Large-scale tracer profiles in a deep claystone formation (Opalinus Clay at Mont Russelin, Switzerland): Implications for solute transport processes and transport properties of the rock

Abstract

Natural tracers (Cl − and stable water isotopes) in pore water of the Opalinus Clay and adjacent formations were studied in the motorway tunnel at Mont Russelin, Switzerland. The Opalinus Clay occurs in the core of an anticline which is cut by a complex system of thrust faults. Concentration profiles of natural tracers were taken from 17 boreholes along a 363 m long section. Pore waters of drillcore samples were analysed with indirect and direct methods. The Cl − and stable water isotope distribution in the pore water shows a regular and well defined profile, with a conspicuous decrease towards the overlying Dogger limestone aquifer. The highest Cl − values (approximately 23,000 mg/L) are found in the core of the anticline in Liassic claystones underlying the Opalinus Clay. To quantify the large-scale transport properties of the Opalinus Clay formation, a 2D transport model was constructed and used to reproduce the observed concentration profiles. The calculations indicate that the observed tracer distributions are consistent with diffusion as the dominant transport process. Groundwater flow in the overlying Dogger aquifer was initiated about 2–4 Ma ago, which is long after the folding of the Jura Mountains and probably coincides with the exposure of the aquifer to freshwater recharge following continued erosion of the anticline. The calculations suggest that tracer distributions are controlled by 1) the timing of freshwater recharge in the overlying limestone aquifer, 2) the shape of the anticline and 3) the magnitude and the anisotropy ratio of diffusion coefficients.