• 한국해양학회지
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.193-203
• /
• 1991

KODOS (Korea Deep ocean Study)-89 sediments, recovered from western part of Clarion-Clipperton fracture zone in north Pacific, show two distinctly colored layer zones: surface yellow brown layer (unit A) and subsurface dark brown layer (unit B), and roughly recognized as Quaternary and Tertiary in age, respectively. Geochemical characteristics are also different in those two units. Smectite, water, micronodule, and heavy metal contents are higher in unit B, while POC content is higher in unit A. High smectite and low POC contents in unit B are due to the longer formation period of smectite, almost decomposition of labile organic matter in unit B relative to unit A. High water content in unit B is caused by coarse fabric which results from higher content of spicules and spines. Additionally, stronger electrostatic repulsion force caused by high smectite content also supports high water content in unit B relative to unit A. Variations in heavy metal contents are closely related to the amount of micronodule, which has higher metal contents than that of sediment. Therefore, we conclude that the differences of geochemical characteristics in unit A and unit B are resulted from the different diagenetic durations of unit A and unit B.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.219-230
• /
• 2004

The aims of this study are to construct database using geostatistics and Geographic Information System (GIS), and to derive the spatial relationships between manganese nodule abundance and each factor affecting nodule abundance, such as metal grade, slope, aspect, water depth, topography, and acoustic characteristics of the subbottom using the GIS and probability methods. The greater is the copper and nickel grade, the higher is the rating. The distribution pattern of nickel grade is similar to that of copper grade. The slopes are generally less than $3^{\circ}$, excluding seamounts and cliff areas. There is no increment in the rating with increasing slope. The rating is highest for slopes between 2.5 and $3.5^{\circ}$ in block B2 and between 3 and $6^{\circ}$ in block C1. The topography is classified into five groups: seamount, hill crest, hill slant, hill base or plain, and seafloor basin or valley. The ratings prove lowest for seamount and hill crest. The results of the study show a decrease in the rating with an increase in water depth in the study area. There was a poor relationship between manganese nodule abundance and the thickness of the upper transparent layer in block C1. Using GIS, it is possible to analyze a large amount of data efficiently, and to maximize the practical application, to increase specialization, and to enhance the accuracy of the analyses.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.467-473
• /
• 2006

The EM 120, a newly installed multibeam echo sounder on RM Onnuri, has several advantages over the previously installed SeaBeam 2000 in performance and thus data quality. The EM 120 system provides a bottom topographic map with high resolution by (1) increasing the number of beams, (2) increasing the across track swath range, (3) measuring the more accurate sound velocity within the water column, and (4) improving stabilization for pitching, rolling, and yawing of the ship. This study compares EM 120 and SeaBeam 2000 echo sounders in terms of the data quality from the same survey area in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, NE Pacific. Our result shows that the EM 120 provides more precise topographic data than the SeaBeam 2000. Although overall trends of data, such as topographic direction and relief, are similar for both echo sounders, the water depths measured by the EM 120 are shallower than that of SeaBeam 2000 by 80 to 90 meters.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.320-334
• /
• 2000

Deep-sea surface sediment were analyzed for their geotechnical properties, and the sediment samples were collected with a multiple-corer from 31 stations along the track line (131$^{\circ}$30'W, 5-12$^{\circ}$N) in the northeast equatorial Paciflc. Most of the sediments from the northern part (8-12$^{\circ}$N) showed typical properties of siliceous sediments, whereas the southern part (5-6$^{\circ}$N) showed calcareous characteristics due to high biogenic carbonate productivity in the surface waters, where its water depth was shallower than the carbonate compensation depth (CCD: 4,400 m). Geotechnical properties changed sharply at the boundary of 7$^{\circ}$N. Calcareous sediments from the southern part had low water contents, low porosity, low shear strength, high bulk density and high specific grain density, whereas siliceous sediments from the northern part attained high water content, high porosity, high shear strength, low bulk density and low specific grain density. Higher sediment activities were observed in the northern sediment samples than the southern sediment samples. The core samples of the northern sediments were divided into a semi-liquid upper layer and a consolidated lower layer with a boundary at 5-8 cm. These sediment samples showed a rapid increasing pattern along the downcore in original shear strength when an opposite trend was observed in the southern samples. The results showed that sediment variabilities in geotechnical properties between the northern and southern parts such as productivities of surface water, grain solubility due to water depth variation, sedimentation rate, erosion and redistribution of sediment, and combined sedimentary processes were distinctly different along the latitude.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.5 no.3
• /
• pp.245-254
• /
• 2000

This study was conducted to investigate the community structure and distributional pattern of meiobenthos in the deep sea bottoms of northeastern Pacific during July 1998. The faunal samples were collected using the multiple corer at ten stations; eight stations along the transects from 5$^{\circ}$N to 12$^{\circ}$N, and two stations in the Preservation Zone and Impact Zone of the KODOS (Korea Deep Ocean Study) area. The organic carbon content in sediments ranged from 0.79 to 1.76 mg cm$^{-3}$, and higher concentration appeared at stations in lower latitudes than 8$^{\circ}$N. The most abundant meiobenthos was nematodes and followed by foraminiferans; these two taxa comprised more than 70% of the total abundance at all stations. The most abundant meiobenthos occurred with mesh size of 0.063 nm. The maximum density of meiobenthos was 442 ind./10 cm$^2$ at station N5, and the density gradually decreased toward station N8 where the minimum density of 92 md./10 cm$^2$ was found. More than 60% of meiobenthos were distributed at surface sediment layer within 1.0 cm, and the peak abundance was found at 0-0.25 cm layer. The latitudinal distribution pattern of meiobenthos in the study area seemed to be related with the primary productivity of the surface water that is also connected to the water circulation pattern of the Pacific Ocean near the Equator, diverging at latitude of 8$^{\circ}$N and conversing at 5$^{\circ}$N.