Volcanic Activity on the Korean Peninsula

There are several volcanoes in both North and South Korea.  Among them are Baekdu Mountain (last erupted 1903),  Hallasan (last erupted 1007), and Ulleungdo (last erupted 7350 B.C).  The Ulleungdo stratovolcano has an elevation of 984 m and is located on an island 100 kilometers off the east coast of South Korea.  Its huge explosive eruption spewed ash as far away as Japan.  The Halla shield volcano is 90 kilometers off the southern coast of South Korea and is 400 m wide at the summit.  It formed much of Cheju Island. The volcano that is the focus of much of today's attention, however, is  Mount Baekdu.

Mount Baekdu is shared by two countries.  Two-thirds of the stratovolcano sits in North Korea while the remaining one-third is in Chinese lands.  In 940 A.D. there was a huge eruption, known as a "millennium eruption," that is generally regarded as one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the last 2000 years.  Now, scientists are concerned that the seemingly dormant volcano is showing signs of another eruption that could be of significant proportions and consequences.

According to historical records, there is some volcanic activity on Mount Baekdu every 100 years.  Since the last eruption was in 1903, scientists are closely monitoring its activity, and there are several indicators that an eruption is near.  The height of Mount Baekdu has increased nearly 10 centimeters since 2002 (an expanding magma pool generally precedes an eruption), volcanic gas is being emitted at the mountaintop as well as from the forests below Lake Chonji, and seismic activity is increasing in the area.  In 2010, Jeon Byung-sung, chief of Korea's Meteorological Administration in Seoul stated, "We will come up with a comprehensive countermeasure within this year at national levels and try to arrange international cooperation as well." 

If Mount Baekdu does erupt, the devastation could be far worse -- from 10 to 100 times greater -- than was experienced after the 2010 volcanic event in Iceland.  Iceland's volcano released .11 cubic kilometers of lava.  Lava flows and ashes from the Korean mountain are expected to be of much greater volume.  Ashes could hit neighboring areas and damage agriculture, disrupt industry, and affect air flights. The Korean Peninsula, China, Japan and Russia could be severely impacted and damaged by a major volcanic eruption. And since there are nuclear power plants in the vicinity, there is a possibility of a nuclear catastrophe.

Another threat as a result of the volcanic activity would be severe flooding because of the two billion tons of water in the lake on top of the crater.  It is estimated that everything within a 30 kilometer radius would be affected in just 3 hours and 20 minutes. 

Since 2010, there has been an international effort to understand the activity on the mountain.  Scientists from the UK, the US and North Korea have come together to set up seismometers to record earth tremors beneath the volcano.  Dr. James Hammond from Imperial College London explained, "This project is not about monitoring the volcano or predicting when the eruption will happen, but about understanding what happened during the millennium eruption and also looking at what its state is now, using geophysical techniques.  This will help us understand what is driving the volcano." Professor James Gill from UC Santa Cruz is also studying Mount Baekdu -- on the Chinese side of the volcano. 

North Korea is now beginning to prepare for a possible volcanic eruption.  Radio Free Asia has reported that two evacuation drills were conducted in Ryanggang Province, the Mount Baekdu tourism railroad project has been suspended, and the planned tourism and athletic facility for winter sports has been abandoned.  The North Korean regime is currently in negotiations with China to secure aid in the event of an eruption.

1. Volcano Discovery: Halla Volcano http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/halla.html
2. Volcano Live; Volcanoes of Korea; John Search http://www.volcanolive.com/halla.html
3. SOTT; South Korea Scientists Warn of Volcanic Activity; Joong Ang Daily; June 2010;
http://www.sott.net/article/210691-South-Korea-Scientists-Warn-of-Volcanic-Activity
 4. Wikipedia; list of Volcanoes in Korea; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_volcanoes_in_Korea
 5. The Korea Times: National; Mt. Baekdu eruption's impact on NE Asia; May 5, 2012
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/05/370_110226.html
6. BBC News; Volcanic sleeping giant opens N. Korean cooperation; Simon Redfern; September 6, 2013  http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-23981001
7. The Chosunilbo; N. Korea "preparing for Eruption of Mt. Baekdu;" February 11, 2011
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/02/11/2011021100978.html

Post #3: South Korea and Seismicity

The Korean Peninsula is on the Eurasian Plate.  It is not located on a fault boundary; consequently, it is seismically relatively calm.  Its neighboring countries (China and Japan), however, are seismically active.  Although it is surrounded by these high-earthquake countries, historical data and instrumental records have determined that the Peninsula has not experienced a catastrophic earthquake in the last 2000 years. (1)  Since 1905, when instrumental observations of earthquakes began in Korea, there have been about 1,000 events in or near Korea, but they have measured less than M 4.0. (2)

Because of this lack of consequential seismic activity, South Korea has been lulled into a possible false sense of security.  While many other countries have taken precautionary measures to protect life and property in the event of an earthquake, South Korea is not adequately prepared for a disaster. (3)  It wasn't until 1988 that S. Korea required buildings of six or more stories to be constructed according to earthquake safety regulations, as outlined in the Building Act Enforcement Decree.  Older buildings, however, have not been retrofitted.  In fact, according to the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in 2013, only 30% of buildings had been built to earthquake safety standards.  In addition, Koreans have not been given procedures to follow in case of an earthquake.  There are fire drills, but no earthquake drills. (3)

This lack of preparedness could have disastrous effects.  Korea's National Emergency Management Agency estimates that more than 7,500 people would be killed if a massive earthquake (M 6.5) struck Seoul, and 100,000 would be injured. (3) Since earthquakes are occurring more frequently (see graph below), and since there are several nuclear power plants in S. Korea (see map below), it would be wise to change policy.

1. Journal of Seismology; "The low seismic activity of the Korean Peninsula surrounded by high earthquake countries;" S. G. Kim, E. Lkhasuren, Pilho Park; December, 2003 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226243188_The_low_seismic_activity_of_the_Korean_Peninsula_surrounded_by_high_earthquake_countries

2. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America; "Historical seismicity of Korea;" Kiehwa Lee, Woo-Sun Yang, 2006   http://www.bssaonline.org/content/96/3/846.short

3. "Disaster Management in S. Korea;" So Eun Park; May 5, 2015  http://aboutiigr.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Disaster-Management-in-Korea-by-So-Eun-Park-May-5-2015.pdf

South Korea and Plate Boundaries

Post #2 -- South Korea and Plate Boundaries

South Korea, and the Korean Peninsula as a whole, does not have a tectonic plate within close proximity that can cause devastating effects.  The Philippine Plate is to the south and east, but it presents a danger to its neighbor, Japan, rather than to the Peninsula itself.  The massive power of an earthquake centered in Japan would be diminished with distance. (1) South Korea is in the Eurasian Plate, which is a "stable intraplate environment with diffuse seismicity." (2) Although it is not likely that a massive earthquake will strike the Peninsula in the near future, the frequency of minor earthquakes (2.0 or greater) has increased in recent years prompting officials to explore various earthquake safety measures. (3) 

 (1) YONHAP News Agency; South Korea Relatively Safe from Major Quakes: Experts; March 11, 2011 http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/03/11/26

(2)SpingerLink; Zonation of the Far Eastern Eurasian Plate around the Korean Peninsula; Tae-Kyung Hong, Seongjun Park, Soung Eil Houng; September 3, 2015  http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00024-015-1170-2

(3) The Korean Times; Korea is Not Safe from Earthquakes; Kim Se-Jeong; April 27, 2015
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2015/04/116_177843.html

 Post #1 -- Hazards, disasters and catastrophes

Chapter One in our text defines hazards, disasters and catastrophes and gives examples to clarify their differences.

A natural hazard is a naturally occurring event and process that has the potential to negatively impact lives and property. An earthquake is a natural hazard because, if it occurs in a densely populated area, the possibility of loss of life and property is very great. 

A disaster is a natural hazard, but it has additional criteria to be categorized as such.  It must occur within a limited time span and within a defined area.  Tornadoes may be classified as disasters.

A natural disaster is even more specific.  The criteria depend on the number of people killed, the number of people affected, a state of emergency being declared, and international assistance requested. At least one of the above conditions must apply. The Northridge earthquake in 1994 was a natural disaster.

A catastrophe is the most extreme category.  The disaster must be on a grand scale, requiring huge sums of money and an extended period of time for recovery.  The 2010 hurricane that hit Haiti is a example of a catastrophe.



South Korea, the country that I will be discussing, is in East Asia.  The maps, which are reproduced from the World Atlas, show that it is part of the Korean Peninsula.  Until the end of World War II, North and South Korea were one country.  Since then, the peninsula has been divided into two countries, North (communist controlled) and South (democracy).  South Korea is surrounded on three sides by water:  the Sea of Japan, the Korean Strait, the Cheju Strait, and the Yellow Sea.

According to Wook-Jong Kim in a 1994 paper, the Korean Peninsula is impacted by several natural disasters, including floods, typhoons, and storms.  This should be an interesting semester!

World Atlas  worldatlas.com
Kim, Wook-Jong;  Natural Hazard Research: Natural Disaster Management in Korea: An Analytic Study with Policy Implications, 1994