• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.141-149
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• 2017

The geology of Saok island area in Jeollanam-do can be divided into 4 lithologic types: Jurassic granite, Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, acidic tuff and acidic dikes. In the Saok island area, dinosaur and web-footed bird footprints, arthropod trackway and silicified wood were found recently in the Cretaceous sedimentary rocks which composed of alternating light grey sandstone, shale and mudrock. The fossil-bearing sedimentary rock is overlain by an acidic tuff, and the sedimentary rock and acidic tuff are cut by acidic dykes. In order to constrain the depositional age of the Cretaceous sedimentary rocks in Saok island area, SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages were determined in the tuffaceous sandstone and overlying acidic tuff. Zircon U-Pb ages of the sandstone and tuff are $83.58{\pm}0.86$ and $79.80{\pm}0.75Ma$, respectively, which belong to the Campanian of the Late Cretaceous. The U-Pb age of the acidic tuff indicates the eruption time of acidic tuff and thus the minimum age of the fossil-bearing sedimentary rocks in this area. Therefore, the formation age of the dinosaur and web-footed bird footprints can be constrained between 83.6 and 79.8 Ma.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.597-616
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• 2022

The Chungnam basin is a crucial area for studying the Mesozoic crustal evolutionary history of the Korean Peninsula. This study reports the revised geology and new isotopic ages from the northeastern Chungnam Basin based on detailed geological mapping and LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb analysis. Our renewed geologic map defines intra-basin, basin-bounding, and basement fault systems closely related to hydrothermal gold-bearing quartz vein injections. Here, we propose the directions of (micro)structural and geochronological future work to address issues on the relationship between the tectonic process, basin evolution, and hydrothermal fluid migration in the southwestern Korean Peninsula.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.15 no.3 s.45
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• pp.119-127
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• 2006

Detrital zircons in iron-bearing quartzite of the Seosan Croup from southeastern part of the Cyeonggi Hassif were analysed for SHRIHP U-Pb ages. Among 42 analyses, 38 data yield concordant ages (less tan 10 % discordancy), and they concentrated at 1781~1898 Ma (n=19), $1781{\sim}1898\;Ma(n=19),\;1935{\sim}1941\;Ma(n=4),\;1996\;Ma,\;2120\;Ma\;2403{\sim}2459\;Ma(n=5)$, 2661 Ma and 3198 Ma. The data indicate that sedimentation of iron-bearing quartzite should be after ca 1.78 Ga (the youngest detrital zircon age), and argue against some of conventional idea that iron-bearing quartzite of the Seosan Group might be correlated with the Archean iron-bearing quartzite in the North China Craton.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.155-165
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• 2016

Quartz schist - quartzite is often intercalated in metasedimentary rocks of Ogcheon belt or aligned parallel to the boundary between Yeongnam massif and Ogcheon belt. However, stratigraphic sequence and or geologic age of the rocks has been still variable among authors as Precambrian or Paleozoic. In this study, we carried out SHRIMP U-Pb age data of detrital zircons from Yeongam and Yeongsanpo areas and compared ours with other zircon ages from other areas. The detrital zircons from the studied area show no age younger than 1.8 Ga but yielded clusters at Neoarchean (2.5 Ga) and Paleoproterozoic (1.8 Ga). On the other hand, the age range of zircon U-Pb dating of Paleozoic quartzites yielded from Archean to middle Paleozoic and clusters at Paleoproterozoic, Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic. The characteristics of the zircon age range and the dominant age peak might become a key to classify the Proterozoic to Paleozoic quartz schists-quartzites, which ages are still remained under controversy. Based on the statistical results of the zircon ages in this study, quartz schist - quartzite from Yeongam and Yeongsanpo is considered to be deposited during Proterozoic.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.51-56
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• 2008

The geologic age of the Okcheon metamorphic belt, used to be a longstanding puzzle, has been settled down to Neoproterozoic to Paleozoic with discovery of fossils and isotopic age dating of metavolcanic rocks. As isotopic ages become accumulated, there appeared a controversy over the age of peak metamorphism in the Okcheon metamorphic belt, i.e., a single late Permian-early Triassic metamorphism (CHIME allanite age and U-Pb age of metamorphic zircon), or earlier independent presence of early Permian metamorphism (U-Pb age of allanite within garnet porphyroblast). If we compare the isotopic ages that can represent metamorphism, the data for the latter have much larger error than those of the former with some overlap considering the error limits. It means that, the former, supported by two independent ages, is considered a better representation for the age of metamorphism of the Okcheon metamorphic belt. Therefore, I propose the idea of early Permian metamorphism should better be reserved until conclusive evidence appears. The late Permian-early Triassic metamorphic age suggest that the effect of continental collision influenced much of the middle part of Korean Peninsula, namely, the Imjingang belt, the Gyeonggi massif and the Okcheon belt.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.73-94
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• 2023

We carried out the sensitive high resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon U-Pb age dating and whole-rock geochemical analysis of granitoids and felsic porphyries in the Ssangyong Valley, Yongchu Valley, and Mungyeong Saejae geosites in the Mungyeong Geopark. The igneous rocks crop out in the western, northwestern and central parts of the Mungyeong city area, respectively, and intruded (meta)sedimentary successions of the Ogcheon Metamorphic Belt, Cambro-Ordovician Mungyeong Group and Jurrasic Daedong Group. The U-Pb isotopic compositions of zircon from two felsic porphyries and one granite samples in the Ssanyeong Valley yielded the Cretaceous intrusion ages of 93.9±3.3 Ma (tσ), 95.1±4.0 Ma (tσ) and 94.4±2.0 Ma (tσ), respectively. On the other hand, a felsic dike sample and a granite in the Yongchu Valley and a porphyritic granite in the Mungyeong Saejae had intrusion ages of 90.2±2.0 Ma (tσ), 91.0±3.0 Ma (tσ) and 88.6±1.5 Ma (tσ), respectively. Based on the average standard error calculated in combination with results of previous studies in this area (Lee et al., 2010; Yi et al., 2014; Aum et al., 2019), the geochronological results show that spatial variation in intrusion age of ~5 Myr between the Ssangyong (94.5±0.2 Ma) and Yongchu Valleys (89.7±0.4 Ma) is apparent. The geochemical compositions of major and trace elements in the samples showed an affinity of typical post-orogenic granite, indicating their petrogenesis during the late stage of Early Cretaceous magmatic activity possibly in association with subduction events of the Izanagi Plate.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.167-185
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• 2014

SHRIMP zircon U-Pb ages and major element and Sr-Nd isotopic compositions were determined for drill cores (374-3390 m in depth) recovered from three boreholes in the Pohonag basin, southeastern Korea. Shallow-seated volcanic rocks and underlain plutonic rocks were geochemically classified as rhyolite and gabbro-granite, respectively. They showed high-K calc-alkaline trends on the $K_2O-SiO_2$ and AFM diagrams. Zircons from volcanic rocks of borehole PB-1 yielded concordia ages of $66.84{\pm}0.66Ma$ (n=12, MSWD=0.02) and $66.52{\pm}0.55Ma$ (n=12, MSWD=0.46). Zircons from volcanic rocks of borehole PB-2 gave a concordia age of $71.34{\pm}0.85Ma$ (n=11, MSWD=0.79) and a weighted mean $^{206}Pb/^{238}U$ ages of $49.40{\pm}0.37Ma$ (n=11, MSWD=1.9). On the other hand, zircons from plutonic rocks of borehole PB-3 yielded weighted mean $^{206}Pb/^{238}U$ ages of $262.4{\pm}3.6Ma$ (n=21, MSWD=4.5), $252.4{\pm}3.6Ma$ (n=8, MSWD=1.9) and $261.8{\pm}1.5Ma$ (n=31, MSWD=1.3). Detrital zircons from the sedimentary strata overlain the volcanic rocks showed a wide age span from Neoproterozoic to Cenozoic, with the youngest population corresponding to $21.89{\pm}1.1Ma$ (n=15, MSWD=0.04) and $21.68{\pm}1.2Ma$ (n=10, MSWD=19). These dating results indicate that the basement of the Pohang basin is composed of Late Permian plutonic rocks and overlain Late Cretaceous to Eocene volcanic sequences. Miocene sediments were deposited in the uppermost part of the basin, possibly associated with the opening of the East Sea. The Sr-Nd isotopic compositions of the Permian plutonic rocks were comparable with those reported from Permian-Triassic granitoids in the Yeongdeok area, northern Gyeongsang basin. They may have been recycled into parts of the Cretaceous-Paleogene magmatic rocks within the Gyeongsang basin.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.31-45
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• 2012

We investigated the various lithologies and zircon U-Pb ages of metasedimentary rocks from the Yeongheung-Seonjae-Daebu Islands, western Gyeonggi Massif, whose geologic and geochronologic features are poorly constrained in spite of their significance for tectonic interpretation. Major lithology consists of quartzites or meta-sandstones commonly alternating with semi-pelitic schists, together with lesser amounts of calcareous sandstones with matrix-supported quartzite clasts, calcareous schists, and pelitic schists. Pelitic schists uncommonly contain large porphyroblasts of garnet as well as quartz veins with large crystals of muscovite and andalusite or kyanite. SHRIMP U-Pb ages of detrital zircons from two analyzed metasandstones define four age populations: Neoarchean (~2.5 Ga), Paleoproterozoic (~2.0-1.5 Ga), Neoproterozoic (~1.1-0.7 Ga), and Early Paleozoic (~560-400 Ma). The youngest zircon ages are clustered at ~420 Ma. These results suggest that the deposition of meta-sandstones took place after the Silurian, possibly during the Devonian, and are analogous to those of the Taean Formation reported from the western part of the Gyeonggi Massif. Moreover, The age distribution patterns of detrital zircons and the Barrovian-type metamorphic facies of pelitic schists are similar to those reported from the Imjingang belt, suggesting that the Taean Formation likely corresponds to southwestward extension of the Imjingang Belt.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.49-64
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• 2019

SHRIMP U-Pb ages were analyzed for the detrital zircons separated from the Jangsan Formation of the Lower Paleozoic Joseon Supergroup in the Taebaeksan Basin and the Mungyeong area. Similar to the previously reported from Taebaeksan basin, the detrital zircons show strong peaks near the age of about 1.8-2.0 Ga and about 2.5 Ga. This indicates that the detrital zircons of the Jangsan Formation originated from the basement rocks of the Korean Peninsula. Although the age of the basement rocks on the Korean Peninsula is mainly concentrated in the 1.8-2.0 Ga, the age of about 2.5 Ga is clearly visible in the Jangsan Formation, suggesting that the age distribution of the basement rocks exposed to the surface at that time may be somewhat different from now. The detrital zircons of age-unknown Geumsusan Formation distributed between Danyang and Jecheon also show the U-Pb age distribution with a strong peaks around 1.8-2.0 Ga and 2.5 Ga, which is very similar to that of the Jangsan Formation, suggesting a possibility that the two formations are likely to be correlated.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.817-830
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• 2023

This study investigates the age of the surficial rocks in the Arunta region using Uranium-Lead (U-Pb) geochronological dating. Rock samples were collected at four locations, Cattle-Water Pass (CP 1610), Gough Dam (GD 1622 and GD 1610), and London-Eye (LE 1601), within the Strangways Metamorphic Complex and crushed by selFragging. Subsequently, the zircon grains were imaged using Cathodoluminescence (CL) analysis and the U-Pb (uranium and lead) isotope ratios and the chrono-stratigraphy were measured. The imaged zircon revealed an anomalous heterogeneous crystal structure. Ellipses of the samples at locations GD1601, CP1610, and GD1622 fall below the intercept indicating the ages produced discordant patterns, whereas LE1601 intersects the Concordia curve at two points, implying the occurrence of an event of significant impact. For the rock sample at CP1610, the estimated mean age is 1742.2 ± 9.2 Ma with mean squared weighted deviation (MSWD) = 0.49 and probability of equivalence of 0.90; 1748 ± 15 Ma - MSWD = 1.02 and probability of equivalence of 0.40 for GD1622; and 1784.4 ± 9.1 Ma with MSWD of 1.09 and probability of equivalence of 0.37 for LE1601. But for samples at GD1601, two different age groups with different means occurred: 1) below the global mean (1792.2 ± 32 Ma) estimated at 1738.2 ± 14 Ma with MSWD of 0.109 and probability of equivalence of 0.95 and 2) above it with mean of 1838.22 ± 14 Ma, MSWD of 1.6 and probability of equivalence of 0.95. Analysis of the zircon grains has shown a discrepancy in the age range between 1700 Ma and 1800 Ma compared to the ASO dated to have occurred between 440 and 300 Ma. Moreover, apparent similarity in age of the core and rim means that the mineral crystallized relatively quickly without significant interruptions and effect on the isotopic system. This may have constraint the timing and extent of geological events that might have affected the mineral, such as metamorphism or hydrothermal alteration.