• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.104-121
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• 1993

Fission track (FT) thermochronological analyses on Mesozoic granites provide new information about cooling and uplift histories in Southeast Korea. Twenty-nine new FT sphene, zircon and apatite ages and seven track length measurements are presented for eleven granite samples. Measured mineral ages against assumed closure temperatures yield cooling rates for each sample. Relatively rapid (7-$15^{\circ}C$/Ma) and simple cooling patterns from the middle Cretaceouss (ca. 90-100 Ma) granites are caused mainly by a high thermal contrast between the intruding magma and country rocks at shallow crustal levels (ca. 1-2.5 km-depths). On the contrary, a slow overall cooling (1-$4^{\circ}C$/Ma) of the Triassic to Jurassic granites (ca. 250-200 Ma), emplaced at deep depths (>>9 km), may mainly depend upon very slow denudation of the overlying crust. The uplift history of the Triassic Yeongdeog Pluton in the Yeongyang Subbasin, west of the Yangsan Fault, is characterized by a relatively rapid uplift (~0.4 mm/a) before the total unroofing of the pluton in the earliest Cretaceous (~140 Ma) followed by a subsidence (~0.2mm/a) during the Hayang Group sedimentation. Stability of original FT zircon ages (156 Ma) and complete erasure of apatite ages suggest a range of 3 to 5.5 km for the basin subsidence. Since 120 Ma up to present, the Yeongyang Subbasin has been slowly uplifted (~0.04 mm/a). The FT age patterns of Jurassic granites both from the northeastern wing of the Ryeongnam Massif and from the northern edge of the Pohang-Kampo Block indicate that the two geologic units have been slowly uplifted with a same mean rate (~0.04 mm/a) since early Cretaceous. Estimates of Cenozoic total uplifts since 100 Ma are different: Ryeongnam Massif (~6 km)=Pohang-Kampo Block (~6 km)>Yeongyang Subbasin(~4 km).

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.179-192
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• 1986

In the Bupyeong district, Mesozoic pyroclastic rocks, intrusive breccia, granites and felsic porphyries comprise a volcano-plutonic complex, overlying and intruding the Precambrian Gyeonggi gneiss complex. pyroclastic rocks, consisted mainly of rhyolitic welded tuffs, form a topographic circular structure about 10 kilometers in diameter. Granites and felsic porphyries which intruded the pyroclastic rocks are distributed in the inner side and also along the outer margin of the circular structure. K-Ar ages of two granite bodies(biotite), 162 and $148{\pm}7$ Ma, and that of the intrusive rhyolite (whole rock), $121{\pm}6$ Ma indicate that a series of volcano-plutonic igneous activity occurred between Jurassic and early Cretaceous age. Petrochemical characteristics suggest that the pyroclastic rocks, granites and felsic porphyries were originated from the comagmatic source. From the evidences of field occurrence, petrochemical and geochronological characteristics of igneous rocks and the geologic structures, it is believed that the igneous rocks in the Bupyeong district were formed during a Jurassic to early Cretaceous resurgent caldera evolution.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.435-446
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• 1992

REE, major and trace elements analyses of the Jurassic Daebo granite and Cretaceous Bulguksa granite were carried out to interpet their petrogenesis and relationships between petrogenesis and tectonics. Analytical results are summarized as follows. (1) $SiO_2$ content of the Bulguksa granite (aver. 74.6%) are significantly higher than those of the Daebo granite (aver. 68.1%). Major elements of $TiO_2$, $Al_2O_3$, $P_2O_5$, CaO, MgO, Total FeO, and trace elements of Co, V and Sr are negatively correlated with $SiO_2$. Incompatible elements such as Ba, Sr, Y, Zr and HREE are contained differently in the Bulguksa granites distributed in between Okchon folded belt and Kyongsang sedimentary basin. (2) Trace element abundances show a good discrimination between two goups of granitic rocks. Ba, Sr and V are enriched in Daebo granites, while Zn and Cr are depleted in them. (3) Jurassic granites have quite different Eu anomalies and REE patterns from those of Cretaceous granites: Large negative Eu anomaly in the former and mild or absent Eu anomaly in the latter. The large Eu negative of Cretaceous granitic rocks are interpreted as a differentiated product of fractional crystallization of granitic magma from the upper mantle. Meanwhile, the Daebo plutonic rocks was resulted from the partial melting of subcrustal material or crustal contamination during ascending granitic magma from the mantle. Senario of igneous activities of Mesozoic age in South Korea was proposed based on Kula-Pacific ridge subduction model.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.455-470
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• 1996

Mesozoic granitic rocks in the Korean peninsula contain $H_2$, $CH_4$, CO and rare $C_2H_6$. The Jurassic Daebo granites mostly belonging to the ilmenite series are predominated in $CH_4$. Meanwhile, the magnetite series Bulguksa granites of Cretaceous age in the Kyongsang basin and Okchon zone are relatively enriched in $CO_2$. The older granites have a wide variation of $CH_4/CO_2$ ratios (0.1~1.0) compared to those of the younger ones (0.1~0.5). This characteristics of gas compositions suggest that the Jurassic granites are principally derived from the partial melting of metasedimentary rocks with much reducing materials in the lower continental crust. On the other hand, the mantle source granitic magmas might be responsible for the Cretaceous granites characterized by dominant and homogeneous $CO_2$ gas compositions. Liquid-vapor homogenization temperatures of quartz in the Jurassic and Cretaceous granites range from 108 to $539^{\circ}C$ (av. $324^{\circ}C$) and 160 to $556^{\circ}C$ (av. $358^{\circ}C$), respectively. Their salinities are between 0.2 and 16.3 wt.% NaCl for the Jurassic granites and 0.4, and 15.6 wt.% NaCl for the Cretaceous ones. Fluid inclusions with solid daughter minerals lying on or near the halite equilibrium curve represent inclusion fluids from the magmatic stage. The type I and II fluid inclusions which are plotted apart from the equilibrium curve are considered to trap in late hydrothermal alteration stage with a increasing influx of metedric water.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.295-310
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• 2022

The Weolaksan and Sokrisan granites yield high SiO₂ and alkali (Na₂O+K₂O) contents and low CaO and P₂O₅ contents. The Al saturation index is ≥1.3, which indicates that the granites are peraluminous. The mean U and Th contents are 8.3 and 39.3 ppm, respectively, higher than typical Mesozoic granites in South Korea and about twice the global mean for granitic rocks. The causes of such high radioelement contents are related to high degrees of fractionation and the crustal origin of the granites. U- and Thbearing radioactive minerals occur in the granites include zircon, thorite, monazite, xenotime, fergusonite and uraninite. The fact that the mean Th/U ratio of the granites (5.4) is similar to the global average crustal value suggests that the radioelement contents of granite were controlled by the crustal source material. Given the correlation of Zr, Y, and heavy rare earth elements for U and Th, radioelements are more likely hosted by xenotime than zircon and monazite.

• Geosciences Journal
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-20
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• 2019

We present data from the Mesozoic Keumkang, Palbong, and Baekhwa granites in Garorim Bay, in the southwestern part of the Gyeonggi massif, South Korea. Using major and trace element concentrations, Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions, and sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon U-Pb ages, we aim to constrain the petrogenesis of the granites and explain their origin within a broader regional geological context. SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages of $232.8{\pm}3.2$, $175.9{\pm}1.2$, and $176.8{\pm}9.8$ Ma were obtained from the Keumkang, Palbong and Baekhwa granites, respectively. The Late Triassic Keumkang granites belong to the shoshonite series and show an overall enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILE), a depletion in high field strength elements (HFSE) relative to primitive mantle, compared with neighboring elements in the primitive mantle-normalized incompatible trace element diagram with notable high Ba and Sr contents, and negligible Eu anomalies. The Keumkang granites are typified by highly radiogenic Sr and unradiogenic Nd and Pb isotopic compositions: $(^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr)_i=0.70931-0.70959$, $(^{143}Nd/^{144}Nd)_i=0.511472-0.511484$ [$({\varepsilon}_{Nd})_i=-17.0$ to -16.7], and $(^{206}Pb/^{204}Pb)=17.26-17.27$. The Middle Jurassic Palbong and Baekhwa granites belong to the medium- to high-K calc-alkaline series, and show LILE enrichment and HFSE depletion similar to the Keumkang granites, but exhibit significant negative anomalies in Ba, Sr, and Eu. Furthermore, they have elevated Y and Yb contents at any given $SiO_2$ content compared with other Jurassic granitoids from the Gyeonggi massif. The Palbong and Baekhwa granites have slightly less radiogenic Sr and more radiogenic Nd and Pb isotopic compositions [$(^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr)_i=0.70396-0.70908$, $(^{143}Nd/^{144}Nd)_i=0.511622-0.511660$, $({\varepsilon}_{Nd})_i=-15.4$ to -14.7, $(^{206}Pb/^{204}Pb)=17.56-17.76$] relative to the Keumkang granites. The Keumkang granites are considered to have formed in a post-collisional environment following the Permo-Triassic Songrim orogeny that records continent-continent collision between the North and South China blocks, and may have formed by fractional crystallization of metasomatized lithospheric mantle-derived mafic melts. The Palbong and Baekhwa granites may have been produced from a gabbroic assemblage at pressures of less than ~15 kbar, associated with subduction of the paleo-Pacific (Izanagi) plate at the Eurasian continental margin. Elevated ${\varepsilon}_{Nd}(t)$ values in the granitoids from the southwestern part of the Gyeonggi massif relative to those of the central and northern parts, together with the comparatively shallow depth of origin, imply the presence of an exotic block in the Korean lithosphere.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 1994

We present petrography, mode and chemistry data for Fe-Ti oxide minerals from the Mesozoic granitoids in South Korea. Magnetites from the Daebo Uurassic) granites are nearly pure $Fe_3O_4$, while those from the Bulgugsa (Cretaceous) granites contain considerable amounts of Mn and Ti. This is probably related to rapid cooling of the Bulgugsa granites compared with slow cooling of Daebo granites, which is supported by geologic relations and hornblende geobarometry results of Cho and Kwon (1994) on the emplacement depth for these granites. The composition of ilmenite does not shew appreciable difference between the Daebo and Bulgugsa granites. However, $Fe_2O_3$ contents are higher for the ilmenites coexisting with magnetite than for those without magnetite. In the temperature vs. oxygen fugacity diagram, the Bulgugsa granites plot near Ni-NiO and QFM buffer curves, although only two samples show greater than the granite solidus temperature. The mode data suggest that both magnetite- and ilmenite-series exist in Daebo and Bulgusa granites from the Kyonggi massif, Ogcheon belt and Youngnam massif, while only magnetite-series exists in Bulgugsa granites from the Kyongsang basin. Many ilmenite-series granites occur in the Ogcheon belt, which might be related to assimilation of carboniferous sediments in the belt. The proportion (44 : 56) between ilmenite- and magnetite-series for the Daebo granites is significantly different from that of Ishihara et al. (1981) who showed, using magnetic susceptibility data, predominance of ilmenite-series (more than 70%) for the Daebo granites, which can be mainly attributed to preference in sampling and to wrong assignment of age for some plutons. We also found magnetite in weakly-magnetized Kanghwa granite which was formerly classified as ilmenite-series by Ishihara et al. (1981). The proportion of ilmenite-series increases in the order of hornblende biotite granite, biotite granite and two mica granite. We conclude from these observations that the ilmeniteseries granites might have originated from contamination of carboniferous crustal material and/or such source material.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.129-143
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• 2007

We have studied orientational characteristics of microcracks in Mesozoic granites and granitic dyke rocks from Seokmo-do, Ganghwa-gun. Microcracks on horizontal surfaces of rock samples from 14 sites were investigated by image processing. Orientations of these microcracks compared with those of 18 sets of joints in Mesozoic granites from Seokmo-do. From the related chart, microcrack sets show strong preferred orientations which obviously are coincident with the direction of vertical common joints. It follows that the formation of macroscopic joints may be the results of further growth and step-wise jointing of pre-existing microcracks. Orientations of microcracks from this result also compared with those of vertical rift and grain planes for Jurassic and Cretaceous granite quarries in Korea. As shown in the distribution chart, the congruence of distribution pattern among microcracks and rift and grain planes suggests that similar microcrack systems probably occur regionally in Jurassic and Cretaceous granites from Korea. In particular, whole domain of the distribution chart was divided into 16 groups in terms of the phases of distribution of microcracks and planes. These microcrack sets in each domains construct complex composite microcrack systems which have formed progressively by different geologic processes and under varying conditions.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.1 s.47
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• pp.12-26
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• 2007

We have studied orientational characteristics of vertical rift and grain planes developing in 108 quarries for Mesozoic granites. Orientations of these planes vary in different localities. In general, orientations of these planes are predominantly NNE in South Korea. From the regional distribution chart, orientations of these planes show three dominant sets in terms of frequency orders: (1) $N2{\sim}10^{\circ}E(1st-order),\;(2)\;N15{\sim}25^{\circ}E(2nd-order),\;(3)\;N45{\sim}70^{\circ}E,\;N10{\sim}30^{\circ}W\;and\;N70{\sim}80^{\circ}W(3rd-order)$. These granite quarries are classified by the relative difference in the easiness of rock splitting between horizontal and vertical quarrying planes into: R-type, G-type, and H-type. The results showed that quarries for Triassic granites belong to R and G-types;those for Jurassic granites belong to R, G and H-types. In addition, quarries for Cretaceous granites belong mainly to R-type. Among these quarry types, the most diverse type was identified in the quarries for Jurassic granites. R-type (77.8%) shows a higher distribution ratio compared with G and H-types (22.2%). In general, anisotropy of physical properties is found in granitic rocks and there exists close correlation between orientations of granitic rock splitting planes and those of the open microcracks. Meanwhile, it has been reported that preferred orientations of open microcracks suggest maxinum principal stress orientations.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.397-407
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• 2022

Mineralogical analysis of the bedrock of the Gobi Desert in southern Mongolia, the source of Asian dust, was conducted to trace the geological origin of the constituent minerals of Asian dust. The bedrock of the source of Asian dust consists of Paleozoic volcanics and volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks, Paleozoic granitic rocks, and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks. Paleozoic volcanics and volcaniclastic sediments lithified compactly, underwent greenschist metamorphism, and deformed to form mountain ranges. Mesozoic sedimentary rocks fill the basin between the mountain ranges of Paleozoic strata. In comparison to Paleozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks, Mesozoic sedimentary rocks have lower contents of chlorite and plagioclase, but high contents of clay minerals including interstratified illite-smectite, smectite, and kaolinite. Paleozoic granites characteristically contain amphibole and biotite. Compared with the mineral composition of bedrock in source, Asian dust is a mixture of detrital particles originating from Paleozoic and Mesozoic bedrocks. However, the mineral composition of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks is closer to that of Asian dust. Less lithified Mesozoic sedimentary rocks easily disintegrated to form silty soils which are deflated to form Asian dust.