• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.54-61
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• 2005

An aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system can be very cost-effective and renewable energy sources, depending on site-specific parameters and load characteristics. In order to develop the ATES system which has certain hydrogeological characteristics, understanding the thermohydraulic process of an aquifer is necessary for a proper design of an aquifer heat storage system under given conditions. The thermohydraulic transfer for heat storage was simulated according to two sets of simple pumping and waste water reinjection scenarios of groundwater heat pump system operation in a two-layered aquifer model. In the first set of the scenarios, the movement of the thermal front and groundwater level was simulated by changing the locations of injection and pumping wells in a seasonal cycle. However, in the second set the simulation was performed in the state of fixing the locations of pumping and injection wells. After 365 days simulation period, the shape of temperature distribution was highly dependent on the injected water temperature and the distance from the injection well. A small temperature change appeared on the surface compared to other simulated temperature distributions of 30 and 50 m depths. The porosity and groundwater flow characteristics of each layer sensitively affected the heat transfer. The groundwater levels and temperature changes in injection and pumping wells were monitored and the thermal interference between the wells was analyzed to test the effectiveness of the heat pump operation method applied.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.619-629
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• 2020

The National Groundwater Monitoring Network (NGMN) in South Korea has been implemented in alluvial/ bedrock aquifers for efficient management of groundwater resources. In this study, aquifer types were reclassified with unconfined and confined aquifers based on water-level fluctuation and water quality characteristics. Principal component analysis (PCA) of water-level data from paired monitoring wells of alluvial/bedrock aquifers results in the principal components of both aquifers showing similar water-level fluctuation pattern. There was no significant difference in the rate of water-level rises responding to precipitations and in the NO₃-N concentrations between the alluvial and bedrock aquifers. In contrast, in the results classified with the hydrogeological type, the principal components of water level were different between unconfined and confined conditions. The water-level rises to precipitation events were estimated to be 4.6 (R²=0.8) in the unconfined and 2.1 (R²=0.4) in the confined aquifers, respectively, indicating less impact of precipitation recharge to the confined aquifer. The confined aquifers have the average NO₃-N concentration below 3 mg/L, implying the natural background level protected from the sources at surface. In summary, reclassification of aquifers into hydrogeological types clearly shows the differences between unconfined and confined aquifers in the water-level fluctuation pattern and NO₃-N concentrations. The hydrogeologic condition of aquifer could improve groundwater resource management by providing critical information on groundwater quantity through recharge estimation and quality for protection from potential contamination sources.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.261-276
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• 2016

The occurrence of natural radioactive materials such as uranium and radon-222 in groundwater was examined with hydrogeochemistry and geology at ○○ village in the Yongin area. Two rounds of 19 groundwater and 5 surface water sampling were collected for analysis. The range of pH value in groundwaters was 5.81 to 7.79 and the geochemical types of the groundwater were mostly Ca(Na)-HCO₃ and Ca(Na)-NO₃(Cl)-HCO₃. Uranium and radon-222 concentrations in the groundwater ranged from 0.06 to 411 μg/L and from 5.56 to 903 Bq/L, respectively. Two deep groundwaters used as common potable well-water sources exceeded the maximum contaminant levels of the uranium and radon-222 proposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Three groundwater samples from residential areas contained unsuitable levels of uranium, and 12 groundwater samples were unsuitable due to radon-222 concentrations. Radioactive materials in the unsuitable groundwater are naturally occurring in a Jurassic amphibole- and biotite-bearing granitic gneiss. High uranium and radon-222 groundwater concentrations were only observed in two common wells; the others showed no relationship between bedrock geology and groundwater geochemical constituents. With such high concentrations of naturally occurring radioactive materials in groundwater, the affected areas may extend tens of meters for uranium and even farther for radon-222. Therefore, we suggest the radon-222 and the uranium did not originate from the same source. Based on the distribution of radon-222 in the study area, zones of higher radon-222 concentrations may be the result of diffusion through cracks, joint, or faults. Surface radioactivity and uranium concentrations in the groundwater show a positive relationship, and the impact areas may extend for ~200m beyond the well in the case of wells containing high concentrations of uranium. The highest uranium and thorium concentrations in rock samples were detected in thorite and monazite.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.40-53
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• 2008

Groundwater pollution prediction methods have been developed to plan the sustainable groundwater usage and protection from potential pollution in many countries. DRASTIC established by US EPA is the most widely used groundwater vulnerability mapping method. However, the DRASTIC showed limitation in predicting the groundwater contamination because the DRASTIC method is designed to embrace only hydrogeologic factors. Therefore, in this study, three different methods were applied to improve a groundwater pollution prediction method: US EPA DRASTIC, Modified-DRASTIC suggested by Panagopoulos et al. (2006), and LSDG (Land use, Soil drainage, Depth to water, Geology) proposed by Rupert (1999). The Modified-DRASTIC is the modified version of the DRASTIC in terms of the rating scales and the weighting coefficients. The rating scales of each factor were calculated by the statistical comparison of nitrate concentrations in each class using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test; while the weighting coefficients were modified by the statistical correlation of each parameter to nitrate concentrations using the Spearman's rho test. The LSDG is a simple rating method using four factors such as Land use, Soil drainage, Depth to water, and Geology. Classes in each factor are compared by the Wilcoxon rank-sum test which gives a different rating to each class if the nitrate concentration in the class is significantly different. A database of nitrate concentrations in groundwaters from 149 wells was built in Keumsan area. Application of three different methods for assessing the groundwater pollution potential resulted that the prediction which was represented by a correlation (r) between each index and nitrate was improved from the EPA DRASTIC (r = 0.058) to the modified rating (r = 0.245), to the modified rating and weights (r = 0.400), and to the LSDG (r = 0.415), respectively. The LSDG seemed appropriate to predict the groundwater pollution in that it contained land use as a factor of the groundwater pollution sources and the rating of each class was defined by a real pollution nitrate concentration.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.751-758
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• 2019

This study tested various assumptions that simplified the configuration of the numerical model for unsaturated zone's contaminant transport to simulate the pathway to exposed point. This study investigated the contaminant migration through in the pollutant exposure pathway of vadoze zone for risk assessment of the contaminated site. For the purpose, generic scenarios as well as contaminant-based scenarios were simulated using the numerical code for transport of the contaminant in the pathway. The finite-difference one-dimensional transport with adsorption and biodegradation were considered, and it also assumed that the initial concentration was also depleted over time. The results of the generic-scenario show that as the groundwater infiltration rate decreases, the longer the path from the source to the groundwater level, the lower the concentration at the point of inflow into the groundwater level. In particular, in the case of high biodegradation rate and rapid depletion of pollutant sources, statistically outliers were found in the simulated results and generic scenarios was good at prediction.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.101-114
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• 1993

GIS technique was applied to identify the regional hydrologic units for groundwater exploitation and recharge analysis in a study area. The technique was very effective to identify the potential areas for groundwater exploitation, and for groundwater management & land use planning. GIS database of environmental resources was complied from a variety of sources and scales as the foundation for analysis, including digitizing and scanning of hardcopy maps. A DEM(Digital Elevation Model) was used to dassify slopes, and identify problematic drainage system. Quantitative analysis of environmental resources helps us to develop the scoring system of GIS model, which evaluates each resource in relation to the others and reflects the relative importance of each resource. ARC4NFO was used to construct digital database, and the cartographic simulation techniques were applied in order to create new maps.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.90-99
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• 1994

Heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity in a flow domain is generated under the assumption that it is a random variable with a lognormal, spatially-correlated distribution. The hydraulic head and the conductivity in a groundwater flow system are represented as a stochastic process. The method of Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) and the finite element method (FEM) are used to determine the statistics of the head and the logconductivity. The second moments of the head and the logconductivity indicate that the cross-covariance of the logconductivity with the head has characteristic distribution patterns depending on the properties of sources, boundary conditions, head gradients, and correlation scales. The negative cross-correlation outlines a weak-response zone where the flow system is weakly responding to a stress change in the flow domain. The stochastic approach has a potential to quantitatively delineate the zone of influence through computations of the cross-covariance distribution.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.235-242
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• 2014

Uranium can be released into the water environment from natural sources and human activities. The natural source of uranium is dominant in the Korean soil and groundwater environments. Uranium has both of radioactive and chemical toxic properties. Therefore, a drinking water contaminated with uranium has a high health risk. This study was conducted to determine the uranium concentration of water systems including small village drinking water system, groundwater for drinking water purpose, spring water, groundwater monitoring well, and emergency water suppling system. The uranium concentration was compared with domestic and other countries' standard. The contamination level was also evaluated on the basis of geological characteristics of the area. Among total 803 samples, 6 exceeded the Korean standard, $30{\mu}g/{\ell}$ and this was about 0.7% of the total sample. On the basis of geology, uranium concentration appeared to be increased in order of biotite granodiorite > biotite granite > gneissoid granite. The highest level of uranium was 12.4 in average.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.61-76
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• 2011

This study was objected to provide suggestions for best management practices to restore the cultural and historical values of the wells in Palaces as well as their water qualities. Water resources in the five Palaces in Seoul Metropolitan, including Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Jongmyo Shrine, and Deoksugung, were surveyed for their physical flows and chemical compositions from April to July in 2010. Ground waters in most wells were found at depths within 5 m from the ground surface, showing typical water-table aquifer systems. Hydraulic gradients indicate water resources in Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, and Changgyeonggung flowing toward south, and toward east in Deoksugung area. Especially, water-level fluctuation data at S-10 in Deoksugung implied the influence of groundwater discharge facility. In Jongmyo Shrine, water was not detected in wells, indicating the water level was lower than the well depth. Based on the water chemistry and stable isotope analyses, water resources and their qualities appeared to be formed by the water-rock interaction along the groundwater paths. S-10 (Deoksugung) and S-14 (Changgyeonggung) samples were contaminated with nitrate ($NO_3$) in levels of higher than Korean drinking water standard, 10 mg/L as $NO_3$-N, but once in four sampling campaigns. In the situation that water resources in Palaces still maintain natural characteristics, the materials that will be used for the restoration and improvement of the Palace water supplies should be carefully selected not to disturb the natural integrity. In addition, because the wells are located in the center of metropolitan area, a systematic monitoring should be applied to detect and to manage the potential impacts of underground construction and various pollution sources.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.241-252
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• 2000

Twenty-two water samples(fifteen groundwater and seven geothermal water samples) were collected to elucidate chemical characteristics of the ground and geothermal waters in the Haeundae hot spring area and its vicinity. Major and honor elements were analyzed for ground and geothermal water samples. The concentrations of $K^+$, Na+$, $Ca^{2+}$, $SO_4^{2-}$, $Cl^-$, ^F^-$ and $SiO_2$ were higher in the geothermal water samples than the groundwater samples except $HCO_3^- and Mg^{2+}$ ions. Based on the contents of Fe, Zn, Cu, Al, Mn and Pb, some of the ground and geothermal water samples are contaminated by anthropogenic sources. The ground waters shown on the Piper diagram belong to $Ca-HCO_3$ type, while the geothermal waters Na-Cl type. The graphs of $Cl^-$ versus $Na^+$, $Ca^{2+}, Mg^{2+}, K^+, SO_4^{2-} and HCO_3^-$ indicate that the groundwater is related partly with mineral-water reaction and partly with anthropogenic contamination, while the geothermal water is related with saline water. On the phase stability diagram, groundwater and thermal water mostly fall in the field of stability of kaolinite. This indicates that the ground and geothermal waters proceed with forming kaolinite. Factor and correlation analyses were carried out to simplify the physicochemical data into grouping some factors and to find interaction between them. Based on the Na-K, Na-K-Ca and Na-K-Ca-Mg geothermometers and silica geothermometers, the geothermal reservoir is estimated to have equilibrium temperature between 125${$\mid$circ}C$ and 160${$\mid$circ}C$.