• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.537-545
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• 2000

Shipborne gravity data are analyzed to investigate crustal structure under Dok Island and its surrounding seamounts located in border of Ulleung Basin and Oki Bank in the East Sea. Relatively low free-air gravity anomaly compared with the volume of seamounts may be explainable by isostatic compensation. From 1 st to 3rd Dokdo Seamounts, the decrease of free-air and Bouguer gravity anomalies implies the different degree of isostatic compensation, crustal thickness or/and density contrast. 3-D gravity modelling shows that seamounts have the mirror roots for regional Airy isostatic compensation, and from Ulleung Basin to Oki Bank, Moho discontinuity deepens and the density of crust is decreases. The results infer that study area is transitional zone from thin oceanic to thick continental crust. The depth of Moho discontinuity is about 15∼16 km, which may be interpreted as an uplifting of Mantle to shallow depth comparing with other borders of the Ulleung Basin.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.103-113
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• 2001

This study presents Quaternary sedimentation pattern around Dok-Island volcanoes (Dok Island and Dok Seamount), based on analysis of high-resolution (chirp) echo characters. Echo facies If, showing sharp, continuous bottom echo without subbottom reflectors, is recorded mainly from the flat tops of the volcanoes. This facies indicates sands and gravels (re) deposited by shallow marine processes. Echo facies IIA in the basin floor and basal slopes of the volcanoes and Oki Bank is characterized by semi-prolonged bottom and several parallel subbottom echoes. This facies reflects hemipelagic settling with intermittent influences of turbidity currents in the slope areas. Echo facies IIC is recorded from acoustically-transparent debrite masses on the basal slopes of the volcanoes and Oki Bank. Echo facies IIIA is characterized by irregular hyperbolic echoes in the slope areas of the volcanoes. It suggests hard rock basement or irregular volcanic edifices. Echo facies IIIC shows regularly-overlapping hyperbolic bottom echoes. It is interpreted to represent rock-fall deposits (talus) accumulated in the mid-slope area. Echo characters and topography suggest that the tops of Dok-Island volcanoes were flattened and lowered by shallow-marine erosional processes. The eroded sediments were transported to and deposited in the base of slope and basin plain mainly by debris flows and turbidity currents along submarine canyons and valleys.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.34-44
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• 1998

Analysis of gravity, magnetic, and seismic reflection data from the Ulleung Basin, East Sea has provided some insights into the opening mechanism and crustal type of the basin. Free-air gravity anomaly data show positive anomalies of about 40~60 mgal near the Korea Plateau and Oki Bank and of about -20~20 mgal in the central basin. Bouguer gravity anomaly data exhibit NE-SW trending positive anomalies of about 150 mgal in the central basin which is interpreted to be related to high-density crustal material. Abrupt changes in both Free-air and Bouguer gravity anomaly profiles across the basin margins may be due to transition between continental and oceanic crusts. Magnetic anomalies in the basin are generally less than -400 nT. No stripe pattern is evident in the magnetic anomaly map but a NW-SE trending symmetric pattern is seen in some magnetic profiles. The symmetric pattern is probably associated with the high-density crustal material in the central basin suggested by Bouguer gravity anomaly. The acoustic basement in the deep part of the basin has only a small amount of local relief. No graben or half-graben structures are seen in the acoustic basement from which mechanical extension might be inferred. The lack of high-relief structures in the acoustic basement may suggest that the basin is underlain by oceanic crust or that the basement is overlain by thick volcanic layer which obscures the structures and relief of the basement. High-density crust in the central basin inferred from gravity data, abrupt changes in gravity anomalies across the basin margins, symmetric pattern seen in some magnetic anomaly profiles, and lack of relief in the acoustic basement may suggest sea-floor spreading origin of the Ulleung Basin.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.625-636
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• 2010

The geophysical characteristics and geological structure of the northeastern part of the Ulleung Basin were investigated from interpretation of geophysical data including gravity, magnetic, bathymetry data, and seismic data. Relative correction was applied to reduce errors between sets of gravity and magnetic data, obtained at different times and by different equipments. The northeastern margin of the Ulleung Basin is characterized by complicated morphology consisting of volcanic islands (Ulleungdo and Dokdo), the Dokdo seamounts, and a deep pathway (Korea Gap) with the maximum depth of -2500 m. Free-air anomalies generally reflect the topography effect. There are high anomalies over the volcanic islands and the Dokdo seamounts. Except local anomalous zones of volcanic edifices, the gradual increasing of the Bouguer anomalies from the Oki Bank toward the Ulleung Basin and the Korea Gap is related to higher mantle level and denser crust in the central of the Ulleung Basin. Complicated magnetic anomalies in the study area occur over volcanic islands and seamounts. The power spectrum analysis of the Bouguer anomalies indicates that the depth to the averaged Moho discontinuity is -16.1 km. The inversion of the Bouguer anomaly shows that the Moho depth under the Korea Gap is about -16~17 km and the Moho depths towards the Oki Bank and the northwestern part of Ulleung Island are gradually deeper. The inversion result suggests that the crust of the Ulleung Basin is thicker than normal oceanic crusts. The result of 20 gravity modeling is in good agreement with the results of the power spectrum analysis and the inversion of the Bouguer anomaly. Except the volcanic edifices, the main pattern of magnetization distribution shows lineation in NE-SW. The inversion results, the 2D gravity modeling, and the magnetization distribution support possible NE-SW spreading of the Ulleung Basin proposed by other papers.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.187-198
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• 2003

High-resolution (Chirp, 3-11 kHz) echo facies and sedimentary facies of piston-core sediments were analyzed to reveal the late Quaternary depositional processes in the Korea Plateau and Ulleung Interplain Gap. The Korea Plateau is an Isolated topographic high with a very restricted input of terrigenous sediments, and its slope is characterized by a thin sediment cover and various-scale submarine canyons and valleys. Echo and sedimentary facies suggest that the plateau has been moulded mainly by persistent (hemi) pelagic sedimentation and intermittent settling of volcanic ashes. Sediments on the plateau slope and steep margins of ridges and seamounts were reworked by earthquake-induced, large-scale slope failures accompanied by slides, slumps and debris flows. As major fraction of the reworked sediments consists of (hemi) pelagic clay particles, large amounts of sediments released from mass flows were easily suspended to form turbid nepheloid layers rather than bottom-hugging turbidity currents, which flowed further downslope through the submarine canyons and spreaded over the Ulleung Basin plain. In the Ulleung Interplain Gap, sediments were introduced mainly by (hemi) pelagic settling and subordinate episodic mass flows (turbidity currents and debris flows) along the submarine channels from the slopes of the Oki Bank and Dok Island. The sediments in the Ulleung Interplain Channel and its margin were actively eroded and reworked by the deep water flow from the Japan Basin.