• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.17-27
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• 2014

We investigated space-time patterns of Quaternary fault activity of the Yangsan fault zone using ESR ages in the Samnam-myeon region, Ulsan, Korea. Some of fault gouge zones consist of well-defined bands which added to the older gouge band, indicative of reactivation. During addition of new bands, the older gouge band was inactive, which represents the type I faulting mode. ESR analyses of each band of the gouge zone allow us to construct history of fault movement. The entire fault gouge zones were reactivated by type III faulting mode giving us ESR ages of the lastest reactivation. ESR dates show temporal clustering into active and inactive periods analogous to historic and paleoseismic fault activities. ESR ages and dates of fault movements indicate migration of fault activities along the Yangsan Fault Zone. Segments of the Quaternary faults in the study area are branched in the south of Sangcheon site. The earliest record of activity in segmented faults is recorded from the western segment to the northern segment. Before 750~850 ka ago, the fault gouge zone from the western segment to the northern segment were active. At 750~850 ka ago, the fault gouge zone from the eastern segment to the northern segment were active. During 630~660 ka and 480~540 ka only the northern segment was active. After 340 ka ago, the fault gouge zone from the western segment to the northern segment were active again.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.193-205
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• 2003

Fine grained granite, porphyritic granite and biotite granite together with intruded and extruded andesitic rocks are distributed in the study area which is bounded by the Yangsan and Dongrae faults. A new domestic road is being constructed along the area between the two major faults. The NNE trending Bupki fault and NE trending Myungkog fault are also developed within the area cross the road. The sheeting joints with dips of less than 30 degrees are only developed in the area of granite outcrop. High angle joints can be divided into 3 sets, such as, NE trending, NW trending and nearly EW trending joints. The joint space is mostly more than 20cm and the joint compressive strength is more than 100 MPa. These data show that even though the study area is situated between large faults, the ground condition is good because the damage zone of the Yangsan and Dongrae faults is relatively narrow.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.107-121
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• 2019

This study documents the distribution of (active) faults around the southern part of the Yangsan Fault and the Moryang Fault and the middle part of the Dongrae Fault. For this objective, we extracted lineaments and fault-related landforms by analyzing aerial photos and digital elevation models and with the result of fieldwork on fault-relating features of the Quaternary landforms. Geomorphological techniques for active fault study are not only preliminary but also essential methods because, in general, an active fault can be defined only with fault-deformed Quaternary sediments when there is no way to detect precise timing of faulting. Therefore, geomorphological interpretation in active fault research is necessary to determine the extent, direction, termination and timing of fault. This study addresses the results of such geomorphological analysis and geomorphic markers for tracing the active faults in the study area. It is plan to investigate with geophysical and geological techniques the sites referred in this study.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.63-83
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• 2021

In the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula, the Yangsan Fault, an active fault zone, has developed. Many earthquakes occur around these faults, and the possibility of earthquakes occurring along the branch faults is being discussed. On the other hand, the Yeongdeok Fault is reported in Yeongdeok-gun, which is the northern part of the Yangsan fault. In this study, goemorphic characteristics of a set faults found on the outcrop of the gentle slope of the coast of Byeonggok-myeon were analyzed and granulometric and geochemical characteristics of sediments and other materials, including fault gouges were analyzed. The outcrop of Byeonggok-myeon is the part of the fault core and can be divided into two parts. Theses fault are formed on the upper part of the Mesozoic bedrock and the tertiary sedimentary layer of red sand-supported clasts are covered in several sedimentary units. The faults were normal fault sets, and a number of vertical cracks were developed, and glossy surfaces were observed in the fault area. It appears that these faults have occurred after alluvial deposition had been formed. In the case of samples from fault gouges, there were differences in particle size and geochemical characteristics from the surrounding area.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.185-192
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• 2017

A sequence of earthquakes with the main shock $M_L$ 5.8 occurred on September 12 2016 in the Gyeongju area. The main shock was the largest earthquakes in the southern part of the Korean peninsula since the instrumental seismic observation began in the peninsula in 1905 and clearly demonstrated that the Yangsan fault is seismically active. The mean focal depth of the foreshock, main shock, and aftershock of the Gyeongju earthquakes estimated by the crustal model of single layer of the Korean peninsula without the Conrad discontinuity turns out to be 12.9 km, which is 2.8 km lower than that estimated based on the IASP91 reference model with the Conrad discontinuity. The distribution of the historical and instrumental earthquakes in the Gyeongju area indicates that the Yangsan fault system comprising the main Yangsan fault and its subsidiary faults is a large fracture zone. The epicenters of the Gyeongju earthquakes show that a few faults of the Yangsan fault system are involved in the release of the strain energy accumulated in the area. That the major earthquakes of Gyeongju earthquakes occurred not on the surface but below 10 km depth suggests the necessity of the study of the distribution of deep active faults of the Yangsan fault system. The magnitude of maximum earthquake of the Gyeongju area estimated based on the earthquake data of the area turns out to be 7.3. The recurrence intervals of the earthquakes over magnitudes 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0 based on the earthquake data since 1978, which is the most complete data in the peninsula, are estimated as 80, 670, and 5,900 years, respectively. The September 2016 Gyeongju earthquakes are basically intraplate earthquakes not related to the Great East Japan earthquake of March 11 2011 which is interplate earthquake.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.173-184
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• 2018

Geologic structures related to the latest event in the evolution around Gyeongsang Basin are mainly associated with the Yangsan Fault. In particular, the structures in the northern part of the Yangsan Fault are mainly observed in the region between Bogyeongsa Temple and Danguri. Such structures are also clustered in the vicinity of the Yangsan Fault, exhibiting similar geometric and kinematic patterns. In general, N-S and NE-SW trending fractures and tectonogeomorphic lineament are mainly eastward dipping reverse faults, such that the blocks in the east of the structures moved west or northwest. The reverse faults are segmented by NW trending fractures that accommodate strike-slip movements. The reverse faults and geomorphotectonic lineaments related to the latest event of deformation in the northern part of the Yangsan Fault show a westward convex patterns. We infer that these structures were initially normal faults that formed during a NW-SE extensional environment and were later reactivated during an E-W compressional one. Such a deformation pattern is also well developed around Pohang-Heunghae area based on the tectonogeomorphic analysis, which appears to be closely related to the Pohang Earthquake (15 Nov. 2017), and its development of the surface rupture and highly damaged zones.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.93-106
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• 2019

The Yangsan Fault is one of the main fault systems in the Korean peninsula. It can be divided into three segments (northern, central, and southern) by its paleoseismic and structural geologic properties. Based on the geomorphic features of the northern segment, which includes the Yugye Fault, we identified deflected streams as a geomorphic marker of strike-slip component of the fault, and knickpoints along the streams as evidence of dip-slip component of the fault. Geomorphic analyses showed that (1) the horizontal displacements of deflected streams decreased and (2) the retreat amounts of knickpoints tend to increased toward north along the lineament. We interpreted the variations caused by strain partitioning; that is, there might be some increases of the vertical component toward north, whereas the main strike-slip fault system dies out, splaying into horsetail structure toward north. Based on the response time of the landforms, these interpretations imply that (1) there were differences between horizontal slip rate and vertical slip rate along strike, and/or (2) there were different timings between horizontal and vertical deformations by fault.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.342-348
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• 2018

An earthquake of $M_L$ 5.8 hit the Gyeongju area on September 12, 2016. A sequence of foreshock-mainshock-aftershock of 588 events with equal to or greater than magnitude 1.5 occurred for six months in this area. Around ninety-nine percentage (98.8%) of the total energy was released intensively within a day, and about 80% of the total events took place within a month after the Gyeongju earthquake. The epicentral distribution of aftershocks of major events ($M_L$ 5.1, 5.8, 4.5, and 3.5) were elongated in the direction of $N30^{\circ}E$. They correlate well with the focal mechanism solution. These facts support the inference that the Gyeongju earthquakes occurred on a sub-parallel subsidiary fault of the Yangsan fault zone or on the linking damage zones between Deokcheon and Yangsan fault. During the last six years before the Gyeongju earthquake, there were few events within 10-km radius from the epicenter. This seismic gap area was filled with a sequence of the Gyeongju earthquakes. The b value for aftershock of the Gyeongju earthquakes is 1.09.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.35-48
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• 2009

An excessive ground displacement occurs with excavating tunnel in a fault zone because the fault has properties of soft ground in generally. It may have had a bad influence to adjacent structure. So, rapid reduction of ground strength by groundwater inflow should be prevented. It must be established for an impervious and reinforcing effect of ground to ensure a tunnel stability. The ground settlement and reinforcing effects were estimated by numerical analyses on tunnel through 570 m sector in Yangsan fault zone of Keongbu high-speed railway. Settlements evaluated by numerical analysis is similar to those calculated by using equation of Loganathan & Poulo. It was shown that reliable estimate of ground settlement by applying a prediction equation is possible. Applicability of adopted tunnel reinforcement method in fault zone was investigated by results of pilot construction and numerical analysis. Results from this study indicate that the adopted reinforcement method make tunnel displacements and member stresses restrain in design criteria.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.195-209
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• 2016

The understanding of geometric complexity of strike-slip Fault system can be an important factor to control fault reactivation and surface rupture propagation under the regional stress regime. The Kumamoto earthquake was caused by dextral reactivation of the Futagawa-Hinagu Fault system under the E-W maximum horizontal principal stress. The earthquakes are a set of earthquakes, including a foreshock earthquake with a magnitude 6.2 at the northern tip of the Hinagu Fault on April 14, 2016 and a magnitude 7.0 mainshock which generated at the intersection of the two faults on April 16, 2016. The hypocenters of the main shock and aftershocks have moved toward NE direction along the Futagawa Fault and terminated at Mt. Aso area. The intersection of the two faults has a similar configuration of ${\lambda}$-fault. The geometries and kinematics, of these faults were comparable to the Yansan-Ulsan Fault system in SE Korea. But slip rate is little different. The results of age dating show that the Quaternary faults distributed along the northern segment of the Yangsan Fault and the Ulsan Fault are younger than those along the southern segment of the Yansan Fault. This result is well consistent with the previous study with Column stress model. Thus, the seismic activity along the middle and northern segment of the Yangsan Fault and the Ulsan Fault might be relatively active compared with that of the southern segment of the Yangsan Fault. Therefore, more detailed seismic hazard and paleoseismic studies should be carried out in this area.