• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.231-240
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• 2016

Three Quaternary faults have been revealed in marine terraces nearby the Homigot and the Gurongpo in the southeastern offshore of Korean Peninsula. The Hajung fault cuts the $4^{th}$ marine terraces and the Guman fault the $2^{nd}$, respectively. The Hajung fault strikes $N55^{\circ}$ to $45^{\circ}W$ and dips $40^{\circ}$ to $45^{\circ}NE$ with reverse-displacement of 180cm vertically. There are four sets of colluvial sediment strata that would be produced by faulting and indicate four times of fault movements during MIS 7 and MIS 5c. The Guman fault site consists of three sets of reverse faults that strike $N80^{\circ}E$ to $N70^{\circ}W$ and dip $25^{\circ}{\sim}35^{\circ}SE$ to $30^{\circ}SW$ with vertical displacement of 9~18 cm. The Guman faulting occurred during 80 ka (MIS 5a) to 71 ka (MIS 4) but it extends only to the lowest bed, the pebble sand bed, lay just on the unconformity, and not to the upper. Considering the attitude of the faults, we inferred that the Hajung fault was activated under the ENE-WSW compression during MIS 7 to MIS 5c and the Guman under N-S trending compression during MIS 5a. Using the OSL age dating results, we reconfirmed that the $2^{nd}$ terrace is correlated to MIS 5a and the $4^{th}$ terraces to MIS 7.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.39-54
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• 2019

In this paper, based on evidence of coastal sediment, we show that erosion and sedimentation environments are very sensitive to sea level changes during the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and the Little Ice Age (LIA). We identified four sedimentary units(4.57-3.07m), which formed in the Dark Age Cool Period (DACP), MWP and LIA were classified based on the lithostratigraphy, grain size distribution, magnetic susceptibility and geochemistry of a drilling core taken from the west coast of Hwaseong City. The unconformity surfaces as boundaries of the units were also identified by the lithostratigraphy shown on the drilling core. We propoese that sedimentation was dominant in the area during the periods of sea level rise, whereas erosion prevailed during the periods of sea level fall. Particularly, extreme events, such as floods and typhoons are believed to have accelerated these processes, and we found the associated evidence in sediments of two units. This study provides an example of estimating the relative sea level variation using coastal sediments and may be useful for studying past sea level changes around the Korean Peninsula.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.21-31
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• 2019

Timing of terrace formation is a key information for understanding the evolution of fluvial systems. In particular, dating strath terrace (i.e. timing of terrace abandonment) is more difficult than depositional terrace that is conventionally constrained by radiocarbon, OSL and other dating methods targeting samples within terrace deposit. Surface exposure dating utilizing cosmogenic ¹⁰Be provides more reliability because it can be applied directly to the surface of a fluvial terrace. Thus, this method has been increasingly used for alluvial deposits. As well as other geomorphic surfaces over the last decades. Some inherent conditions, however, such as post-depositional ¹⁰Be concentration (i.e. inheritance), surface erosion rate, and density change challenge the application of cosmogenic ¹⁰Be to depositional terrace surface against simple bedrock surface. Here we present the first application of ¹⁰Be depth profile dating to a thin-gravel covered strath terrace in Korea. Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) helped us in better constraining the timing of abandonment of the strath terrace, since which its surface stochastically denuded with time, causing unexpected change of ¹⁰Be production with depth. The age of the strath terrace estimated by MCS was 109 ka, ~4% older than the one (104 ka) calculated by simple depth profile dating, which yielded the best-fit surface erosion rate of 2.1 mm/ka. Our study demonstrates that the application of ¹⁰Be depth profile dating of strath terrace using MCS is more robust and reliable because it considers post-depositional change of initial conditions such as erosion rate.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.243-251
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• 2024

In this study, a surface geological survey was first conducted to investigate aggregate resources in the Yeongam area of Jeollanam-do, and a drilling survey was conducted in the lower part of the surface, which was difficult to identify through a surface geological survey, to determine the spatial distribution of aggregates. Drilling sites were selected considering the topographical development and Quaternary alluvium characteristics of the study area, and river aggregate drilling surveys were conducted at a total of 5 points and land aggregate drilling surveys were conducted at a total of 28 points. Borehole core sediments were classified into seven sedimentary units to determine whether they could be used as aggregates, and optically stimulated luminescence dating was performed on representative boreholes to measure the depositional period for each sedimentary unit. As a result of the study, most of the Yeongam area had a very wide river basin, so it was estimated that there would be a large amount of aggregate, but the amount of aggregate was evaluated to be very small compared to other cities and counties. Most of the unconsolidated sedimentary layers in the Yeongam area are composed of blue-grey marine clay with a vertical thickness of more than 10 m. The sand-gravel layer corresponding to the aggregate section is distributed in the lower part of the marine clay, thinly covering the bedrock weathering zone. This is because the amount of aggregates themselves is small and most of the aggregates are distributed at a depth of 10 m below the surface, which is currently difficult to develop, so the possibility of developing aggregates is evaluated to be very low. As a result of dating, it can be seen that the blue-grey marine clay layer is an intertidal sedimentary layer formed as the sea level rose rapidly about 10,000 years ago. The deposition process continued from 10,000 years ago to the present, and as a result, a very thick clay layer was deposited. This clay layer was formed very dominantly for about 6,000 to 8,000 years, and the sand-gravel layer in the section where aggregates deposited in the Pleistocene period can exist was measured to have been deposited at about 13.0 to 19.0 ka, and about 50 ka, showing that it was deposited as paleo-fluvial deposits before the marine transgression process.

• 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.26 no.4
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• pp.67-79
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• 2019

This study documents the level of paleo-shoreline and the timing of formation of the lowest marine terrace (1st terrace) distributed in Dadaepo, Busan, South Korea. In the study area, the elevation of paleo-shoreline of the 1st terrace is clearly identified as 5 meters above mean high tide based on the elevation of wave-cut platforms and the elevation of boundary between marine and terrestial sediments. This is well consistent with the fact that are found along the Southern coast of the Korean Peninsula including Daepo-dong, Sacheon-si. The timing of formation of the 1st terrace in Dadaepo is confirmed to have been deposited around 70,000~80,000 years BP (MIS 5a) according to OSL and IRSL dating ages. However, because the formation age of the 1st terrace in Sacheon-si Daepo-dong (Southerm coast) and Pohang-si Umok-ri (Eastern coast) previously identified as about 90,000~100,000 years BP (MIS 5c), further discussion of what is needed. Possibly, it can be interpreted that the sub-interglacial (MIS 5a and 5c) sea-level records during the last interglacial period are likely to be selective on land depending on regions.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.39-54
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• 2021

Damyang Wetland, a riverine wetland, has been designated as the first wetland protection area in South Korea and is a candidate area for the Mudeungsan Area UNESCO Global Geopark. The Damyang Wetland area is the upstream part of the Yeongsan River and is now a relatively wide plain. To reconstruct the sedimentary environment around the Damyang Wetland, core samples were obtained, and sedimentary facies analysis, AMS and OSL age dataings, grain size, and geochemical analyses were carried out. In addition, comprehensive sedimentary environment changes were reconstructed using previous core data obtained from this wetland area. In the Yeongsan River upstream area, where the Damyang Wetland is located, fluvial terrace deposits formed during the late Pleistocene are distributed in an area relatively far from the river. As a gravel layer is widely distributed throughout the plains, Holocene sediments were likely deposited in a braided river environment when the sea level stabilized after the middle Holocene. Then, as the sedimentary environment changed from a braided river to a meandering river, the influx of sand-dominated sediments increased, and a floodplain environment was formed around the river. In addition, based on the pollen data, it is inferred that the climate was warm and humid around 6,000 years ago, with wetland deposits forming afterward. The the trench survey results of the river area around the Damyang Wetland show that a well-rounded gravel layer occurs in the lower part, covered by the sand layer. The Damyang Wetland was likely formed after the construction of Damyang Lake in the 1970s, as muddy sediments were deposited on the sand layer.