• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2005

To find out temporal variations of net photosynthetic rate (NPR) of intertidal flats, we measured oxygen microprofiles in sediments with oxygen microsensors 4 times from December 2003 to June 2004. The study areas were the intertidial flats in Janghwa-ri and Dongmak-ri, located on the southwestern and the southern parts of Ganghwa-gun, respectively, and in Incheon North Harbor where the content of organic matter was relatively high. During the investigation, oxygen penetration depths in the tidal flats of Janghwa-ri and Dongmak-ri were high in December (mean values of 4.0-4.1 mm). Thereafter, the oxygen penetration depths declined to mean values of 2.2-2.8 mm and 1.6-1.8 mm in the two tidal flats. Interestingly, the oxygen penetration depths in the Incheon North Harbor tidal flat showed a lower range $(0.8{\pm}0.3\;mm;\;mean{\pm}1SD)$ over the period. The maximum NPR in the Dongmak-ri tidal flat was found in March $(11.1{\pm}2.8\;mmol\;O_2\;m^{-2}\;h^{-1})$, and those In Janghwa-ri $(6.1{\pm}4.1\;mmol\;O_2\;m^{-2}\;h^{-1})$ and Incheon North Harbor $(6.4{\pm}1.4\;mmol\;O_2\;m^{-2}\;h^{-1})$ were observed in May. During the period when NPR was most active, the highest oxygen concentration was found at 0.1-0.5 mm depth below the surface sediment, and was on average 1.8-3.2 times higher than the air-saturated oxygen concentration in the overlying seawater. Although we took into account of low in situ light intensity $(400{\mu}Einst\;m^{-2}\;s^{-1})$ during the investigation in June, NPR in the 3 study areas decreased significantly to less than $0.2\;mmol\;O_2\;m^{-2}\;h^{-1})$. Thus, temporal variations of NPR were somewhat different among the tidal flats. Generally, benthic primary producers inhabiting in the uppermost 0.5 mm of the sediment showed a peak photosynthetic activity in the study areas in spring. This is the first domestic report on photosynthetic rates of benthic microflora in the tidal flats with oxygen microsensors, and the use of the microsensor can be widely applied to measurements of benthic primary production of a tidal flat and the oxygen consumption rate of surficial sediments.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.54-63
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• 2019

As a part of the national marine ecosystem monitoring program, the temporal and spatial variation of sedimentary environment and pollution of organic matters and trace metals from four major tidal flats, i.e., Ganghwa Is., Garolim bay, Jeung Is., Suncheon bay, was investigated for 3 yerars from 2015 to 2017. The mean grain size of the sediment was $5.0-5.3{\varnothing}$ at Ganghwa Is, $4.5-4.8{\varnothing}$ at Garolim bay, $6.1-6.5{\varnothing}$ at Jeung Is, and $8.6-8.7{\varnothing}$ at Suncheon bay. The mean grain size (Mz) tended to decrease from the north (Ganghwa Is.) to the south (Suncheon bay). The ignition loss (IL) was 15.5% in Suncheon bay in 2015, which was relatively high compared to other sites, but gradually decreased over time from 8.3% in 2016 to 7.0% in 2017. In Jeung Is. and Suncheon bay, the concentration of Zn and As exceeded the threshold effect level (TEL) at some stations, but the range of trace metals in the other sites was below the level. In Jeung Is., the Mz and concentration of trace metals except Hg was positively correlated (r= 0.40-0.88, P<0.05). On the other hand, Mz was negatively correlated with trace metals (P<0.05) in Suncheon bay. The geoaccumulation index ($I_{geo}$) to evaluate contamination status of sediments for trace metal was less than 1(not contaminated) for Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd and Hg, and 2-3 (moderately to strongly polluted) for As at several stations in Suncheon bay and Jeung Is.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.271-296
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• 2021

Since the thermal stratification in a reservoir inhibits the vertical mixing of the upper and lower layers and causes the formation of a hypoxia layer and the enhancement of nutrients release from the sediment, changes in the stratification structure of the reservoir according to future climate change are very important in terms of water quality and aquatic ecology management. This study was aimed to develop a data-driven inflow water temperature prediction model for Daecheong Reservoir (DR), and to predict future inflow water temperature and the stratification structure of DR considering future climate scenarios of Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP). The random forest (RF)regression model (NSE 0.97, RMSE 1.86℃, MAPE 9.45%) developed to predict the inflow temperature of DR adequately reproduced the statistics and variability of the observed water temperature. Future meteorological data for each RCP scenario predicted by the regional climate model (HadGEM3-RA) was input into RF model to predict the inflow water temperature, and a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model (AEM3D) was used to predict the change in the future (2018~2037, 2038~2057, 2058~2077, 2078~2097) stratification structure of DR due to climate change. As a result, the rates of increase in air temperature and inflow water temperature was 0.14~0.48℃/10year and 0.21~0.41℃/10year,respectively. As a result of seasonal analysis, in all scenarios except spring and winter in the RCP 2.6, the increase in inflow water temperature was statistically significant, and the increase rate was higher as the carbon reduction effort was weaker. The increase rate of the surface water temperature of the reservoir was in the range of 0.04~0.38℃/10year, and the stratification period was gradually increased in all scenarios. In particular, when the RCP 8.5 scenario is applied, the number of stratification days is expected to increase by about 24 days. These results were consistent with the results of previous studies that climate change strengthens the stratification intensity of lakes and reservoirs and prolonged the stratification period, and suggested that prolonged water temperature stratification could cause changes in the aquatic ecosystem, such as spatial expansion of the low-oxygen layer, an increase in sediment nutrient release, and changed in the dominant species of algae in the water body.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.717-731
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• 2021

We analyzed the characteristics of the habitat environment for the Seonam study area in Ulsan, the southern shore of the East Sea using bathymetry and seafloor environment data. The depth of the study area ranges from about 0 m to 23 m. In the west of the study area, the water depth is shallow with a gentle slope, and the water depth becomes deeper with a steep slope in the east. Due to the right-lateral strike-slip faults located in the continental margin of the East Sea, the fracture surfaces of the seabed rocks are mainly in the N-S direction, which is similar to the direction of the strike faults. Three seafloor types (conglomeratic-grained sandy, coasre-graiend sandy, fine-grained sandy) and rocky bottom area have been classified according to the analyses of the bathymerty, seafloor image, and surface sediment data. The rocky bottom areas are mainly distributed around Seaoam and in the northern and southern coastal area. But the intermediate zone between Seonam and coastal area has no rocky bottom. This intermediate area is expected to have active sedimentation as seawater way. The sandy sediments are widely distributed throughout the study area. Underwater images and UAV images show that Cnidarians, Brachiopods, Mollusks are mostly dominant in the shallow habitat and various Nacellidae, Mytilidae live on the intertidal zone around Seonam. Annelida and Arthropod are dominant in the sandy sediments. The distribution of marine organism in the study area might be greatly influenced by the seafloor type, the composition and particle size distribution of the seafloor sediments. The analysis of habitat environment mapping with bathymetry, seafloor data and underwater images is supposed to contribute to the study of the structure and function of marine ecosystem.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.18-30
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• 2023

Submarine mud volcanos are topographic features that resemble volcanoes, and are formed due to eruptions of fluidized or gasified sediment material. They have gained attention as a source of subsurface heat, sediment, or hydrocarbons supplied to the surface. In the continental slope of the Canadian Beaufort Sea, mud volcano exists at various water depths. The MV420, is an active mud volcano erupting at a water depth of 420 meters, and it has been the subject of extensive study. The Korea Polar Research Institute(KOPRI) collected high-resolution seismic data and heat flow data around the caldera of the mud volcano. By analyzing the multi-channel seismic data, we confirmed the reverse-polarity reflector assumed by a gas hydrate-related bottom simulating reflector(BSR). To further elucidate the relationship between the BSR and gas hydrates, as well as the thermal structure of the mud volcano, a numerical geothermal model was developed based on the steady-state heat equation. Using this model, we estimated the base of the gas hydrate stability zone and found that the BSR depth estimated by multi-channel seismic data and the bottom of the gas hydrate stability zone were in good agreement., This suggests the presence of gas hydrates, and it was determined that the depth of the gas hydrate was likely up to 50 m, depending on the distance from the mud conduit. Thus, this depth estimate slightly differs from previous studies.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.134-144
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• 2009

Paleoproductivity changes in the central part of the Bering Sea since the last glacial period were reconstructed by analyzing opal and total organic carbon (TOC) content and their mass accumulation rate (MAR) in sediment core PC23A. Ages of the sediment were determined by both AMS $^{14}C$ dates using planktonic foraminifera and Last Appearance Datum of radiolaria (L. nipponica sakaii). The core-bottom age was calculated to reach back to 61,000 yr BP. and some of core-top was missing. Opal and TOC contents during the last glacial period varied in a range of 1-10% and 0.2-1.0%, and their average values are 5% and 0.7%, respectively. In contrast, during the last deglaciation, opal and TOC contents varied from 5 to 22% and from 0.8 to 1.2%, respectively, with increasing average values of 8% and 1.0%. Opal and TOC MAR were low ($1gcm^{-2}kyr^{-1}$, $0.2gcm^{-2}kyr^{-1}$) during the last glacial period, but they increased (>5 and >$1gcm^{-2}kyr^{-1}$) during the last deglaciation. High diatom productivity during the last deglaciation was most likely attributed to the elevated nutrient supply to the sea surface resulting from increased melt water input from the nearby land and enhanced Alaskan Stream injection from the south under the restricted sea-ice and warm condition during the rising sea level. On the contrary, low productivity during the last glacial period was mainly due to decreased Alaskan Stream injection during the low sea-level condition as well as to extensive development of sea ice under low-temperature seawater and cold environment.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2003

If contaminated river water is sprayed over a floodplain, the microbial processes can simultaneously remove organic matter and nitrogen during the infiltration through the sediment profile. The effect of rhizosphere on the removal of organic matter and nitrogen from contaminated river water was investigated using floodplain lysimeters. River water was sprayed at a rate of $68.0L\;m^{-2}\;d^{-1}$ on the top of the lysimeters with or without weed vegetation on the surface, Concentrations of $NO_3$, $NH_4$ and dissolved oxygen (DO), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) and Eh in water were measured as functions of depth for 4 weeks after the system reached a steady state water flow and biological reactions. A significant reductive-condition for denitrification developed in the 30-cm surface profile of lysimeters with weeds. At a depth of 30 cm, COD and $NO_3$-N concentration decreased to 5.2 and $0.9mg\;L^{-1}$ from the respective influent concentrations of 18.2 and $9.8mg\;L^{-1}$. The removal of $NO_3$ in lysimeters with weeds was significantly higher than in those without weeds. Vegetation on the top was assumed to remove $NO_3$ directly by absorption and to create more favorable conditions for denitrification by supply of organic matter and rapid $O_2$ consumption, In the lysimeters without weeds, further removal of $NO_3$ was limited by the lack of an electron donor, i.e. organic matter. These results suggest that the filtration through native floodplains, which include rhizospheres of vegetation on the surface, can be effective for the treatment of contaminated river water.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.199-213
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• 2008

Saemangeum salt-water Lake has been created by the completion of the sea-dike in April 2006. To monitor the water qualities of the lake during the sea-dike construction, salinity, SS, nutrients(DIN, DIP, DISi), and chlorophyll-$\alpha$ was analyzed for the surface water from 1999 to 2007. Due to the dike construction, weaker tidal current and lesser resuspension of bottom sediment resulted in the marked decrease of the concentrations of SS in the lake water. Consequently the clearer lake water has provided better condition for primary production with deeper penetration of sunlight into the water column and sufficient nutrient content in the water. Finally the chlorophyll-$\alpha$ content became approximately double in the concentration after the dike construction. Highly stimulated algal production with the marked decrease of the concentrations of SS was decreased the concentration of DIP in the surface water. On the other hand the concentration of DIN and DISi in surface water was increased after dike construction due to the expansion of the freshwater and the supply from bottom layer. As a result, the lake revealed an extremely high NIP ratio and a DIP-limited ecosystem. The lake has been transformed from a typical coastal ecosystem to a brackish one. Since the dike completion, the lake has shown a similar change pattern to the Geum River estuary. Due to the salt-wedge intrusion of seawater, it is highly probable to expect the formation of low-oxygen zone at the bottom layer near the river-mouth area of the lake during the summer. Therefore we need a continuous sentinel monitoring of bottom water qualities in the near future.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.36 no.2_2
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• pp.351-363
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• 2020

It is well known that alluvial sediment located in coastal region has been easily affected by geohazard like ground subsidence, marine or meteorological disasters which threaten invaluable lives and properties. The subsidence is a sinking of the ground due to underground material movement that mostly related to soil compaction by water extraction. Thus, continuous monitoring is essential to protect possible damage from the ground subsidence in the coastal region. Radar interferometric application has been widely used to estimate surface displacement from phase information of synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Thanks to advanced SAR technique like the Small BAseline Subset (SBAS), a time-series of surface displacement could be successfully calculated with a large amount of SAR observations (>20). Because the ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 L-band observations maintain higher coherence compared with other shorter wavelength like X- or C-band, it has been regarded as one of the best resources for Earth science. However, the number of ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 observations might be not enough for the SBAS application due to its global monitoring observation scenario. Unfortunately, the number of the ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 Stripmap images in area of our interest, Busan which located in the Southeastern Korea, is only 11 which is insufficient to apply the SBAS time-series analysis. Although it is common that the radar interferometry utilizes multiple SAR images collected from same acquisition mode, it has been reported that the ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 Stripmap-ScanSAR interferometric application could be possible under specific acquisition mode. In case that we can apply the Stripmap-ScanSAR interferometry with the other 18 ScanSAR observations over Busan, an enhanced time-series surface displacement with better temporal resolution could be estimated. In this study, we evaluated feasibility of the ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 Stripmap-ScanSAR interferometric application using Gamma software considering differences of chirp bandwidth and pulse repetition frequency (PRF) between two acquisition modes. In addition, we analyzed the interferograms with respect to spectral shift of radar carrier frequency and common band filtering. Even though it shows similar level of coherence regardless of spectral shift in the radar carrier frequency, we found periodic spectral noises in azimuth direction and significant degradation of coherence in azimuth direction after common band filtering. Therefore, the characteristics of spectral bandwidth in the range and azimuth direction should be considered cautiously for the ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 Stripmap-ScanSAR interferometry.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.132-142
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• 2009

The Tamar rift valley runs through the City of Launceston, Tasmania. Damage has occurred to city buildings due to earthquake activity in Bass Strait. The presence of the ancient valley, the Tamar valley, in-filled with soft sediments that vary rapidly in thickness from 0 to 250mover a few hundreds metres, is thought to induce a 2D resonance pattern, amplifying the surface motions over the valley and in Launceston. Spatially averaged coherency (SPAC), frequency-wavenumber (FK) and horizontal to vertical spectrum ratio (HVSR) microtremor survey methods are combined to identify and characterise site effects over the Tamar valley. Passive seismic array measurements acquired at seven selected sites were analysed with SPAC to estimate shear wave velocity (slowness) depth profiles. SPAC was then combined with HVSR to improve the resolution of these profiles in the sediments to an approximate depth of 125 m. Results show that sediments thicknesses vary significantly throughout Launceston. The top layer is composed of as much as 20m of very soft Quaternary alluvial sediments with a velocity from 50 m/s to 125 m/s. Shear-wave velocities in the deeper Tertiary sediment fill of the Tamar valley, with thicknesses from 0 to 250m vary from 400 m/s to 750 m/s. Results obtained using SPAC are presented at two selected sites (GUN and KPK) that agree well with dispersion curves interpreted with FK analysis. FK interpretation is, however, limited to a narrower range of frequencies than SPAC and seems to overestimate the shear wave velocity at lower frequencies. Observed HVSR are also compared with the results obtained by SPAC, assuming a layered earth model, and provide additional constraints on the shear wave slowness profiles at these sites. The combined SPAC and HVSR analysis confirms the hypothesis of a layered geology at the GUN site and indicates the presence of a 2D resonance pattern across the Tamar valley at the KPK site.