Jeju, Korea, a universally famous vacation spot with natural resources attracting many tourists, has also recently attracted scientific interest, revealing that the volcano on the island, last erupted about 5,000 years ago, placing it in the list of active volcanoes worldwide.
The Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) conducted research on Jeju island, based on traces indicating that a volcanic eruption had occurred on the island thousands of years ago. This was the first time the date of eruption was being determined in the region and the research team leader Dr. Jin-Young Lee confirmed his results, based on the radiocarbon dating technique. The technique's reliability was further enhanced, using carbonized wood, retrieved from the area and located below the basaltic layer in Sangchang-ri. Carbonized wood's formation period was determined to be approximately 5,000 years ago, implying that the basaltic layer on top was formed at a later stage, opposing to the results of a previous study supporting that the specific layer was the result of volcanic activity in the vicinity of Byeongak Oreum 35,000 years ago.
The latest known eruption on Jeju island is believed to have occurred around 7,000 years ago, at Mt Songak, in the form of a limited hydro volcanic activity, leading to the release of volcanic ash. On the contrary, the eruption in the Sangchang-ri area, was much more dynamic and resulted in the release of a great amount of lava, flowing down the mountain's slope in all directions. The research team plans on continuing the investigation, in order to determine the data of the latest volcanic activity on the island.
Source: sciencedaily.com
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