• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.38-51
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• 2016

This study reports on human dietary reconstruction of Joseon Dynasty using stable isotope analysis. The stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values were measured of bone collagen extracted from 25 human bones from archaeological site in Myeongam-ri, Asan. Average values of ${\delta}^{13}C$ and ${\delta}^{15}N$ are $-19.7{\pm}0.5$‰(n=23) and $9.6{\pm}1.1$‰(n=23), respectively. The isotopic data indicates that Myeongam-ri individuals consumed $C_3$ plants mainly and assumed of dietary resourced from a terrestrial animal protein. Previous isotopic studies of the Joseon era suggested that dietary composition of Joseon population was not influenced by region and burial type. Also comparison of the isotopic results of male and female from double burials showed sex-dependent dietary patterns among individuals living in the same circumstances.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2017

Seawater intrusion was evaluated using electrical conductivity, chemical proxies, and oxygen isotopic compositions in coastal area. It seems that groundwater in the area where the electrical conductivity is over $3,000{\mu}S/cm$ is influenced by seawater. However, it is very difficult that seawater intrusion is distinguished from other contaminants using the electrical conductivity. The chemical proxies and oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions can quantitatively estimate seawater intrusion. However, these method is a costly disadvantage. Therefore, firstly, groundwater contamination by seawater intrusion was evaluated using electrical conductivity and then the additional chemical and isotopic analysis were conducted in areas where possibility of contamination by seawater intrusion is high. These systematic analytical method can reduce analytical cost to quantitatively evaluate influence of seawater intrusion on coastal groundwater and may improve efficiency of analytical method for seawater intrusion.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2005

We review three methods of separating soil respiration into root and soil microbial contribution: (1) component integration, (2) root exclusion, and (3) isotopic method. Among these methods, component integration and root exclusion are most commonly used. Root respiration contribution to soil respiration estimated by the root exclusion method is higher than those by other two methods. Trenching has little environmental disturbances in soil or on surface of site compared to other methods in root exclusion such as root removal and gap formation. Isotopic method has an advantage over other methods because of minimal soil and root disturbances, but this method is costly and requires techniques for the complex analysis. Trenching seems to be an appropriate in situ method for calculating component contributions to soil respiration with minimum disturbances in site. However, the method overestimates the contribution of microbial respiration because of root decay, and realistic results could be obtained by estimating root decay or avoiding large roots in trenched plots.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.79-88
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• 2010

Spent $UO_2$ nuclear fuel discharged from a nuclear power plant (NPP) contains fission products, U, Pu, and other actinides. Due to neutron capture by $^{238}U$ in the rim region and a temperature gradient between the center and the rim of a fuel pellet, a considerable increase in the concentration of fission products, Pu, and other actinides are expected in the pellet periphery of high burnup fuel. The characterization of the radial profiles of the various isotopic concentrations is our main concern. For an analysis, spent nuclear fuels originating from the Yeonggwang-2 pressurized water reactor (PWR) were chosen as the test specimens. In this work, the distributions of some actinide isotopes were measured from center to rim of the spent fuel specimens by a radiation shielded laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS) system. Sampling was performed along the diameter of the specimen by reducing the sampling intervals from 500 ${\mu}m$ in the center to 100 ${\mu}m$ in the pellet periphery region. It was observed that the isotopic concentration ratios for minor actinides in the center of the specimen remain almost constant and increase near the pellet periphery due to the rim effect apart from the $^{236}U$ to $^{235}U$ ratio, which remains approximately constant. In addition, the distributions of local burnup were derived from the measured isotope ratios by applying the relationship between burnup and isotopic ratio for plutonium and minor actinides calculated by the ORIGEN2 code.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.345-361
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• 1994

Lens shaped titanomagnetite ore bodies in the Soyeonpyeong iron mine are embedded in amphibolites, which were intruded into Precambrian metasediments such as garnet-mica schist, marble, mica schist, and quartz schist. Mineral chemistry, K-Ar dating and hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopic analysis for the amphibolites and titanomagnetite ores were conducted to interpret petrogenesis of amphibolite and ore genesis of titanomagnetite iron ore deposits. Amphibolites of igneous origin have unusually high content of $TiO_2$, ranging from 0.94 to 6.39 wt.% with an average value of 4.05 wt.%. REE patterns of the different lithology of the amphibolite show the similar trend with an enrichment of LREE. Amphiboles of amphibolites are consist mainly of calcic amphiboles such as ferro-hornblende, tschermakite, ferroan pargasite, and ferroan pargasitic hornblende. K-Ar ages of hornblende from amphibolite and gneissic amphibolite were determined as $440.04{\pm}6.39Ma$ and $351.03{\pm}5.21Ma$, respectively. This indicates two metamorphic events of Paleozoic age in the Korean peninsula which are correlated with Altin orogeny in China. The titanomagnetite mineralization seems to have occurred before Cambrian age based on occurrence of orebodies and ages of host amphibolites. The Soyeonpyeong iron ores are composed mainly of titanomagnetite, ilmenite, and secondary minerals such as ilmenite and hercynite exsolved in titanomagnetite. The temperature and the oxygen fugacity estimated by the titanomagnetite-ilmenite geothermometer are $500{\sim}600^{\circ}C$ (ave. $550^{\circ}C$) and about $2{\pm}10^{-23}bar$, respectively. Hornblendes from ores and amphibolites which responsible for magnetite ore mineralization, have a relatively homogeneous isotopic composition ranging from +0.8 to +3.9 ‰ in ${\delta}^{18}O$ and from -87.8 to -113.3 ‰ in ${\delta}D$. The calculated oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions of the fluids which were in equilibrium with hornblende at $550^{\circ}C$, range from 2.8 to 5.9‰ in ${\delta}^{18}O_{H2O}$ and from -60.41 to -81.31 ‰ in ${\delta}D_{H2O}$. The ${\delta}^{18}O_{H2O}$ value of magnetite ore fluids are in between +6.4 to + 7.9 ‰. All of these values fall in the range of primary magmatic water. A slight oxygen shift means that $^{18}O$-depleted meteoric water be acted with basic fluids during immiscible processes between silicate and titaniferous oxide melt. Mineral chemistry, isotopic compositions, and occurences of amphibolites and orebodies, suggest that the titanomagnetite melt be separated immisciblely from the titaniferous basic magma.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.387-394
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• 2014

A Slowing Down Time Spectrometer (SDTS) system is a highly efficient technique for isotopic nuclear material content analysis. SDTS technology has been used to analyze spent nuclear fuel and the pyro-processing of spent fuel. SDTS requires an external neutron source to induce the isotopic fissile fission. A high intensity neutron source is required to ensure a high for a good fissile fission. The electron linear accelerator system was selected to generate proper source neutrons efficiently. As a first step, the electron generator of an 80-keV electron gun was manufactured. In order to produce the high beam power from electron linear accelerator, a proper beam current is required form the electron generator. In this study, the beam current was measured by evaluating the performance of the electron generator. The beam current was determined by five parameters: high voltage at the electron gun, cathode voltage, pulse width, pulse amplitude, and bias voltage at the grid. From the experimental results under optimal conditions, the high voltage was determined to be 80 kV, the pulse width was 500 ns, and the cathode voltage was from 4.2 V to 4.6 V. The beam current was measured as 1.9 A at maximum. These results satisfy the beam current required for the operation of an electron linear accelerator.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.65-78
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• 2017

In this study, stable carbon isotopic analysis (22 specimens) and magnetic susceptibility analysis (23 specimens) were conducted out on the specimens collected from two points (trench DT1, DT2) in the floodplain of Jemincheon(hereinafter the Jemin plain) to reconstruct the Holocene Environments (Period I, Period II, Period III) of the Jemin plain in Gongju, Chungnam. The results were as follows: In Period I (approximately 7,480~4,940 yrs B.P.) and especially around 7,480~7,320 yrs B.P., it was cool-dry and there were two minor climate fluctuations. This period received a continuous flow of sediments, rather than massive amounts of sediments due to abrupt flooding, and therefore, there was almost no soilization process. Period II(approximately 4,940~2,600 yrs B.P.) was also relatively cool-dry. However, in Period II b, unlike I, the minor climate fluctuations were less pronounced. In this period, flooding and desiccation repeated, inducing soilization processes especially around 3,160 yrs B.P. In Stage III (~360 yrs B.P.), it was warm and humid compared to II b. However, in III a, there was no inflow of sediments due to irregular flooding, and in fact, soilization process was more manifested than during II b due to the impact of the desiccation environment. However, there were some mass movements from Bonghwang Mt. (a.s.l. 147m) caused by heavy rains and typhoon during III b (approximately 360 yrs B.P.), thus moving a large amount of debris (i.e. gravel), which resulted in sedimentation.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.300-306
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• 2012

This study reports the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope of mummy, the preserved human time capsule from Joseon Dynasty. The stable isotopic composition of biological tissue is expected to be a direct and constant function of diet because the stable isotope ratios do not decay or change in abundance through time. Over the past three decades, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis has been extensively applied for archaeological topics. However, this is the first case in Korean mummy to extract palaeodietary information using stable isotope analysis. We extracted isotopic information from bone collagen and hair keratin, which reflects the lifetime average diet and short-term diet, respectively. The average values of ${\delta}^{13}C$ and ${\delta}^{15}N$ values are -19.0‰ and 11.4‰ (bone collagen), and -21.3‰ and 14.3‰ (hair keratin). Stable carbon isotope shows a mainly $C_3$-based diet from cradle to grave. On the other hand, there is significant difference in stable nitrogen isotope which implies a relatively enriched diet before death. We expect this study opens up a potential to understand the palaeodietary lifestyle in Joseon Dynasty.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.32-48
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• 2018

The mechanisms of $CH_4$ uptake into and release from the ocean are not well understood due mainly to complexity of the biogeochemical cycle and to lack of regional-scale and/or process-scale observations in the marine boundary layers. Without complete understanding of oceanic mechanisms to control the carbon balance and cycles on a various spatial and temporal scales, however, it is difficult to predict future perturbation of oceanic carbon levels and its influence on the global and regional climates. High frequency, high precision continuous measurements for carbon isotopic compositions from dissolved $CH_4$ in the surface ocean and marine atmosphere can provide additional information about the flux pathways and production/consumption processes occurring in the boundary of two large reservoirs. This paper introduces recent advances on optical instruments for real time $CH_4$ isotope analysis to diagnose potential applications for in situ, continuous measurements of carbon isotopic composition of dissolved $CH_4$. Commercially available, three laser absorption spectrometers - quantum cascade laser spectroscopy (QCLAS), off-axis integrated cavity output spectrometer (OA-ICOS), and cavity ring-down spectrometer (CRDS) are discussed in comparison with the conventional isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Details of functioning and performance of a CRDS isotope instrument for atmospheric ${\delta}^{13}C-CH_4$ are also given, showing its capability to detect localized methane emission sources.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.169-177
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• 1987

The Manjang copper magnetite-fluorite orebodies are imbedded within the limestone beds of the Hwajonri Formation. The ore deposits are characterized by magnetite-fluorite bearing skarn orebody in the west orebody and copper sulfide veins of the central and main orebodies. This study includes fluid inclusion geothermometry, salinity analysis, stable isotope analysis, and application of phase rule to mineral associations in skarn ore. Ore minerals are closely associated with the skarn silicates such as garnet, wollastonite and epidote. Magnetite and fluorite are remarkable in the west orebody whereas chalcopyrite is dominate in the central and main orebodies where pyrite and pyrrhotite also appear as sulfide gangues. Homogenization temperature and salinity of fluid inclusions are measured ranging between $240^{\circ}C$ and $350^{\circ}C$, 6.3~12.9 wt. percent in quartz and $220^{\circ}C$ and $350^{\circ}C$, 8.5~9.9wt. percent in fluorite, respectively. This indicates that the filling temperature and salinity are higher in quartz than in fluorite with the tendency of both to be linearly decreased suggesting an attribution of meteoric water to the mineralization. $T-fo_2$ diagram in the Ca-Fe-Si system at 1 kb and $Xco_2$=0.02 shows that the mineral assemblages with decreasing temperature are andradite-hedenbergite-calcite, hedenbergite-andradite-quartz, magnetite-andradite-quartz, and magnetite-quartz-calcite, indicating that magnetite crystallizes mostly late skarn stage at lower temperature. According to the carbon and oxygen isotopic values of the host limestone and calcite in ores, the sourec of carbon might be mixture of host limestone and deep seated carbons. Sulfur isotope data imply that ore fluids be relatively homogeneous in sulfur isotopic composition, mainly derived from igneous source.