• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.43-50
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• 2011

The fractal method has recently been applied to a model for determining soil grain size distribution. The objective of this study is to review the applicability of the fractal method for a analysis of submarine sedimentary environments by comparing fractal constants with grain size statistical analysis for the soil samples of Pohang (PH) and Namhae (NH). The y-interception of log (grain size)-log (passing) equation was also used because grain size distribution couldn't be expressed with fractal dimension only. The result of comparison between fractal constants (dimension, y-interception) and grain size statistical indices, the fractal dimension was directly proportional to the mean and the sorting. And the y-interception showed high correlation with the mean. The fractal dimension and y-interception didn't show significant correlation with the skewness and the kurtosis. Thus regression equations between fractal constants and two statistical indices (mean, sorting) were derived. All classifications of the mean and the sorting could be determined using the regression equation based on the fractal dimension and y-interception. Therefore, fractal constants could be used as an alternative index representing the sedimentary environments instead of the mean and sorting.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.85-106
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• 2017

The Lago Sofia conglomerate in southern Chile is a deep-marine gravelly deposit, which is hundreds of meters thick and kilometers wide and extends laterally for more than 100 km, filling the foredeep trough of the Cretaceous Magallanes Basin. For understanding the depositional processes and environments of this gigantic deep-sea conglomerate, detailed analyses on sedimentary facies, architecture and paleoflow patterns were carried out, highlighting the differences between the northern (Lago Pehoe and Lago Goic areas) and southern (Lago Sofia area) parts of the study area. The conglomerate bodies in the northern part occur as relatively thin (< 100 m thick), multiple units intervened by thick mudstone-dominated sequences. They show paleoflows toward ENE and S to SW, displaying a converging drainage pattern. In the southern part, the conglomerate bodies are vertically interconnected and form a thick (> 400 m thick) conglomerate sequence with rare intervening fine-grained deposits. Paleoflows are toward SW. The north-to-south variations are also distinct in sedimentary facies. The conglomerate bodies in the southern part are mainly composed of clast-supported conglomerate with sandy matrix, which is interpreted to be deposited from highly concentrated bedload layers under turbidity currents. Those in the northern part are dominated by matrix- to clast-supported conglomerate with muddy matrix, which is interpreted as the products of composite mass flows comprising a turbidity current, a gravelly hyperconcentrated flow and a mud-rich debris flow. All these characteristics suggest that the Lago Sofia conglomerate was formed in centripetally converging submarine channels, not in centrifugally diverging channels of submarine fans. The tributaries in the north were dominated by mass flows, probably affected by channel-bank failures or basin-marginal slope instability processes. In contrast, the trunk channel in the south was mostly filled by tractive processes, which resulted in the vertical and lateral accretion of gravel bars, deposition of gravel dunes and filling of scours and channels, similar to deposits of terrestrial gravel-bed rivers. The trunk channel developed along the axis of foredeep trough and its confinement within the trough is probably responsible for the thick, interconnected channel fills. The large-scale architecture of the trunk-channel fills shows an eastward offset stacking pattern, suggesting that the channel migrated eastwards most likely due to the uplift of the Andean Cordillera.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.51-66
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• 2002

The purpose of this study is to analyze the geomorphological environment changes of tidal flat in the Cheonsu Bay. Especially, it centers on the changes in the sedimentary environment using remote sensing data. Multi-temporal Landsat data and topographic maps were used in this study. The results are summarized as follows: the tidal flat of Cheonsu Bay changes in many ways depending on the direction of the tidal current. In the neighborhood of Ganwoldo, the scale of the tidal flat has continuously been expanded due to the superiority of sedimentation after a tide embankment was built. When we analyzed the grain size of sediments and implemented in-situ field survey, it was found that the innermost part of the bay consists of a mud flat, with the midway part mixed flat, and the nearest part to the sea sand flat. On the other hand, in the neighborhood of Seomot isle and its beach, sedimentation is superior in the eastern part whereas erosion is superior in the western part. In other words, the western coast of the beach is contacted with the open seas and under much influence of ocean wave. The eastern coast is placed at the entrance of the bay and has sand bar and tidal flat developed due to submarine deposits that are accumulated on the sea floor by the tidal current. In conclusions, remote sensing methods can be effectively applied for quantitative analysis of geomorphological changes in tidal flat, and it is expected that the proposed schemes can be applied to another geomorphological environments such as beach, sand dune, and sand wave.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.373-386
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• 2011

Geochemical study was performed on black slates and interbedded U-bearing coaly slates in Deokpyeongri area, the representative uranium mineralized district of the Ogcheon Metamorphic Belt, to discuss the genetic environments of the uranium deposit. REE concentration (254 ppm) of the black slates is higher than that (169 ppm) of the coaly slates and NASC-normalized REE patterns of the coaly slates show remarkable positive Eu anomaly. l11e redox-sensitive trace elements such as V, Cr, Co, Ni, Mo and U in the coaly slates are highly enriched compared to the black slates, especially for V of 24 times, Mo of 62 times, and U of 60 times. In additions, Pd and Pt are also enriched in the coaly slates. Positive Eu anomaly and the noticeable enrichment of the elements listed above compared to those of NASC indicate that those elements were not derived from common seawater but deposited under high temperature and reducing environment of submarine hydrothermal activities. Wide compositional ranges of major elements ($SiO_2/Al_2O_3$: 3.98~11.88, $Al_2O_3/Na_2O$: 25.6~139.06, $K_2O/Na_2O$: 6.80~46.85) also suggest that the source rocks of the sediments are mixtures of sedimentary rocks and igneous rocks. Higher sulfur contents in the coaly slates, 2.6 wt.%, than those in the black slates, 0.6 wt.% also indicates that the former was influenced by hydrothermal activities containing much sulfur. These geochemical characteristics are similar to the genetic environments of South China type PGE deposits (Mo-Ni-Zn-PGE) which is geotectonically correlated with the Ogcheon Metamorphic Belt and is known as sedimentary-exhalative deposits. In conclusions, the uranium and other metallic elements mineralization seems to have occurred in the sedimentary basin that was affected by submarine hydrothermal activities and rich in organic materials under oxygen-poor environments as well.