• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.57-70
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• 2018

This study restores onshore paleo-shoreline records and establishes the nature and strain rate of neotectonism by investigating the existence and formative age of paleo-coastal sediments emerged around Sacheon-si in the Southern part of the Korean peninsula. As a result, paleo-sand bars representing 5m of the paleo-shoreline from high tide level are formed in Sacheon-si, and the formation age of these is confirmed as MIS 5c at approximately 100,000 year BP through rock surface luminescence dating to rounded gravels in paleo-sand bars. Although it is difficult to establish the uplift rate of crust precisely due to incomplete restoration of sea level records during the last interglacial stage, the uplift rate along the Southern coast of the peninsula was assumed approximately 0.72 lower than the Eastern coast during the late Quaternary in comparison to the 1st marine terrace along the Eastern coast.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.55-67
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• 2019

This study tries to reveal and compare uplift rates in the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula, based on absolute ages from coastal terrace on the coast. The uplift rate in the East Coast from previous study ranges from 0.258 to 0.357 m/ka with a median rate of 0.262 m/ka and shows an increase trend from north to south. Median uplift rate of 0.082 m/ka with minimum and maximum rates of 0.053 m/ka and 0.127 m/ka, respectively, is calculated in the South Coast from previous and this studies. The uplift rate in the West Coast from 3 absolute ages in this study is 0.082~0.112 m/ka with a median rate of 0.090 m/ka. Based on these uplift rates in the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula, it can be concluded that since MIS 5, the East Coast has experienced 3 to 4 times faster uplift rate than the West and South Coasts. However, this study suggests that more discussion on whether these uplift rates are long-term tectonic movement associated with tilted warping movement since the Tertiary or short-term tectonic movement associated with isostatic rebound due to sea level change since the Last Interglacial is needed.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.204-217
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• 2013

This study shows the geomorphological processes of Yuga alluvial fan at Dalseong-gun, Daegu in Korea, based on characteristics of geomorphological surfaces, analysis of geomorphological deposits and OSL age dating. Alluvial fans of this area are classified into three surfaces(YG-F1, YG-F2, YG-F3) and were formed by the depositional processes resulting from the changes in hydraulic geometry of flowing water which was a stream flowing out of mountains debouched on to a plain, not by a sudden decrease in surface gradient of river bed. YG-F3 surface, about 110,000 yr B.P.(MIS 5.4), was formed as Yongri river deposited a lot of debris. This result was due to the process that the deposition took place actively with the upward of base level as the last interglacial period began. Later, the denudation of the river valley and geomorphological surface constantly occurred and the local and seasonal changes were found in precipitation and stream discharge with the beginning of the interstadial of the last glacial stages(MIS 3), leading to YG-F2 formed by debris flow, earth flow, mud flow and stream flow. Then, short-term climate changes and temporal climate events repeatedly caused aggradation and denudation over time and going through these processes, YG-F1 is believed to have been made by earth flow or mudflow during the last glacial maximum(MIS 2).

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.57-74
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• 2013

Coastal terrace was developed at 8.3m height near Waon village in Suncheon-si. Due to the sandgravel layer deposited in a different today's environments, rounded gravel(4.3m, 5.8m, 6.3m) sequentially in a cross-section of coastal terrace, so it provides a good example which understand Holocene sea level changes to determine the effect on the various climatic-environments traits. For the purpose of identifying the morphogenetic process, Profile description, Grain size, XRD, Thin section analysis was attempted. As a result, coastal terrace are more likely to have been formed by the more recent period rather than the last interglacial(MIS 5 period), and at that time, various pedological features are considered to be formed.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.153-163
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• 2020

Mineral and geochemical analysis were conducted on two sections (~3.5 m) of red-brown claysilt sediments covering the gneiss and granite weathering zones in Suwon-si for establishing Quaternary paleoenvironmental changes in Korea. The sections were divided into four sedimentary layers (Unit 1-4) by vertical changes in mineral composition and chemical composition. The lowermost unit 1 was a sandy sediment with a high K-feldspar content with a significant contribution of weathered bedrock. Unit 2 was a transition layer showing intermediate characteristics. Unit 3 was a reddish brown clay-silt sediment, with a total clay content of 58% on average, and the main clay minerals were illite-smectite mixed layer minerals and hydroxy-interlayered vermiculite/smectite. Unit 3 contained almost no plagioclase, while the content of kaolin minerals derived by the plagioclase weathering was higher than in the other layers. Unit 4 had similar mineral composition and chemical properties to Unit 3, but had a higher content of plagioclase and chlorite and lower content of kaolin minerals. The chemical compositions of the sections were compared with those in other regions of Korea, suggesting the eolian origin of Units 3 and 4. The paleoenvironmental change in the sedimentary section of this region was interpreted as follows. Weathered products of gneiss and granite, which are bedrocks of this region, were eroded and deposited as sandy sediments in the periphery to form the lower layers (Unit 1, 2), followed by the deposition of the claysilty rich eolian sediments (Unit 3) during the glacial. Unit 3 was chemically weathered during the warm humid climate during the last interglacial, developing a reddish brown color. After that, a eolian sediment layer (Unit 4) was deposited during the last glacial.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.27-40
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• 2005

Researches onmarine terrace in Korea have been drastically progressed during the last two decades.main themes of researches include vertical and horizontal distribution of paleo-shoreline, sedimentary facies ofmarine terrace deposits, OSL dating of terrace deposits and estimation of uplift rate. At present, it is noted thatmarine terraces distributed at the same altitude do not always show the same sedimentary facies, nor have the same ages.marine terraces are generally divided into five terrace systems, of which ages increase in ascending order. There are some arguments about discrimination between 2nd and 3rd terrace systems and their age. The core discrepancy lies on the question of whether the level of the last interglacial terrace is on the level of about 20m or on the 30~35m(~40m) in altitude. The uplift rate based on the paleoshoreline distribution ranges between 0.10 and 0.20m/ka.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.1-11
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• 2017

The pollen analysis on the deposits of the lower marine terrace I of the estimated paleoshoreline height of 18m was performed in order to estimate the formation age of this terrace developed at the Sanha-dong coast, Ulsan, southeastern coast of the Korean peninsula. The pollen assemblage of the peat layer of SH-1 pollen zone (Quercus-Ulmus/Zelkova zone), lying directly on the marine rounded pebble layer of this terrace, shows that the climatic environment of the deposition period of SH-1 pollen zone was almost similar to that of the Postglacial climatic optimum period, but slightly cooler than that of the late warm stage of Last Interglacial(MIS 5a) in the eastern coast of Korea. This heightens the possibility that the deposition period of the marine rounded pebble layer which was covered by the above SH-1 peat layer is the MIS 5e which has been estimated by a previous study of the sedimentary facies of this terrace deposits (Choi, 2016). The pollen assemblage of SH-2 pollen zone (Pinus-Quercus zone) shows that the climate of this period was almost similar to that of the late Postglacial, but slightly cooler than that of the period of SH-1 pollen zone. This means that the climate around the Sanha-dong was still warmer in the deposition period of the peat layer of SH-2 pollen zone. Thus, the peat layer of SH-2 pollen zone was considered to have been deposited during the period from the early regression stage of the MIS 5d which is the estimated final stage in the deposition period of the above peat layer of SH-1 pollen zone to any stage in which the warmer environment of MIS 5 has still lasted. The humic silt layer of SH-3 pollen zone (Pinus-Ulmus/Zelkova-Abies zone) is assumed to have been deposited during the interstadial of the Last Glacial (MIS 3).

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.15-29
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• 2021

In the Arctic Ocean, the distribution of sea ice and ice sheets changes as climate changes. Because the distribution of ice cover influences the mineral composition of marine sediments, studying marine sediments transported by sea ice or iceberg is very important to understand the global climate change. This study analyzes marine sediment samples collected from the Arctic Ocean and infers the provenance of the sediments to reconstruct the paleoenvironment changes of the western Arctic. The analyzed samples include four gravity cores collected from the Araon mound in the Chukchi Plateau and one gravity core collected from the slope between the Araon mounds. The core sediments were brown, gray, and greenish gray, each of which corresponds to the characteristic color of sediments deposited during the interglacial/glacial cycle in the western Arctic Ocean. We divide the core sediments into three units based on the analysis of bulk mineral composition, clay mineral composition, and Ice Rafted Debris (IRD) as well as comparison with previous study results. Unit 3 sediments, deposited during the last glacial maximum, were transported by sea ice and currents after the sediments of the Kolyma and Indigirka Rivers were deposited on the continental shelf of the East Siberian Sea. Unit 2 sediments, deposited during the deglacial period, were from the Kolyma and Indigirka Rivers flowing into the East Siberian Sea as well as from the Mackenzie River and the Canadian Archipelago flowing into the Beaufort Sea. Unit 2 sediments also contained an extensive amount of IRD, which originated from the melted Laurentide Ice Sheet. During the interglacial stage, fine-grained sediments of Unit 1 were transported by sea ice and currents from Northern Canada and the East Siberian Sea, but coarse-grained sediments were derived by sea ice from the Canadian Archipelago.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.1-15
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• 2012

The formative ages and processes of five natural abandoned channels in three types in Korea are studied. The former meandering channel in Seongsandong, Uljin-gun was abandoned due to the neck-cutoff of incised meander, Wangpi River in approximately 2.5~2.6ka and the abandoned channel in Bulyeong Temple, Uljin-gun was formed by the neck-cutoff of Wangpi River in approximately 90ka. Deduced from these results, it is judged to favorable for formation of abandoned channels by incised meander cutoff in interglacial or interstadial stages that had a better condition for meander cutoff because of active lateral erosion. Due to the corrosion of limestone joints in the underground of ridges between Hwangji River and Cheolam River, the channel in Gumumso, Taebaek-si was abandoned by the stream piracy connecting and combining the rivers into a limestone cave in approximately 40ka and higher lower reaches of Dong River than Banbyeon River in Seonbawi, Yeongyang-gun was turned to the abandoned channel throughout the stream piracy between the rivers in approximately 1.4ka. During Last Glacial Maximum in Jangcheon-ri, Chungju-si, Namhan River was divided into the eastern and western tributaries due to the alluvial island in approximately 10ka and then the western tributary was abandoned recently.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.45-56
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• 2013

Rock strength test on Dunduri cliff, Chungnam province, Korea, was performed using N-type Schmidt hammer and the depositional ages of the sediments overlying the cliff were derived using OSL dating method. The averaged R-values of the cliffs investigated here were lower than those observed from the shore platforms, but with larger scatter in the former. R-values were negatively correlated to cliff face retreat, implying that the irregularity of the coastal rock faces was closely related to lithology as the weaker rocks retreated much faster than the harder rocks. The overlying deposit of the cliff tends to be thicker at valleys and were poorly sorted with angular to subangular clasts in a matrix of silt. The OSL ages (ca. 70-77 ka) presented here were older than the previously reported exposure ages (ca. 7-30 ka) of the cliff face. Therefore, it is likely that the present sea cliff was developed by expansion of the platform which had been covered by slope deposits since the last interglacial and exposed again during the Holocene.