• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.141-156
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• 2010

Dokdo Island, Korea, is located in the East Sea belonging to back arc basin. In this study we examined petrology and geochemistry of massive tuffaceous breccia (MTB) from Dongdo (Eastern islet) and Seodo(Western islet), the two largest islands of Dokdo. Field studies and chemical analysis distinguish the MTB in Dongdo and Seodo. The Dongdo MTB (DMTB) is exposed up to 50 m on the ocean cliff and it has dominant basalt and trachybasalt with moderate amount of trachyte and scoria. On the other hand, Seodo MTB (SMTB), which is preserved between trachyte dike and trachyandesite, is composed of roughly equal amounts of basalt, trachybasalt and trachyte. The location of the islets were related to the source vent having in contact with underlying trachyte lava and differential pyroclastic deposits made them different characteristics. According to trace element analysis of trachytic volcanic clasts, the Ba concentration ranges from 66 to 103 ppm and Sr varies from 44 to 56 ppm in DMTB. However, Br and Sr in SMTB correspondingly showed relatively wide ranges: Br 785-1259 ppm and Sr 466-1230 ppm. These differential trends between DMTB and SMTB, along with the difference in P and Ti, indicate that the crystallization of alkali feldspar, feldspathoid, biotite, apatite and titanium took place differently. Nevertheless, DMTB and SMTB are similar in REE patterns and they are correspondingly characterized by high LREE, low HREE and similar $(La/Yb)_N$ values with 23.9-40.2 in DMTB and 27.4-32.9 in SMTB. These patterns suggest that Dongdo and Seodo might be originated from coeval magma suites. Dokdo island shows high concentrations of Ba, K and Rb. These signatures mark a result attributed to the mantle upwelling because the magma derived from the asthenosphere was metasomatized with subduction-related fluids.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.643-654
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• 2023

The West Philippine Basin, an oceanic basin half the size of the Philippine Sea Plate, lies in the western part of the plate and south of the Korean Peninsula on the Eurasian Plate. It subducts beneath the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Islands bordering the Ryukyu Trench and the Philippine Trench with 25-50% of this basin already consumed. However, the history of the opening of the basin's southern region has been a topic of debate. The non-transform discontinuity formed during the seafloor spreading is similar to the transform fault boundaries normally perpendicular to mid-ocean ridge axes; however, it was created irregularly due to ridge propagations caused by variations of mantle convection attributable to magma supply changes. By analyzing high-resolution multi-beam echo-sounding data, we confirmed that the non-transform discontinuity due to the propagating rift evolved in the entire basin and that the abyssal hill strike direction changed from E-W to NNW-SSE from the fossil spreading center. In the early stage of basin extension, the Amami-Sankaku Basin was rotated 90 degrees clockwise from its current orientation, and it bordered the Palau Basin along the Mindanao Fracture Zone. The Amami-Sankaku Basin separated from the Palau Basin while the spreading of the West Philippine Basin began with a counter-clockwise rotation. This indicates that the non-transform discontinuities formed by a sudden change in magma supply due to the drift of the Philippine Sea Plate and simultaneously with the rapid changes in the spreading direction from ENE-WSW to N-S. The Palau Basin was considered to be the sub-south of the West Philippine Basin, but recent studies have shown that it extends into an independent system. Evidence from sediment layers and crustal thickness hints at the possibility of its existence before the West Philippine Basin opened, although its evolution continues to be debated. We performed a combined analysis using high-resolution multi-beam bathymetry and satellite gravity data to uncover new insights into the evolution of the West Philippine Basin. This information illuminates the complex plate interactions and provides a crucial contribution toward understanding the opening history of the basin and the Philippine Sea Plate.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.151-160
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• 2021

2:1 clay minerals such as smectite incorporating ammonium were extracted to investigate the ammonium behavior and nitrogen isotope characteristics for two different sediment cores which were collected from shimmering sites on seafloor of the Wakamiko crater, southwestern Japan. Inorganic nitrogen contents in clay fraction were estimated by calibration curve based on consistently decreasing carbon and nitrogen ratio during the treatment to decompose organic materials, after removing inorganic carbon. The results show that the proportions of inorganic nitrogen for total nitrogen in clay fraction of SWS site(Core#1094MR: av. 18.2%) are higher than those in SES site(Core#1093MG: av. 11.5%). Relatively good crystallinity of the former suggests that exchangeable ammonium was transformed to non-exchangeable ammonium during more evolving diagenetic process. Nitrogen isotope variance of clay fraction(SES site: Core#1093MG: -4.4 ~ +0.2 ‰, av. -2.4 ‰; SWS site: Core#1094MR: -0.7 ~ +3.0 ‰, av. +1.5 ‰) during sequential decomposition of exchangeable ammonium suggests that heat flow derived from deep magma led to nitrogen isotope fractionation between dissolved ammonium and ammonia in the fluids involved in the formation of 2:1 clay mineral incorporating ammonium with local temperature variation.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.251-277
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• 2019

The Gogunsan Archipelago is composed of two island groups; the first group includes Mal-do, Myeong-do, Gwangdae-do, and Bangchuk-do islands consisting of Neoproterozoic rocks, and the second group includes Yami-do, Sinsi-do, Muneo-do, Jangja-do, and Seonyu-do islands consisting of Cretaceous rocks. The first group mainly consists of the Bangchuk formation which can be divided into two layers; the lower layer was more deformed than the upper layer. The former was intruded by mafic and felsic volcanic rocks formed in the volcanic arc tectonic setting 930-890 Ma and the latter was deposited ca. 825-800 Ma. In these islands, large scale folds with east-west fold axes were beautifully formed; the Maldo island fold was designated as natural monument and large scale beautiful chevron fold was developed on the Gwangdae-do island. In addition, there are unique zebra-shaped outcrop formed by a mixing of basic and acidic magma and Independent Gate shaped outcrop formed by coastal erosion. On the other hand, the Yami-do, Sinsi-do, Muneo-do, Jangja-do and Seonyu-do islands consist of 92-91Ma Cretaceous volcanic rocks and, in Sinsi-do island, the Nanshan formation deposited ca. 92 Ma. These Cretaceous volcanic rocks formed by melting of the continental crust by the heat supplied from the uplifting mantle due to the extension caused by a retreat of subducting ocean slab. Yami-do and Sinsi-do islands are composed of rhyolite. In Yami-do island, bands with vertical joint formed by cooling of the bottom part of the lava, are shown. In Sinsi-do island, large-scale vertical joints formed by cooling of lava flow, were developed. The Jangja-bong of Jangja-do island and Mangju-bong of Seonyu-do island are composed of brecciated rhyolite and formed a ring shaped archipelago contributing to the development of marine culture by providing natural harbor condition. They also provide beautiful views including 'Seonyu 8 views' along with other islands. As mentioned above, the Gogunsan archipelago is rich in geoheritages and associated cultural and historical resources, making it worth as a National Geopark.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.313-331
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• 2022

Natural or native abiotic molecular hydrogen (H₂) is a major component in natural gas, however yet its importance in the global energy sector's usage as clean and renewable energy is underestimated. Here we review the occurrence and geological settings of native hydrogen to demonstrate the much widesprease H₂ occurrence in nature by comparison with previous estimations. Three main types of source rocks have been identified: (1) ultramafic rocks; (2) cratons comprising iron (Fe²⁺)-rich rocks; and (3) uranium-rich rocks. The rocks are closely associated with Precambrian crystalline basement and serpentinized ultramafic rocks from ophiolite and peridotite either at mid-ocean ridges or within continental margin(Zgonnik, 2020). Inorganic geological processes producing H₂ in the source rocks include (a) the reduction of water during the oxidation of Fe²⁺ in minerals (e.g., olivine), (b) water splitting due to radioactive decay, (c) degassing of magma at low pressure, and (d) the reaction of water with surface radicals during mechanical breaking (e.g., fault) of silicate rocks. Native hydrogen are found as a free gas (51%), fluid inclusions in various rock types (29%), and dissolved gas in underground water (20%) (Zgonnik, 2020). Although research on H₂ has not yet been carried out in Korea, the potential H₂ reservoirs in the Gyeongsang Basin are highly probable based on geological and geochemical characteristics including occurrence of ultramafic rocks, inter-bedded basaltic layers and iron-copper deposits within thick sedimentary basin and igneous activities at an active continental margin during the Permian-Paleogene. The native hydrogen is expected to be clean and renewable energy source in the near future. Therefore it is clear that the origin and exploration of the native hydrogen, not yet been revealed by an integrated studies of rock-fluid interaction studies, are a field of special interest, regardless of the presence of economic native hydrogen reservoirs in Korea.