• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.50 no.3
• /
• pp.126-145
• /
• 2017

The Seokgaejae section is located along a timber access road and a driveway across Bonghwa County, North Gyeongsang Province, and Samcheog city, Gangwon Province. Its stratigraphic column shows all of the ten strata of the lower Paleozoic Taebaek Group, Joseon Supergroup. The Seokgaejae section is proved to be scientifically important. Thirty-eight domestic/international journal papers have been published on this early Paleozoic stratigraphic site, and many distinguished researchers over the world have visited the site. However, the section has never been considered to be designated as a national natural monument and was not included in the adjacent Gangwon Paleozoic National Geopark due to management or administrative issues. Although the Seokgaejae section sufficiently satisfies many of the national natural monument criteria, designation for the natural monument may not be justified because of the facts that the outcrop was artificially exposed by road construction; the chance of destruction of the outcrop is relatively few; demage on the outcrop to some extent does not impair the intrinsic value of the section; and the geomorphological/landscape value of the section is low. The application of the recently modified geological heritage assessment model to the Seokgaejae section shows very high scores on the scientific/educational, intrinsic, and functional values. Based on the improved geological heritage grade standard, the Seokgaejae section conforms to the national-level protection criteria. It is strongly recommended to manage the Seokgaejae section as a principal geosite by including it in the Gangwon Paleozoic National Geopark. This case study on the Seokgaejae section also suggests that the process of application and endorsement of a national geopark need further improvement. As well as the improvement of the system or policy related to geological heritages, further efforts of the experts in various fields of geoscience are required in order for other geological heritages not to be neglected from now on.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.11 no.6
• /
• pp.483-488
• /
• 2002

Suspended sediment outflows mainly by natural situation and artificial action and affects in down-stream. This research studied suspended sediments origination in forests size and mountain stream for natural situation, density for artificial action, and measured the size and possible quantity of suspended sediments origination and studied obstruction method of the generation by artificial action. As the result, I found that the size of generation is about 2~3% of forest size and the forest size which is affecting bare area of valley is about 1∼2ha. In addition, possible outflow segments quantity by artificial facilities is assumed to be maximum 200ton/ha and abstract of mountain incline for mountain development needs minimize bare area valley by make right angle with minimum size.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.107-124
• /
• 2015

The 'Imjin System' (or Rimjin System) was established in 1962 as a new stratigraphic unit separated from the Upper Paleozoic Pyeongan System based on the discovery of brachiopods and echinoderms of possible Devonian age. Subsequent discoveries of the Middle Devonian charophytes confirmed the Devonian age of the system. The Imjin System is distributed in the Imjingang Belt between the Pyongnam Basin and the Gyeonggi Massif, spans from the eastern areas including Cholwon-gun of the Gangwon Province, Gumchon-gun, Phanmun-gun, and Tosan-gun of the Hwanghaebuk Province, to the western areas of Gangryong-gun and Ongjin-gun of the Hwanghaenam Province, and includes the Yeoncheon Group (metamorphic complex) to the south. Unlike the lower Paleozoic strata in the Pyongnam Basin which solely produce marine invertebrate fossils, the Imjin System yields diverse non-marine plant and algal fossils. Brachiopods of the system are similar to those from the Devonian of the South China Block and include taxa endemic to the platform, implying a close paleogeographic affinity to the South China Block. The Imjin System is generally considered as of Middle to Late Devonian in age, although there have been suggestions that the system is of the Middle Devonian to Carboniferous in age. North Korean workers postulated that the Imjin System was deposited in the current geographic position, where the "Imjin Sea" (an extension of the South China Platform) was located during the Devonian. The Imjin System displays strong local variations in stratigraphy and its thickness. It has recently been reported that the strata are repeated and overturned by thrust faults in many exposures. The Yeoncheon Group a southward extension of the Imjin System, also experienced intense tight folding and contractional deformation. Northward decrease in metamorphic grade within the system suggests that the northern part of the Gyeonggi Massif and the Imjingang Belt are probably an extension of the Dabie-Sulu Belt between the South China and Sino-Korean blocks, and the Imjin System is an remnant of accretion resulted from the collision between the two blocks. In order to understand tectonic evolution and Paleozoic paleogeography of eastern Asia, further studies on stratigraphic, sedimentologic and tectonic evolution of the Imjin System involving scientists from the two Koreas are urgently needed.

• Geosciences Journal
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.547-556
• /
• 2019

A new species of the most primitive rosenellid stromatoporoid Cystostroma, C. primordia sp. nov. is reported from the Hunghuayuan Formation (Lower Ordovician, Floian) of Guizhou Province in the South China Block and the Duwibong Formation (Middle Ordovician, Darriwilian) of the Taebaeksan Basin in mid-eastern Korea (North China Block). This species is the first representative of the genus found in both the North and South China blocks. Cystostroma primordia sp. nov. is characterized by the absence of denticles and distinctively smaller cyst plates (height 0.04-0.20 mm, length 0.09-0.39 mm) than any other known species of Cystostroma. The presence of C. primordia sp. nov. in Lower to Middle Ordovician strata of western Gondwana challenges the long-held view of the late Middle Ordovician emergence of Paleozoic stromatoporoids. The simple internal morphological features of this new species and its occurrence in the Lower Ordovician of South China strongly indicate that an Early Ordovician Cystostroma-type precursor from western Gondwana is located near the base of the stromatoporoid stock. This occurrence greatly preceded the late Middle Ordovician (late Darriwilian) stromatoporoid diversification in circum-equatorial regions worldwide.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.89-112
• /
• 2012

The Korean Peninsula consists of three Precambrian blocks: Nangrim, Gyeonggi and Yeongnam massifs. Here we revisited previous stratigraphic relationships, largely based on new geochronologic data, and investigated the crustal evolution history of the Precambrian massifs. The Precambrian strata have been usually divided into lower crystalline basements and upper supracrustal rocks. The former has been considered as Archean or Paleoproterozoic in age, whereas the latter as Paleoproterozoic or later. However, both are revealed as the Paleoproterozoic (2.3-1.8 Ga) strata as a whole, and Archean strata are very limited in the Korean Peninsula. These make the previous stratigraphic system wrong and require reconsideration. The oldest age of the basement rocks can be dated as old as Paleoarchean, suggested by the occurrence of ~3.6 Ga inherited zircon. However, most of crust-forming materials were extracted from mantle around ~2.7 Ga, and produced major portions of crust materials at ~2.5 Ga, which make each massif a discrete continental mass. After that, all the massifs belonged to continental margin orogen during the Paleoproterozoic time, and experienced repeated intracrustal differentiation. After the final cratonization occurring at ~1.9-1.8 Ga, they were stabilized as continental platforms. The Nangrim and Gyeonggi massif included local sedimentary deposition as well as igneous activity during Meso-to Neoproterozoic, but the Yeongnam massif remained stable before the development of Paleozoic basin.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.56 no.6
• /
• pp.831-846
• /
• 2023

The Jucheon-Pyeongchang area in the northwestern Taebaeksan Zone of the Okcheon fold-thrust belt preserved several thrust faults placing the Precambrian basement granite gneisses of the Gyeonggi Massif on top of the Early Paleozoic Joseon Supergroup and the age-unknown Bangrim Group. Especially, the thrust faults in the study area show the closed-loop patterns on the map view, showing older allochthonous strata surrounded by younger autochthonous or para-autochthonous strata. These basement-involved thrusts including Klippes will provide important information on the hinterland portion of the fold-thrust belt. For defining Klippe geometry in the thrust fault terrains of the Jucheon-Pyeongchang area by older on younger relationship, the stratigraphic position of the age-unknown Bangrim Group should be determined. The Middle Cambrian maximum depositional age by the detrital zircon SHRIMP U-Pb method from this study, together with field relations and previous research results suggest that the Bangrim Group overlies the Precambrian basement rocks by nonconformity and underlies the Cambrian Yangdeok Group (Jangsan and Myobong formations). The structural geometric interpretation of the Pyeongchang area based on newly defined stratigraphy indicates that the Wungyori and Barngrim thrusts are the same folded thrust, and can be interpreted as a Klippe, having Precambrian hanging wall granite gneisses surrounded by younger Cambrian strata of the Joseon Supergroup and the Bangrim Group. Further detailed structural studies on the Jucheon-Pyeongchang area can give crucial insights into the basement-involved deformation during the structural evolution of the Okcheon Belt.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.52 no.5
• /
• pp.427-448
• /
• 2019

This study reconstructed the paleoenvironments and paleogeography of the Taebaeksan Basin, through a review of the previous researches on sedimentology, paleontology and stratigraphy. This study also carried out a sequence stratigraphic analysis on regional tectonism and sea-level fluctuations on the basin during the Early Paleozoic. The basin broadly occur in the Taebaek, Yeongweol-Jecheon, Jeongseon-Pyeongchang, and Mungyeong areas, Gangwon province, South Korea. The basin-fills are composed mainly of mixed carbonates and siliciclastics, divided into the Taebaek, Yeongweol, Yongtan, Pyeongchang and Mungyeong groups according to lithologies and stratigraphic characteristics. Recently, there are a lot of studies on the provenance and depositional ages of the siliciclastic sequences of the basin. The detrital sediments of the basin would be derived from two separated provenances of the core-Gondwana and Sino-Korean cratons. In the Early Cambrian, the Taebaek and Jeongseon-Pyeongchang platforms have most likely received detrital sediments from the provenance of the Sino-Korean craton. On the other hand, the detrital sediments of the Yeongweol-Jecheon platform was probably sourced by those of the core-Gondwana craton. This separation of provenance can be interpreted as the result of the paleogeographic and paleotopographic separation of the Yeongweol-Jecheon platform from the Taebaek and Jeongseon-Pyeongchang platforms. The analyses on detrital zircons additionally reveal that the separation of provenance was ceased by the eustatic rise of sea-level during the Middle Cambrian, and the detrital sediments of the Taebaeksan Basin were entirely supplied from those of the core-Gondwana craton. During that period, sediment supply from the Sino-Korean craton would be restricted due to inundation of the provenance area of the craton. On the other hand, the Jeongseon-Pyeongchang platform sequences show the unconformable relationship between the Early Cambrian siliciclastic and the Early Ordovician carbonate strata. It is indicative of presence of regional uplift movements around the platform which would be to the extent offset of the effects of the Middle to Late Cambrian eustatic sealevel rise. These movements expanded and were reinforced across the basin in the latest Cambrian and earliest Ordovician. After the earliest Ordovician, the basin was tectonically stabilized, and the shallow marine carbonate environments were developed on the whole-platform by the Early Ordovician global eustatic sea-level rise, forming very thick carbonate strata in the basin. In the Late Ordovician, the Early Paleozoic sedimentation on the basin was terminated by the large-scale tectonic uplift across the Sino-Korean platform including the Taebaeksan Basin.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.91-103
• /
• 1980

In spite of the fact that the Okcheon system has been rather intensively studied by many geologists since 1945, it still remains as a controversal problem as to its stratigraphy and geologic age. Present study has mainly focused on the upper members of the Okcheon system, namely the Hwanggangri and the Kunjasan formations so as to clarify the lithology, the depositional environment and the tectonic evolution of the formations. The Kunjasan formation lying unconformably over the Hwanggangri formation which is supposed to be a meta-tillite is interpreted as a metamorphosed calcareous argillaceous and/or arenaceous sediments on contract to the idea postulated by some geologists that it was a derivative of silicified Hwanggangri formation. Lithology of the Kunjasan and the Hwanggangri formation is quite different in that the former is white in color, contains few pebbles, and mostly composed of diopside and detrital quartz, whereas the latter is black to dark in color, contains abundant and variable kinds of pebbles, and composed of more argillacous matrix that has been metamorphosed to hornfels. The Hwanggangri and the Kunjasan formations were deposited in the rather deep sea which has transgressed toward northeast from southwest in the late Precambrian time, and the writer (1970) had formerly designated it as Okcheon Paleogeosyncline. With the beginning of Paleozoic era, Okcheon neogeogyncline was formed to the northeast of the old paleogeogyncline area. The transgression of the sea had proceeded toward southwest in which Cambrian strata were accumulated. During this period the area occupied formerly by the paleogeosyncline was uplifted, so that most of the Hwanggangri and the Kunjasan formations were eroded away except in the area close to the neogeosyncline sea coast. This is the reason why the Hwanggangri and the Kunjasan formations are cropped out presently in the area of the vicinity of contact zone of the paleo- and neogeosyncline zones. The age of the Okcheon system has been reconfirmed to be Precambrian from the view of the facts that 1) the Hanggangri formation, the upper member of the Okcheon system is meta-tillite and correlated to the Precambrian tillite in the Yantze basin in China, 2) the Okcheon system has been moderately metamorphosed while other formations of the same age, if it is Paleozoic or later, have not been metamorphosed, and 3) tectonic history and limited areal distribution of the Hwanggangri and the Kunjasan formations is suggestive of Precambian age.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.35-43
• /
• 2000

The slope gradient of the Korean Peninsula was analyzed by using DEM(DTED level 1). The Peninsula has high percentages of gentle slopes. But low plains and very steep slope regions are scarcely distributed in the Peninsula. Altitude lower than 150m areas are composed of plains and undulated plains. The steepest and most rugged topographies are observed in the range of altitude from 500m to 1,000m areas. The areas of altitude greater than 1,000m show plateau landscapes. By overlapping digital geology maps and the gradient grade maps, We revealed the characteristics of slope regions by geological districts. High latitude with steep slope are well developed in the geological districts of granitic gneiss(ARgr) and gneiss($PR_1$) of the Pre-Cambrian, sandstone of the Paleozoic era(P-T), and sedimentary rocks of the Mesozoic era($J_2$). Low altitude with gentle slope areas are representative in the districts of granite of the Mesozoic era($Jgr_1$), the Cretaceous sedimentary rocks of the Mesozoic era($K_1$, $K_2$) and the Cenozoic strata(N). Basalt extruded the Quaternary($Q_1$) are observed in the areas of very gentle slope but greater than 1,000m altitude.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
• /
• v.13 no.6
• /
• pp.303-312
• /
• 2022

The natural hydrology and geological conditions of Xintian County was investigated, the development law of regional karst fissures was studied, the groundwater was collected and tested through a large-scale collection of groundwater to obtain the change law of chemical characteristics and water quality characteristics of groundwater, and the water quality evaluation was carried out for the regional karst groundwater in this paper. The results show that, the whole area is dominated by carbonate rock distribution areas, and the distribution of water systems is relatively developed. The strata are distributed from the Lower Paleozoic Cambrian to the Cenozoic Quaternary, and contain multiple first-order folds. The regional karst dynamic action is strong, and many tunnels or caves of different scales were shown, which are conducive to the enrichment of groundwater. Karst groundwater is neutral and alkaline water, the water is clear and transparent with good taste, and meets the national drinking water hygiene standards. The content of toxic trace elements and fluoride in the water source is generally lower than the limit value specified by the national standard and the accumulated toxic heavy metals is never found. The overall water quality is of good quality and suitable for the development and utilization of various purposes.