• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.83-94
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• 2011

Extra heavy oil reservoirs are distributed over the world but most of them is deposited in the northern part of the Orinoco River in Venezuela, in the area of 5,500 $km^2$, This region, which has been commonly called "the Orinoco Oil Belt", contains estimated 1.3 trillion barrels of original oil-in-place and 250 billion barrels of established reserves. The Venezuela extra heavy oil has an API gravity of less than 10 degree and in situ viscosity of 5,000 cP at reservoir condition. Although the presence of extra heavy oil in the Orinoco Oil Belt has been initially reported in the 1930's, the commercial development using in situ cold production started in the 1990's. The Orinoco heavy oil deposits are clustered into 4 development areas, Boyaco, Junin, Ayachoco, and Carabobo respectively, and they are subdivided into totally 31 production blocks. Nowadays, PDVSA (Petr$\'{o}$leos de Venzuela, S.A.) makes a development of each production block with the international oil companies from more than 20 countries forming a international joint-venture company. The Eastern Venezuela Basin, the Orinoco Oil Belt is included in, is one of the major oil-bearing sedimentary basins in Venezuela and is first formed as a passive margin basin by the Jurassic tectonic plate motion. The major source rock of heavy oil is the late Cretaceous calcareous shale in the central Eastern Venezuela Basin. Hydrocarbon materials migrated an average of 150 km up dip to the southern margin of the basin. During the migration, lighter fractions in the hydrocarbon were removed by biodegradation and the oil changed into heavy and/or extra heavy oil. Miocene Oficina Formation, the main extra heavy oil reservoir, is the unconsolidated sand and shale alternation formed in fluvial-estuarine environment and also has irregularly a large number of the Cenozoic faults induced by basin subsidence and tectonics. Because Oficina Formation has not only complex lithology distribution but also irregular geology structure, geological evolution and characteristics of the reservoirs have to be determined for economical production well design and effective oil recovery. This study introduces geological formation and evolution of the Venezuela extra heavy oil reservoirs and suggest their significant geological characteristics which are (1) thickness and geometry of reservoir pay sands, (2) continuity and thickness of mud beds, (3) geometry of faults, (4) depth and geothermal character of reservoir, (5) in-situ stress field of reservoir, and (6) chemical composition of extra heavy oil. Newly developed exploration techniques, such as 3-D seismic survey and LWD (logging while drilling), can be expected as powerful methods to recognize the geological reservoir characteristics in the Orinoco Oil Belt.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.99-105
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• 1976

After investigation of soil characteristics the properties of a reclaimed marine soil (Gupo series) distributed along the southern coastal areas of Korea are summarized as follows: 1. Gupo soils distributed in the southern Ria coastal area are derived from rolling to hilly materials and are poorly sorted with less influences of river fluvial action. These soils have high content of sand compared with the broad fluvio-marine soils in the western coastal areas. 2. The morphological features of the poorly drained Gupo soils are greyish brown sandy loam with a few yellowish mottles in the surface horizon and are grey sandy loam with a few gravel in the sub-strata. The ground water table remains around 10-30cm below the surface. These soils, recently reclaimed younger deposits, do not show any evidence of illuviation. 3. The "n" value (about 0.8) of the Gupo soils indicates physically unripened soils. 4. pH value of these soils shows more than 8.0 throughout the profile. Organic matter contents are extremely low (around 0.5%) except 1.2 percent in the surface horizon. C.E.C. ranges from 7 to 9m.e/100g which is lower than average in the country. The ratios of extractable cations such as Ca, Mg, Na and K of the surface horizon are 20:7:4:1. Base saturation is more than 60%. Available phosphate content is very low that is less than 25 ppm. Electric conductivity of the soils at $25^{\circ}C$ ranges 7 to 12 mmhos/cm and increased with depth. 5. According to classification of soil based on physical ripening, the Gupo soils can be classified into "Unripe soils with half-ripe sub-soils". The soils could be classified into "Hydric Haplaquents" in the original of the 7th Approximation (1960), but into "Typic Haplaqents in the supplement of 7th approximation which the physical ripening condition is not clearly expressed. Soil Taxonomy, apparently the final version of the 7th approximation, defines the soils as "Haplic Hydraquents" that clearly show the condition of physical ripening as well as other properties. Other several classification systems applied do not describe physical ripening condition of the soils.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.215-225
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• 2015

We performed injection tests in a deep-seated confined aquifer to assess the potential of artificial recharge as a means of preventing saltwater contamination, thereby securing groundwater resources for the Nakdong Delta area of Busan City, Korea. The study area comprises a confined aquifer, in which a 10-21-m-thick clay layer overlies 31.5-36.5 m of sand and a 2.8-11-m-thick layer of gravel. EC logging of five monitoring wells yielded a value of 7-44 mS/cm, with the transition between saline and fresh water occurring at a depth of 15-38 m. Above 5 m depth, water temperature is 10-15.5℃, whereas between 5 and 50 m depth the temperature is 15.5-17℃. Approximately 950 m³ of fresh water was injected into the OW-5 injection well at a rate of 370 m³/day for 62 hours, after which the fresh water zone was detected by a CTD Diver installed at a depth of 40 m. The persistence of the fresh water zone was determined via EC and temperature logging at 24 hours after injection, and again 21 days after injection. We observed a second fresh water zone in the OW-2 well, where the first injection test was performed more than 20 days before the second injection test. The contact between fresh and saline water in the injection well is represented by a sharp boundary rather than a transitional boundary. We conclude that the injected fresh water occupied a specific space and served to maintain the original water quality throughout the observation period. Moreover, we suggest that artificial recharge via long-term injection could help secure a new alternative water resource in this saline coastal aquifer.

• Journal of the Korea Concrete Institute
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• v.16 no.1 s.79
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• pp.79-87
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• 2004

The qualify of lightweight aggregate made from waste PET bottle(WPLA) and the workability, the unit weight and strength property of concrete with WPLA were investigated for the purpose of recycling the waste PET bottles as lightweight concrete fine aggregate. This study indicated a good result that WPLA should be replaced with less than $50\%$ of natural fine aggregate. When WPLA was replaced with $50\%$ of natural fine aggregate, the specific gravity and water absorption of mixed fine aggregate were greatly reduced about 23 and $75\%$ respectively in comparison with those of river sand. The quality of WPLA affected on the properties of lightweight aggregate concrete. The workability of fresh concrete with WPLA(WPLAC) was improved with increasing the replacement ratio of WPLA and water cement ratio. Slump increasing ratio of the former showed about $45 {\~} 120\%$ because that a specific gravity of fine aggregate was decreased from 2.6 to 1.7. The unit weight of concrete with $75\%$ WPLA was decreased about $17\%$ in comparison with that of control concrete. Furthermore, the compressive strength of concrete with 25 and $50 \%$ WPLA at the age of 28 days increased higher than 30 MPa regardless with water cement ratio (W/C=45, 49 and $53\%$) of this study. Specific strength of concrete with $25\%$ WPLA, $15.11{\times}10^3 MPa{\cdot}m^3/kg$, was higher than that of contro concrete in water cement ratio of $49\%$. The compressive strength-splitting tensile strength ratio and compressive strength-modulus of elasticity ratio of WPLAC were similar to that of nomal lightweight aggregate concrete. This results showed a good estimation that WPLA will be able to recycled as a fine aggregate for lightweight concrete.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.127-132
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• 2001

This study was conducted for ten years to evaluate the effective soil management for preventing the infection of root-knot nematode in the field of continuous cultivation with oriental melon under plastic house in Songju area of kyongbuk province. The content of available phosphate, total nitrogen, organic matter, CEC, and exchangeable base in the soil increased with the increase of continuous cultivation year. Especially salt content in the soil increased form 1.2 to 4.55 mS/cm and the yield of oriental melon dramatically decreased with the continuous cultivation year. The number of root-knot nematode was 91 per $300\;cm^3$ of soil in the field of continuous cultivation for 3 years and showed slight damage on the oriental melon, but it was 518 in the field of $4{\sim}6$ years continuous cultivation and showed that 50% of plants died in August, and the yield of late season was less than 50% compared to normal plant. For the seasonal changes in infection rate of root-knot nematode on oriental melon plant, 15% of the normal plant was infected by nematode in February and increased gradually by $10{\sim}20%$ per month, 60% of plants was infected in July. The density of root-knot nematode nymph was 167 in February and increased to 1,625 in August. The infection rate of nematode was 35%, and the number of nematode was about 54 in nursery soil originated from paddy soil, upland soil, and river sand. There were no relationship between the number of nematode and available phosphate or exchangeable base in the soil of plastichouse where oriental melon plants were grown.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.357-362
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• 2012

Proper light intensity, shading tolerance, potting media, and fertilization level were investigated to develop Orostachys iwarenge for. magnus (Korean name, Ullungyeonwhabawisol) as a potted ornamental plant. The plants were grown under different light intensity (52, 82, 90, and 97% shading). The best growth was shown at 52% shading, which indicated that the proper light intensity for O. iwarenge for. magnus is less than 52% of shading. Plant growth decreased severely at 82% shading and leaf color became lighter as the shading rate increased, which indicated that O. iwarenge for. magnus has no tolerance against low light intensity. To select a proper potting media, decomposed granite (DG), fertilizer-amended media (FAM), river sand (RS) were used as potting medium with different ratio of 60:20:20 (DG:FAM:RS, v/v/v), 80:20 (DG:FAM, v/v), 60:40 (DG:FAM, v/v), and 20:80 (FAM:RS, v/v). DG:FAM:RS (60:20:20) showed the highest values in shoot fresh weight, plant width, and number of runner in potted O. iwarenge for. magnus. Fresh weight of shoot part was 16 g in DG:FAM:RS (60:20:20), which was about 2 folds of those at the other medium. At the experiment for selection of proper fertilization level, plants showed a better growth as the concentration of hyponex solution and application frequency increased. Once drenching 1 week interval of hyponex solution diluted by 1,000 folds brought the highest results in fresh weight, plant width, and runner number. Particularly, fresh weight of shoot part was 35 g at once drenching per week of 1,000 folds solution, indicating 84% improvement comparing with non treatment (19 g).

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.306-314
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• 2023

Stream sediments are an important component of water quality management because they are receptors of various pollutants such as heavy metals and organic matters emitted from upland sources and can be secondary pollution sources, adversely affecting water environment. To effectively manage the stream sediments, identification of primary sources of sediment contamination and source-associated control strategies will be required. We evaluated the performance of machine learning models in identifying primary sources of sediment contamination based on the physico-chemical properties of stream sediments. A total of 356 stream sediment data sets of 18 quality parameters including 10 heavy metal species(Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, As, Zn, Cr, Hg, Li, and Al), 3 soil parameters(clay, silt, and sand fractions), and 5 water quality parameters(water content, loss on ignition, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorous) were collected near abandoned metal mines and industrial complexes across the four major river basins in Korea. Two machine learning algorithms, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers were used to classify the sediments into four cases of different combinations of the sampling period and locations (i.e., mine in dry season, mine in wet season, industrial complex in dry season, and　industrial complex in wet season). Both models showed good performance in the classification, with SVM outperformed LDA; the accuracy values of LDA and SVM were 79.5% and 88.1%, respectively. An SVM ensemble model was used for multi-label classification of the multiple contamination sources inlcuding landuses in the upland areas within 1 km radius from the sampling sites. The results showed that the multi-label classifier was comparable performance with sinlgle-label SVM in classifying mines and industrial complexes, but was less accurate in classifying dominant land uses (50~60%). The poor performance of the multi-label SVM is likely due to the overfitting caused by small data sets compared to the complexity of the model. A larger data set might increase the performance of the machine learning models in identifying contamination sources.

• Journal of Korean Society of Disaster and Security
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.45-59
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• 2023

The global focus on mitigating climate change has traditionally centered on carbon dioxide, but recent attention has shifted towards methane as a crucial factor in climate change adaptation. Natural settings, particularly aquatic environments such as wetlands, reservoirs, and lakes, play a significant role as sources of greenhouse gases. The accumulation of organic contaminants on the lake and reservoir beds can lead to the microbial decomposition of sedimentary material, generating greenhouse gases, notably methane, under anaerobic conditions. The escalation of methane emissions in freshwater is attributed to the growing impact of non-point sources, alterations in water bodies for diverse purposes, and the introduction of structures such as river crossings that disrupt natural flow patterns. Furthermore, the effects of climate change, including rising water temperatures and ensuing hydrological and water quality challenges, contribute to an acceleration in methane emissions into the atmosphere. Methane emissions occur through various pathways, with ebullition fluxes-where methane bubbles are formed and released from bed sediments-recognized as a major mechanism. This study employs Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) tests to analyze and quantify the factors influencing methane gas emissions. Methane production rates are measured under diverse conditions, including temperature, substrate type (glucose), shear velocity, and sediment properties. Additionally, numerical simulations are conducted to analyze the relationship between fluid shear stress on the sand bed and methane ebullition rates. The findings reveal that biochemical factors significantly influence methane production, whereas shear velocity primarily affects methane ebullition. Sediment properties are identified as influential factors impacting both methane production and ebullition. Overall, this study establishes empirical relationships between bubble dynamics, the Weber number, and methane emissions, presenting a formula to estimate methane ebullition flux. Future research, incorporating specific conditions such as water depth, effective shear stress beneath the sediment's tensile strength, and organic matter, is expected to contribute to the development of biogeochemical and hydro-environmental impact assessment methods suitable for in-situ applications.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.21-31
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• 2024

Macromia daimoji Okumura, 1949 was designated as an endangered species and also categorized as Class II Endangered wildlife on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List in Korea. The spatial distribution of this species ranged within a region delimited by northern latitude from Sacheon-si(35.1°) to Yeoncheon-gun(38.0°) and eastern longitude from Yeoncheon-gun(126.8°) to Yangsan-si(128.9°). They generally prefer microhabitats such as slowly flowing littoral zones of streams, alluvial stream islands and temporarily formed puddles in the sand-based lowland streams. The objectives of this study were to analyze the similarity of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in M. daimoji habitats, to predict the current potential distribution patterns as well as the changes of distribution ranges under global climate change circumstances. Data was collected both from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and by field surveys from April 2009 to September 2022. We adopted MaxEnt model to predict the current and future potential distribution for M. daimoji using downloaded 19 variables from the WorldClim database. The differences of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in the mainstream of Nakdonggang were smaller than those in its tributaries and the other streams, based on the surrounding environments and stream sizes. MaxEnt model presented that potential distribution displayed high inhabiting probability in Nakdonggang and its tributaries. Applying to the future scenarios by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), SSP1 scenario was predicted to expand in a wide area and SSP5 scenario in a narrow area, comparing with current potential distribution. M. daimoji is not only directly threatened by physical disturbances (e.g. river development activities) but also vulnerable to rapidly changing climate circumstances. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the habitat environments and establish conservation strategies for preserving population of M. daimoji.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.447-468
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• 1996

The peat layer was deposited on the abandoned channel of incised meander of River Banbyuncheon with 7 meter thickness on Youngyang basin. The late Quaternary environmental change on the study area was discussed based on pollen anaalysis and radiocarbon-dating from this peat. The swamp which was caused to sediment the peat, was produced by which the fan debris from the adjacent slope damed the waterflow on the abandoned channel. The peat layer contains continuous vegetational history from 60,000y.B.P. to Recent. The peat deposit was divided into two layers by the organic thin sand horizon, which was sedimented at one time and made unconformity between the lower decomposed compact peat layers and the upper fresh fiberous peat layer. As the result of the pollen analysis, both peat layers from the two boring sites, Profile YY1 and Profile YY2 were divided into five Pollenzones(Pollenzone I, II, III, IV and V) and 12 Subzones which were mainly corresponded by the AP (Arboreal Pollen)-Dominance. The two profiles have some differences on the sedimentary facies and on the pollen composition as well. Therefore these were in common with the Pollenone III, however the Pollenzone I and II existed only on the Profile YY1 and the Pollenzone IV and V existed only on the Profile YY2. The lower layer containing the Pollenzone I, II and III revealed vegetational records of Pleistocene, which was characterized as tundra-like landscape and thin forested landscapes. It represented the NAP (Non-Arboreal Pollen)-period with a plenty of Artemisia sp., Sanguisorba sp., Umbelliferae, Gramineae and Cyperaceae. However a relatively high proportion of the boreal trees with Picea sp., Pinus sp. and Betula sp. as AP was observed in the lower layer. The upper layer contained the Pollenzone IVb and V and vegetational history in Holocene which was characterized by thick forested landscape with rich tree pollen. It represented AP-period with plenty of Pinus sp. and Quercus sp. as temperate trees. The temperature fluctuation supposed from the vegetational records is as follows; the Pollenzone I(Betula-Dominance, about 57,000y.B.P.) represents relatively cold period. The Pollenzone II(EMW-Domi-nance, 57,000-43,000y.B.P.)represents relatively warm period. This period is supposed to be Interstadial, the transi-tional stage from Alt- to Mittel Wurm. The Pollenzone III(Butula-, Pinus- and Picea-Dominace in turns, 43,000-15,000y.B.P.) reproesents cold period which had been built from Mittel-to Jung Wurm. Especially the Subzone IIId represents the coldest period throughout the Pollenzone III. It is corresponds to Wurm Glacial Maximu. It is supposed that the mean temperature in July of this period was coller about 10${^\circ}$C than present. The Pollenzone IV and V represent the vegetational history of Holocene. Tilia, Quercus and Pinus were dominant in turns during this period. Subzone IVb and Pollenzone I and II at east coastal plain of Korean penninsula reported by JO(1979).