• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.22
• /
• pp.93-102
• /
• 2004

A total of 110 surface sediment were analyzed in order to understand the geochemical eharacteristics of the surface sediments and to evaluate the benthic environmental condition of Gwangyang Bay. The surface sedimentary distribution can be classified by five facies; mud (M), sandy mud (sM), sand (S), muddy sand (mS) and gravely sand mud ((g)sM). However, mud face is the predominant sedimentary feature of the Gwangyang Bay. The benthic environment based on total organic carbon/total nitrogen (C/N) and total organic carbon/total sulfur (C/S) ratios of organic matter showed that anoxic environment is prevailed in some parts of the study area because the C/S ratio of organic matter was higher than 2.8. The hydrogen sulfide (H$_2$S) content showed extreme variability from site to site. It varies from 307 ppm to 1 ppm (average, 92 ppm). The inter-relationship of redox-sensitive elements (Mn, V, Mo and Cr) showed a relatively strong positive relationship with high accumulation in the sediment at the inner sites of the Bay (left of Myo Island). High content of TOC and hydrogen sulfide, and a high accumulation rate of redox- sensitive element were predominant characteristics in the sediments at the inner sites of the Bay (left of Myo Island), suggesting that this area is in an oxygen deficient, and potentially polluted condition.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.159-169
• /
• 2004

Sedimentation and depositional pattern of the fine-grained sediments in the southeastern inner shelf of Korea were studied using a very high-resolution seismic profiles and sediment data. The recent mud deposits up to 45 m thick are distributed in the inner shelf forming a nearshore belt from the eastern part of Geoje Island to off the Pohang along the coast. The sediment in this area consists of homogeneous mud with mean grain size between $8.6\;to\;5.3\phi$ and does not show any distinct variability It gradually becomes finer and well sorted northeastward along the coast. Sediments normally appear as structureless massive mud but X-radiographs show that some bioturbation and faint lamination are present. The sediments accumulate at a rate of 0.18-0.44 cm/yr and the rate coincides well with the long-term (a 1000-year scale) accumulation based on very high-resolution seismic data. Distribution of wet bulk density and velocity shows a gradual increase from the southeastern part of Ulsan to off Pohang, whereas porosity shows a reverse pattern. Correlations between velocity and porosity/mean grain size are different from other regions compared, due to the difference of sediment texture and sedimentary environment. The recent shelf deposits are seismically characterized by three distinct facies: 1) well-stratified (near the river mouth), 2) semi-transparent (eastern part of Geoje Island), and 3) transparent (off Ulsan). The results suggest that fine-grained sediment derived from rivers, forming a nearshore mud belt, have been transported northeastward by the northeastward-flowing coastal current.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.425-437
• /
• 2007

Flow distribution of water and sedimentation rate were investigated to understand the hydrodynamics and settling characteristics of particulate materials in a constructed wetland for treatment of non-point sources pollutants, the Sihwa constructed wetland, Korea. The Sihwa constructed wetland is divided into three sub-wetlands(the Banwol, the Donghwa and the Samhwa wetlands) to treat the polluted water from three streams, the Banwol stream, the Donghwa stream and the Samhwa stream. From the results of water flow experiment using dye(Rhodamine 50WT Red), it was found that the water flow in the wetland was prevailing at the waterway and open water. Dye was spread slowly in the closed water area planted by plants. The mean hydraulic retention time(HRT) at the upper area of high wetland and lower wetland of Banwol, was found to be 34.1 hr at the upper area and 74.6 hr at the lower area respectively, totaling approximately 108.7 hr(4.5 days). The sedimentation rate was higher at lower area(sites of B, C and D) of the wetland than upper area(site of A which is settling zone). Based on the forecast for 20 years as to the amount of sediment that can be deposited in the open water in the future, the sediment depth of each area would be like this: A: 6.3 cm, B: 8.3 cm, C: 7.0 cm, D: 9.5 cm. The contents of organic materials in the sediment deposited within the sediment trap were found to be higher overly in the first investigation period which had much rainfall, and B, C and D areas were found to have an increased COD accumulation than A area. Also, nitrogen and phosphorus were found to increase in the down-stream of the wetland. The results of this study suggest that a sustainable research and management for the characteristics of water flow pattern and sedimentation changeable as time passes is needs to maintain or improve the efficiency of water treatment in the constructed wetland.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.223-235
• /
• 2012

In this paper, field study results about accumulation of sediments and its property in the forebay of wetland aiming at stormwater from rural area wherein intensive cow feeding lots are operated are provided. In addition, some design aspects are discussed. Amount of sediment generation in the longitudinal direction of forebay was found to be affected by hydrological factors such as rainfall depth and intensity. Nutrient contents in the sediments of this wetland were 10 times higher than those in stormwater wetland in rural area without animal-feeding lot. Total-Pb and As contents show similar level to values from the soils of surrounding watershed, but Total-Cu content was higher due to the animal feeding lots. Yearly amount of sediment generation, its depth and volume were estimated to 13tons, 23cm, and $65m^3$. Based on these results and recommended guideline by Korean Ministry of Environment, dredging frequency was found to be about 2.7years. The shape of forebay has to be carefully designed to deal with a great change in flow rate. According to the results of sediment depth analysis, instead of the present rectangular, wedge-shape forebay is more desirable in handling scouring caused by high flows.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.253-267
• /
• 2005

Seasonal and spatial variations of tidal flat sediments were studied in Yeoja Bay. Results of the yearly observation of tidal flat transect lines indicated that the monthly change of grain size composition was not distinct from each tidal flat transect line, but it was quite clear that clay covered $40\~70\%$ of the sediment composition. Clay composed most highest in the northern part of the bay, and lowest in the western. As clay content increased, water and organic matter showed a tendency of increase, while the mean grain size was fixed per clay amount. Shear strength came out as 0 kPa as a whole. Seasonal variations of clay contents in each tidal flat were higher in winter and spring, but lower in summer and autumn. Thefine sediments were likely to be accumulated in the winter and spring. The average accumulation rate of each tidal flat was $-14.62\~38.57mm{\cdot}yr^{-1}$. The numbers showed $32.13mm{\cdot}yr^{-1}$ in the northern, $-14.62mm{\cdot}yr^{-1}$in the western, and $6.46mm{\cdot}yr^{-1}$ in the eastern part. During the coarse of this study sediment accumulation rates indicated that the sediments deposited continuously in the northern part of tidal flat, whereas erosion occurred in the western part. However, there was no distinct change in the eastern part. It was due to the clockwise lateral circulation in Yeoja Bay. Seasonally, sedimentation happened during the dry season (winter and spring) and erosion during the wet season (summer and autumn).

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.380-391
• /
• 2003

Surface sediments were collected from Gwangyang and Yeosu Bays to evaluate their sedimentological characteristics and geochemical aspects of both the benthic environment and heavy metal pollution. The grain size distribution includes both sandy and muddy sediments. Sand-rich sediments occur mainly near the POSCO and the channel between Namhedo and Yeosu Bando, while elsewhere mud-dominated sediments are present. TOC content ranges from 0.2 to 2.1 % and C/N ratios indicate that the range arises from the mix of organic matter. The C/S ratios of this organic matter show that parts of the study area are anoxic or have sub-anoxic bottom conditions. The hydrogen sulfide content of the sediment has a range of 0.7 to 301 ppm, with a high content occurring inshore of Myodo Island, where it indicates a polluted environment. The enrichment factor (Ef) and index of accumulation rate (Igeo) of ten heavy metals (Co, Ni, Cu, Cd, Pb, Li, Zn, V, Cr, Ba) show that parts of the study area contain from one to seven times more Pb and Ba, and from 0.8 to 3.5 times more of the other elements than the mean sediment value. The Igeo values of V and Cd show that different parts of the area can be classified as heavily polluted, heavily to moderately polluted, or more or less unpolluted. Those areas that have both high levels of enrichment and high accumulation rates of heavy metals contain predominantly fine sediments with a high organic matter and hydrogen sulfide content.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.53-57
• /
• 2009

The dividing flow in an open channel has a number of distinctive characteristics. One of these is that the separation zone interacts with a secondary motion along the inner wall of a branch channel, generating sediment accumulation. To investigate this phenomenon, a two-dimensional numerical model based on the shallow-water equations, RMA2, which calculates water surface elevations and horizontal-velocity components, was used to analyze the dividing flow. The obtained numerical results fully coincide with the laboratory measurements reported by Hsu et al.(2002). For the analysis of the numerical results, a separation zone-discharge rate relationship was proposed. To reduce the size of a separation zone, the topographies of diagonal and curved edges were proposed, smoothly connecting the upstream corner to branch channel.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2006

Flooding hazard caused by natural and artificial environmental changes is closely associated with change in river bed configuration. This study is aimed at explaining a river-bed change related to soil erosion in the Keum river basin using GIS and RS. The USLE was used to compute soil erosion rate on the basis of GIS. River-bed profiles stretching from Kongju to Ippo were measured to construct a 3D-geomorphological map. The river-bed change was also detected by remote sensing images using Landsat TM during the period of 1982 to 2000 for the Keum river. The result shows that USLE indicates a mean soil erosion rate of $1.8\;kg/m^2/year$, and a net increase of a river-bed change at a rate of $+5\;cm/m^2$/year in the Kangkyeong area. The change in river-bed is interpreted to have been caused by soil erosion in the downstream of the Keum river basin. In addition river-bed change mainly occurred on the downstream of the confluence where tributaries and the main channel meet. Other possible river-bed change is caused by a removal of fluvial sand aggregates, which might have resulted in a net decrease of exposed area of sediment distribution between 1991 and 1995, while a construction of underwater structures, including a bridge, a reclamation of sand bars for rice fields and dikes, resulted in an increase of the exposed area of river-bed due to sediment accumulation.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.107-114
• /
• 2014

In this study, we tried to determine the origin of fine-grained sediments in Southeastern Yellow Sea Mud patch (SEYSM) using principal component analysis coupled with semi-quantitative X-ray diffraction analysis for 4 major clay minerals. We used 51 marine surface sediments from SEYSM and 33 surface sediments of rivers flowing into the Yellow Sea. We made bioplot diagram using R program with principal component 1 and component 2 because the two components might contain about 98% of all data. The content of each clay mineral in the south and north regions of SEYSM are almost similar. In the biplot, SEYSM sediments distribute close to Korean rivers sediments than Huanghe and Changjiang sediments. Based on these results, we suggest that SEYSM is originated from the Korean rivers sediments. The higher accumulation rate in the SEYSM compared to the sediment discharge from neighboring Korean rivers can be explained by erosion and reworking of surface sediments in this area. The principal component analysis can be used for the provenance research of marine sediments around the Korean Peninsula.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.225-232
• /
• 2012

In order to evaluate the relationship of between the contents of inorganic elements in shellfish and surface sediments, we measured the concentration of inorganic elements (As, Ca, Cd, Cr, Fe, Hg, Li, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, Zn) in various shellfish and surface sediments of research area. The enrichment factor (EF) and the index of accumulation rate (Igeo) of the metals showed that the research areas can be classified as moderately polluted, or unpolluted. And also we measured the geochemical characteristics of surface sediments(grain size, chemical oxygen demand (COD), ignition loss (IL) and acid volatile sulfide (AVS). The grain sizes for research areas of surface sediment were similar the ratio of silt and clay in comparison with other sites. The COD and IL in surface sediment ranged from 5.41 to 14.06 mg/g. d.w. (mean $8.78{\pm}3.16$ mg/g d.w.) and from 0.92 to 3.17% (mean $2.08{\pm}0.86%$), respectively. Siginificant differences in metal concentrations also were determinated in the shellfish tissue among the different sites. However, except for metals(Mn, Zn), which showed some elevation of concentrations, the variations in the shellfish tissue were not related to variations in the sediment.