• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.261-281
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• 2016

Our knowledge of the lithosphere beneath the Korean Peninsula has been improved through petrologic and geochemical studies of upper mantle xenoliths hosted by Quaternary intraplate alkali basalts from Jeju Island. The xenoliths are mostly spinel lherzolites, accompanied by subordinate harzburgite and pyroxenites. The mantle xenoliths represent residual mantle material showing textural and geochemical evidence for at least a three-stage evolution, fractional partial melting, recrystallization, and metasomatism. Their composition primarily controlled by early fractional melt extraction and porphyroclastic and mylonitic fabrics formed in a shear-dominated environment, which was subsequently modified by residual slab-derived fluids (or melts). Modal metasomatic products occur as both anhydrous phase(orthopyroxene) and hydrous phase (phlogopite). Late-stage orthopyroxene is more common than phlogopite. However, chemical equilibrium is evident between the primary and secondary orthopyroxene, implying that the duration of post-metasomatic high temperatures enabled complete resetting/reequilibration of the mineral compositions. The metasomatic enrichment pre-dates the host Jeju Quaternary magmatism, and a genetic relationship with the host magmas is considered unlikely. Following enrichment in the peridotite protolith in the mantle wedge, the upper mantle beneath proto-Jeju Island was transformed from a subarc environment to an intraplate environment. The Jeju peridotites, representing old subarc fragments, were subsequently transported to the surface, incorporated into ascending Quaternary intraplate alkali basalt. The result of this study implies that long term material transfer in the transformation of geotectonic setting from a subarc to intraplate may have played a significant role in the evolution of lithospheric mantle, resulting in the enriched mantle domains, such as EM I or EM II in the lithospheric mantle beneath East Asia.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.34-45
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• 2004

This paper describes the textural relations of mantle xenoliths and fluid inclusions in mantle-derived rocks found in alkaline basalts from Jeju Island which contain abundant ultramafic, felsic, and cumulate xenoliths. Most of the ultramafic xenoliths are spinel-lherzolites, composed of olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and spinel. The felsic xenoliths considered as partially molten buchites consist of quartz and plagioclase with black veinlets, which are the product of ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism of lower crustal materials. The cumulate xenoliths, clinopyroxene-rich or clinopyroxene megacrysts, are also present. Textural examination of these xenoliths reveals that the xenoliths are typically coarse grained with metamorphic characteristics, testifying to a complex history of evolution of the lower crust/upper mantle source region. The ultramafic xenoliths contain protogranular, porphyroclastic and equigranular textures with annealing features, indicating the presence of shear regime in upper mantle of the Island. The preferential associations of spinel and olivine with large orthopyroxenes suggest a previous high temperature equilibrium in the high-Al field and the original rock-type was a Al-rich orthopyroxene-bearing peridotite without garnet. Three types of fluid inclusions trapped in mantle-derived xenoliths include CO$_2$-rich fluid (Type I), multiphase silicate melt (glass ${\pm}$ devitrified crystals ${\pm}$ one or more daughter crystals ＋ one or more vapor bubbles) (Type II), and sulfide (melt) inclusions (Type III). C$_2$-rich inclusions are the most abundant volatile species in mantle xenoliths, supporting the presence of a separate CO$_2$-rich phase. These CO$_2$-rich inclusions are spatially associated with silicate and sulfide melts, suggesting immiscibility between them. Most multiphase silicate melt inclusions contain considerable amount of silicic glass. reflecting the formation of silicic melts in the lower crust/upper mantle. Combining fluid and melt inclusion data with conventional petrological and geochemical information will help to constrain the fluid regime, fluid-melt-mineral interaction processes in the mantle of the Korean Peninsula and pressure-temperature history of the host xenoliths in future studies.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2001

A small of carbonate rocks and spatially-associated ultramafic rocks uniquely occur in the ulsan iron-serpentine mine of the sourtheastern Kyungsang basin. The study of field geology, core drilling data and stable isotope analysis suggest that the carbonate rocks are carbonatite formed from the melt reflecting intrusive natures. Based on this study, the geology of the Ulsan iron-serpentinite mining area consists of Cretaceous sedimentary, volcanic, granitic ultramafic and carbonate rocks in ascending order. The carbonate and ultramafic rocks show concentric and ellipsoidal shapes at the outcrop and a funnel shape in the cross sectional view. Carbon and oxygen stable isotope analysis show a bimodal pattern rather than a typical mantle pattern, which may indicate that the melt was a secondary melt generated within the crus not in the mantle directly. The uprising of ultramafic melts would have melted lime-contained rocks forming a secondary carbonate melt in the upper crus. Then, the intrusion of the ultramafic melts would have melted lime-contained rocks forming a secondary carbonate melt in the upper crust. Then, the intrusion of the ultramafic melt was followed by the intrusion of the carbonate melt along deep-seated fractures. Well-developed major fractures in this area, fluid inclusion characteristics of the carbonate rocks, the spatial relation between the ultramafic and carbonate rocks and stable isotope data support interpreting the Ulsan carbonate rocks as carbonatite.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.85-109
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• 2019

Various Mesozoic igneous rocks such as biotite granite, leucogranites, granodiorite, hornblende gabbros, quartz gabbros and tonalite are identified in the Dangjin area, the western Gyeonggi Massif, Korea. The major Mesozoic igneous activities in the Dangjin area are recognized as periods of ca. 227 Ma, ca. 190 Ma, ca. 185 Ma and ca. 175 Ma. Gabbroic rocks consist mainly of hornblende gabbros and quartz gabbros which are characterized by dominant hornblende and occur as small stocks. The gabbroic rocks have intrusion ages between 185 and 175 Ma. Triassic biotite granite ($225{\pm}2.3Ma$) is considered to be a post-collisional granite similar in geochemistry to the southern Haemi granite ($233{\pm}2Ma$, Choi et al., 2009). Although the main magma source of biotite granite appears to be a granitic continental crust, the biotite granite could have a small amount of mafic rocks as a magma source, or a small amount of mantle-derived melts (i.e., mafic melts) could have contributed to the formation of primitive granite magma in composition. Jurassic granitoids and gabbroic rocks in the Dangjin area are considered to be continental arc igneous rocks associated with the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate. It is presumed that the leucogranites are formed by crustal anatexis of granitic materials and the gabbroic rocks are formed by partial melting of enriched mantle.

• Geosciences Journal
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.1-20
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• 2019

We present data from the Mesozoic Keumkang, Palbong, and Baekhwa granites in Garorim Bay, in the southwestern part of the Gyeonggi massif, South Korea. Using major and trace element concentrations, Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions, and sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon U-Pb ages, we aim to constrain the petrogenesis of the granites and explain their origin within a broader regional geological context. SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages of $232.8{\pm}3.2$, $175.9{\pm}1.2$, and $176.8{\pm}9.8$ Ma were obtained from the Keumkang, Palbong and Baekhwa granites, respectively. The Late Triassic Keumkang granites belong to the shoshonite series and show an overall enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (LILE), a depletion in high field strength elements (HFSE) relative to primitive mantle, compared with neighboring elements in the primitive mantle-normalized incompatible trace element diagram with notable high Ba and Sr contents, and negligible Eu anomalies. The Keumkang granites are typified by highly radiogenic Sr and unradiogenic Nd and Pb isotopic compositions: $(^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr)_i=0.70931-0.70959$, $(^{143}Nd/^{144}Nd)_i=0.511472-0.511484$ [$({\varepsilon}_{Nd})_i=-17.0$ to -16.7], and $(^{206}Pb/^{204}Pb)=17.26-17.27$. The Middle Jurassic Palbong and Baekhwa granites belong to the medium- to high-K calc-alkaline series, and show LILE enrichment and HFSE depletion similar to the Keumkang granites, but exhibit significant negative anomalies in Ba, Sr, and Eu. Furthermore, they have elevated Y and Yb contents at any given $SiO_2$ content compared with other Jurassic granitoids from the Gyeonggi massif. The Palbong and Baekhwa granites have slightly less radiogenic Sr and more radiogenic Nd and Pb isotopic compositions [$(^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr)_i=0.70396-0.70908$, $(^{143}Nd/^{144}Nd)_i=0.511622-0.511660$, $({\varepsilon}_{Nd})_i=-15.4$ to -14.7, $(^{206}Pb/^{204}Pb)=17.56-17.76$] relative to the Keumkang granites. The Keumkang granites are considered to have formed in a post-collisional environment following the Permo-Triassic Songrim orogeny that records continent-continent collision between the North and South China blocks, and may have formed by fractional crystallization of metasomatized lithospheric mantle-derived mafic melts. The Palbong and Baekhwa granites may have been produced from a gabbroic assemblage at pressures of less than ~15 kbar, associated with subduction of the paleo-Pacific (Izanagi) plate at the Eurasian continental margin. Elevated ${\varepsilon}_{Nd}(t)$ values in the granitoids from the southwestern part of the Gyeonggi massif relative to those of the central and northern parts, together with the comparatively shallow depth of origin, imply the presence of an exotic block in the Korean lithosphere.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.51-67
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• 2016

Geochemical characteristics of the Early Cretaceous igneous rocks from eastern China and the Gyeongsang Basin, Korean Peninsula has been summarized. They have wide range of lithological variation with extrusive picrite-basalt-andesite-trachyte-rhyolite and lamprophyre, and intrusive gabbro-diorite-monzonite-syenite-granite and diabase in eastern China, mostly belonging to the high-K calc-alkaline or shoshonitic series. The volcanic rocks intercalated with the Hayang Group sedimentary assemblages in the Gyeongsang basin are high-K to shoshonitic basaltic trachyandesites. The Early Cretaceous basaltic rocks studied mostly fall within the field of within-plate basalts on the Zr/Y-Zr and Nb-Zr-Y tectonic discrimination diagrams. On a Sr-Nd isotope correlation diagram, basaltic rocks from the North China block (NCB) and the continent-continent collision zone (CZ) between the North and South China blocks plot into the enriched lower right quadrant along the extension of the mantle array. The initial $^{87}Sr/^{86}Sr$ ratios of basaltic rocks from the South China block (SCB) are indistinguishable from those of the NCB and CZ basaltic rocks, but their ${\varepsilon}_{Nd}$ (t) values are relatively more elevated, plotting in right side of the mantle array. Basaltic rocks from the NCB and CZ are characterized by low $^{206}Pb/^{204}Pb(t)$ ratios, lying to the left of the Geochron on the $^{207}Pb/^{204}Pb(t)$ vs. $^{206}Pb/^{204}Pb(t)$ correlation. Meanwhile, the SCB basaltic rocks have relatively radiogenic Pb isotopic compositions compared with those of the NCB and CZ basaltic rocks. Basaltic rocks from the Hayang Group plot within the field of the NCB basaltic rocks in Sr-Nd and Pb-Pb isotope spaces. Metasomatically enriched subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) is likely to have been the dominant source for the early Cretaceous magmatism. Asthenospheric upwelling under an early Cretaceous extensional tectonic setting in eastern China and the Korean Peninsula might be a heat source for melting of the enriched SCLM. Metasomatic agents proposed include partial melts of lower continental crust delaminated and foundered into the mantle or subducted Yangtze continental crust, or fluid/melt derived from the subducted paleo-Pacific plate.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.39-50
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• 2016

Negative crystal shaped $CO_2$-rich fluid inclusions, trapped as primary inclusions in neoblasts and as secondary inclusions in porphyroblasts, were studied in spinel peridotite xenoliths from Jeju Island. Based on microthermometric experiments, the solid phase melts at $-57.1^{\circ}C$(${\pm}0.9^{\circ}C$) with no other observable melting events, indicating that the trapped fluid is mostly $CO_2$. The homogenization temperatures show a much wider range from $-39^{\circ}C$(${\rho}=1.12g/cm^{3)}$) to $23^{\circ}C$(${\rho}=0.82g/cm^{3)}$), suggesting that most of the inclusions (originally trapped at mantle conditions) re-equilibrated to lower density values. Nevertheless, the highest density $CO_2$ in our fluid inclusions is consistent with entrapment of fluids at upper mantle pressures (and depths). The calculated trapping pressure from $CO_2$-rich fluid inclusions that appear to be free from re-equilibrium, e.g., showing the lowest homogenization temperatures, is ${\approx}0.9GPa$. Based on the petrographic evidences, the fluid entrapment can be regarded as a late stage event in the evolution of the shallow lithospheric mantle.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.169-186
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• 2000

The Miocene volcanic rocks in the Dangsari area, eastern part of Ulsan city, are mainly composed of andesite lava flows and pyroclastic rocks. The andesite lavas are identified as two-pyroxone andesite, comprising phenocrysts of augite ($Wo_{43.2}$ $En_{41.0}$ $Fs_{15.8}$ ) and hyperthene ($Wo_{2.7}$ $65.8_{En}$ $_{Fs}$ 31.5). The andesitic pyroclastic rocks are largely composed of pyroclastic breccias with alternating tuff-breccia and lapilli tuff, which showing planar layering, and minor amount of andesitic tuff with thin deposits of interlayered tuffaceous shale. According to the petrochemical data, andesitic rocks belong to medium-K calc-alkaline andesite. The position of bulk composition on the AFM diagram and the presence of normative quartz and hypersthene indicate that the volcanic rocks are calc-alkaline. The trace element composition and REE patterns of andesite, which are characterized by a high LILE/HFSE ratio and enrichment in LREE, suggest that they are typical of continental margin arc calc-alkalic volcanic rocks produced in the subduction environment. On the discrimination diagram, the Dangsari volcanic rocks fall into the fields of subduction related continental margin arc volcanic province. The primary magic melts may be derived from about 15% partial melting of mantle wedge in the upper mantle under destructive plate margin. And the melt evolved to calc-alkaline andesite magma by fractional crystallization and the magma was a little contaminated with crustal materials.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.227-244
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• 2010

Abundant spinel lherzolite xenoliths showing distinctively different textural types such as protogranular, porphyroclastic, and mylonitic texture are trapped in the basaltic rocks from southeastern part of Jeju Island. These xenoliths show the textural spectrum from coarse-grained protogranular through porphyroclastic with bimodal grain size to fine-grained and foliated mylonitic texture. They tend to decrease in grain sizes and show more linear grain boundaries and more frequent triple junctions from protogranular through porphyroclastic to mylonitic. Spinel has different occurrence mode according the textural type. Spinel is always associated with orthopyroxene in protogranular texture, whereas it is scattered and independent of orthopyroxene in mylonitic texture. Additionally, porphyroblast from porphyroclastic and mylonitic textures has internal deformation features such as kink band, undulatory extinction and curved lamella, whereas neoblast is strain-free. These textural features indicate increasing degree of static/dynamic recrystallization from protogranular through porphyroclastic to mylonitic texture. The mg#[$=100{\times}Mg/(Mg+Fe_t)$] of olivine, orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene is relatively constant (ol: 88-91; opx: 89-92; cpx: 89-92) regardless of textural differences. The mg# of constituent minerals, NiO content (0.3~0.4 wt%) and MnO content (0.1~0.2 wt%) of olivine are similar to those of mantle xenoliths worldwide, also indicating that studied spinel lherzolite xenoliths were mantle residues having experienced 20~25% partial melting. The geochemical and textural characteristics have close relations showing that LREE and incompatible trace elements content of orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene increases from protogranular through porphyroclastic to mylonitic. These observations suggest that the studied mantle xenoliths experienced metasomatism by LREE enriched melt or fluid after partial melting, indicating a close relation between deformation and metasomatism. The metasomatism was possibly confined to narrow shear zones from where porphyroclastic and mylonitic textured xenoliths originated. These shear zones might favorably drive the percolation of LREE-enriched melts/fluids responsible for the metasomatism in the lithospheric mantle below the Jeju Island.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.367-375
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• 2010

Understanding the interactions between earth materials and fluids is essential for studying the diverse geological processes in the Earth's surface and interior. In order to better understand the interactions between earth materials and fluids, we explore the effect of specific surface area and porosity on structural parameters of pore structures. We obtained 3D pore structures, using random packing simulations of porous media composed of single sized spheres with varying the particle size and porosity, and then we analyzed configurational entropy for 2D cross sections of porous media and cube counting fractal dimension for 3D porous networks. The results of the configurational entropy analysis show that the entropy length decreases from 0.8 to 0.2 with increasing specific surface area from 2.4 to $8.3mm^2/mm^3$, and the maximum configurational entropy increases from 0.94 to 0.99 with increasing porosity from 0.33 to 0.46. On the basis of the strong correlation between the liquid volume fraction (i.e., porosity) and configurational entropy, we suggest that elastic properties and viscosity of mantle melts can be expressed using configurational entropy. The results of the cube counting fractal dimension analysis show that cube counting fractal dimension increases with increasing porosity at constant specific surface area, and increases from 2.65 to 2.98 with increasing specific surface area from 2.4 to $8.3mm^2/mm^3$. On the basis of the strong correlation among cube counting fractal dimension, specific surface area, and porosity, we suggest that seismic wave attenuation and structural disorder in fluid-rock-melt composites can be described using cube counting fractal dimension.