• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.199-208
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• 2010

The Cenozoic alkali basalts are distributed over Korea, both on central part as Bangnyeongdo, Ganseong, Pyeongtaek-Asan and Jogongni and also on southernmost part Jejudo. The ultramafic mantle xenoliths carried by Korean alkali basalts are spinel lherzolites. Garnet lherzolite that is more stable at the deeper level has not been reported so far, indicating that the lithospheric thickness under Korea does not reach deep enough to the stable zone of garnet lherzolite. The crustal evolution history of the Korean peninsula, at least some part of it, seemingly started since the Archean, it normally should have lithospheric thickness greater than 150 km. However, the mantle xenoliths carried by the Cenozoic alkali basalts indicate the maximum depth of origination in the much shallower range of 60-90 km. Such significantly thinner lithospheric thickness of the Korean peninsula than expected is quite similar to the case of North China Craton having lithospheric thickness of ca. 80 km in average, suggesting thinning of the lithospheric mantle in a depth scale of a few tens of kilometers during the past geologic time. The main causal events for such significant thinning of the lithospheric mantle can be continental collisional events of Paleoproterozoic and early Mesozoic similar to the case of North China Craton, which are also supported by Paleoproterozoic igneous and metamorphic events during the 1.9-2.0 Ga occurring all over the Korean peninsula and also early Mesozoic continental collisional event which has been discussed on lively arguments.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.91-98
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• 2005

On board satellite magnetometer measures all possible magnetic components, such as the core and crustal components from the inner Earth, and magnetospheric, ionospheric and' its coupled components from the outer Earth. Due to its dipole and non-dipole features, separation of the respective component from the measurements is most difficult unless the comprehensive knowledge of each field characteristics and the consequent modeling methods are solidly constructed. Especially, regional long wavelength magnetic signals of the crust are strongly masked by the main field and dynamic external field and hence difficult to isolate in the satellite measurements. In particular, the un-modeled effects of the strong auroral external fields and the complicated behavior of the core field near the geomagnetic poles conspire to greatly reduce the crustal magnetic signal-to-noise ratio in the polar region relative to the rest of the Earth. We can, however, use spectral correlation theory to filter the static lithospheric and core field components from the dynamic external field effects that are closely related to the geomagnetic storms affecting ionospheric current disturbances. To help isolate regional lithospheric anomalies from core field components, the correlations between CHAMP magnetic anomalies and the pseudo-magnetic effects inferred from satellite gravity-derived crustal thickness variations can also be exploited, Isolation of long wavelengths resulted from the respective source is the key to understand and improve the models of the external magnetic components as well as of the lower crustal structures. We expect to model the external field variations that might also be affected by a sudden upheaval like tsunami by using our algorithm after isolating any internal field components.

• Journal of the Korean Geophysical Society
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.293-303
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• 2002

Applying elastic plate model, we estimated elastic thickness and rigidity of the lithosphere in southern part of the Korean Peninsula($332km{\times}332km$ area of which center is $36.5^{\circ}N$ in latitude and $127.5^{\circ}E$ in longitude) by analysing terrain data and gravity data measured up to 2002. We tried to exclude the East Sea in choosing the study area because it has different tectonic environment. The mean Moho depth was estimated to be 30 km by power spectrum analysis of gravity data in the study area, Assuming one layer crust and applying elastic plate model, the loads with wavelengths of greater than 300 km are locally compensated, loads with wavelengths in the range 80-300km are partially supported by the strength of the lithosphere, and loads with wavelengths of less than 80km are almost completely supported by lithospheric strength. Assuming crustal model and rigidity, we calculated predicted coherence and compared it with observed coherence. As a result, we wert able to estimate the effective elastic thickness to be of 15 km(corresponding flexural rigidity is $3.0{\times}10^{22}Nm$). This indicates that the crust of the study area is relatively weaker than other old and stable continental regions but is similar to continental margins or oceanic area. The low rigidity could be explained by many tectonic and thermal activities such as orogenic activities, magmatic intrusions, volcanic activities, foldings, faultings, etc.

• The Korean Journal of Petroleum Geology
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• v.9 no.1_2 s.10
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• pp.16-23
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• 2001

The study area in the East Sea is located on the northeastern margins of the Ulleung Basin near the Kita-Yamato Bank. The research area provides the important clue to the development of Miocene basins which are characterized by the normal faults and volcanic activities related to rifting in the continental crust. Kita-Yamato Bank is a small sediment-filled graben which was formed by failed rifting in the Early Miocene. The basins rapidly vary the bathymetry, depth of acoustic basement and thickness of sedimentary layer. The tension in the study area caused the extensional lithospheric deformation before/during the Early Miocene. In consequence, tectonic forces resulted in the depression or subsidence of basement from continental rifting in the Kita-Yamato Bank followed by the opening of the Ulleung Basin, and caused the onset of graben or half-graben structure bounded by large blocked syn-rift faults. Afterward no significant tectonic deformation exists, with the consequence that post-rift normal faults with small heave were formed and reactivated by the resultant forces such as tectonic subsidence, sediment loading and volcanic activity. The Cenozoic sediment layer has a maximum thickness of 1.0 s along the center of the graben or half-graben, which overlies the consolidated acoustic basement. Seismic units V and IV supposed to be syn-rift sedimentary rocks are deformed by both the volcanic activities and numerous basement-involved normal faults induced from extension. In the uppermost layer, slump scars resulted from the slope failure are recognized.