• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.367-371
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• 2014

In early 1990s, the Korean government has launched a deep-sea research program to secure the stable long-term supply of strategic metallic minerals including Cr, Cu and Ni. Through the pioneering surveys, Korea registered $150,000km^2$ of Mn-nodule field in the Clarion-Clipperton area, the NE equatorial Pacific to the international sea-bed authority (ISA) in 1994. Following the ISA exploration code, the final exclusive exploration area of $75,000km^2$ was assigned in 2002, based on results of eight-year researches of chemico-physical properties of nodules, bottom profiles and sediment properties. Since that time, environmental studies, mining technical developments including robot miner and lifting system and establishment of smelting systems were accompanied with the detailed geophysical studies to decipher the priori mining area until 2009. Major points of the recent Korea Mn-nodule program are deployed on a commercial scale until 2015. In order to meet the goals, we developed a 1/5 scaled robot miner compared to commercial one in 2012 and performed a mining test at the water depth of 1,370 m in 2013. In addition, detailed 25,000 scaled mining maps in the priori area, which can provide operation roots of the miner, will be prepared and an environmental-friendly mining strategy will be pursued based on the environmental impact test and environmental monitoring.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.260-270
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• 2008

The economics of manganese nodules mining was assessed based on 36 scenarios which reflect recent changes of the metal market. Those scenarios included optimistic/neutral/pessimistic prospect for the cost, 2 production scales(1.5 MT and 3 MT) and 6 assumptional paths of future metal prices. A large part of scenarios, in which optimistic or neutral prospect for the cost and metal prices were assumed, showed good economic feasibility of the project. For example, 37.12% of Internal Rate of Return(IRR) was obtained in the scenario of 3 MT production, neutral cost prospect and present metal price maintained in the future.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.32-41
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• 1992

An XRD quantitative analytical method using calculated XRD patterns was discussed in this study, Deep-seabed sediments commonly contain smectite, illite, chlorite, and kaolinite, and XRD pattern of each clay mineral of appropriate chemical composition was simulated by using an XRD pattern calculation method. Theoretical peak intensities of specific reflections of four clay minerals (the 001 reflections of smectite and illite, the 004 reflection of chlorite, and the 002 reflection of kaolinite) were measured from calculated patterns, and MIF(mineral intensity factor)value of each phase was determined from the intensities of calculated patterns. The peak intensities obtaine from experimental XRD patterns of sediments were corrected using the MIF values so that the calibrated intensity values for the specimens are linearly proportional to the weight fraction of each phase, which is normalized to 100 wt%. The MIF method can provide accurate quantitaive results without the necessity of correcting the factors by the mass absorption coefficient of each phase. This method excludes the necessity of standard specimens having compositions that are similar to those of clay minerals in the sediment samples. Therefore, quantitaive analysis using XRD calculation method can be utilized for the specimens, for which the standard specimens are very difficult or impossible to obtain. this quantitative method can provide rapid, routine analysis results for a large number of samples which occur in similar geological environments.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.719-730
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• 2017

Recently, oceanic research has been carried out investigating global scientific interests and the territorial management of national marine jurisdictional waters, including exclusive economic zones (EEZ) and the open seas. To meet the needs of ocean researchers pursuing these - objectives, acquiring advanced research infrastructure, including research vessels, large facilities, and equipment, is a top priority in ocean science. However, ocean science is a similar to space science, and securing resources and state-of-the-art technology can be expensive. Faced with these challenges, our study focused on establishing a strategy for the efficient operation and management of research vessels, attempting to establish benchmarks from foreign examples that can be adapted to suit the target context. The results of this study provide ways to identify operating systems that could increase the efficiency of joint-use research vessels. The different systems examined in this study included a joint-use committee-based management system (JCMS, Type 1), private enterprise entrusted operating system (PEOS, Type 2), institutional investment operating system (IIOS, Type 3), and commissioned executive operating system (CEOS, Type 4). The efficiencies of JCMS, PEOS, IIOS and CEOS were 9.17, 5.82, 11.2 and -1.72 %, respectively. Given the total costs involved, the most affordable operating system was IIOS. JCMS was the most cost-effective system based on a quantitative cost-benefit analysis, but IIOS also had an acceptable cost-benefit balance. An operational committee would be required and regulations and guidelines shoulde be established to employ, JCMS, while a strategy to yield independent revenue would be needed to utilize an IIOS system.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.389-399
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• 2016

This paper presents the explorations of hydrothermal vents located in the Marina Arc and Back Arc Basin using the deep-sea ROV Hemire. These explorations were conducted by KRISO and KIOST to demonstrate the capability of Hemire in various applications for deep-sea scientific research. The missions included the following: (1) to search the reported vents, (2) conduct visual inspections, (3) deploy/recover a sediment trap and bait traps, (4) sample sediment/water/rock, (5) measure the magnetic field at the vent site, and (6) acquire a detailed map using multi-beam sonar near the bottom. We installed three HD cameras for precise visual inspection, a high-temperature thermometer, a three-component magnetometer, and a multi-beam sonar to acquire details of the bottom contour or identify vents in the survey area. The explorations were performed in an expedition from March 23 to April 5, 2016, and the missions were successfully completed. This paper discusses the operational process, navigation, and control of Hemire, as well as the exploration results.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.437-445
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• 2014

A time-series sediment trap was operated at a water depth of 4950 m from July 2003 to May 2004 at KOMO station ($10^{\circ}30^{\prime}N$, $131^{\circ}20^{\prime}W$) in the northeastern equatorial Pacific, with the aim of understanding the temporal variation of planktonic foraminifera assemblages in response to the seasonal shift of Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). A total of 22130 planktonic foraminifera specimens belonging to 30 species and 11 genera were identified, which shows a distinct seasonal variation with high values (125~288 specimens $m^{-2}day^{-1}$) in the winter to spring (December-May) and low values (16~23 specimens $m^{-2}day^{-1}$) in the fall (September-November). In addition, seasonal ecological differences of foraminifera assemblages are distinctly recognizable: omnivorous foraminifera occurred predominantly during the summer season, whereas herbivorous ones were dominant during the winter season. Such seasonal variations correspond to the seasonal shift of the ITCZ. Enhanced occurrence of herbivorous species during the winter-spring season seems a result of surface water mixing generated by the southward shift of the ITCZ. The increase in omnivorous species during the summer season may be due to the northward movement of the ITCZ caused by weakened wind speed, resulting in the intensification of water column stratification and nutrient-poor environment. A significant reduction of planktonic foraminifera specimens during the fall is attributed to heavy precipitation and reduction in light intensity.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.513-523
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• 2012

The upper sedimentary layer of the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea shows stacked mass-flow deposits such as slide/slump deposits in the upper slope, debris-flow deposits in the middle and lower slope, and turbidites in the basin plain. Shallow gases or gas hydrates are also reported in many area of the Ulleung Basin, which are very important in terms of marine resources, environmental changes, and geohazard. This paper aims at studying acoustic characteristics and distribution pattern of gas-related structures such as acoustic column, enhanced reflector, dome structure, pockmark, and gas seepage in the upper sedimentary layer, by analysing high-resolution chirp profiles. Acoustic column shows a transparent pillar shape in the sedimentary layer and mainly occurs in the basin plain. Enhanced reflector is characterized by an increased amplitude and laterally extended to several tens up kilometers. Dome structure is characterized by an upward convex feature at the seabed, and mainly occurs in the lower slope. The pockmark shows a small crater-like feature and usually occurs in the middle and lower slope. Gas seepage is commonly found in the middle slope of the southern Ulleung Basin. These gas-related structures seem to be mainly caused by gas migration and escape in the sedimentary layer. The distribution pattern of the gas-related structures indicates that formation of these structures in the Ulleung Basin is controlled not only by sedimentary facies in upper sedimentary layer but also by gas-solubility changes depending on water depth. Especially, it is interpreted that the chaotic and discontinuous sedimentary structures of debris-flow deposits cause the facilitation of gas migration, whereas the continuous sedimentary layers of turbidites restrict the vertical migration of gases.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.219-227
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• 2017

Manganese (Mn) nodules in the Arctic Sea have been founded in the Kara Sea and Barents Sea, but mineral and chemical compositions have been rarely investigated. In this study, mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of Mn nodules obtained during the Arctic Expedition ARA07C in northern East Siberian Sea were identified, and then genesis of Mn nodules were estimated by using these characteristics. Main manganese oxide minerals constituting the manganese nodule were buserite, birnessite, and vernadite. The Mn nodules generally represent radiated and massive texture, and the layered texture was developed restrictively. The radiated texture, main feature of the manganese nodule in the East Siberian Sea, is mainly composed of cuspate-globular microstructure. Compared with the Mn nodules in Pacific and Indian Oceans, Mn nodules of the East Siberian Sea are abundant in Mn, but Fe is too scarce. There was no difference in the chemical composition and microstructures between outer and inner part of nodule. Therefore, nodules are most likely to have only one genesis during their growth, and all of nodules indicate the diagenetic in $Mn-Fe-(Cu+Ni+Co){\times}10$ ternary diagram. It is considered that the manganese nodules in the East Siberian Sea are characterized by high Mn contents because manganese contents in the Arctic Ocean were mainly resulted from river or coastal erosion and most of them are trapped in the Arctic Ocean.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2015

To evaluate accuracy and precision of determination of total alkalinity ($Alk_T$) and carbon dioxide ($TCO_2$) derived from present study, experiment was applied with $CO_2$ CRM (Batch 132, Scripps Institution of Oceanography; $Alk_T=2229.24{\pm}0.39{\mu}mol/kg$, $TCO_2=2032.65{\pm}0.45{\mu}mol/kg$). As the result, average concentration of $Alk_T$ and $TCO_2$ was $2354.09{\mu}mol/kg$ (~5.6% difference with $CO_2$ CRM) and $2089.60{\mu}mol/kg$ (~2.3% difference with $CO_2$ CRM), respectively. For previous method (Gran Titration) by addition $NaHCO_3$ to deionized water($Alk_T$ $2023.33{\mu}mol/kg$), average concentration was $2193.39{\mu}mol/kg$ (sd=57.15, n=7). Whereas, average concentration was $2017.02{\mu}mol/kg$ (sd=10.98, n=7) for the present study. Recovery yield experiments of total alkalinity in deionized water and seawater were implemented by addition of $NaHCO_3$. The recovery yield of deionized water in the range 0 to $4952.39{\mu}mol/kg$ was 100.8% ($R^2$=0.999), and seawater in the range 0 to $2041.32{\mu}mol/kg$ was 102.3% ($R^2$=0.999). Comparison of $pCO_2$ sensor (PSI $CO_2-Pro^{TM}$) with present method showed very meaningful correlation coefficient ($R^2$=0.977) in the range of 427 to $705{\mu}atm$ and 9.16 to $15.24{\mu}mol/kg$ throught elapsed time for two weeks. Field experiment of diurnal variation of total carbon dioxide was accomplished at Sachon harbor in the coastal waters of East Sea of Korea. Concentration of $Alk_T$ and $TCO_2$ was increased during night, and decreased during daylight hours. The results showed mirror type between $TCO_2$ and dissolved oxygen, which was attributable to photosynthesis and respiration of phytoplankton. Also, open ocean field study was performed to obtain vertical profile of $Alk_T$ and $TCO_2$ in C-C zone (Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone), Northeastern Pacific. Average concentrations of $Alk_T$ in the surface mixed layer (0~60 m) and deeper layer below 200 m were $2422.38{\mu}mol/kg$ (sd=78.73, n=20) and $2465.87{\mu}mol/kg$ (sd=57.68, n=103), respectively. And average concentrations of $TCO_2$ were $2134.47{\mu}mol/kg$ (sd=65.4, n=20) and $2431.87{\mu}mol/kg$ (sd=65.02, n=103) in the same depth ranges such as $Alk_T$. Vertical distributions of $Alk_T$ and $TCO_2$ concentrations tended to increase with depth, and analyzed concentrations showed slightly higher than those of previous studies in this area.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.129-143
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• 2017

The shallow sediments in the southwestern Ulleung Basin consist of mass flow deposits such as slide/slump and debris flow deposits (DFD), caused by slope failure. These sediments are proven to be important in studying geological disaster and stability of the seafloor. In this paper, we analysised the flow accumulation and slope failure susceptibility of the Ulleung Basin on the basis of multi-beam data, collected in this area. We also studied the distribution pattern and the seismic characteristics of the DFD in the uppermost layer of the Ulleung Basin on the basis of seismic data. The slope susceptibility was calculated as the frequency ratio of each factors including slope, aspect, curvature and stream power index (SPI), which causes the slope failure. These results indicate that the slope failure is frequently to occur in the southern and western continental slope of the Ulleung Basin. The sediment flow (mass flow) caused by the slope failure converges to the north and northwest of the Ulleung Basin. According to the seismic characteristics, the uppermost layer in study area can be divided into four sedimentary unit. These sedimentary units develop from the south and southwest to the north and northwest in association with slope susceptibility and flow accumulation.