Mineralogy lab researches on the earth minerals to better understand the specific geological environments to form specific mineral, to alter it to another, and to destroy it through the crystallographic and chemical characterization of minerals. Mineralogy includes some specific fields, such as mineral chemistry & crystallography, clay mineralogy, ore mineralogy, etc. We use various high-tech tools to study minerals, including micro- to nano-scale imaging techniques using SEM-BSE, TEM and 3D micro-CT, microprobe quantification and elemental mapping of major/trace elements using EPMA and LA-ICP-MS, crystallographic characterization using X-ray diffraction and EBSD, and molecular orbital simulation(MOS) of mineral structure using CASTEP software.

One of our research topics is the time-determination of fault activation/reactivation using IAA (illite-age-analysis) based on the illite polytype quantification with SPO(shape preferred orientation) of brittle grains for fault gouges. Another one is integrated approach using both mineralogical/geochemical analysis and molecular orbital simulation for some zoning minerals and silicate clays. Recently we have been studying the multi-stage intraplate volcanisms of Jeju island, based on the mineral chemistry of typical silicates, including EPMA analysis for major elements and LA-ICP-MS analysis for trace elements and REEs quantification. Besides, we also try to explore the challenging and unanswered topics related to our solid earth, and to foster the distinguished and creative young scholars in mineralogy field through studying these topics.

We welcome anyone who is interested in geology and wants to conduct fundamental researches on understanding of the earth system with ardor.