• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.19-34
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• 2013

The Ipcheon Subbasin is an isolated Miocene basin in SE Korea, which has the geometry of an asymmetric graben elongated in the NE-SW direction. It is in contact with basement rocks by faults and separated from adjacent Waup and Eoil basins by the basement. The strata of the basin fills have an overall homoclinal structure, dipping toward NW or WNW. The basin fills consist of Early Miocene sediments rich in dacitic volcanic and volcaniclastic deposits and Middle Miocene non-volcanic and nonmarine conglomerates intercalated with sand layers, which are distributed in the northeastern and southwestern parts of the basin, respectively. Kinematic analysis of syndepositional conjugate faults in the basin fills indicates WNW-ESE extension of the basin. These features are very similar to those of the adjacent Waup and Eoil basins, indicating that the basin extension was governed by the NE-trending northwestern border faults and that the basin experienced a propagating rifting from NE to SW. Basaltic materials, which occur abundantly in the Eoil Basin, are totally absent in the Ipcheon Subbasin. The observations of the dacitic tuff and tuffaceous mudstone in the subbasin, on slabs and under microscope, suggest that they have lithologies very similar to those of the Yondongri Tuff in the Waup Basin. The Middle Miocene non-volcanic sediments of the Waup and Eoil basins and the Ipcheon Subbasin are distributed consistently in the southwestern part of each basin. It is thus concluded that the extension of the Ipcheon Subbasin began at about 22 Ma together with the Waup Basin and was lulled during the main extension period of the Eoil Basin between 20-18 Ma. At about 17 Ma, the subbasin was re-extended due to the activation of the Yeonil Tectonic Line associated with the propagating rifting toward SW. This event is interpreted to have provided new sedimentation space for the Middle Miocene sediments in the southwestern parts of the Waup and Eoil basins and the Ipcheon Subbasin as well.

• The Korean Journal of Petroleum Geology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2007

The southeastern Korean Peninsula has experienced crustal multi-deformations according to changes of global tectonic setting during the Cenozoic. Characteristic features of the crustal deformations in relation to major Cenozoic tectonic events are summarized as follows. (1) Collision of Indian and Eurasian continents and abrupt change of movement direction of the Pacific plate (50${\sim}$43 Ma): The collision of Indian and Eurasian continents caused the eastward extrusion of East Asia block as a trench-rollback, and then the movement direction of the Pacific plate was abruptly changed from NNW to WNW. As a result, the strong suction-force along the plate boundary produced a tensional stress field trending EW or WNW-ESE in southeastern Korea, which resultantly induced the passive intrusion of NS or NNE trending mafic dike swarm. (2) Opening of the East Sea (25${\sim}$16 Ma): The NS or NNW-SSE trending opening of the East Sea generated a dextral shear stress regime trending NNW-SSE along the eastern coast line of the Korean Peninsula. As a result, pull-apart basins were developed in right bending and overstepping parts along major dextral strike slip faults trending NNW-SSE in southeastern Korea. The basins can be divided into two types on the basis of geometry and kinematics: Parallelogram-shaped basin (rhombochasm) and wedged-shaped basin (sphenochasm), respectively. In those times, the basins and adjacent basement blocks experienced clockwise rotation and northwestward tilting contemporaneously, and the basins often experienced a kind of propagating rifting from NE toward SE. At about 17Ma, the Yonil Tectonic Line, which is the westernmost border fault of the Miocene crustal deformation in southeastern Korea, began to move as a major dextral strike slip fault. (3) Clockwise rotation of southeastern Japan Island (about 15 Ma): The collision of the Izu-Bonin Arc and southeastern Japan Island, as a result of northward movement of the Philippine sea-plate, induced the clockwise rotation of southeastern Japan Island. The event caused the NW-SE compression in the Korea Strait as a tectonic inversion, which resultantly tenninated the basin extension and caused local counterclockwise rotation of blocks in southeastern Korea. (4) E-W compression in the East Asia (after about 5 Ma): Decreasing subduction angle of the Pacific plate and eastward movement of the Amurian plate have constructed the-top-to-west thrusts and become a major cause for earthquakes in southeastern Korea until the present time.