Project

Scientific support in overburden drilling campaign to implement groundwater-monitoring wells

Monitoring network of deep groundwater measuring points is being expanded

In the Ruhr region, the coal-bearing layers of the Upper Carboniferous are overlain by an overburden of Upper Cretaceous rocks. The layers of the Emscher Formation - also known as the Emscher Marl - play a special role here, as they act as a groundwater non-conductor and form a natural hydraulic barrier to the underlying, brine-bearing carbonate rocks of the Upper Cretaceous and the mine water.

Since 2018, RAG AG has been expanding the existing groundwater monitoring network by adding new locations as part of the integral monitoring of mine water rise in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The goal is to determine the hydraulic pressure potential in the overburden at these sites.
In the research project, scientists from the FZN are linking the petrophysical properties of rock layers, such as permeability and porosity, and fluid properties like the transmissivity coefficient with lithological-sediment petrographic and geophysical data. One subproject focuses on the quantitative determination of clay content within the Emscher Formation, while another subproject determines permeability and transmissivity coefficients.

The goal is to explore and assess hydraulic conductivity of gases and fluids within the entire Emscher Formation and adjacent strata.

The project is supported by RAG AG since 2021.

Project objectives

  • Determination of petrophysical parameters permeability and porosity using porosimetry
  • Quantitative determination of clay content using X-ray diffractometry and Rietveld analysis
  • Evaluation of geophysical borehole investigations
  • Integration of geophysical, petrophysical, and lithological data into a model for a so-called facies analysis of the Emscher Formation

Contact

Dipl.-Geol. Henning Jasnowski-Peters

Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola, University
Herner Street 45
44787 Bochum
Building 2, room 104a

Phone 0234 968 3688
Mail henning.jasnowski-peters@thga.de

Jennifer Albrecht, B.Eng. 

Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola, University
Herner Street 45
44787 Bochum

Mail jennifer.albrecht@thga.de

Max Kersten, B.Sc. 

Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola, University
Herner Street 45
44787 Bochum
Building 2, room 207

Phone 0234 968 3980
Mail max.kersten@thga.de