Travel time based approach for the assessment of vulnerability of karst groundwater: the Transit Time Method

Karst aquifers represent important water resources in many parts of the world. Unfortunately, karst aquifers are characterised by high contamination risks. This paper presents a travel time based method for the estimation of karst groundwater vulnerability. It considers (1) physics-based lateral flow within the uppermost weathered zone (epikarst) in a limestone-dominated region and (2) high velocities of vertical infiltration at discrete infiltration points (e.g. sinkholes) or lines (e.g. dry valleys, faults). Consequently, the Transit Time Method honours the actual flow path within the unsaturated zone of a karst aquifer system. A test site in Northern Jordan was chosen for the demonstration of the assessment technique, i.e. the catchment area of the Qunayyah Spring north of the capital Amman. The results demonstrate that zones of highest vulnerability lie within valleys and nearby main fault zones. It also reveals that regions, categorised as protected areas by other methods due to thick unsaturated zones, contribute to a major degree to the total risk.     

Estimation of shear wave velocity profiles by the inversion of spatial autocorrelation coefficients

The subsurface shear-wave velocity (Vs) is considered to be a key parameter for site characterization and assessment of earthquake hazard because of its great influence on local ground-motion amplification. Array microtremor measurements are widely used for the estimation of shear-wave velocities. Compared to other methods such as frequency-wavenumber (f-k) methods, the spatial autocorrelation (SPAC) method requires fewer sensors and thus is relatively easier to implement and gives robust estimations of shear-wave velocity profiles for depths down to a few hundred meters. The quantity derived from observed data is the SPAC coefficient, which is a function of correlation distance, frequency and phase velocity. Generally, estimation of Vs profiles is a two stage process: Estimation of the dispersion data from the SPAC coefficients and inversion of the dispersion data for shear-wave velocity structure. In this study, instead of inverting dispersion curves, a more practical approach is used; that is, observed SPAC coefficients are directly inverted for the S-wave velocities. A synthetic case and a field data application are presented to test the potential of the inversion algorithm. We obtain an iterative damped least-squares solution with differential smoothing. The differential smoothing approach constrains the change in shear-wave velocities of the adjacent layers and thus stabilizes the inversion.     

Hydraulic fracturing in unconventional gas reservoirs: risks in the geological system part 1

Hydraulic fracturing of unconventional gas reservoirs rapidly developed especially in the USA to an industrial scale during the last decade. Potential adverse effects such as the deterioration of the quality of exploitable groundwater resources, areal footprints, or even the climate impact were not assessed. Because hydraulic fracturing has already been practised for a long time also in conventional reservoirs, the expansion into the unconventional domain was considered to be just a minor but not a technological step, with potential environmental risks. Thus, safety and environmental protection regulations were not critically developed or refined. Consequently, virtually no baseline conditions were documented before on-site applications as proof of evidence for the net effect of environmental impacts. Not only growing concerns in the general public, but also in the administrations in Germany promoted the commissioning of several expert opinions, evaluating safety, potential risks, and footprints of the technology in focus. The first two publications of the workgroup “Risks in the Geological System” of the independent “Information and Dialogue process on hydraulic fracturing” (commissioned by ExxonMobil Production Deutschland GmbH) comprises the strategy and approaches to identify and assess the potential risks of groundwater contamination of the exploitable groundwater system in the context of hydraulic fracturing operations in the Münsterland cretaceous basin and the Lower Saxony Basin, Germany. While being specific with respect to local geology and the estimation of effective hydraulic parameters, generalized concepts for the contamination risk assessment were developed. The work focuses on barrier effectiveness of different units of the overburden with respect to the migration of fracking fluids and methane, and considers fault zones as potential fluid pathway structures.