Sektion 5.3: Hydrogeology

One field of work of our Section is the simulation of underground reservoirs with numerical computer codes. For that purpose, we develop and use programs, which represent a coupled simulation of groundwater flow, heat, transport, chemistry and deformation. Additonal computer based analysis helps us in trying to minimize the risks, costs and time spent during the exploration and the development of a reservoir. Using the same means, we can determine the boundary conditions for the refurbishment of underground reservoirs and their use as repositories. Our scientific goal is to understand in detail the balance and the exchange of materials in underground aquifers. We pursue this for the longterm sequestration of CO2 underground, as well as for using groundwater for consumption by humans and in agriculture.

Our second interest is the field of hydrogeophysics. We perform geophysical field campaigns in order to explore the structure of shallow and deep aquifers and to monitor their long term behaviour. In short: Using such tomography in time and space helps us to characterize hydrogeologic systems in detail. One of the goals of this work is to validate and optimise the monitoring methods. Besides performing geophysical measurements and interpreting their results, we perform numerical geophysical modelling. Our models are based on data gathered during seismic and geoelectric field campaigns. These models assist us in understanding the physical characteristic of the ground beneath our feet.