This data publication provides the results of the investigations and measurements of thermal rock properties conducted on site in the Tournemire field laboratory and at the Thermal Petrophysics Lab at GFZ.
The thermal characterization of the clayey Jurassic (Upper Toarcian, ca. 180 My old) is contributing to the site characterization of the Tournemire Underground Research Lab (URL), located in Southern France. This URL is installed in a former railway tun-nel to better understand the physical processes resulting from thermal and hydrau-lic loading in a small fault zone in a highly consolidated shale formation (Bonnelye et al., 2023). At the Tournemire site, faults and fractures of different sizes extend from the surface (sedimentary cover) to the crystalline basement. At one specific gallery (Gallery East 03) installed in the former tunnel, thermally controlled in-situ fluid injection experiments are scheduled on a strike-slip fault zone outcropping at the URL (Bonnelye et al., 2023). In 2022, we visited the URL for baseline characteri-zation of thermal properties and to study the heterogeneity of the clay-dominated formation. Therefore, we took the chance to collect data and samples for a laborato-ry measurement campaign and to measure thermal conductivity in-situ in the tun-nel wall of Gallery East 03. The thermal data shall provide the baseline for the pa-rameterization of future numerical 3D models to better understand the thermal-hydraulic processes related to the experiment. This data publication provides the results of the investigations and measurements conducted on-site in the field la-boratory and at the Thermal Petrophysics Lab at GFZ.
The Middle Jurassic Opalinus Clay (OPA) in Switzerland and southern Germany is regarded as a potential host rock for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. This study investigates sediment samples from drill cores taken from the Swabian Alb region (southern Germany), and employs a facies-based approach combined with mineralogical analyses, measurements of cation exchange capacity (CEC), LECO and Rock-Eval pyrolysis.
Results are based on analyses of two fully cored scientific drillings conducted by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in the framework of the research project "SEPIA" in the Swabian Alb in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany. The drill sites are located in the vicinity of the villages Metzingen (48.51149° N, 9.26464° E) and Röttingen (48.89905° N, 10.29520° E). At the drilling sites, the OPA is between approx. 100 m – 150 m thick and overlain by 50 m – 70 m of overburden. In Germany, the OPA can be lithostratigraphically divided into two subunits: the Teufelsloch member and the overlying Zillhausen member. This division is based on a combined lithological and stratigraphic framework (Dietze et al., 2021). Regarding lithofacies, the OPA in Switzerland and southern Germany can be broadly divided into several distinct units ("facies associations" according to Zimmerli et al., 2024). For Germany, the following three lithological facies associations (FA) were identified based on a subfacies approach: (1) a lower part that is rich in clay (FA-1), (2) a middle part that is silty (FA-2) and (3) an upper part that is silty and interbedded with calcareous(-sandy) beds (FA-3).
XRD patterns of whole rock material were recorded using a PANalytical X'Pert PRO MPD θ - θ diffractometer (Co-Kα radiation generated at 40 kV and 40 mA). The samples were investigated from 3° to 80° 2 θ with a step size of 0.03° 2 θ and a measuring time of 3 sec per step. Quantitative Rietveld refinements of the experimental XRD data were conducted using the software Profex/BGMN (Döbelin & Kleeberg, 2015; Bergmann et al., 1998). Determination of cation exchange capacity (CEC) was carried out using always two different samples masses (typically 400 and 600 mg) according to the method of Meier and Kahr (1999), based on a Cu(II)triethylentetramine complex ("Cu-trien method") and measurement using VIS spectroscopy. According to Dohrmann et al. (2012), the analytical error as determined for high-CEC bentonites is generally smaller than ±3.9 cmol(+)kg-1. The total carbon (TC), total organic carbon (TOC), and total sulfur (TS) were determined using a LECO CS-230 system (Laboratory Equipment Corporation). Samples were heated up to 2000 °C under an oxygen atmosphere and an infrared detector subsequently measured the amount of produced CO2 and SO2. TOC was measured the same way after removing inorganic carbonates using 10 % HCl solution at 80 °C. Rock-Eval Pyrolyses were performed on a Rock-Eval-6 analyser (Vinci Technologies) using up to 180 mg initial sample material and a standard program (Espitalié et al., 1977; Lafargue et al., 1998), starting isothermal with 300°C for 3 min, succeeded by a heating rate of 25°C/min up to 650°C. Standard deviations for hydrogen indices (HI) and Tmax values are ± 5 % and ± 2°C, respectively.
The findings of this study underscore the importance of integrating lithofacies studies with mineralogical investigations to effectively assess the variability and comparability of clay-rich host rocks suitable for radioactive waste disposal.
The Middle Jurassic Opalinus Clay (OPA) in Switzerland and southern Germany is regarded as a potential host rock for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. This study investigates sediment samples from drill cores taken from the Swabian Alb region (southern Germany), and employs a facies-based approach combined with mineralogical analyses, measurements of cation exchange capacity (CEC), LECO and Rock-Eval pyrolysis.
Results are based on analyses of two fully cored scientific drillings conducted by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in the framework of the research project "SEPIA" in the Swabian Alb in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany. The drill sites are located in the vicinity of the villages Metzingen (48.51149° N, 9.26464° E) and Röttingen (48.89905° N, 10.29520° E). At the drilling sites, the OPA is between approx. 100 m – 150 m thick and overlain by 50 m – 70 m of overburden. In Germany, the OPA can be lithostratigraphically divided into two subunits: the Teufelsloch member and the overlying Zillhausen member. This division is based on a combined lithological and stratigraphic framework (Dietze et al., 2021). Regarding lithofacies, the OPA in Switzerland and southern Germany can be broadly divided into several distinct units ("facies associations" according to Zimmerli et al., 2024). For Germany, the following three lithological facies associations (FA) were identified based on a subfacies approach: (1) a lower part that is rich in clay (FA-1), (2) a middle part that is silty (FA-2) and (3) an upper part that is silty and interbedded with calcareous(-sandy) beds (FA-3).
XRD patterns of whole rock material were recorded using a PANalytical X'Pert PRO MPD θ - θ diffractometer (Co-Kα radiation generated at 40 kV and 40 mA). The samples were investigated from 3° to 80° 2 θ with a step size of 0.03° 2 θ and a measuring time of 3 sec per step. Quantitative Rietveld refinements of the experimental XRD data were conducted using the software Profex/BGMN (Döbelin & Kleeberg, 2015; Bergmann et al., 1998). Determination of cation exchange capacity (CEC) was carried out using always two different samples masses (typically 400 and 600 mg) according to the method of Meier and Kahr (1999), based on a Cu(II)triethylentetramine complex ("Cu-trien method") and measurement using VIS spectroscopy. According to Dohrmann et al. (2012), the analytical error as determined for high-CEC bentonites is generally smaller than ±3.9 cmol(+)kg-1. The total carbon (TC), total organic carbon (TOC), and total sulfur (TS) were determined using a LECO CS-230 system (Laboratory Equipment Corporation). Samples were heated up to 2000 °C under an oxygen atmosphere and an infrared detector subsequently measured the amount of produced CO2 and SO2. TOC was measured the same way after removing inorganic carbonates using 10 % HCl solution at 80 °C. Rock-Eval Pyrolyses were performed on a Rock-Eval-6 analyser (Vinci Technologies) using up to 180 mg initial sample material and a standard program (Espitalié et al., 1977; Lafargue et al., 1998), starting isothermal with 300°C for 3 min, succeeded by a heating rate of 25°C/min up to 650°C. Standard deviations for hydrogen indices (HI) and Tmax values are ± 5 % and ± 2°C, respectively.
The findings of this study underscore the importance of integrating lithofacies studies with mineralogical investigations to effectively assess the variability and comparability of clay-rich host rocks suitable for radioactive waste disposal.
The Middle Jurassic Opalinus Clay (OPA) in Switzerland and southern Germany is regarded as a potential host rock for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. This study investigates sediment samples from drill cores taken from the Swabian Alb region (southern Germany), and employs a facies-based approach combined with mineralogical analyses, measurements of cation exchange capacity (CEC), LECO and Rock-Eval pyrolysis.
Results are based on analyses of two fully cored scientific drillings conducted by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in the framework of the research project "SEPIA" in the Swabian Alb in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany. The drill sites are located in the vicinity of the villages Metzingen (48.51149° N, 9.26464° E) and Röttingen (48.89905° N, 10.29520° E). At the drilling sites, the OPA is between approx. 100 m – 150 m thick and overlain by 50 m – 70 m of overburden. In Germany, the OPA can be lithostratigraphically divided into two subunits: the Teufelsloch member and the overlying Zillhausen member. This division is based on a combined lithological and stratigraphic framework (Dietze et al., 2021). Regarding lithofacies, the OPA in Switzerland and southern Germany can be broadly divided into several distinct units ("facies associations" according to Zimmerli et al., 2024). For Germany, the following three lithological facies associations (FA) were identified based on a subfacies approach: (1) a lower part that is rich in clay (FA-1), (2) a middle part that is silty (FA-2) and (3) an upper part that is silty and interbedded with calcareous(-sandy) beds (FA-3).
XRD patterns of whole rock material were recorded using a PANalytical X'Pert PRO MPD θ - θ diffractometer (Co-Kα radiation generated at 40 kV and 40 mA). The samples were investigated from 3° to 80° 2 θ with a step size of 0.03° 2 θ and a measuring time of 3 sec per step. Quantitative Rietveld refinements of the experimental XRD data were conducted using the software Profex/BGMN (Döbelin & Kleeberg, 2015; Bergmann et al., 1998). Determination of cation exchange capacity (CEC) was carried out using always two different samples masses (typically 400 and 600 mg) according to the method of Meier and Kahr (1999), based on a Cu(II)triethylentetramine complex ("Cu-trien method") and measurement using VIS spectroscopy. According to Dohrmann et al. (2012), the analytical error as determined for high-CEC bentonites is generally smaller than ±3.9 cmol(+)kg-1. The total carbon (TC), total organic carbon (TOC), and total sulfur (TS) were determined using a LECO CS-230 system (Laboratory Equipment Corporation). Samples were heated up to 2000 °C under an oxygen atmosphere and an infrared detector subsequently measured the amount of produced CO2 and SO2. TOC was measured the same way after removing inorganic carbonates using 10 % HCl solution at 80 °C. Rock-Eval Pyrolyses were performed on a Rock-Eval-6 analyser (Vinci Technologies) using up to 180 mg initial sample material and a standard program (Espitalié et al., 1977; Lafargue et al., 1998), starting isothermal with 300°C for 3 min, succeeded by a heating rate of 25°C/min up to 650°C. Standard deviations for hydrogen indices (HI) and Tmax values are ± 5 % and ± 2°C, respectively.
The findings of this study underscore the importance of integrating lithofacies studies with mineralogical investigations to effectively assess the variability and comparability of clay-rich host rocks suitable for radioactive waste disposal.
Die Karte oberflächennaher Rohstoffe 1:200.000 (KOR 200) ist ein Kartenwerk, das gemeinsam von der Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe und den Staatlichen Geologischen Diensten der Länder (SGD) im Auftrag des Bundesministers für Wirtschaft und Arbeit auf Beschluss der Länderwirtschaftsminister vom 22. Juni 1984 erarbeitet wird. Das Kartenwerk folgt dem Blattschnitt der topographischen Übersichtskarte 1:200.000 (TÜK 200) und besteht aus 55 Kartenblättern mit jeweils einem Erläuterungsheft. Es erfolgt eine Bestandsaufnahme, Beschreibung, Darstellung und Dokumentation der Vorkommen und Lagerstätten von mineralischen Rohstoffe, die üblicherweise im Tagebau bzw. an oder nahe der Erdoberfläche gewonnen werden. Im Besonderen sind dies Industrieminerale, Steine und Erden, Torfe, Braunkohle, Ölschiefer und Solen. Die Darstellung der oberflächennahen Rohstoffe und die zusätzlichen schriftlichen Informationen sind für die Erarbeitung überregionaler, bundesweiter Planungsunterlagen, die die Nutzung oberflächennaher mineralischer Rohstoffe berühren, unentbehrlich. Auf der Karte sind neben den umgrenzten, je nach Rohstoff farblich unterschiedlich dargestellten Lagerstätten- bzw. Rohstoffflächen "Abbaustellen" (=Betriebe) bzw. "Schwerpunkte mehrerer Abbaustellen" mit je einem Symbol dargestellt. Die Eintragungen in der Karte werden ergänzt durch Texterläuterungen. Die Erläuterungsbände haben üblicherweise einen Umfang von 40 - 80 Seiten und sind derzeit nur in der gedruckten Ausgabe der Karte verfügbar. Der Text ist gegliedert in: - Einführung - Beschreibung der Lagerstätten und Vorkommen nutzbarer Gesteine - Rohstoffwirtschaftliche Bewertung der Lagerstätten und Vorkommen oberflächennaher Rohstoffe im Blattgebiet - Verwertungsmöglichkeiten der im Blattgebiet vorkommenden nutzbaren Gesteine - Schriftenverzeichnis - Anhang (u. a. mit Generallegende und Blattübersicht) Die KOR 200 stellt somit die Rohstoffpotentiale in Deutschland in bundesweit vergleichbarer Weise dar und liefert eine Grundlage für künftige Such- und Erkundungsarbeiten sowie einen Beitrag zur Sicherung der Rohstoffversorgung.