DEBORAH | Deep Borehole to Resolve the Mont Terri Anticline Hydrogeology

DEBORAH (DEep BOrehole to Resolve the Mont Terri Anticline Hydrogeology) is an international research project investigating the geological and hydrogeological architecture of the Mont Terri anticline in northern Switzerland. Building on more than 30 years of research on the Opalinus Clay at the Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory, DEBORAH extends these investigations to the regional scale through the deepest borehole drilled at the site to date.

DEBORAH aims to systematically sample and quantitatively characterize the geological system in and around the Opalinus Clay. The project integrates: (A) an approximately 850 m deep, fully cored underground borehole, including dedicated hydrogeochemical porewater sampling, in-situ downhole testing, and geophysical core and downhole logging; (B) seismic reflection and tomography studies combining surface, tunnel, and downhole acquisition geometries to image the geological structure of the Mont Terri anticline; and (C) hydrogravimetric monitoring of natural fluid migration in aquifers above the Opalinus Clay.

The resulting data will support the hydro-geochemical modelling of the system providing new insights into fluid migration, rock properties, and the structural evolution of the folded Jura, contributing to the scientific basis for deep geological investigations and repository site characterization in Germany, and beyond.

Project partners:

• Federal Office of Topography swisstopo – Mont Terri Consortium (Switzerland)
• BGR Federal Institute for Geosciences and Resources (Germany)
• Nuclear Waste Services (United Kingdom)

Project runtime:

Project website
 

GFZ Responsibility: GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences initiated the DEBORAH project and is responsible for the overall scientific leadership as well as the coordination of the individual project components within the international research consortium.

Financial support: