Quaternary geology and assessment of aggregate resources of Korea for the national industrial resources exploration and development

Abstract

Abstract Demand for aggregates in Korea, fueled by construction, has increased rapidly in recent years. Quaternary aggregate resources are associated with Holocene alluvial deposits and shallow marine sands, and with fluvial sequences developed during the Late Quaternary. Soil wedge structures developed in palaeosols on river terraces indicate that periglacial conditions prevailed during oxygen isotope stages 2 and 4. Along the margins of the Yellow Sea, sea level fluctuations involved a drop to −120 m a.s.l. during the LGM ca. 15,000 yr BP, resulting in the formation of three seismosequences, the uppermost sequence of which contains aggregate sediments. Repetitive episodes of sedimentation along the major river valleys have resulted in the production of fluvial aggregates, preferred by construction engineers. Intensive exploitation of these resources, however, has forced Korea to turn to other Quaternary deposits for aggregate.