• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.609-622
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• 2007

This paper examines the lava tubes designated as a natural monument in Jeju Island, and then makes the several suggestions for conserving and managing them. The cave entrances should be scientifically and strictly managed to prevent the deterioration, and to preserve the interior ecosystem, of the lava tubes. The land use and vegetation of the ground surface over the lava tubes should be also systematically managed; the destroyed sand dunes must be recovered for the development of speleothem in the lava tubes, and the plants with deep roots must be removed for the prevention of ceiling collapse. The provincial authorities should manage the ground surface over the lava tubes as a public land to remove the factors threatening the stability of the lava tubes. Since the roads crossing the ground surface are likely to cause the collapse of the lava tubes, new roads bypassing the caves need to be constructed, and warning signs should be also installed at the traverse points. A monitoring system on the cultural properties protection area over the lava tubes could be effectively established by encouraging residents to participate the conservation program of lava tubes. Since the falling blocks from ceilings have been usually observed in the lava tubes, it is urgent to examine their stability. In particular, the dangerous sections must be continuously monitored for taking a quick measure against the collapse. The air environments of lava tubes need to be scientifically analyzed based upon the long-term observations. The lighting equipments must be improved to minimize the green pollution in the lava tubes open to the public. The numbers of visitors should be also controlled to prevent the destruction and contamination of lava tubes caused by a large number of visitors.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.473-484
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• 2015

Geophysical exploration using electric resistivity, ground penetrating radar (GPR), and impedance high-frequency (ZHF) surveys was conducted in Gujwa-eup, Jeju City, Jeju Island, an island in the Korea Strait, to confirm the existence of new caves near known caves. The exploration revealed a number of anomaly zones, presumed to be caves; 27 sites at suitable locations and depth ranges were selected for drilling and further surveys. However, contrary to predictions, most of the anomaly zones were clinker layers or paleosols intercalated with lavas. Only five boreholes intersected caves. The clinker layers and paleosols were possibly detected as anomalies owing to their different physical properties from the other rocks. Two of the five cave-finding boreholes penetrated Yongcheon Cave; a new cave was found at the other. The two boreholes that penetrated Yongcheon Cave were drilled in areas where the cave has not been previously reported, and thus helped correct an error in the cave distribution map. The cave newly discovered in this boring exploration is 180 m long, and it is connected to the upstream part of Dangcheomul Cave (110 m). The cave contains well-developed lava helictites, lava levees, and ropy structures; carbonate speleothems such as soda straws, stalagmites, columns, and curtain shawls are also well preserved. Notably, the unique shape of the carbonate speleothems is attributed to their growth in relation to the cavern water that flowed into the cave along plant roots.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.64-79
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• 2017

We have reported the petrographic properties on the soda straw primarily based on the field measurements and discussed the causes of their traits. 156 soda straws in district B of the Baeg-nyong Cave nominated with the natural monument No. 260 have been investigated to estimate physical, sedimentological and textural characteristics. The soda straws have an average length of 3.05 cm with a standard deviation of 1.7 cm and a mean diameter of 6.0 mm. This result shows that the average diameter of the soda straws measured in this study is thicker than previous reports by 20%. Although the drip rates of cave water from 85.3% of all the soda straws are exceedingly lower than 1 drop per 10 minutes, almost all soda straws have a dripping water. We firstly report growth lamina in the Korean soda straw from 85.3% of all samples, and this textural dominance indicates that the growth lamina are one of the common features of the soda straws at least in the study area. Secondary precipitations inside the soda straw were identified from 68.6%. Notably, the strong inverse correlation between growth lamina and secondary precipitates was represented from 70.5% of all samples. This finding might be explained by the seasonality of cave drip water supplied into the soda straws or the increased opacity caused by secondary precipitates. Based on petrograhic characteristics, the soda straws in the study area can be classified into normal and erratic types. Hopefully our results on the soda straws in Baeg-nyong Cave would provide a basis for the descriptions of soda straws from other caves and paleoclimatic applications.