In Situ Freeze-Capturing of Fracture Water using Cryogenic Coring

Abstract

Current methods do not allow for sampling of in situ water from unsaturated fractures in low-moisture environments. A novel cryogenic coring technique based on the method developed by Simon and Cooper (1996) is used to collect in situ water in unsaturated fractures. This method uses liquid nitrogen as the drilling fluid, which can freeze the fracture water in place while coring. Laboratory experiments are conducted to demonstrate that water in an unsaturated fracture can be frozen and collected using cryogenic coring.