• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.605-614
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• 2013

Most steep slope failures tend to take place in geographically unstable areas. Mt. Baekdusan is known as a potentially active volcano in a typical mountainous terrain. This study prepared a digital elevation model of Mt. Baekdusan area and created a hazard map based on topographical factors and structural lineament analysis. Factors used in vulnerability analysis included geographical data involving aspect and slope distribution, as well as contributory area of upslope, tangential gradient curvature, profile gradient curvature, and the distribution of wetness index among the elements that comprise topography. In addition, the stability analysis was conducted based on the lineament intensity map. Concerning the disaster vulnerability of Mt. Baekdusan region, the south and south west area of Mt. Baekdusan has a highest risk of disaster (grade 4-5) while the risk level decreases in the north eastern region.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.75-85
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• 2020

Few studies have dealt with the question of when Mt. Baekdusan became known as a volcano. Attention has been focused rather on the issue of establishing the boundary between the Joseon Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty than the scientific nature of Baekdusan as a volcano. It is only in the late Joseon Dynasty that Park Jong (1764), who was the scholar of the Gwanbuk region, authored the first travel journal on Mt. Baekdu and described poseok. Due to the scientific curiosity of Westerners on the existence of mysterious snow peak on the border, it was first introduced to the Royal Geographical Society by a British man, H.E.M. James in 1887, who revealed for the first time that Mt. Baekdu is a dead volcano, and that the white color on the top is due to wide-spread pumice. Russian expedition teams including Strel'bitskii (Стрельбицкий, 1894, and Garin (Гарин-Михайловский, 1898), also explored this mountain seeking natural resources and territory of East Asia and the Manchurian region in pursuit of Russian Imperial interests explored and described Baekdusan as a volcano.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.470-478
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• 2013

There have been a number of observed precursors of volcanic activities- such as volcanic earthquake, surface inflation, specific volcanic gas emission, temperature of hot spring- at Mt. Baekdusan since 2002. We identified the increase of the volume of magma chamber beneath Mt. Baekdusan as we observed an inflation trend of vertical and horizontal surface displacement around Cheonji caldera lake by using precise leveling data from 2002 to 2009. The surface displacement trend changed to deflation in 2010, and the trend changed to inflation again after a while. Utilizing the data of inflated surface (46.33 mm) on the northern slope of Mt. Baekdusan from 2002 to 2003, we calculated the volume change of magma chamber beneath the Mt. Baekdusan. The volume change was about 0.008 $km^3$ ($7.7-8.0{\times}10^6m^3$) from 2002 to 2003. It indicated that a new magma (0.008 $km^3$) injected to the magma chamber 5 km below Mt. Baekdusan.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.456-469
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• 2013

This study is performed to find out the eruptive events of the historical period recorded in literature, which have been recognized and regarded as ones from Mt. Baekdusan, and to make volcanological interpretations of the eruptive events. Since the Millennium eruption, more than 31 eruptive events have been discovered, most of which are Plinian eruptions with volcanic ash that dispersed into the regions in the vicinity of the volcano. The 1903 record includes the event of the phreatomagmatic or vulcanian eruption that occurred within the Cheonji caldera lake. Based on the eruption records of the historical period and the 2002 precursor unrest to volcanic eruptions, Mt. Baekdusan has been evaluated and regarded as an active volcano that has the potential to erupt in the future.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.479-491
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• 2013

Products of the eruption of Mt. Baekdusan are identified as volcanic materials at the estuaries of the Songhuagang river to north, the Dumangang river to east and the Amnokgang river to west. More speficially, pyroclastic flows, lahars and volcanic floods can affect an area of 400km in radius, centering around Lake Cheonji caldera. However, unlike the millenium eruption, the flow situation has been changed. Because multi-purpose dams and reserviors with a combined pondage of mora than 2 billion tons of water have been built in the rivers of which sources are originated from Lake Cheonji caldera. In addition, the flow of fluids expected to take place when the volcano has erupted is thought to be affected by artificial constructions in both direct and indirect ways. This study calculates the direction of fluids flow by using numerical analyses of pyroclastic flows, lahars and volcanic floods that can occur when the volcano of Mt. Baekdusan has erupted. We also estimate the scope of damages by pyroclastic flows, lahars, volcanic flooding caused by the pondage of the dams and water storages in and around Mt. Baekdusan. Pyroclastic flows transported over the steep slopes at the early times of eruptions move over the mountain slopes, affecting airplanes, and lahars due to leaks of Lake Cheonji could reach as far as major rivers and streams near Mt. Baekdusan. Unlike historical accounts, volcanic flood is expected to be limited in its scope of influence to reservoirs bigger than Lake Cheonji in pondage.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.507-514
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• 2013

Recent reports about Mt. Baekdusan indicate an increasing potential of lahar generation due to volcanic activity around Lake Cheonji. In this study, we model lahar assuming volcanic activity underneath the caldera located at the top of Mt. Baekdusan. Lahar-inundation hazard zones (LAHARZ), software that runs within a Geographic Information System (GIS), was used for lahar modeling in various conditions of digital terrain resolution and model parameters. The sensitivity analysis of model parameters shows that both sink threshold and terrain resolution have limited impact on the modeling result. Combinations of stream threshold and resolution indicate distinctive distributions in stream delineation. The limitations of LAHARZ seem to largely be associated with the assumption of an existing flow generation algorithm. However, the impact of different resolutions on the final lahar extent was found to be small.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.453-455
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• 2013

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.536-549
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• 2013

This study investigates the damages of and analyzes the social and economic impacts of volcanic ash eruptions in the world in order to estimate the potential volcanic ash impacts in South Korea when Mt. Baekdusan volcano erupts in the future. First, we build a comparison chart called "the impact of volcanic ash" on each economic and social sector by using major volcanic eruptions and we compare the damage with respect to volcanic ash thickness/weights. Secondly, we analyze the social and economic impact from volcanic ash. The economic damage is not likely to occur in South Korea, unless Mt. Baekdusan erupts in winter. However, the potential damage should not be overlooked because the volcanic ash may have a global impact around the world. If Mt. Baekdusan volcano erupts when the wind blows from north or northeast, the volcanic ash may then significantly affect South Korea of which economy is highly dependent on exports. Particularly when the volcanic ash moves to the densely populated metropolitan areas or agricultural areas, the damage can be significant. In preparation for the potential volcanic disasters, the volcanic ash forecast table suitable for South Korea should be prepared. In addition, building a Korean volcanic ash hazard map in advance will have a strategic significance.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.38 no.7
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• pp.546-551
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• 2017

We examine the morphology and texture of microlites included in the obsidians from the Baekdusan (Mt. Baekdu) and Kyushu (SW Japan) by using an electron microscope. According to the morphological types of microlites, the microlites in the Baekdusan obsidians are classified as Arculites, Asteroidal and Crenulite, whereas those in the Kyushu obsidians as various types of Arculites, Bacillite, Belonites, Crenulite, Furculite, Lath, Margarite, and Scopulites. Specifically, the Arculites in both obsidians show very distinctive crystal relationships, though they are mainly composed of magnetite and pyroxene. The Baekdusan Arculites exhibit the poikilitic texture of pyroxene crystals enclosing multiple magnetite crystals, whereas the Kyushu ones demonstrate the granular and/or intergranular texture of interlocking between magnetite and pyroxene crystals. This distinction can be used to discriminate the provenance of the obsidian artefacts from the prehistoric sites in the Korean Peninsula.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.615-625
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• 2013

Many eruptions of Mt. Baekdusan volcano have been recorded in the historical literatures, and there were unrest precursors in 2002. Based on the geological survey results, it has been recognized that Mt. Baekdusan's Plinian eruptions had caused ashfall, followed by the occurrence of pyroclastic flows, which were caused by the collapse of eruption column. Therefore, we simulated the range of the impacts of pyroclastic flows, which were caused by small eruptions from a specific crater. Based on the simulation results, it can be interpreted that, when the pyroclastic flows are caused by the eruption column collapse from an eruption with less than VEI 3, the impacts will range from the outer rim of the caldera to the mountain slope 7 km at the maximum distance. Furthermore, it is interpreted that, when the eruption column occurs by the crater located inside the caldera, most will be deposited inside the caldera and what overflows will be deposited thickly mostly in the north valley, the upper stream region of Erdaobaihe.