HR: 0800h
AN: H11A-0147 INVITED    [Abstracts]
TI: A Monitoring Platform for Deployment of Sensors for the Hydrogeologic Characterization and Monitoring of Geologic Repositories
AU: * Black, W H
EM: bblack3@slb.com
AF: Schlumberger Water Services, 3480 Gilmore Way, Suite 110, Burnaby, BC V5G 4Y1, Canada
AU: Larssen, D E
EM: dlarssen@slb.com
AF: Schlumberger Water Services, 3480 Gilmore Way, Suite 110, Burnaby, BC V5G 4Y1, Canada
AU: Mercer, D G
EM: dmercer@slb.com
AF: Schlumberger Water Services, 3480 Gilmore Way, Suite 110, Burnaby, BC V5G 4Y1, Canada
AB: Careful and detailed monitoring of hydrogeologic conditions in the subsurface is challenging in any case, but often extremely challenging at the greater depths and in the low-permeability environments typically required for geologic repositories. Much of the recent technological effort associated with deep hydrogeologic characterization has centered on visualization, interpretation and extrapolation of sparsely-arrayed data points; and the data points themselves often come with issues related to quality or defensibility. Such an approach is clearly inadequate to meet the demands and requirements of characterization and risk assessments suitable for deep underground repositories. Perhaps surprisingly some aspects of field procedures and instrumentation used for hydrogeologic studies have seen only slight advances over several decades. However, in other areas significant advances have been made, shedding new light on groundwater behavior and in turn driving further development of the instrumentation and procedures used for characterization and monitoring. This paper discusses some of the challenges of characterizing and monitoring deep, low-permeability groundwater environments. In particular, a technology is described that enables the deployment of a network of pressure/temperature sensors at multiple depths in the subsurface, collection of fluid samples, and execution of a variety of hydraulic tests. The technology is well suited to the deep, low permeability conditions associated with repository projects. Modular monitoring zones can be placed with almost limitless adaptability to subsurface conditions. The system serves as a reliable platform for deployment of retrievable sensors which in most cases have the capability for in-situ calibration checks. Development and advancement of this technology has continued and accelerated through almost 30 years of use on a significant proportion of the geologic repository research projects around the world. Applications have ranged to 1,200 m and more in depth and projects have included the Yucca Mountain Project in the USA, Atomic Energy of Canada's URL in Canada, the Sellafield PNWR in the UK, ANDRA's URL at Bure in France, Japan Atomic Energy Agency's URLs at Mizunami and Horonobe, and sites in South Korea. Results (including long-term monitoring, construction monitoring, data filtering for earth tide analysis, cross-well testing, etc.) from some of these projects will be presented along with a discussion of the evolution of the monitoring technology, lessons learned, current limitations, and a look toward possible future developments.
DE: 1828 Groundwater hydraulics
DE: 1829 Groundwater hydrology
DE: 1848 Monitoring networks
DE: 1895 Instruments and techniques: monitoring
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting