• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.6 s.169
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• pp.631-645
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• 2004

This study assesses groundwater vulnerability to contaminants in industrial and residential/commercial areas of the city of Changwon, using DRASTIC technique and groundwater data. The DRASTIC technique was originally applied to situations in which the contamination sources are at the ground surface, and the contaminants flow into the groundwater with infiltration of rainfall. Mostly the industrial area has higher DRASTIC indices than the residential/commercial area. However, a part of the residential/commercial area having much groundwater production and great drawdown is more contaminated in groundwater than other industrial and the residential/commercial areas even if it has lowest DRASTIC indices in the study area. It indicates that groundwater contamination in urban areas can be closely related to excessive pumping resulting in a lowering of the water level. The correlation coefficient between minimum DRASTIC indices and the degree of poor water quality for 10 districts is as low as 0.40. On the other hand, the correlation coefficients between minimum DRASTIC indices and the groundwater discharge rate, and between minimum DRASTIC indices and well distribution density per unit area are 0.70 and 0.87, respectively. Thus, to evaluate the potential of groundwater contamination in urban areas, it is necessary to consider other human-made factors such as groundwater withdrawal rate and well distribution density per unit area as well as the existing seven DRASTIC factors.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2005.05b
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• pp.29-38
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• 2005

It is important to understand groundwater conditions such as recharge, flow and hydrochemical process occurred within an aquifer for groundwater protection and groundwater resource management. Groundwater from the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone aquifer of North Yorkshire has been used for industrial purposes and domestic water supply. Tn order to understand the processes affecting groundwater chemistry and identify the sources of high chloride, sulphate and nitrate concentrations hydrochemical and isotopic measurements were carried out. Hydrochemical and isotopic measurements indicated that five groundwater types exist within the Sherwood Sandstone aquifer of study area. The results of hydrochemical and isotopic measurements showed that older groundwaters have different hydrochemical and isotopic characteristics from recent recharge water. It was also found that water-rock interactions are the dominant mechanism controlling the ${\delta}^{13}C$ composition of dissolved inorganic carbon, the ${\delta}^{34}S\;and\;{\delta}^{18}O$ composition of dissolved sulphate and the strontium isotope ratios ($^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr$) in recent recharge water and old groundwater. Several abstraction boreholes within the Selby wellfield have been contaminated by saline water. The isotopic data of saline groundwater samples taken from these abstraction boreholes indicate that saline waters are derived from the dissolution of the Triassic evaporites within the Mercia Mudstone.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2017

Nitrate ($NO_3^-$), a common surface water and groundwater pollutant, poses a serious environmental problem in regions with intensive agricultural activities and dense population. It is thus important to identify the source of nitrate contamination to better manage water quality. Due to the distinct isotope compositions of nitrate among different origins, the dual isotope analysis (${\delta}^{15}N$ and ${\delta}^{18}O$) of nitrate has been widely applied to track contamination sources. This paper provided the underlying backgrounds in the isotope analysis of nitrate, which included typical ranges of ${\delta}^{15}N$ and ${\delta}^{18}O$ from various nitrate sources, isotope fractionation, the analytical methods used to concentrate nitrate from samples, and the potential limitations of the dual isotope analysis along with the resolutions. To enhance the applicability of the dual isotope analysis as well as increase the ability to interpret field data, this paper also introduced several case studies. Furthermore, other environmental tracers including ${\delta}^{11}B$ and $Cl^-/Br^-$ ratios were discussed to accompany the dual isotope analysis for better assignment of contamination sources even when microbial transformation of nitrate and/or mixing between contaminant plumes occur.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.481-490
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• 2005

Nitrate contamination in water system is a critical environmental problem caused by excessive application of chemical fertilizer and concentration of livestock. In order to prevent further contamination, therefore, it is necessary to understand the origin of nitrate in nitrogen loading sources and manage the very source of contamination. The objective of this study was to examine the nitrate contamination sources in different agricultural system by using nitrogen isotope ratios. Groundwater and runoff water samples were collected on a monthly basis from February 2003 to November 2003 and analyzed for nitrogen isotopes. The nitrate concentrations of groundwater in livestock fanning area were higher than those in conventional and organic fanning area and exceeded the national drinking water standard of 10mg N/ l. The ${\delta}^{15}N$ranges of chemical fertilizer and animal manure were - 3.7${\sim}$+2.3$\textperthousand$ and +12.5${\sim}$26.7$\textperthousand$, respectively. The higher ${\delta}^{15}N$ of animal manure than those of chemical fertilizer reflected isotope fractionation and volatilization of '''N. The different agricultural systems and corresponding average nitrate concentrations and ${\delta}^{15}N$ values were: conventional farming, 5.47mg/e, 8.3$\textperthousand$; organic fanning, 5.88mg/e, 10.1$\textperthousand$; crop-livestock farming, 12.5mg/e, 17.7%0. These data indicated that whether conventional or organic agriculture effected groundwater and runoff water quality. In conclusions, relationship between nitrate concentrations and ${\delta}^{15}N$ value could be used to make a distinction between nitrate derived from chemical fertilizer and from animal manure. Additional investigation is required to monitor long-term impact on water quality in accordance with agricultural systems.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.501-504
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• 2003

Sulfur isotope composition was used to identify the sources of groundwater contamination near abandonded coal mines. From the analysis of mine adit drainages, tailing seepages, and spring waters near the abandonded Hambaek and Hanchang coal mines in Kangwon Province, it was inferred that it the highly possible source of the contamination of spring water is acid mine drainage(AMD). Sulfur isotope composition showed that seepage from tailings seemed to have more effect on the groundwater contamination than mine adit drainage, which suggests the remediation and anti-contamination methods of tailing seepages not only mine adit drainage are required.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.73-76
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• 2003

SF$_{6}$ (Sulfur Hexafluoride) is a gaseous compound whose use is being greatly increased recently. The compound has a negligible background concentration from natural sources and is stable in most of groundwater environments. Therefore, SF$_{6}$ has potential for a dating tool for young groundwater. It has many advantages over chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) for groundwater investigation that sampling procedure is much simpler than CFCs and its growth is continued up to at least near future in the atmosphere. However, solubility of SF$^{6}$ is so low that excess air causes large uncertainties in recharge date of groundwater. To compensate the limitation, $N_2$/Ar method can be employed to estimate excess air content. A groundwater study is currently carrying out in Jeju Island using SF$_{6}$ as an environmental tracer, Well waters and spring waters were sampled for SF$_{6}$ and $N_2$/Ar. To establish SF$_{6}$ input history in the study area, air sampling is being conducted in the area near the center of the island on a monthly and weekly basis. Based on the present data, the level of SF$_{6}$ concentration in the atmosphere of the Island is corresponding to the trend of the Northern Hemisphere.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2023.05a
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• pp.185-185
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• 2023

Agricultural water demand is considered as the major sector of water withdrawal due to irrigation. The majority part of the global agricultural field depends on various irrigation techniques. Therefore, a timely and sufficient supply of water is the most important requirement for agriculture. Irrigation is implemented in different ways in various land surface models, it can be modeled empirically based on observed irrigation rates or by calculating water supply and demand. Certain models can also calculate the irrigation demand as per the soil water deficit. In these implementations, irrigation is typically applied uniformly over the irrigated land regardless of crop types or irrigation techniques. Whereas, the latest version of Community Land Model (CLM) in the Community Terrestrial Systems Model (CTSM) uses a global distribution map of irrigation with 64 crop functional types (CFTs) to simulate the irrigation water demand. It can estimate irrigation water withdrawal from different sources and the amount or the areas irrigated with different irrigation techniques. Hence, we set up the model for the simulation period of 16 years from 2000 to 2015 to analyze the global irrigation demand at a spatial resolution of 1.9° × 2.5°. The simulated irrigation water demand is evaluated with the available observation data from FAO AQUASTAT database at the country scale. With the evaluated model, this study aims to suggest new sustainable scenarios for the ratios of irrigation water withdrawal, high depending on the withdrawal sources e.g. surface water and groundwater. With such scenarios, the CFT maps are considered as the determining factor for selecting the areas where the crop pattern can be altered for a sustainable irrigation water management depending on the available withdrawal sources. Overall, our study demonstrate that the scenarios for the future sustainable water resources management in terms of irrigation water withdrawal from the both the surface water and groundwater sources may overcome the excessive stress on exploiting the groundwater in major river basins globally.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2004.09a
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• pp.334-337
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• 2004

Groundwater chemistry in Namwon area, Korea, was investigated to understand the contribution of geochemical processes on groundwater chemistry. For this study, a total of 279 groundwater samples were collected from 93 wells distributed over the study area. Higher concentrations of major ions are generally encountered in the shallow alluvial wells, suggesting that these chemicals are originated from the surface contamination sources. Mass balance analysis based on reaction stoichiometry reveals that the water chemistry is regulated by three major chemical processes: weathering of silicate/ carbonate minerals, input of C1/SO$_4$ salts, and nitrate generating processes. The results show that mineral weathering is the most dominating factor regulating the groundwater chemistry. However, the groundwaters with the higher salt concentration indicate the larger mineral weathering effect, suggesting that some part of the mineral weathering effect is also associated with the anthropogenic activities such as limes applied to the cultivated lands, carbonates (CaCO$_3$) in the cement materials.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2001.09a
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• pp.35-37
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• 2001

This study has investigated the chemical characteristics and the contamination of groundwater in relation to land use in Daejeon Metropolitan City. An attempt was made to distinguish anthrophogenic inputs from the influence of natural chemical weathering on the chemical composition of groundwater at Taejon. Groundwater samples collected at 170 locations in the Taejon area show very variable chemical composition of groundwater, e.9. electrical conductance ranges from 65 to 1,290 S/cm. Most groundwater is weakly acidic and the groundwater chemistry is more influenced by land use and urbanization than by aquifer rock type. Most of groundwater from green areas and new town residential districts has low electrical conductance, and is of Ca-HC $O_3$ type, whereas the chemical composition of groundwater from the old downtown and industrial district is shifted towards a Ca-Cl (N $O_3$+S $O_4$) type with high electrical conductance. A number of groundwater samples in the urbanized area are contaminated by high nitrate and chlorine, and exhibit high hardness. The Ep$CO_2$, that is the $CO_2$ content of a water sample relative to pure water, was computed to obtain more insight into the origin of $CO_2$ and bicarbonate in the groundwater. Factor analysis of the chemical data shows that the HC $O_3$ and N $O_3$ concentrations have the highest factor loadings on factor 1 and factor 2, respectively. Factors 1 and 2 represent major contributions from natural processes and human activities, respectively. The results of the factor analysis indicate that the levels of $Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, N $a^{+}$, Cl and SO4$^2$ derive from both pollution sources and natural weathering reactions.ons.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.27-35
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• 2013

In this study, three dimensional and two dimensional laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of water table rising on DNAPL migration, contaminants mass discharge ($M_d$), and residual NAPL distribution. The accumulation of TCE in unsaturated zone was observed in both two and three dimensional experiments. This implies DNAPL sources could exist in unsaturated zone at contaminated sites. It has been investigated that the TCE concentration is proportional to the areal ratio of residual TCE. This means the residual TCE obviously could affect the TCE concentration in aquifer system. The results of the two-dimensional experiment indicated that the contaminant sources in unsaturated zone could lead the $M_d$ increasing with water table rising and the source zone heterogeneity could also highly affect the $M_d$.