diameter, mice were injected subcutaneously with Cd-109 and Ga-67. Eighteen and seventy-two hours later, the mice were sacrified. Organs and tissues were removed, weighed, and activity per mg tissue determined by gamma well-counting. Uptake of Cd-109 by MMSV tumors exceeded that by normal tissues examined, with the exception of liver and kidney (the organs known to be richest in MT). The tumor-to-tissue ratios of uptake for Cd-109 were far greater than those for Ga-67 for many normal tissues of great importance in terms of background activity (bone, intestine, fat, muscle, and blood). We concluded that metals that bind to MT may be useful for oncologic imaging or rediotherapy of cancer.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.123-154
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• 1982

Petrochemical, K-Ar dating, Sand Rb/Sr isotopes, metallogenic zoning, paleomagnetic and geotectonic studies of the Gyongsang basin were carried out to examine applicability of plate tectonics to the post-late Cretaceous igneous activity and metallogeny in the southeastern part of Korean Peninsula. The results obtained are as follows: 1. Bulgugsa granitic rocks range from granite to adamellite, whose Q-Ab-Or triangular diagram indicates that the depth and pressure at which the magma consolidated increase from coast to inland varying from 6 km, 0.5-3.3 kb in the coastal area to 17 km, 0.5-10 kb in the inland area. 2. The volcanic rocks in Gyongsang basin range from andesitic to basaltic rocks, and the basaltic rocks are generally tholeiitic in the coastal area and alkali basalt in the inland area. 3. The volcanic rocks of the area have the initial ratio of Sr^{87}/Sr^{86} varying from 0.706 to 0.707 which suggests a continental origin; the ratio of Rb/Sr changing from 0.079-0.157 in the coastal area to 0.021-0.034 in the inland area suggests that the volcanism is getting younger toward coastal side, which may indicate a retreat in stage of differentiation if they were derived from a same magma. The K_2O/SiO_2 (60%) increases from about 1.0 in the coastal area to about 3.0 in the inland area, which may suggest an increase indepth of the Benioff zone, if existed, toward inland side. 4. The K-Ar ages of volcanic rocks were measured to be 79.4 m.y. near Daegu, and 61.7 m.y. near Busan indicating a southeastward decrease in age. The ages of plutonic rocks also decrease toward the same direction with 73 m.y. near Daegu, and 58 m.y. near Busan, so that the volcanism predated the plutonism by 6 m.y. in the continental interior and 4 m.y. along the coast. Such igneous activities provide a positive evidence for an applicability of plate tectonics to this area. 5. Sulfur isotope analyses of sulfide minerals from 8 mines revealed that these deposits were genetically connected with the spacially associated ingeous rocks showing relatively narrow range of ${\delta}^{34}S$ values (-0.9‰ to +7.5‰ except for +13.3 from Mulgum Mine). A sequence of metallogenic zones from the coast to the inland is delineated to be in the order of Fe-Cu zone, Cu-Pb-Zn zone, and W-Mo zone. A few porphyry type copper deposits are found in the Fe-Cu zone. These two facts enable the sequence to be comparable with that of Andean type in South America. 6. The VGP's of Cretaceous and post Cretaceous rocks from Korea are located near the ones($71^{\circ}N$, $180^{\circ}E$ and $90^{\circ}N$, $110^{\circ}E$) obtained from continents of northern hemisphere. This suggests that the Korean peninsula has been stable tectonically since Cretaceous, belonging to the Eurasian continent. 7. Different polar wandering path between Korean peninsula and Japanese islands delineates that there has been some relative movement between them. 8. The variational feature of declination of NRM toward northwestern inland side from southeastern extremity of Korean peninsula suggests that the age of rocks becomes older toward inland side. 9. The geological structure(mainly faults) and trends of lineaments interpreted from the Landsat imagery reveal that NNE-, NWW- and NEE-trends are predominant in the decreasing order of intensity. 10. The NNE-trending structures were originated by tensional and/or compressional forces, the directions of which were parallel and perpendicular respectively to the subduction boundary of the Kula plate during about 90 m.y. B.P. The NWW-trending structures were originated as shear fractures by the same compressional forces. The NEE-trending structures are considered to be priginated as tension fractures parallel to the subduction boundary of the Kula plate during about 70 m.y. B.P. when Japanese islands had drifted toward southeast leaving the Sea of Japan behind. It was clearly demonstrated by many authors that the drifting of Japanese islands was accompanied with a rotational movement of a clock-wise direction, so that it is inferred that subduction boundary had changed from NNE- to NEE-direction. A number of facts and features mentioned above provide a suite of positive evidences enabling application of plate tectonics to the late Cretaceous-early Tertiary igneous activity and metallogeny in the area. Synthesizing these facts, an arc-trench system of continental margin-type is adopted by reconstructing paleogeographic models for the evolution of Korean peninsula and Japan islands. The models involve an extention mechanism behind the are(proto-Japan), by which proto-Japan as of northeastern continuation of Gyongsang zone has been drifted rotationally toward southeast. The zone of igneous activity has also been migrated from the inland in late-Cretaceous to the peninsula margin and southwestern Japan in Tertiary.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.315-333
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• 2009

In this study, the hydrochemical and the isotopic characteristics of major streams in the Daejeon area were investigated during rainy and dry seasons. The stream water shows the electrical conductivity of the range of $37{\sim}527{\mu}s$/cm, and pH $6.21{\sim}9.83$. The chemical composition of stream waters can be grouped as three types: the upper streams of Ca(Mg)-$HCO_3$ type, Ca(Mg)-$SO_4(Cl)$ type of middle streams flowing through urban area, and Na(Ca)-$HCO_3$(Cl, $SO_4$) type of the down streams. Based on in-situ investigation, the high pH of stream waters flowing through urban area is likely to be caused by the inflow of a synthetic detergent discharging from the apartment complex. The electrical conductivity of stream waters at a dry season is higher than those of at a rainy season. We suggest that the hydro-chemical composition of stream waters in the Daejeon area was affected by the discharging water from the sewage treatment facilities and anthropogenic contaminants as well as the interaction with soil and rocks. ${\delta}D$ and ${\delta}^{18}O$ values of the stream waters show the relationship of ${\delta}D=6.45{\delta}^{18}O-7.4$, which is plotted at a lower area than global meteoric water line(GMWL) of Craig(1961). It is likely that this isotopic range results from the evaporation effect of stram waters and the change of an air mass. The isotope value shows an increasing trend from upper stream to lower stream, that reflects the isotopic altitude effect. The relationship between ${\delta}^{13}C$ and $EpCO_2$ indicates that the carbon as bicarbonate in stream water is mainly originated from $CO_2$ in the air and organic materials. The increasing trend of ${\delta}^{13}C$ value from upper stream waters to lower stream waters can be attributed to the following reasons: (1) an increasing dissolution of $CO_2$ gas from a contaminated air in downtown area of the Daejeon, and (2) the increment of an inorganic carbon of groundwater inflowed into stream by base flow. Based on the relationship between ${\delta}^{34}S$ and $SO_4$ of stream waters, the stream waters can be divided into four groups. $SO_4$ content increases as a following order: upper and middle Gab stream${\delta}^{34}S$ value decreases as above order. ${\delta}^{34}S$ value indicates that sulfur of stream waters is mainly originated from atmosphere, and is additionally supplied by pyrite source according to the increase of sulfate content. The sulfur isotope analysis of a synthetic detergent and sewage water as a potential source of the sulfur in stream waters is furtherly needed.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.277-288
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• 2010

The multi-level $H_2O/CO_2$ profile system has been widely used to quantify the storage and advection effects on energy and mass fluxes measured by eddy covariance systems. In this study, we expanded the utility of the profile system by accommodating air sampling devices for isotope analyses of water vapor and $CO_2$. A pre-evacuated 2L glass flask was connected to the discharge of an Infrared Gas Analyzer (IRGA) of the profile system so that airs with known concentration of $H_2O$ and $CO_2$ can be sampled. To test the performance of this sampling system, we sampled airs from 8 levels (from 0.1 to 40 m) at the KoFlux tower of Gwangneung deciduous forest, Korea. Air samples in the 2L flask were separated into its component gases and pure $H_2O$ and $CO_2$ were extracted by using a vacuum extraction line. This novel technique successfully produced vertical profiles of ${\delta}D$ of $H_2O$ and ${\delta}^{13}C$ of $CO_2$ in a mature forest, and estimated ${\delta}D$ of evapotranspiration (${\delta}D_{ET}$) and ${\delta}^{13}C$ of $CO_2$ from ecosystem respiration (${\delta}^{13}C_{resp}$) by using Keeling plots. While technical improvement is still required in various aspects, our sampling system has two major advantages over other proposed techniques. First, it is cost effective since our system uses the existing structure of the profile system. Second, both $CO_2$ and $H_2O$ can be sampled simultaneously so that net ecosystem exchange of $H_2O$ and $CO_2$ can be partitioned at the same temporal resolution, which will improve our understanding of the coupling between water and carbon cycles in terrestrial ecosystems.