• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.248-254
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• 2007

Recently lots of the Early Cambrian fauna were described from the Yunnan Province of China. The fauna occurs from the Maotiangshan shale that dated between 525 and 520 ma, which is about 10-20 million years earlier than the Burgess Shale fauna of Canadian Rocky Mountain and Sirius Passet fauna in North Greenland. The Chengjiang fauna comprises an extremely diverse faunal assembly, and soft body parts of the fauna are well preserved. Such condition probably resulted from repeated rapid burial environment that prevented the bodies from destruction by currents, bioturbation, and biolchemical activities.

• Journal of the korean society of oceanography
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.243-250
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• 2004

Sediment microcosm experiments were conducted for 14 and 28 days using Zn spiked sediment to examine the changing distribution of bioavailab1e sediment-bound Zn at different SEM (simultaneously extracted metal)-Zn/ AVS (acid volatile sulfide) mole ratios as a function of time and amphipod density. In surficial sediments (0-1cm), AVS concentrations significantly decreased due to bioturbation and oxidation, while SEM-Zn concentrations remained unchanged. As a result, SEM-Zn/AVS ratios in the surface sediment were greater one although the ratios were designed as less than one initially. With increasing SEM-Zn/AVS ratios in surficial sediments, concentrations of potentially bioavailable $MgCl_2$extractable-Zn, NaOAc extractable-Zn and pore water-Zn significantly increased, while concentrations of SEM-Zn were not significantly varied. Results suggested that as AVS concentrations decreased, AVS bound Zn was partitioned to other sediment fractions (i.e. $MgCl_2$ and NaOAc extractable) and the pore water, resulting in changes in Zn bioavailability in surficial sediments. Concentrations of AVS, SEM-Zn and pore water-Zn remained unchanged in the deeper layers (>1 cm) of the sediment.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.475-484
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• 2006

In order to reveal the vertical variation of physical properties in deep-sea sediments, deep-sea sediment cores were collected at 78 stations using a multiple corer in the KR5 area, one of the Korea contract areas for manganese nodule exploration, located in the northeast equatorial Pacific. Based on the color of sediments, sampled sediment cores were characterized into three lithologic units (unit 1,2, and 3). In all sediment cores, three units appear systematically; unit 1 lies at the top of cores and unit 2 and/or unit 3 appear to underlie unit 1 or alternate with unit 3. Unit 1 layer from the top of cores shows dark grayish brown to dark brown with mean thickness of 10.2cm. Unit 2 and 3 layers show very dark brown to black color and yellowish brown to brown color, respectively. According to the physical properties of the deep-sea sediment cores, sediment column can be divided into three sections. Section A $(0{\sim}15cm)$ in subbottom depth consists mostly of unit 1. Mean values of physical properties of section B $(15{\sim}30cm)$ in subbottom depth are similar to those of section C (>30 cm) in subbottom depth. However, the physical properties of section B were more variable than those of section C because of the high activity of bioturbation in section B. These results will provide valuable information for selecting suitable sites for mining manganese nodules in the Korea contract areas.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.205-216
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of large scale marine sand mining on the marine ecological community. For the study, four stations along the coast were selected and monitored in 1998 and 2001 at mining areas and non-mining areas about the Gyeonggi Bay. The result revealed that in 1998, 9 species of fishes, 16 species of crustaceans, and 6 species of mollusks were collected where as in 2001, 11 species of fishes, 5 species of crustaceans, and 2 species of mollusks were collected, uncovering the fact that fishes have diversified while crustaceans and mollusks have reduced on a grand scale. Also, there were two key characteristics regarding the changes of biological communities in mining and nonmining areas. The first was the dwindling of crustaceans inhabiting the sand area. This outcome may be accounted for by the facts that physical removal of seabed sediments and re-sediment due to expansion of floating particles cause direct influence on the ocean floor ecosystem and have continuous effect on the communities of crustaceans which feed on them. Secondly, the newly arrived species and their population during spring and summer seasons have increased in the non-mining areas and have decreased in the mining area. It can be concluded that highly nomadic fish species migrate toward areas with less disturbance or destruction of ecosystem from marine sand mining, and consequently, the communities of fishes change in the sea area. Setting aside the characteristics of the investigated sea areas where the arriving conditions of species vary by seasons, the clear differences of population of organisms in those areas are due to environmental alterations owing to the marine sand mining ; if those large-scale marine sand mining activities continue in the Gyeonggi Bay, their effects on biological communities in the areas will only grow.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.759-771
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• 2011

We evaluated the pollution levels of organic matter and metallic element (Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Ni, Cr, Mn, As, and Hg) in the intertidal surface sediments of Aphae Island using several sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) and assessment techniques for sediment pollution. Based on the textural composition of sediment, the surface sediments were classified into two main sedimentary facies: slightly gravelly mud and silt. The concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and acid volatile sulfide (AVS) in the sediments ranged from 4.6-9.9 (mean $7.4{\pm}1.1$) $mgO_2/g{\cdot}dry$ and from ND-0.53 (mean $0.04{\pm}0.10$) mgS/$g{\cdot}dry$, respectively. These values were considerably lower than those reported from a farming area in a semi-enclosed bay of Korea and for SQGs in Japan. The metallic element concentrations in the sediments varied widely with the mean grain size and organic matter content, implying that the concentrations of metallic elements are influenced mainly by secondary factors, such as bioturbation, the resuspension of sediment, and anthropogenic input. The overall results for the comparison with SQGs, enrichment factor (EF), and geoaccumulation index ($I_{geo}$) indicate that the surface sediments are slightly polluted by Cr and Ni, and moderately polluted by As. Our results suggest that the intertidal surface sediments of Aphae Island are not polluted by organic matter or metallic elements and the benthic conditions are suitable for healthy organisms.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.97-106
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• 2010

Earthworm, a prominent ecosystem engineer within many terrestrial ecosystems, can exert profound influences on various abiotic/biotic environments through bioturbation processes such as burrowing, casting and mixing of litter and soil. In this study, we investigated how the presence or absence of earthworm (Oligochaeta) can alter the soil physico-chemical conditions and ultimately the distribution and abundance of Collembola which constitutes a large proportion of the soil fauna. During September 2010, soil organisms along with soil samples were collected from randomly installed 20 plots in Mt. Gwan-ak. We examined the differences in the abundance of Collembola among plot samples in respect to the presence/absence of earthworm and soil physico-chemical conditions (i.e., pH, $PO_4^{3-}$, $NO_3^{2-}$, organic matter (OM), electrical conductance and water content). Analysis of soil physico-chemical environment revealed a significantly higher organic matter content and electrical conductance in plots with earthworm compared to plots without earthworm. Abundance of Collembola were not only higher in plots with earthworm than in plots without earthworm, but were also positively correlated with availability of OM present in the environment. The results suggest that positive impacts of earthworm on the abundance of Collembola in this study may have been due to their ability to effectively modify soil physico-chemical conditions favored by Collembola. Such conspicuous influence of earthworm's activity on below-ground community suggests their potential significance in forest restoration or revegetation process.

• 한국해양학회지
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.59-66
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• 1991

Laboratory studies were carried out to measure the sound velocity (V/SUB p/) and quality factor (Q/SUB p/, inverse attenuation) in the horizontal (H) and vertical (V) direction on the core sampled sediment of deep-sea basin (1,850 meter water depth), East Sea of Korea (Sea of Japan). Sampled core was about 250 cm long and 500 kHz ultrasonic p-wave transducer was used for a sound soured. V/SUB p/ varies from 1,480 m/sec to 1,500 m/sec, it is not clear which direction is faster, V/SUB PH/ or V/SUB pv/, within${\pm}$ 1.0% anisotropy (A/SUB p/). It is thought because the core sediment facies is highly (or slightly) bioturbated homogeneous mud with very high porosity (more than 80%). The general trend of Q/SUB p/ is decreasing 10 to 5 with the buried depth, it is strongly affected by the variation of sediment texture (increasing silt, decreasing clay) with increasing of CaCO$_3$ and organic matter content, But Q/SUB PH/ is jumping up to 14.9 near the bottom of core sediment as including volcanic ash richly. The relationship between V/SUB PH/ and Q/SUB PH/ shows the mirror image nearly, it is interpreted that not only the geotechnical properties and texture but also sea-water characteristics (high Q/SUB p/, low V/SUB p/) according to rich water content affect strongly in the upper part of the unconsolidated deep-sea basin sediment.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.390-399
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• 1999

Siliceous and calcareous deep-sea core sediments were collected by a multiple corer from the KODOS (Korea Deep Ocean Study) area, northeast equatorial Pacific, to compare vane shear strengths measured by two different apparatuses and in different places of on-board and on-land laboratories. The apparatuses were 1) a hand-held vane with four blades of $2.0{\times}2.0$ cm, and 2) a motorized shear vane system with four blades of $1.0{\times}0.88$ attached on a rotational viscometer. Depth profiles of shear strengths of core samples determined by the apparatuses do not show any consistent difference. Also, there is no consistent difference between shear strength values measured on-board and on-land laboratories after storing the core samples for three months in a cold room by a motorized shear vane system. However, there are considerable differences between depth profiles of shear strengths measured at four different points (holes) of a core sample. Moreover, significant differences among the profiles of different tube samples from a multiple corer within a sampling station were observed. Heterogeneity in physical properties of each depth and sediment column, possibly due to bioturbation and bottom current flows, is likely responsible for the differences in the geotechnical properties.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.312-322
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• 1999

We have studied both submarine morphology and sediment characteristics of waste disposal sites in the southwestern Ulleung Basin, East Sea, as part of a marine environmental preservation program. The Jung waste disposal site in the outer shelf is characterized by the thick accumulation of coarse-grained palimpsest sediments and fine-grained sediments from various sources. The Byung waste disposal site in the continental slope is generally characterized by hemipelagic muds with intermittent sandy sediments originated from the outer shelf and upper slope. The hemipelagic sediments, draping the seafloor, consist of fluidized muds. The core sediments show numerous bioturbation structures which cause vertical mixing of sediments. The surface sediments can be divided into four sand types (S-1, S-2, S-3, and S-4) and two mud types (M-1 and M-2) based on relative contents of reworked coarse-grained palimpsest sediments and fine-grained sediments. sorting and heavy mineral contents. The sands are probably relict sediments reworked during high-energy conditions such as typoon or storm. On the other hand, the muds were originated from various sources such as recent input from the Nakdong River, reworked fine-grained sediment from the shelf or suspended particulate matter from the East Sea Warm Current.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.159-169
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• 2004

Sedimentation and depositional pattern of the fine-grained sediments in the southeastern inner shelf of Korea were studied using a very high-resolution seismic profiles and sediment data. The recent mud deposits up to 45 m thick are distributed in the inner shelf forming a nearshore belt from the eastern part of Geoje Island to off the Pohang along the coast. The sediment in this area consists of homogeneous mud with mean grain size between $8.6\;to\;5.3\phi$ and does not show any distinct variability It gradually becomes finer and well sorted northeastward along the coast. Sediments normally appear as structureless massive mud but X-radiographs show that some bioturbation and faint lamination are present. The sediments accumulate at a rate of 0.18-0.44 cm/yr and the rate coincides well with the long-term (a 1000-year scale) accumulation based on very high-resolution seismic data. Distribution of wet bulk density and velocity shows a gradual increase from the southeastern part of Ulsan to off Pohang, whereas porosity shows a reverse pattern. Correlations between velocity and porosity/mean grain size are different from other regions compared, due to the difference of sediment texture and sedimentary environment. The recent shelf deposits are seismically characterized by three distinct facies: 1) well-stratified (near the river mouth), 2) semi-transparent (eastern part of Geoje Island), and 3) transparent (off Ulsan). The results suggest that fine-grained sediment derived from rivers, forming a nearshore mud belt, have been transported northeastward by the northeastward-flowing coastal current.