Abstract:The main purpose of this study is to identify the major factors affecting groundwater quality by means of multivariate statistical analysis of the physico-chemical compositions. Cluster analysis results show that the groundwater in the study area is classified into four groups (A, B, C and D), and factor analysis indicates that groundwater composition, 81Ð9% of the total variance of 17 variables, is mainly affected by three factors: seawater intrusion, microbial activity and chemical fertilizers. These results might be related to the geographical characteristics of the study area. The main influence on groundwater in groups B, C and D, which are close to the Yellow Sea and contain reclaimed areas, is the seawater intrusion by the present seawater, the trapped seawater, and microbial activity. Group A, however, has been used for agriculture for a long time, and thus groundwater in this group has been largely affected by chemical fertilizers. As groundwater flows from group A to group D according to its path, the governing factor of the groundwater quality gradually changes from chemical fertilizers to microbial activity and seawater intrusion.

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Geochemical analyses of sediments, pore water and headspace gas of the piston cores taken from the eastern part of Ulleung Basin of the East Sea (Japan Sea) were carried out to assess the origin of the sedimentary organic matter and interstitial fluid. Several tephra layers within the core are identified as the Ulleung‐Oki (10.1 ka), the Aira‐Tanzawa (23 ka) and the Ulleung‐Yamato (30.9 ka) tephras. With the exception of these volcanic layers, the cores consist predominantly of muddy sediments that contain >0.5% total organic carbon. Atomic C/N ratios and δ13Corg values suggest that the organic matter originated from marine algae rather than from land vascular plants, whereas Rock‐Eval pyrolysis suggests that the organic matter is thermally immature and comes from a land vascular plant (Type III). These conflicting results seem to be caused by the heavy oxidization of the marine organic matter. Sulphate concentration profiles of pore waters show strongly linear depletion (r2 > 0.97) with sediment depth. The estimated sulphate–methane interface (SMI) depth using the sulphate concentration gradient was nearly 3.5 m below seafloor (mbsf) in the southern part of the study area, and deeper than 6 mbsf in the northern part of the area. The difference in SMI depths is likely associated with the amount of the methane flux. The methane concentration below the SMI in the two southern cores increases rapidly, implying the occurrence of methanogenesis and anaerobic methane oxidation (AMO). In contrast, the two northern cores have a low methane concentration below the SMI. values measured from all cores were in the range of −83.5 to −69.5‰, which suggests that the methane derives from a methanogenic microbe. values become decreased toward SMI, but increased below SMI; therefore, has eventually the minimum value near the SMI. The values are also decreased when the methane concentration is increased. These phenomena support the typical occurrence of AMO in the study area.

The study area is located on the western coastal region of Korea, partly had been reclaimed lands. Groundwaters of the coastal area show lower Eh and DO values (Eh: 0.57 V → 0.13 V, DO; 9.7 mg/l → 1.3 mg/l), and higher Fe concentrations (> 20 mg/l) than those of the inner land (< 0.3 mg/l), indicating that the redox condition of groundwater changes from oxic into suboxic/anoxic conditions as it flows from the inland toward the coastal area. In addition, Fe speciation of groundwater from the coastal area demonstrates that the most dissolved Fe exist as Fe 2+ , reflecting that groundwater is under the anoxic condition to sufficiently occur Fe reduction. According to the result of Fe extraction with the sediment samples from three wells (A, B, C), the sediments provide enough Fe 3+ to occur the Fe reduction in the groundwater. Integrated all results of the groundwater and sediment, we infer that the Fe reduction to occur in groundwater is associated with the reclamation processes of the study area.간척지를 포함하고 있는 연구지역에서 육지에서 해안지역으로 근접할수록 측정된 지하수의 산화환원 전위 (Eh)와 용존 산소량 (DO)은 낮게 관찰되었다 (Eh: 0.57 V → 0.13 V, DO; 9.7 mg/l → 1.3 mg/l). 이는 연구지역 지하수의 산화환경이 육지에서 해안가로 근접할수록 호기성 환경에서 아혐기성/혐기성 환경으로 변화한다는 것을 의미한다. 또 한 지하수 수질 분석 결과에 의하면 철이온 (Fe)이 지하수에 많이 포함되어 있으며 (> 20 mg/l), 대부분의 2가 철로 존재한다. 이러한 연구지역 해안가 지하수들의 특징들은 지하수들이 철의 환원작용 (Fe reduction)이 일어날 수 있는 혐기성 환경에 위치하고 있음을 지시해준다. 철 환원작용이 일어나기 위해서는 3가 철의 공급원이 필요한데, 관측정 퇴적물의 철이온 추출실험에 의하면 연구지역의 퇴적물은 철 환원작용에 필요한 3가 철이온에 대한 충분한 공급원 역 할을 할 수 있다. 따라서 분석한 지하수 및 퇴적물의 결과들을 종합해석하면, 연구지역에서 일어나는 철 환원작용은 갯벌의 간척활동과 많은 관련을 가지고 있는 것으로 추정된다.