• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.457-465
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• 2013

We integrated and correlated datasets from surface and subsurface geophysics, drilling cores, and engineering geology to identify geological interfaces and characterize the joints and fracture zones within the rock mass. The regional geometry of a geologically weak zone was investigated via a fence projection of electrical resistivity data and a borehole image-processing system. Subsurface discontinuities and intensive fracture zones within the rock mass are delineated by cross-hole seismic tomography and analyses of dip directions in rose diagrams. The dynamic elastic modulus is studied in terms of the P-wave velocity and Poisson's ratio. Subsurface discontinuities, which are conventionally identified using the N value and from core samples, can now be identified from anomalous reflection coefficients (i.e., acoustic impedance contrast) calculated using a pair of well logs, comprising seismic velocity from suspension-PS logging and density from logging. Intensive fracture zones identified in the synthetic seismogram are matched to core loss zones in the drilling core data and to a high concentration of joints in the borehole imaging system. The upper boundaries of fracture zones are correlated to strongly negative amplitude in the synthetic trace, which is constructed by convolution of the optimal Ricker wavelet with a reflection coefficient. The standard deviations of dynamic elastic moduli are higher for fracture zones than for acompact rock mass, due to the wide range of velocities resulting from the large numbers of joints and fractures within the zone.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.10-18
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• 2006

We measured the changes in P-wave velocity that occur when injecting $CO_2$ in gaseous, liquid, and supercritical phases into water-saturated anisotropic sandstones. P-wave velocities were measured in two cylindrical samples of Tako Sandstone, drilled along directions normal and parallel to the bedding plane, using a piezo-electric transducer array system. The velocity changes caused by $CO_2$ injection are typically -6% on average, with maximum values about -16% for the case of supercritical $CO_2$ injection. P-wave velocity tomograms obtained by the differential arrival-time method clearly show that $CO_2$ migration behaviour is more complex when $CO_2$ flows normal to the bedding plane than when it flows parallel to bedding. We also found that the differences in P-wave velocity images were associated both with the $CO_2$ phases and with heterogeneity of pore distribution in the rocks. Seismic images showed that the highest velocity reduction occurred for supercritical $CO_2$ injection, compared with gaseous or liquid $CO_$ injection. This result may justify the use of the seismic method for $CO_2$ monitoring in geological sequestration.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.192-198
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• 2009

Side scan sonar and SBP (sub-bottom profiler) play a very important role in the survey for seafloor imaging and sub-bottom profiling. In this study, we have acquired side scan sonar and SBP data from the artificial reef area. We applied digital image processing techniques to side scan sonar data in order to improve an image quality. For the enhancement of data quality and image resolution, we applied the typical seismic data processing sequence including gain recovery, muting, spectrum analysis, predictive deconvolution, migration to SBP data. We could easily estimate if artificial reef structures were settled properly and their distribution on the seafloor from the integrated interpretation of side scan sonar and SBP data. From the sampling analysis of seabed sediments, texture filtering of side scan sonar data and SBP data interpretation, we could evaluate the sediment type, distribution and thickness of seafloor sediments in detail.

• The Korean Journal of Petroleum Geology
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• v.1 no.1 s.1
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• pp.47-52
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• 1993

A method and results of computations are presented for the 2-D seismic migration process in the frequency-wavenumber domain for the laterally and vertically inhomogeneous medium. In order to take the intrinsic attenuation effect into account in the migration process the complex-valued wave velocity is used in the wavefield extrapolation operator, improving the generalized frequency-wavenumber migration technique. The imaginary part of the complex-valued wave velocity includes the seismic quality factor Q value. In derivation of the solution of the wave equation for the medium of inhomogeneous wave velocity and anelasticity, the inhomogeneous medium is mathematically converted to an equivalent system which consists of a homogeneous medium of averaged slowness and an inhomogeneous distribution of hypothetical wave source. The strength of the hypothetical wave source depends on the deviation of squared slowness from the averaged value of the medium. Results of numerical computation using the technique show more distinct geologic images than those using the convensional generalized frequency-wavenumber migration. Especially, the obscured images due to the wave attenuation by anelasticity are restored to show sharp boundaries of structures. The method will be useful in the imaging of the reflection data obtained in the regions of possible petroleum or natural gas reservoir and of fractured zone.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.227-233
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• 2011

Attention has been focused on geothermal energy as an alternative energy because it is continuously operable without external supply. Most of geothermal anomalies in Korea are related to deep circulation of groundwater through a fracture system in granite area. Therefore it is very important to understand the distribution of the fracture system which is the main channel of ground water. In this research, we constructed the velocity models with a fracture system and the layered sediments, respectively, and generated synthetic data sets with them to verify the presented vertical seismic profiling (VSP) preprocessing scheme. We compared the results from conventional VSP preprocessing flow to those from VSP preprocessing flow considering fracture system. We noticed that the preprocessing flow considering fracture system retains more sufficient signal including down-going wave than conventional preprocessing. In addition, we applied 3D VSP prestack phase screen migration to the preprocessed reversed VSP (RVSP) data from Seokmo Island so that we were able to image fracture structure of the geothermal site in Seokmo Island.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-22
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• 2024

Carbon dioxide capture utilization and storage (CCUS) techniques have received significant global attention as they are part of efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Large-scale carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) projects are being actively pursued in North America, the North Sea, the Middle East, and Oceania. Considering the current situation in South Korea, identifying large-scale CCS sites that can secure an annual domestic carbon storage capacity of 30 million tons by 2050 is crucial Therefore, this study analyzed the formation process and geological characteristics of overseas large-scale CCS projects in terms of plate tectonics. We utilized the GPlates program to interpret the formation processes of large-scale CCS projects in North America, the North Sea, Middle East, and Oceania from the perspective of plate tectonics. Additionally, we investigated the geological structure of the CO₂ storage layer and interpreted seismic imaging results obtained from each CCS site. This study will help identify a domestic large-scale CCS site.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.349-356
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• 2015

Although geophysical methods are useful and generally provide valuable information about the subsurface, it is important to recognize their limitations. A common limitation is the lack of sufficient contrast in physical properties between different layers. Thus, multiple methods are commonly used to best constrain the physical properties of different layers and interpret each section individually. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) and shallow seismic reflection (SSR) methods, used for shallow and very shallow subsurface imaging, respond to dielectric and velocity contrasts between layers, respectively. In this study, we merged GPR and SSR data from a test site within the Cheongui granitic mass, where the water table is ~3 m deep all year. We interpreted the data in combination with field observations and existing data from drill cores and well logs. GPR and SSR reflections from the tops of the sand layer, water table, and weathered and soft rocks are successfully mapped in a single section, and they correlate well with electrical resistivity data and SPS (suspension PS) well-logging profiles. In addition, subsurface interfaces in the integrated section correlate well with S-wave velocity structures from multi-channel analysis shear wave (MASW) data, a method that was recently developed to enhance lateral resolution on the basis of CMP (common midpoint) cross-correlation (CMPCC) analysis.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 2017

We performed seismic imaging based on relative S-wave travel times to examine S-wave velocity of upper mantle structure beneath East Asia. We used teleseismic events recorded at 129 broadband stations of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), and National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED). Relative travel time residuals were obtained by a multi-channel cross-correlation method designed to automatically determine accurate relative phase arrival times. The resulting images show high-velocity anomalies along plate boundaries around the Japanese islands region. These anomalies may indicate subducting Pacific and Philippine Sea plates. On the other hand, a low-velocity anomaly is revealed beneath east of the Korean peninsula down to around 300 km depth, which is thought to be related to the formation of the Ulleung basin and the Ulleung island. Low-velocity anomalies revealed beneath the Jeju island may imply that the formation and volcanism of the Jeju island have been caused by magmatic sources from the deep mantle.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.185-192
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• 2002

We made a study of 3-D migration which could precisely image data of GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) applied to NDT (Non-Destructive Test) field for the inspection of structural safety. In this study, we obtained 3-D migrated images of important targets in structuresurvey (e.g. steel pipes, cracks) by using 3-D Kirchhoff prestack depth migration scheme developed for seismic data processing. For a concrete model consisting of steel pipe and void, the targets have been well defined with opposite amplitude according to the parameters of the targets. And migrated images using Parallel-Broadside array (XX configuration) have shown higher resolution than those using Perpendicular-Broadside array (YY configuration) when steel pipes had different sizes. Therefore, it is required to analyze the migrated image of XX configuration as well as that of general YY configuration in order to get more accurate information. As the last stage, we chose a model including two steel pipes which cross each other. The upper pipe has been resolved clearly but the lower has been imaged bigger than the model size due to the high conductivity of the upper steel.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.06a
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• pp.41-50
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• 2006

The crustal structure of Korean Peninsula have been investigated by analyzing group velocity dispersion data of surface wave. Cross.correlation of seismic background motions (Campillo and Paul, 2003; Shapiro et al., 2005) has been applied to estimate the short.period Rayleigh. and Love.wave group velocity dispersion characteristics of the region. Standard processing procedures were applied to the cross.correlation, except that signal whitening was used in place of one.bit sampling equalize power in signals from different times. Multiple.filter analysis was used to extract the group velocities from the estimate Green's functions, which were then use to image the spatially varying dispersion at periods between 0.5 and 20 seconds. The tomographic inversion technique used inverted all periods simultaneously to provide a smooth dispersion curve as a function of period in addition to the usual smooth spatial image for a given period. The Gyeongsang Basin in the southeastern part of the peninsula is clearly resolved with lower group velocities.