• 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.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.149-170
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• 2015

The purpose of this paper is to figure out the research direction and information regarding Mt. Baekdu in Korea through analyses of the research field and trends. Firstly, we made inventory of journal papers, conference proceedings, and research reports published related to Mt. Baekdu. A total of 255 data, spanning the 34 years from the 1980s to the middle of 2014, were acquired and classified into categories according to the year, field, contents and study area. Results show that research on Mt. Baekdu has been performed more than twice since 2010 and study regarding prediction has been carried out in 54.7% cases. In addition, the importance of geo-spatial information is expected to increase in order to study Mt. Baekdu. Secondly, we made and analyzed a geospatial information using inventory of 234 detailed research contents in research reports by Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) and National Institute of Meteorological Research (NIMR). Statistics on categories show that research regarding prediction accounted for 81.6% of cases and the study of geo-spatial information utilization accounted for 54.7% of cases. However, the focus on studying the Mt. Baekdu region accounted for only 20.1% of cases. Thus, this indicates that it is necessary to do research at Mt. Bakdu itself. If the directly available geo-spatial information system is developed related to Mt. Baekdu, it will save research costs and analysis time. This study can be used to manage information about the research field of Mt. Baekdu by analysing inventory of research references and geospatial information using inventories when the Mt. Baekdu area is the focus of future research.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.439-450
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• 2018

The lineament is a linear or curved terrain element to discriminate adjacent geological structures in each other. It has been widely used for analysis of geology, mineral exploration, natural disasters, and earthquake, etc. In the past, the lineament has been extracted using cartographic map or field survey. However, it is possible to extract more efficiently the lineament for a very wide area thanks to development of remote sensing technique. Remotely sensed observation by aircraft, satellite, or digital elevation model (DEM) has been used for visual recognition for manual lineament extraction. Automatic approaches using computer science have been proposed to extract lineament more objectively. In this study, we evaluate the characteristics of lineament which is automatically extracted with respect to difference of spatial resolution of DEM. We utilized two types of DEM: one is Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) with spatial resolution of about 90 m (3 arc sec), and the other is the latest world DEM of TerraSAR-X add-on for Global DEM with 12 m spatial resolution. In addition, a global DEM was resampled to produce a DEM with a spatial resolution of 30 m (1 arc sec). The shaded relief map was constructed considering various sun elevation and solar azimuth angle. In order to extract lineament automatically, we used the LINE module in PCI Geomatica software. We found that predominant direction of the extracted lineament is about $N15-25^{\circ}E$ (NNE), regardless of spatial resolution of DEM. However, more fine and detailed lineament were extracted using higher spatial resolution of DEM. The result shows that the lineament density is proportional to the spatial resolution of DEM. Thus, the DEM with appropriate spatial resolution should be selected according to the purpose of the study.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.305-314
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• 2010

The stabilization process using limestone ($CaCO_3$) and steel making slag as the immobilization amendments was investigated for As contaminated farmland soils around Chonam abandoned mine, Korea. Batch and continuous column experiments were performed to quantify As-immobilization efficiency in soil and the analyses using XRD and SEM/EDS for secondary minerals precipitated in soil were also conducted to understand the mechanism of Asimmobilization by the amendments. For the batch experiment, with 3% of limestone and steel making slag, leaching concentration of As from the contaminated soil decreased by 62% and 52% respectively, compared to that without the amendment. When the mixed amendment (2% of limestone and 1% of steel making slag) was used, As concentration in the effluent solution decreased by 72%, showing that the mixed of limestone and steel making slag has a great capability to immobilize As in the soil. For the continuous column experiments without the amendment, As concentration from the effluent of the column ranged from 50 to $80\;{\mu}g/L$. However, with 2% limestone and 1% steel making slag, more than 80% diminution of As leaching concentration occurred within 1 year and maintained mostly below $10\;{\mu}g/L$. Results from XRD and SEM/EDS analysis for the secondary minerals created from the reaction of the amendments with $As^{+3}$ (arsenite) investigated that portlandite ($Ca(OH)_2$), calcium-arsenite (Ca-As-O) and calcite ($CaCO_3$) were main secondary minerals and the distinct As peaks in the EDS spectra of the secondary minerals can be observed. These findings suggest that the co-precipitation might be the major mechanisms to immobilize As in the soil medium with limestone and steel making slag.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.34 no.6_4
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• pp.1503-1517
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• 2018

Mt. Baekdu is a stratovolcano located at the border between China and North Korea and is known to have formed through its differentiation stage after the Oligocene epoch in the Cenozoic era. There has been a growing interest in the magma re-activity of Mt. Baekdu volcano since 2010. Several research projects have been conducted by government such as Korea Meteorological Administration and Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources. Because, however, the Mt. Baekdu volcano is located far from South Korea, it is quite difficult to collect in-situ observations by terrestrial equipment. Remote sensing is a science to analyze and interpret information without direct physical contact with a target object. Various types of platform such as automobile, unmanned aerial vehicle, aircraft and satellite can be used for carrying a payload. In the past several decades, numerous volcanic studies have been conducted by remotely sensed observations using wide spectrum of wavelength channels in electromagnetic waves. In particular, radar remote sensing has been widely used for volcano monitoring in that microwave channel can gather surface's information without less limitation like day and night or weather condition. Radar interferometric technique which utilized phase information of radar signal enables to estimate surface displacement such as volcano, earthquake, ground subsidence or glacial movement, etc. In 2018, long-term research project for collaborative observation for Mt. Baekdu volcano between Korea and China were selected by Korea government. A volcanic specialized research center has been established by the selected project. The purpose of this paper is to introduce about remote sensing techniques for volcano monitoring and to review selected studies with remote sensing techniques to monitor Mt. Baekdu volcano. The acquisition status of the archived observations of six synthetic aperture radar satellites which are in orbit now was investigated for application of radar interferometry to monitor Mt. Baekdu volcano. We will conduct a time-series analysis using collected synthetic aperture radar images.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.469-483
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• 2020

The results of long-term groundwater level and quality monitoring can be used not only as the basic data for evaluating the impact of various disasters including climate change and establishing responses, but also as key data for predicting and managing geological disasters such as earthquakes. Some countries use groundwater level and quality monitoring for researches to predict earthquakes and to assess the impacts of the earthquake disaster. However, a few cases in Korea report on individual groundwater quality factors (i.e., dissolved ions) observed before and after the earthquakes, being different from other countries. To establish the abnormality criteria for groundwater quality in Pohang, groundwater samples were collected and analyzed five times from 14 agricultural or private wells existing in Shingwang-myeon and Heunghae-eup. As a result of the analysis, it was found that Ca2+ was the dominant cation in Shingwang-myeon, while Na+ was the dominant cation in Heunghae-eup. The elevated NO3- concentration in Shingwang-myeon is contributed to the agricultural activity in the area. A high concentration of Fe was detected in a well on Heunghae-eup; the concentration exceeded the drinking water standard by nearly 100 times. Relatively higher dissolved ions were observed in the groundwater of Heunghae-eup, and it is considered as the result of the flow velocity difference and water-rock reaction accompanying the difference in bedrock and sediment characteristics. The groundwater of Shingwang-myeon appeared to be most affected by the weathering of granite and silicates, while that of Heunghae-eup was mainly affected by the weathering of silicates and carbonate. The background concentrations (baselines) of groundwater Shingwang-myeon and Heunghae-eup was identified through the survey; however, the continuous monitoring is required to monitor the possible changes and the repeatability of seasonal variation.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.85-93
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• 2021

The seventy percentage of Korean Peninsular is covered by the mountainous area, and the depth of west sea and south sea is relatively shallow. Therefore, a large scale land reclamation from the sea has been implemented for the construction of industrial complex, residental area, and port and airport facilities. The common problem of reclaimed land is consisted of soft ground, and hence it has low load bearing capacity as well as excessive settlement upon loading on the ground surface. The hollow concrete block has been used to reinforce the loose and soft foundation soil where the medium-high apartment or one-story industrial building is being planned to be built. Recently the earthquakes with the magnitude of 4.0~5.0 have been occurred in the west coastal and southeast coastal areas. Lee (2019) reported the advantages of hollow concrete block reinforced shallow foundation through the static laboratory bearing capacity tests. In this study, the dynamic behavior of hollow concrete block reinforced sandy ground with filling the crushed stone in the hollow space has been investigated by the means of shaking table test with the size of shaking table 1000 mm × 1000 mm. Three types of seismic wave, that is, Ofunato, Hachinohe, Artificial, and two different accelerations (0.154 g, 0.22 g) were applied in the shaking table tests. The horizontal displacement of structure which is situated right above the hollow concrete block reinforced ground was measured by using the LVDT. The relative density of soil ground are varied with 45%, 65%, and 85%, respectively, to investigate the effectiveness of reinforcement by hollow block and measured the magnitude of lateral movement, and compared with the limit value of 0.015h (Building Earthquake Code, 2019). Based on the results of shaking table test for hollow concrete block reinforced sandy ground, honeycell type hollow block gives a large interlocking force due to the filling of crushed stone in the hollow space as well as a great interface friction force by the confining pressure and punching resistance along the inside and outside of hollow concrete block. All these factors are contributed to reduce the great amount of horizontal displacement during the shaking table test. Finally, hollow concrete block reinforced sandy ground for shallow foundation is provided an outstanding reinforced method for medium-high building irrespective of seismic wave and moderate accelerations.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.5A
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• pp.565-575
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• 2009

In recent years, there have been numerous explosion-related accidents due to military and terrorist activities. Such incidents caused not only damages to structures but also human casualties, especially in urban areas. To protect structures and save human lives against explosion accidents, better understanding of the explosion effect on structures is needed. In an explosion, the blast load is applied to concrete structures as an impulsive load of extremely short duration with very high pressure and heat. Generally, concrete is known to have a relatively high blast resistance compared to other construction materials. However, normal strength concrete structures require higher strength to improve their resistance against impact and blast loads. Therefore, a new material with high-energy absorption capacity and high resistance to damage is needed for blast resistance design. Recently, Ultra High Strength Concrete(UHSC) and Reactive Powder Concrete(RPC) have been actively developed to significantly improve concrete strength. UHSC and RPC, can improve concrete strength, reduce member size and weight, and improve workability. High strength concrete are used to improve earthquake resistance and increase height and bridge span. Also, UHSC and RPC, can be implemented for blast resistance design of infrastructure susceptible to terror or impact such as 9.11 terror attack. Therefore, in this study, the blast tests are performed to investigate the behavior of UHSC and RPC slabs under blast loading. Blast wave characteristics including incident and reflected pressures as well as maximum and residual displacements and strains in steel and concrete surface are measured. Also, blast damages and failure modes were recorded for each specimen. From these tests, UHSC and RPC have shown to better blast explosions resistance compare to normal strength concrete.