Mineralogy of the Mudeungsan Tuff (Republic of Korea) Using Synchrotron X-ray Powder Diffraction and Rietveld Quantitative Analysis

Mudeungsan (Mount Mudeung) is an extinct volcano located in the southwestern part of South Korea that was formed in the Late Cretaceous period. This mountain, 1187 m above sea level, is adjacent to Gwangju Metropolitan City, which has a large population (about 1.4 million) and volcanic rocks, including columnar joints, which form various types of outcrops. Although this mountain was listed as a national geopark in 2014 and a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2018, much basic research has yet to be carried out. In particular, there are no mineralogical studies of volcanic rock samples despite the well-preserved variety of volcanic rocks. For this study, X-ray diffraction analysis was conducted using rock samples from Mudeungsan columnar joints known as tuff. We report that the rocks are mostly dacite, mainly composed of quartz, plagioclase, and sanidine through Rietveld quantitative analysis. In particular, alpha-cristobalite, a crystalline polymorph of silica, appears in the columnar joint rocks, indicating that Mudeungsan experienced an explosive eruption during the formation of the mountain.