Genetic environment of germanium-bearing gold-silver vein ores from the Wolyu mine,Republic of Korea

The Wolyu mine is one of the largest vein-type gold-silver-bearing epithermal systems in the Youngdong district and is the first gold-silver deposit in Korea found to contain significant germanium, in the form of argyrodite (Ag₈GeS₆). Mineralized veins (78.9 ± 1.2 Ma) crosscutting Late Cretaceous hostrock tuff and quartz porphyry (81.5 ± 1.8 Ma) consist of three stages of quartz and carbonates, the first of which contains pyrite, basemetal sulfides and Au-Ag-minerals. Stage I Au-Ag-Ge-mineralized veins show a systematic variation of mineral assemblage with time: (1) quartz + pyrite; (2) quartz + pyrite + sphalerite + electrum + argentite; (3) carbonate + quartz + sphalerite + electrum + argentite; (4) carbonate + native silver + argentite + Ag-sulfosalts + argyrodite + sphalerite. Calculated values of temperature and sulfur activity are: assemblage (1), 360-280°C and 10^–7-10^–10; (2), 280-210°C and 10^–10-10^–14; (3), 210-180°C and 10^–14-10^–16; (4), 180-155°C and 10^–17-10^–18. These data, the frequent association of gold with sulfides, and the abundance of pyrite in alteration zones indicate that decreasing sulfur activity and cooling were important in triggering gold deposition. Hydrogen and oxygen isotope compositions of ore fluids display a systematic variation with increasing time. Within the main Ag-Au-Ge mineralization, D and ¹⁸O values decrease with the transition from quartz to carbonate deposition (from -78 and –2.8% to –90 and –8.7%., respectively), indicating increasing involvement (mixing) of less evolved meteoric water which resulted in progressive cooling and dilution of ore fluids in the shallow ( 370–600 m) Wolyu epithermal system.     

Estimating Ore Production in Open-pit Mines Using Various Machine Learning Algorithms Based on a Truck-Haulage System and Support of Internet of Things

Natural Resources Research - This study aimed to develop and assess the feasibility of different machine learning algorithms for predicting ore production in open-pit mines based on a truck-haulage...     

Wave prediction in a port using a fully nonlinear Boussinesq wave model

A wave forecasting system using FUNWAVE-TVD which is based on the fully nonlinear Boussinesq equations by Chen(2006) was developed to provide an accurate wave prediction in the Port of Busan, South Korea. This system is linked to the Korea Operational Oceanographic System(KOOS) developed by Park et al.(2015). The computational domain covers a region of 9.6 km×7.0 km with a grid size of 2 m in both directions, which is sufficient to resolve short waves and dominant sea states. The total number of grid points exceeds 16 millions,making the model computational expensive. To provide real-time forecasting, an interpolation method, which is based on pre-calculated results of FUNWAVE-TVD and SWAN forecasting results at the FUNWAVE-TVD offshore boundary, was used. A total of 45 cases were pre-calculated, which took 71 days on 924 computational cores of a Linux cluster system. Wind wave generation and propagation from the deep water were computed using the SWAN in KOOS. SWAN results provided a boundary condition for the FUNWAVE-TVD forecasting system. To verify the model, wave observations were conducted at three locations inside the port in a time period of more than 7 months. A model/model comparison between FUNWAVE-TVD and SWAN was also carried out. It is found that, FUNWAVE-TVD improves the forecasting results significantly compared to SWAN which underestimates wave heights in sheltered areas due to incorrect physical mechanism of wave diffraction, as well as large wave heights caused by wave reflections inside the port.     

Evolution of the Taebaeksan Basin,Korea: I,early Paleozoic sedimentation in an epeiric sea and break‐up of the Sino‐Korean Craton from Gondwana

The Taebaeksan Basin is located in the mid‐eastern part of the southern Korean Peninsula and tectonically belonged to the Sino‐Korean Craton (SKC). It comprises largely the lower Paleozoic Joseon Supergroup and the upper Paleozoic Pyeongan Supergroup which are separated by a disconformity representing a 140 myr?long hiatus. This paper explores the early Paleozoic paleogeographical and tectonic evolution of the Taebaeksan Basin on the basis of updated stratigraphy, trilobite faunal assemblages, and detrital zircon U–Pb ages of the Joseon Supergroup. The Joseon Supergroup is a shallow marine siliciclastic‐carbonate succession ranging in age from the Cambrian Series 2 to Middle Ordovician. The Ongnyeobong Formation is the sole Upper Ordovician volcanic succession documented in the Taebaeksan Basin. It is suggested that in the early Paleozoic the Taebaeksan Basin was a part of an epeiric sea, the Joseon Sea, in east Gondwana. The Joseon Sea was the depositional site for lower Paleozoic successions of the SKC. Early Paleozoic sedimentation in the Joseon Sea commenced during the Cambrian Stage 3 (～ 520 Ma) and ceased by the end of the Darriwilian (～ 460 Ma). In the early Paleozoic, the SKC was located at the margin of east Gondwana and was separated from the South China Craton by an oceanic basin with incipient oceanic ridges, the Helan Trough. The spreading oceanic ridges and associated transform faults possibly promoted the uplift of the Joseon Sea, which resulted in cessation of sedimentation and break‐up of the SKC from core Gondwana by the end of the Ordovician.     

Coastal landscape evolution tracked from late Holocene wave-cut benches in the Sinan Archipelago,Southwest Korea

Glacio-isostatic adjustment(GIA)and tectonic activity are important factors in the formation of marine terraces.Late Holocene wave-cut benches in the eastern part of the West Sea of Korea,also called the Yellow Sea,can be divided into two steps:531 cm above sea level(ASL)for the upper bench(T2)and 464-481 cm ASL for the lower bench(T1).Sediments on the benches a re classified into four units,and are interpreted to be beach deposits acco rding to gravel shape,textu re,and seaward inclination.The ove rlying sediment indicates that T2 was formed at approximately 530 cm ASL before 2900 yr BP,and T1 at approximately 460-480 cm ASL before 1520 yr BP.Late Holocene(4000-2000 yr BP)relative sea level(RSL)curves based on GIA models are inconsistent with the wave-cut bench elevations.Comparing T1 and T2 benches to the RSL curves of the West Sea,the upper and the lower benches were uplifted by approximately 5-8 m and 4-7 m,respectively.Although the area is several hundred kilometers away from plate boundaries,the high frequency of earthquakes in the West Sea may have induced the uplift of wave-cut benches during the last 2000 years.These indicate that the west coast of the Korean Peninsula(KP)should no longer be considered an area of subsidence,but be assigned to a regime of uplift during the late Holocene.     

Characteristics and Ecosystem Changes of Marine Algal Communities in Wangdol-cho on the East Coast of Korea

Ocean Science Journal - This study sought to examine the characteristics and patterns of marine algae community changes in Wangdol-cho in order to establish a theoretical basis for the development...     

Sediment oxygen consumption in semi-closed Korean coastal bays during summer

We used an oxygen microsensor for high-resolution measurements of pore water oxygen concentration in semi-closed coastal bays of the South Sea of Korea during summer. The oxygen penetration depths ranged from 0.60 to 3.65 mm. Oxygen consumption rates were estimated to be 9.1 to 59 mmol m^?2 d^?1 (average: 22.8 mmol m^?2 d^?1). At the sediment-water interface, the oxidation rates of organic carbon were estimated to be 84–545 mg C m^?2 d^?1 (average: 211 mg C m^?2 d^?1). Approximately 38% (～211 mg C m^?2 d^?1) of pelagic primary production was regenerated in the surface sediment, indicating the tight benthic-pelagic coupling in the coastal sea of the South Sea of Korea.     

Design and implementation of time efficient trajectories for autonomous underwater vehicles

This paper discusses control strategies adapted for practical implementation and efficient motion of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). For AUVs we would like efficiency in both the measured time and the energy consumption, the mission dictating the weight to put on each of these cost. As a first approach to this problem, we focus in this paper on time minimization. Based on the structure of the time optimal trajectories and of the pure motions, we develop an algorithm to design time efficient trajectories corresponding to piecewise constant thrust arcs with few actuator switchings. We do that by solving a new optimization problem where the unknowns are the time period between two actuator switchings as well as the values of the constant thrust arcs. We apply a direct method to compute the solutions numerically. With our algorithm, we gain considerable computational time. Moreover, with as few as three actuator switchings, the duration of our trajectories is within 10% of the optimal trajectories. Since our control strategies have a simple structure they can be implemented on a test-bed vehicle. For the experiments displayed in this paper we use a spherical underwater vehicle which exhibits with almost no preference of direction or orientation for movement; this gives us a very controllable and versatile vehicle.     

Seasonal variation in the community and size structure of nano- and microzooplankton in Gyeonggi Bay,Yellow Sea

To investigate the seasonal variation and community structure of nano- and microzooplankton in Gyeonggi Bay of the Yellow Sea, the abundance and carbon biomass of nano- and microzooplankton were evaluated at 10-day intervals from January 1997 to December 1999. Four major groups of nano- and microzooplankton communities were classified: heterotrophic ciliates, heterotrophic dinoflagellates (HDF), heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF), and copepod nauplii. The total carbon biomass of nano- and microzooplankton ranged from 10.2 to 168.8 μg C L⁻¹ and was highest during or after phytoplankton blooms. Nano- and microzooplankton communities were composed of heterotrophic ciliates (7.4–81.4%; average 41.7% of total biomass), HDF (0.1–70.3%; average 26.1% of total biomass), copepod nauplii (1.6–70.6%; average 20.7% of total biomass), and HNF (0.8–59.5%; average 11.5% of total biomass). The relative contribution of individual components in the nano- and microzooplankton communities appeared to differ by seasons. Ciliates accounted for the most major component of nano- and microzooplankton communities, except during summer and phytoplankton blooming seasons, whereas HDF were more dominant during the phytoplankton blooming seasons. The abundance and biomass of nano- and microzooplankton generally followed the seasonal dynamics of phytoplankton. The size and community distribution of nano- and microzooplankton was positively correlated with size-fractionated phytoplankton. The carbon requirement of microzooplankton ranged from 60 to 83% of daily primary production, and was relatively high when phytoplankton biomass was high. Therefore, our result suggests that the seasonal variation in the community and size composition of nano- and microzooplankton appears to be primarily governed by phytoplankton size and concentration as a food source, and their abundance may greatly affect trophic dynamics by controlling the seasonal abundance of phytoplankton.     

Distribution pattern of zooplankton in the han river estuary with respect to tidal cycle

The monthly distribution of zooplankton communities in Han River estuary was investigated at two stations from July 1998 to June 1999. Monthly mean abundance of total zooplankton varied remarkably, with the range from 20 indiv.·m^-3 to 19,600 indiv.·m^-3. During the study period, dominant species of zooplankton community were dinoflagellateNoctiluca scintillans, copepodsParacalanus indicus, Paracaanus crassirostris, Acartia hongi, Acartia ohtsukai, and meroplanton cirriped larvae. According to tidal states, relative high abundance occurred at high tide without regard to season. The temporal distribution of abundance implied that the reduced salinity probably limited the zooplankton populations and the fluctuations of salinity were an important factor in the variation of abundance. However, the results of salinity tolerance test shows that the variations in salinity do not directly influence the decrease of abundance. This study shows that the relatively high abundance of zooplankton near high tide seems to be related with the expansion of abundant zooplankton inhabiting Incheon coastal waters through tidal currents.