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Recurrent events on a Quaternary fault recorded in the mineralogy and micromorphology of a weathering profile, Yangsan Fault System, Korea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2005

Gi Young Jeong  and
Chang-Sik Cheong
Gi Young Jeong*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Andong National University, Andong 760-749, Republic of Korea
Chang-Sik Cheong
Affiliation:
Geochronology Team, Korea Basic Science Institute, Taejon 305-333, Republic of Korea
*
* Corresponding author. Fax: +82 54 823 1627. E-mail address:jearth@andong.ac.kr (G.Y. Jeong).
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Abstract

Recurrence characteristics of a Quaternary fault are generally investigated on the basis of field properties that are rapidly degraded by chemical weathering and erosion in warm humid climates. Here we show that in intense weathering environments, mineralogical and micromorphological investigations are valuable in paleoseismological reconstruction. A weathering profile developed in Late Quaternary marine terrace deposits along the southeastern coast of the Korean Peninsula was disturbed by tectonic movement that appears to be a simple one-time reverse faulting event based on field observations. A comparative analysis of the mineralogy, micromorphology, and chemistry of the weathering profile and fault gouge, however, reveals that both the microfissures in the deformed weathering profile and larger void spaces along the fault plane were filled with multi-stage accumulations of illuvial clay and silt minerals of detrital origin, suggesting a repetition of fissuring and subsequent sealing in the weathering profile as it underwent continuous mineralogical transformation and particle translocation. We reconstruct a sequence of multiple faulting events unrecognized in previous field surveys, which requires revision of the view that the Korean Peninsula was tectonically stable, during the Late Quaternary.

Keywords

QuaternaryFaultRecurrenceWeatheringGougeMineralogyMicromorphologyClaySoilTerrace
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 64 , Issue 2 , September 2005 , pp. 221 - 233
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington

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