• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.997-1009
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• 2011

In order to estimate volume transport by upwelling for single artificial seamount, same shape and size of artificial seamount already deployed was applied to numerical experiment. The result showed that strong upwelling appeared at front while took place downwelling at rear. The strongest upwelling existed at the top of the artificial seamount. Volume transport by upwelling was computed as 785 m3/s. Column arrangement was applied to two artificial seamount in three cases; case 1) no clearance, case 2) sixty-five meters of clearance as half of artificial seamount's length, and case 3) hundred-thirty meters of clearance as an artificial seamount's length. All cases of column arrangements showed more upwelling volume transport than that of single seamount. Particularly, the case of no clearance calculated as 106% and appeared the most upwelling effect comparing to two other cases. Row arrangement was also applied to two artificial seamount in three cases; case 4) no clearance, case 5) forty meters of clearance as an artificial seamount's width, and case 6) eighty meters of clearance as twice of artificial seamount's width. Upwelling volume transport in case 4 increased 48% than the case of single seamount. Other two cases of 5 and 6 were estimated as 97% increased and more effective than case 4. According to the case experiments, column arrangements show more upwelling volume transport than that of row arrangements. In cases of column arrangements, with decreasing clearance between two seamount, the effect increases while showing maximum value at clearance zero. In cases of row arrangements, on the contrary, with decreasing clearance between two seamount, the effect decreases while showing minimum value at clearance zero. Since simple barotropic condition was considered for this study, further study is necessary by considering baroclinic condition to get close to reality. In conclusion, in deploying artificial seamount, optimal arrangement should be well designed to enhance primary and secondary productivity and to increase the diversity of species as well as reducing time and space.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.207-218
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• 2004

Lomilik Seamount in the west Pacific was seismically surveyed and photographed to illuminate the bottom topography, the condition of manganese crust, and the characteristics of sedimentary environment. Lomilik Seamount has a NW-SE elongated bottom topography with steep slopes in the NESW direction part. Even though the steep slopes of the seamount are devoid of deposits, the summit area and gentle slope of the seamount are covered with thick deposits. The seismic data indicate that Lomilik Seamount is a flat-topped and step-faulted guyot of volcanic origin. Deep-sea camera photographs show that much of the seafloor is rippled in symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns. The traces of biological activity were distinct on gentle seafloor suggesting the low-energy bottom conditions. Some photographs also show outcrops encrusted with manganese crusts. Sedimentary environments in the Lomilik Seamount appear have been governed by regional morphology and strong bottom current.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.791-807
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to analyze landform characteristics and geomorphic processes in Dokdo seamount. For geomorphic analysis, bathymetry data were collected by multi-beam echosounder and the seismic survey was also conducted. Through the detailed analysis of depth, slope, aspect and erosional landform, Dokdo Seamount is characterized by a flat or gently sloping top of $2^{\circ}$ or less and seamount slope with $14{\sim}40^{\circ}$ gradient. There are protrusion of landform around the Dokdo on top of the Dokdo seamount. It is inferred that the features are formed by collapsed debris deposits or remained bedrocks by differential erosion in the past. The massmovement topography including slump and slide is shown on seamount slope with $14{\sim}40^{\circ}$ gradient. In addition, gullies with various length are developed on the Dokdo seamount slope. Slope erosional processes occur more actively along the submarine gullies on the Dokdo seamount. It is inferred that the massmovement processes on the slope of Dokdo seamount are related to earthquake activities and evolution of submarine volcano. Consequently, slope of the Dokdo seamount has retreated by erosional processes of mass-movement and submarine gullies.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.107-118
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• 2003

The axial seamount basalts in the P3 segment of the Phoenix Ridge were obtained from dredging and the K-Ar age determination and whole-rock geochemical analyses have been done for understanding their origin. The K-Ar ages for PRS basalts sampled from 1,000m below sea level are 2.6-2.2 Ma and those for PR3 basalts from 800m are 1.6-1.5 Ma. The younger ages towards the crest of the seamount indicate that this submarine volcano has been grown by central eruptions. The youngest age of about 1.5 Ma for PR3 basalts corresponds to the final eruption period of this volcano. The seamount basalts contain small amounts of normative quartz and olivine. They have transitional geochemical nature between alkaline- and subalkaline-series basalts. Trace and rare earth elements compositions of the seamount basalts are very similar to those of ocean island basalts (OIB), and indicate that this seamount has been formed by a hotspot activity, not in association with a seafloor spreading. The melting degree from the source has decreased with time, and finally the volcanic activity has stopped when the basaltic magma reached mild alkaline composition.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.491-500
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• 2002

Magnetic anomalies in the Dokdo and it's surroundings were investigated with respect to structure and origin of the Dokdo and surrounding seamounts. After normal and diurnal correction of measured magnetic data, crossover correction was applied to reduce errors between sets of magnetic anomalies. The errors from crossover operation result in decrease of about 51%, from 62.2 nT to 30.1 nT in standard deviation. Reduction-to-the-pole, second vertical derivative and analytic signal processing were applied to explore magnetic anomaly signatures in detail. Magnetic anomalies are most complicated in the 1st-Dok seamount, show SWW-NEE linear pattern in the 2nd-Dok seamount and lower to the 3rd-Dok seamount. Different magnetic anomaly patterns in three seamounts imply that three volcanic seamounts were formed at different times and are composed of rocks that were produced in different conditions. It seems that the 3rd-Dok seamount was first to form and followed by the 1st-Dok seamount. The complicated magnetic and second vertical derivative anomaly patterns in the 1st-Dok seamount may be due to subsidiary cones around crater or the presence of intruded magma bodies below sea surface and the Dokdo is probably a marginal subsidiary part of crater.

• Proceedings of KOSOMES biannual meeting
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.147-151
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• 2008

In Southern Sea of Korea, there are upwelling area where artificial seamount were built and the environment variations (temperature, salinity, nutrient and current) of before and after built seamount were observed between 2002 and 2007. In 2002, before the seamount was built, there had stratification at 20-30m. And in 2007, seamount was built, stratification of the seamount at the front and back of it were changed by 10-40 m and 20-30 m, respectively. To know the reason of this results, we used temperature and salinity using Brunt-Vaisala Frequency and horizontal current using vertical shear and relative vorticity. They showed upwelling was mainly reason that changed the ocean environment.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.395-404
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• 2014

We conducted the geophysical survey of possible hydrothermal vent sites at 2009, in the Lau Basin, the south western Pacific and analyzed the magnetic characteristics of TA19-1 and TA19-2 seamounts. TA19-1 is a cone-shaped seamount with a caldera summit. TA19-2 seamount is bigger and shows more complicated topography than TA19-1 seamount. TA19-2 has a large caldera, a summit in the west side of the caldera and several crests. Simple dipole anomalies with a high over the north and a low over the south occur in TA19-1 seamount. High magnetic anomalies are located in the northern flank and the summit of TA19-2 seamount and low anomalies around the summit and the caldera. The results of bathymetry and magnetic data suggest that TA19-2 seamount might have more complicated magmatic process than TA19-1. Low magnetization zones are located over the summit, the calderas and the caldera rims. The magnetization lows indicate that submarine hydrothermal vents, along faults and fracture zones, could have caused an alteration of magnetic minerals. The magnetization highs over the summit and the calderas might have been related with later magmatisms like volcanic sills, intrusions.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.59-66
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• 2024

This study aimed to understand the mineral characteristics of the sediment from the summit of Magellan Seamount KC-7. In December 2023, approximately 20 years after the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology conducted an initial field investigation of the sediment from the summit of seamount KC-7 in 2004, were obtained and subjected to mineralogical analysis to determine the essential sedimentary environmental characteristics of the seamount summit. For this purpose, smear slide analysis through a polarized microscope and X-ray diffraction analysis were conducted. The total length of the obtained sediments was 672.7 cm, and they were generally composed of calcareous ooze. In the lower part of the sediments (283.7-672.7 cm), Discoaster groups and coccoliths were predominantly observed. However, in the upper part above 283.7 cm, both coccoliths and foraminifera began to appear together, and in the uppermost sediments (0-151.7 cm), foraminifera became dominant, and the grain size of the sediments increased. This reflects a shift in the marine environment from high temperature and eutrophic conditions to low temperature and oligotrophic conditions as the seamount moved to its current position, aligning with the present oligotrophic environment of the western Pacific. The sediments comprised clay minerals, quartz, feldspar, and calcite. Examining the content changes of the four major mineral groups with depth, calcite was the most predominant, averaging 89.8 wt%. However, towards the upper layers, there was a trend of increasing clay content (up to 12.1 wt%) and decreasing calcite content (down to 85.1 wt%). This indicates that while the sedimentation mechanism remained unchanged, there has been a gradual influx of aeolian sediments.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.287-295
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• 2018

This paper presents the results of an exploration of the ferromanganese crusts of Western Pacific Seamount registered by the Korean government. This area has been surveyed with a deep-sea camera and crust samples have been acquired by deep-sea dredging since 2013. On October 18-19, 2017, a united research team from KIOST and KRISO explored two blocks, OSM11 and OSM07, on the seamount using Hemire ROV. A precise survey was conducted on the ferromanganese crusts and sediments covering the slope/top of OSM11 and the middle flat area of OSM07. Rock samples were collected with precise positioning, and HD videos were recorded for 7 hours. This paper discusses the technical issues of this exploration in terms of (1) how to deal with an emergency situation during an electric power blackout, (2) the improvement of the thruster power by adding cooling plugs to the housings of the thruster amplifiers, (3) the relative motion of the depressor by changing the fixing method of the cable terminator, which affects the service life of the cable, (4) a sampling technique for the steep slope of the seamount, (5) integrated navigation under a USBL blackout, and (6) a 3-dimensional image mosaic for visualizing the distribution state of the crusts.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.22-37
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• 2020

We analyze the comprehensive three-dimensional (3D) magnetic structure characteristics from the seafloor to the deep layer of the Tofua Arc (TA) 12 seamount in the Tonga Arc, Southwestern Pacific, using bathymetric and geomagnetic data, and magnetization vector inversion (MVI) results. The seafloor features surrounding TA 12 highlight a NW-SE-oriented elliptical caldera at the summit of the seamount, two small cones in the depressed area. A large-scale sea valley is present on the western flank of the seamount, extending from these caldera cones to the southwestern base of the seamount. TA 12 seamount exhibits a low magnetic anomaly in the caldera depression, whereas a high magnetic anomaly is observed surrounding the low magnetic anomaly across the caldera summit. It is therefore presumed that there may be a strong magnetic material distribution or magma intrusion in the caldera. The 3D MVI results show that the high anomaly zones are mainly present in the surrounding slopes of the seamount from the seafloor to the -3,000 m (below the seafloor) level, with the magnetic susceptibility intensity increasing as the seafloor level increases at the caldera depression. However, small high anomaly zones are present across the study area near the seafloor level. Therefore, we expect that the magma ascent in TA 12 seamount migrated from the flanks to the depression area. Furthermore, we assume that the complex magnetic distribution near the seafloor is due to the remnant magnetization.