• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.47 no.1
• /
• pp.1-15
• /
• 2014

The Bobonaro m$\acute{e}$lange is one of the youngest syn-collisional m$\acute{e}$langes, located between the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates. The m$\acute{e}$lange has formed in association with a collision between the Australian continental margin and the Banda arc initiated in Neogene. The Suai area at the southern part of Timor is a good place to examine the genetic relationship between the m$\acute{e}$lange and other rock sequences because various tectonostratigraphic units coexist in the area. In this study, we present the structural characteristics and spatial distribution of the Bobonaro m$\acute{e}$lange investigated as a part of 1:25K scale geologic mapping in the area, and discuss on the origin of the m$\acute{e}$lange. The Bobonaro m$\acute{e}$lange in the Suai area is composed of unmetamorphosed clay matrix and blocks of various lithologies. The clay matrix mainly is reddish brown or greenish gray in colour, and has scaly texture. Most blocks are allochthonous, but mostly derived from nearby formations. Based on the internal structure and relationship with surrounding rocks, the Bobonaro m$\acute{e}$lange is genetically classified into 1) diapiric m$\acute{e}$lange; 2) tectonic m$\acute{e}$lange; and 3) broken formation. The spatial distribution of the Bobonaro m$\acute{e}$lange indicates that it intruded all pre-collisional units including the lower Australian continental margin unit(Gondwana megasequence) and the Banda arc unit. Taking the field evidences and previous genetic models into consideration, the Bobonaro m$\acute{e}$lange is interpreted to be mainly formed as a diapiric m$\acute{e}$lange originated from Gondwana megasequence, consistently effected by faulting events. This study reflects that diapiric m$\acute{e}$lange is a significant component in recent accretionay-collision belts. It suggests that diapiric process should be considered as a main genetic factor even in ancient m$\acute{e}$lange.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.135-144
• /
• 2005

In the high-Ca limestone zone of the Pungchon Formation of the Lower Chosun Supergroup, cryptocrystalline alterations with reddish brown color occur as fissure-fillings or coatings, which was originated from the upper formation, i. e., the Hwajeol Formation. The precipitates result in degradation and contamination of the high-Ca limestone ore in grade and quality, showing characteristic occurrence and mineral composition typical of suggesting a supergene origin. Chalcedonic quartz, kaolinite, illite, goethite and hematite are constituting a characteristic authigenic mineral assemblage and, in places, smectite is less commonly included in the weathering product. In addition to these authigenic phases, some detrital minerals such as mica and orthoclase constituting relatively coarser grains are also rarely present in the supergene alterations. A rather complex clay facies consisting of kaolinite, illite and smectite in the alterations seems to correspond to the typical clay composition of the reported residual pedogenic soils by limestone weathering. The cryptocrystalline weathering product is partly altered to stilbite, a characteristic hydrothermal zeolite, in places, by the hydrothermal contact of late stage. The time of formation and infiltration of the supergene alterations seems to correspond to the stage just after the epithermal alteration of the Pungchon Limestone, i. e., an early Jurassic age. The supergene alteration, which may imply the stage of uplifting, weathering and erosion of the Chosun Supergroup, appears to have undergone at an oxygen-rich environment in descending water of meteoric origin by means of a chemical leaching and diffusion.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.54 no.5
• /
• pp.595-603
• /
• 2021

Sand layer distribution, which is the main target of river and land aggregate resources, mainly belongs to alluvial and river sedimentary environments among the Quaternary sedimentary environments. The distribution of aggregate resources in the area of Geumsan-gun, Chungcheongnam-do is characteristically developed around a sedimentation environment in which intrusive meandering river dominate. Although the area around Bonhwangcheon Stream and the area near the confluence of small streams are small, the river floodplain develops and corresponds to the aggregate distribution area. The sedimentary layer formed in the sedimentary environment such as colluvial deposits or alluvial fan deposits has a relatively low distribution rate of aggregate resources. The vertical distribution of the Quaternary sedimentary layers in the Geumsan-gun region ranges from about 5 to 12 m and has an average Quaternary sedimentary thickness of 8 m. The aggregate-bearing section has an average thickness of 3.6 m, and the average grain size is about 21% clay-silt, 67% sand, and 12% gravel. The main characteristics of the aggregate-bearing section are that coarse-grained sand predominates, and gravel is sub-angular or sub-rounded, and the sorting is generally poor and has a massive form of deposits, and the soil colour ranges from dark grey to yellowish-brown. In Geumsan-gun, the most likely distribution area for aggregate development is the alluvial sedimentary and river sedimentary layers distributed along the current and former riverbeds of the main Geumgang River, Bonhwangcheon and small River tributaries.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.377-393
• /
• 2010

Pumiceous tuffs occurring in the Beomgockri Group are examined applied-mineralogical characteristics and their controling factors to evaluate their potentials as the adsorption-functional mineral resources. The pumiceous tuffs are diagenetically altered to low-grade zeolitcs and bentonites in the Janggi area. Compositional specialty due to the presence of pumice fragments induces the altered tuffs to exhibit the characteristic adsorption property combined with cation exchange capacity, specific surface area, and acidic pH. Unusual lower pH in the adsorption-functional mineral substances is turned out to be originated from the presence of H-smectite having $H^+$ in the interlayer site of the sheet structure. On account of disordered crystallinity resulting from the exchanged $H^+$ in the interlayer site, the smectite commonly forms crenulated edges in the planar crystal form and exhibits characteristic X-ray diffraction patterns showing comparatively lower intensities of basal spacings including (001) peak than conventional Ca-smectite. Based on the interpretation of paragenetic relations and precursor of the H-smectite, a genetic model of the peculiar clay mineral was proposed. The smectite formation may be facilitated resulting from the precipitation of opal-CT at decreasing pH condition caused by the release of H+ during diagenetic alteration of pumice fragments. Because of the acidic smectite, the low-grade mineral resources from the Beomgockri Group may be applicable to the adsorption industry as the raw materials of acid clays and bed-soil.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.297-305
• /
• 2009

Ores of the Jeonnam pyrophyllite province mainly consist of not only pyrophyllite but also kaolinite, and they usually contain minor amounts of muscovite and quartz. We usually call them as porcelaneous stones which usually show lower grade characteristics in the viewpoint of Korean nonmetallic industries. Mineralogical studies for the ores and their intimate formations revealed that another kind of clay minerals could have been produced from the volcanic sediments with similar ages and compositions. Corundum is commoner than the diaspore in the pyrophyllite deposits, and so diaspore can be regarded as one of temporary minerals from which corundum would be finally formed. Kaolinite deposits contain neither diaspore nor corundum, but alunites produced by an advanced argillic alteration are often observed in the upper portions of the kaolin ores. The lowest formation interbedded with pyrophyllite and/or kaolinite ores usually contain purple tuff bed on the uppermost part, and in ascending order, siliceous formation, fine ash tuff and lapillistone are found in the study areas. As ages are becoming younger, amounts of pyrophyllite and kaolinite are radically decreased, or disappeared completely. On the other hand, content of muscovite is slightly increased, and those of plagioclase feldspars and quartz are found to have been preserved from the original rocks during alteration process. Most of ore bodies show rather well bedded formations which are easily discernable in the outcrops, but more effective discremination is desirable where rather massive ores exist. Siliceous beds and purple tuff ones on the upper part of ore bodies would be useful as marker horizons or key beds which have distinct lithologies and extensions.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.19 no.4 s.50
• /
• pp.277-289
• /
• 2006

This study was carried out to find a new material having high removal efficiency for the harmful red tide. C. polykrikoides grow very fast and accumulate into dense and visible patches near the surface of the seawater ('Water bloom'). Some mineral medicines and Hwangto (reddish soil consist of clay minerals and Fe-oxides) were used in this study to remove C. polykrikoides. The pre-determined sprinkling ratio of mineral vs. seawater which contains approximately 5,000 cells/mL of C. polykrikoides was 10 g/L. In order to quantify the removal efficiency, the density of living cells was measured by counting with the Intervals of 0, 10, 30, and 60 minutes after sprinkling. Five Hwangtos feom different localities were examined in this study. It is found that a material with a high concentration of Fe and Al was the most effective to remove C. polykrikoides. After the sprinkling of the Hwangto showing the best removal efficiency in the test, 99% of total algaes were found to be eliminated within 60 minutes. Jeokeokji showed the highest removal efficiency among clay mineral medicines(92% removal efficiency after 60 minutes), and the rests in decreasing order are as follows: Gamto (91%) > Baekseokji (89%) > Hydromica (81%). In addition, Fe-oxide mineral medicine similarly looking as fine-grained earthy Daejaseok showed 100% removal efficiencyafter 30 minutes, and Wooyoeryang, 95% after 60 minutes. It is noted that even little addition (1 g/L) of Daejaseok, 10% of Hwangto concentration into seawater showed the removal efficiency of 100% after 60 minutes. From the results, it could be concluded that the fine-grained earthy Daejaseok was the most effective natural mineral medicine to remove the C. polykrikoides from seawater. Under the microscope the removal mechanism was found to be activated in the following order: adsorption, swelling of chain colony, chain colony crisis and algaecide.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.161-175
• /
• 2008

The soil developed from volcanic ash in Jeju Island, Korea, were classified as typical Andisols. The soils had acidic pH, high water contents, high organic matters and clay-silty textures. The crystalline minerals of the samples were mainly composed of ferromagnesian minerals such as olivine and pyroxene, and iron oxides such as magnetite and hematite derived from basaltic materials. A large amount of gibbsite was found at the subsurface horizon as a secondary product from the migration of excessive aluminum. In addition, our study has shown that considerable amounts of poorly ordered minerals like allophane and ferrihydrite were present in Jeju soils. The contents of $SiO_2$ were lower than those of other soil orders, but $A1_2O_3$ and $Fe_2O_3$ contents were higher. These results are some of the important chemical properties of Andisols. The contents of heavy metals were in the range of $84{\sim}198$ for Zn, $56{\sim}414$ for Ni, $38{\sim}150$ for Co, $132{\sim}1164\;mg\;kg^{-1}$ for Cr, which are higher than the worldwide values in most of the soils. Some soil samples contained relatively high levels of Cr exceeding 1000 mg/kg. Mean reduction capacity of the Jeju soils was $6.53\;mg\;L^{-1}$ reduced Cr(VI), 5.1 times higher than that of the non-volcanic ash soils from inland of Korea. The soil reduction capacity of the inland soils had a good correlation with total carbon content (R = 0.90). However, in spite of 20 times higher total carbon contents in the Jeju soils, there was a week negative correlation between the reduction capacity and the carbon content (R = -0.469), suggesting that the reduction capacity of Jeju soils is not mainly controlled by the carbon content and affected by other soil properties. Correlations of the reduction capacity with major elements showed that Al and Fe were closely connected with the reduction capacity in Jeju soil (R = 0.793; R = 0.626 respectively). Moreover, the amounts of Ni, Co and Cr had considerable correlations with the reduction capacity (R = 0.538; R = 0.647; R = 0.468 respectively). In particular, in relation to the behavior of redox-sensitive Cr, the oxidation of the trivalent chromium to mobile and toxic hexavalent chromium can be restricted by the high reduction capacity in Jeju soil. The factors controlling the reduction capacity in Jeju soils may have a close relation with the andic soil properties explained by the presence of considerable allophane and ferrihydrite in the soils.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.18-26
• /
• 2021

Soil aggregation begins with flocculation of clay particles triggered by interfacial reactions of polyvalent cation such as Ca²⁺ and Fe³⁺, and they are also known as important elements to control the mobility of arsenic in soil environment. The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of CMDS (coal mine drainage sludge) for soil loss reduction and stabilization of arsenic-contaminated soil in a 37% sloped farmland under rainfall simulation. The amount of soil loss decreased by 43% when CMDS was applied, and this result was not significantly different from the case of limestone application, which yielded 46% decrease of soil loss. However, the relative amount of dispersed clay particles in the sediment CMDS-applied soil was 10% lower than that of limestone-applied soil, suggesting CMDS is more effective than limestone in inducing soil aggregation. The concentrations of bioavailable arsenic in CMDS amended soil decreased by 46%~78%, which was lower than the amount in limestone amended soil. Therefore, CMDS can be used as an effective amendment material to reduce soil loss and stabilize arsenic in sloped farmland areas.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.57 no.2
• /
• pp.185-204
• /
• 2024

This study was conducted for evaluation the geological, physical, and chemical properties of domestic sand by analyzing about 4,800 quality data of natural sand from river and land area surveyed until 2023 through the aggregate resource survey conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The average depth of the Quaternary unconsolidated sedimentary layer in Korea, which includes a sand layer, is about 10m (maximum depth 66m). The thickness of the sand layer within the sedimentary layer is most dominant in the range of 0.5m to 4.0m. This accounts for about 70% of the entire sand layer. In the sand layer, the ratio of sand, gravel, and clay is 60:20:10. Regardless of the provenance or geology, the sand is mainly composed of quartz, plagioclase, and K-feldspar, and the minor minerals are muscovite, biotite, chlorite, magnetite, epidote. The sand includes in 45~75% of quartz, 5~20% of plagioclase and K-feldspar, each other. And other minor minerals are included in 10%. The average grain size of sand is 0.5mm to 1.0mm, which accounts for 44% of sand samples. The water absorption rate and soundness are estimated to be suitable for aggregate quality standard in almost all sand, and the absolute dry density is suitable for 66%.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.403-418
• /
• 2007

The objective of this research was to characterize the fate and transport of Cr(VI) contaminated groundwater in the Daejeon industrial area. Five subsidiary monitoring wells were newly installed and two existing wells were utilized for the investigation and the reduction process of Cr(VI) contaminated groundwater of the Daejeon(Mun-pyeong) national groundwater monitoring station. The Cr(VI) concentrations at the shallow aquifer well of the station were in the range of 3.2-4.5 mg/L indicating continuous contamination. However, Cr was not detected at the deep bedrock well and the other monitoring wells except MPH-1 and 3. The Cr(VI) concentrations of MPH-1 and MPH-3 were below the drinking water guideline value (0.05 mg/L). Therefore, the plume of the Cr(VI) contaminated groundwater was predicted to be confined within the narrow boundary around the station. The soluble/exchangeable Cr(VI) concentrations were below the detection limit in all core and slime samples taken from the five newly installed wells. Although the exact source of contamination was not directly detected in the study area, the spatial Cr(VI) distribution in groundwater and characteristics of the core samples indicated that the source and the dispersion range were confined within the 100 m area from the monitoring station. The contamination might be induced from the unlined landfill of industrial wastes which was observed during the installation of an subsidiary monitoring well. For the evaluation of the natural attenuation of Cr(VI), available reduction capacities of Cr(VI) with an initial concentration of 5 mg/L were measured in soil and aquifer materials. Dark-gray clay layer samples have high capacities of Cr(VI) reduction ranging from 58 to 64%, which is obviously related to organic carbon contents of the samples. The analysis of reduction capacities implied that the soil and aquifer materials controlled the dispersion of Cr(VI) contamination in this area. However, some possibilities of dispersion by the preferential flow cannot be excluded due to the limited numbers of monitoring wells. We suggest the removal of Cr(VI) contaminated groundwater by periodical pumping, and the continuous groundwater quality monitoring for evaluation of the Cr(VI) dispersion should be followed in the study area.