Articles | Volume 13, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-301-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-301-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Multi-disciplinary characterizations of the BedrettoLab – a new underground geoscience research facility
Xiaodong Ma
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Marian Hertrich
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Florian Amann
Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, RWTH Aachen, 52062 Aachen,
Germany
Kai Bröker
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Nima Gholizadeh Doonechaly
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Valentin Gischig
CSD Ingenieure AG, 3097 Liebefeld, Switzerland
Rebecca Hochreutener
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Philipp Kästli
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Hannes Krietsch
Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, RWTH Aachen, 52062 Aachen,
Germany
Michèle Marti
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Barbara Nägeli
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Morteza Nejati
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Anne Obermann
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Katrin Plenkers
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Antonio P. Rinaldi
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Alexis Shakas
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Linus Villiger
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Quinn Wenning
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Alba Zappone
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Falko Bethmann
Geo-Energie Suisse AG, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland
Raymi Castilla
Geo-Energie Suisse AG, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland
Francisco Seberto
Geo-Energie Suisse AG, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland
Peter Meier
Geo-Energie Suisse AG, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland
Thomas Driesner
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Simon Loew
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Hansruedi Maurer
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Martin O. Saar
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Stefan Wiemer
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
Domenico Giardini
Department of Earth Sciences, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich,
Switzerland
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Acoustic waves are suitable to analyse the physical properties of the subsurface. For this purpose, boreholes are quite useful to deploy a source and receivers in the target area to get a comprehensive high-resolution dataset. However, when conducting such experiments in a subsurface such as glaciers that continuously move, the boreholes get deformed. In our study, we therefore developed a method that allows an analysis of the ice while considering deformations.
Christophe Lienert, Franziska Angly Bieri, Irina Dallo, and Michèle Marti
Abstr. Int. Cartogr. Assoc., 5, 154, https://doi.org/10.5194/ica-abs-5-154-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/ica-abs-5-154-2022, 2022
Chengjun Feng, Guangliang Gao, Shihuai Zhang, Dongsheng Sun, Siyu Zhu, Chengxuan Tan, and Xiaodong Ma
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2257–2287, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2257-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-2257-2022, 2022
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We show how FSP (Fault Slip Potential) software can be used in quantitative screening to estimate the fault slip potential in a region with some uncertainties in the ambient stress field and to assess the reactivation potential on these faults of presumably higher criticality in response to fluid injection. The case study of the Matouying enhanced geothermal system (EGS) field has important implications for deep geothermal exploitation in China, especially for the Gonghe EGS in Qinghai Province.
Lisa Winhausen, Kavan Khaledi, Mohammadreza Jalali, Janos L. Urai, and Florian Amann
Solid Earth, 13, 901–915, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-901-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-901-2022, 2022
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Triaxial compression tests at different effective stresses allow for analysing the deformation behaviour of Opalinus Clay, the potential host rock for nuclear waste in Switzerland. We conducted microstructural investigations of the deformed samples to relate the bulk hydro-mechanical behaviour to the processes on the microscale. Results show a transition from brittle- to more ductile-dominated deformation. We propose a non-linear failure envelop associated with the failure mode transition.
Lisa Winhausen, Mohammadreza Jalali, and Florian Amann
Saf. Nucl. Waste Disposal, 1, 301–301, https://doi.org/10.5194/sand-1-301-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/sand-1-301-2021, 2021
Lisa Winhausen, Jop Klaver, Joyce Schmatz, Guillaume Desbois, Janos L. Urai, Florian Amann, and Christophe Nussbaum
Solid Earth, 12, 2109–2126, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2109-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-2109-2021, 2021
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Viktor J. Bruckman, Gregor Giebel, Christopher Juhlin, Sonja Martens, Antonio P. Rinaldi, and Michael Kühn
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Gregory Church, Andreas Bauder, Melchior Grab, and Hansruedi Maurer
The Cryosphere, 15, 3975–3988, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3975-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3975-2021, 2021
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Sebastian Hellmann, Melchior Grab, Johanna Kerch, Henning Löwe, Andreas Bauder, Ilka Weikusat, and Hansruedi Maurer
The Cryosphere, 15, 3507–3521, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3507-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-3507-2021, 2021
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In this study, we analyse whether ultrasonic measurements on ice core samples could be employed to derive information about the particular ice crystal orientation in these samples. We discuss if such ultrasonic scans of ice core samples could provide similarly detailed results as the established methods, which usually destroy the ice samples. Our geophysical approach is minimally invasive and could support the existing methods with additional and (semi-)continuous data points along the ice core.
Peter-Lasse Giertzuch, Joseph Doetsch, Alexis Shakas, Mohammadreza Jalali, Bernard Brixel, and Hansruedi Maurer
Solid Earth, 12, 1497–1513, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1497-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1497-2021, 2021
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Two time-lapse borehole ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were conducted during saline tracer experiments in weakly fractured crystalline rock with sub-millimeter fractures apertures, targeting electrical conductivity changes. The combination of time-lapse reflection and transmission GPR surveys from different boreholes allowed monitoring the tracer flow and reconstructing the flow path and its temporal evolution in 3D and provided a realistic visualization of the hydrological processes.
Irene Bianchi, Elmer Ruigrok, Anne Obermann, and Edi Kissling
Solid Earth, 12, 1185–1196, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1185-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-1185-2021, 2021
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Sebastian Hellmann, Johanna Kerch, Ilka Weikusat, Andreas Bauder, Melchior Grab, Guillaume Jouvet, Margit Schwikowski, and Hansruedi Maurer
The Cryosphere, 15, 677–694, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-677-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-677-2021, 2021
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We analyse the orientation of ice crystals in an Alpine glacier and compare this orientation with the ice flow direction. We found that the crystals orient in the direction of the largest stress which is in the flow direction in the upper parts of the glacier and in the vertical direction for deeper zones of the glacier. The grains cluster around this maximum stress direction, in particular four-point maxima, most likely as a result of recrystallisation under relatively warm conditions.
Alba Zappone, Antonio Pio Rinaldi, Melchior Grab, Quinn C. Wenning, Clément Roques, Claudio Madonna, Anne C. Obermann, Stefano M. Bernasconi, Matthias S. Brennwald, Rolf Kipfer, Florian Soom, Paul Cook, Yves Guglielmi, Christophe Nussbaum, Domenico Giardini, Marco Mazzotti, and Stefan Wiemer
Solid Earth, 12, 319–343, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-319-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-12-319-2021, 2021
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The success of the geological storage of carbon dioxide is linked to the availability at depth of a capable reservoir and an impermeable caprock. The sealing capacity of the caprock is a key parameter for long-term CO2 containment. Faults crosscutting the caprock might represent preferential pathways for CO2 to escape. A decameter-scale experiment on injection in a fault, monitored by an integrated network of multiparamerter sensors, sheds light on the mobility of fluids within the fault.
Larissa de Palézieux, Kerry Leith, and Simon Loew
Earth Surf. Dynam. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-2020-85, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-2020-85, 2020
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Large creeping landslides are persistent features in mountainous landscapes. In order to quantify the long-term evolution of landslides and their interaction with river channels, we use a new metric for landslide-induced channel offset, which allows us to identify locations associated with increased landslide activity and estimate landslide displacement rates over a period of 1 Myr.
Camilla Rossi, Francesco Grigoli, Simone Cesca, Sebastian Heimann, Paolo Gasperini, Vala Hjörleifsdóttir, Torsten Dahm, Christopher J. Bean, Stefan Wiemer, Luca Scarabello, Nima Nooshiri, John F. Clinton, Anne Obermann, Kristján Ágústsson, and Thorbjörg Ágústsdóttir
Adv. Geosci., 54, 129–136, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-54-129-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-54-129-2020, 2020
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We investigate the microseismicity occurred at Hengill area, a complex tectonic and geothermal site, where the origin of earthquakes may be either natural or anthropogenic. We use a very dense broadband seismic monitoring network and apply full-waveform based method for location. Our results and first characterization identified different types of microseismic clusters, which might be associated to either production/injection or the tectonic activity of the geothermal area.
Gregory Church, Melchior Grab, Cédric Schmelzbach, Andreas Bauder, and Hansruedi Maurer
The Cryosphere, 14, 3269–3286, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3269-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-3269-2020, 2020
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Short summary
In this field study, we repeated ground-penetrating radar measurements over an active englacial channel network that transports meltwater through the glacier. We successfully imaged the englacial meltwater pathway and were able to delimitate the channel's shape. Meltwater from the glacier can impact the glacier's dynamics if it reaches the ice–bed interface, and therefore monitoring these englacial drainage networks is important to understand how these networks behave throughout a season.
Hannes Krietsch, Valentin S. Gischig, Joseph Doetsch, Keith F. Evans, Linus Villiger, Mohammadreza Jalali, Benoît Valley, Simon Löw, and Florian Amann
Solid Earth, 11, 1699–1729, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1699-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-1699-2020, 2020
Sonja Martens, Maren Brehme, Viktor J. Bruckman, Christopher Juhlin, Johannes Miocic, Antonio P. Rinaldi, and Michael Kühn
Adv. Geosci., 54, 1–5, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-54-1-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-54-1-2020, 2020
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Short summary
Questions on issues such as anthropogenic earthquakes and deep geothermal energy developments require a better understanding of the fractured rock. Experiments conducted at reduced scales but with higher-resolution observations can shed some light. To this end, the BedrettoLab was recently established in an existing tunnel in Ticino, Switzerland, with preliminary efforts to characterize realistic rock mass behavior at the hectometer scale.
Questions on issues such as anthropogenic earthquakes and deep geothermal energy developments...