Geological Survey Techniques Research Articles

Geological survey techniques and carbon storage: Optimizing renewable energy site selection and carbon sequestration

Geological survey techniques play a crucial role in optimizing site selection for renewable energy projects and identifying suitable locations for carbon storage to mitigate climate change. This abstract provides an overview of how geological survey techniques can be used to achieve these objectives. Renewable energy development, particularly solar and wind power, requires careful site selection to maximize energy generation efficiency and minimize environmental impacts. Geological surveys are instrumental in assessing factors such as subsurface geology, topography, soil composition, and hydrological conditions. These surveys help identify suitable locations with optimal wind or solar resources and geologic conditions for infrastructure development. Additionally, geological surveys are essential for identifying suitable sites for carbon storage, a critical component of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Geological formations, such as deep saline aquifers, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, and unmineable coal seams, can serve as storage reservoirs for captured carbon dioxide (CO2). Geological surveys help characterize these formations to assess their suitability for long-term CO2 storage, considering factors such as porosity, permeability, and sealing integrity. Optimizing site selection for renewable energy projects and carbon storage requires a comprehensive understanding of subsurface geology and environmental conditions. Advanced geological survey techniques, such as seismic imaging, remote sensing, and geophysical surveys, are essential for acquiring detailed subsurface data. These techniques enable scientists and engineers to assess site suitability, evaluate risks, and design effective mitigation measures. In conclusion, geological survey techniques are invaluable tools for optimizing site selection for renewable energy projects and identifying suitable locations for carbon storage. By leveraging these techniques, stakeholders can make informed decisions that promote sustainable energy development and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Potential of Metal Minerals in the Weikeri River, North Wetar, and Southwest Maluku

The modern era, demand for metals as raw materials in technology continues to increase along with industrial development. Metals are used in various sectors, such as construction, automotive, electronics, and renewable energy. However, the availability of currently used metals is limited and poses challenges in terms of supply and environmental impact. To overcome these limitations, it is important to search for new metal resources. The potential for the existence of new metal deposits can be discovered through comprehensive geological research, especially in areas that have not been widely explored. One area of interest for this research is the Weikeri River, Uhak Village, Southwest Maluku. This research aims to explore the potential for metal deposition in the Weikeri River area and Uhak Village, Southwest Maluku. Using surface geological survey techniques, this research was carried out through a literature study stage and then a field geology study. Field studies are aimed at obtaining lithology, geological structure, alteration, and mineralization data. The results of field research show that the research location is composed of underwater volcanic rocks. Rock alteration conditions are dominated by the propylitic alteration type in andesite lithology, both in lava and in intrusions in the form of dikes and sills. Other alterations are argillic and silicified. The mineralization condition found was a brecciated quartz vein system. The resulting minerals found were sulfide minerals in the form of pyrite, galena, and chalcopyrite. The percentage of the presence of these minerals ranges from 1–3% on the surface.

Engineering geotechnical investigation for coral reef site of the cross-sea bridge between Malé and Airport Island

The Malé-Airport Island Cross-sea Bridge project is the largest island-linking project in Maldives, the country known as “the kingdom of coral reefs.” Coral reef is also a special type of rock and soil medium to support significant civil engineering projects. In the Cross-sea Bridge project, the engineering geotechnical investigation of the coral reef site was divided into two stages: the feasibility study and the construction-drawing design phase. Engineering geological survey techniques were applied, and together with field exploration methods, such as geophysical prospecting and drilling exploration, the geological conditions of the site with respect to bridge engineering demands were comprehensively evaluated. In addition, the design parameters for pile group foundations were proposed based on in-situ tests, such as standard penetration, dynamic sounding, and acoustic wave testing in borehole as well as laboratory physical and mechanical experiments and bearing-capacity tests for pile foundations using rock and soil samples drilled from the site. The investigative methods adopted in the Malé–Airport Island Cross-sea Bridge project and the results obtained will provide references for similar engineering projects in the future.

Large-scale water resources management within the framework of GLOWA-Danube. Part A: The groundwater model

The research project GLOWA-Danube, financed by the German Federal Government, is investigating long-term changes in the water cycle of the upper Danube river basin (77,000 km 2) in light of global climatic change. Its aim is to build a fully integrated decision-support tool “DANUBIA” that combines the competence of 11 different research institutes in domains covering all major aspects governing the water cycle—from the formation of clouds, to groundwater flow patterns, to the behaviour of the water consumer. Both the influence of natural changes in the ecosystem, such as climate change, and changes in human behaviour, such as changes in land use or water consumption, are considered. DANUBIA is comprised of 15 individual disciplinary models that are connected via customized interfaces that facilitate network-based parallel calculations. The strictly object-oriented DANUBIA architecture was developed using the graphical notation tool UML (Unified Modeling Language) and has been implemented in Java code. All models use the same spatial discretisation for the exchange of data (1 × 1 km grid cells) but are using different time steps. The representation of a vast number of relevant physical and social processes that occur at different spatial and temporal scales is a very demanding task. Newly developed up- and downscaling procedures [Rojanschi, V., 2001. Effects of upscaling for a finite-difference flow model. Master’s Thesis, Institut für Wasserbau, Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany] and a sophisticated time controller developed by the computer sciences group [Hennicker, R., Barth, M., Kraus, A., Ludwig, M., 2002. DANUBIA: A Web-based modelling and decision support system for integrative global change research in the upper Danube basin. In: GSF (Ed.), GLOWA, German Program on Global Change in the Hydrological Cycle Status Report 2002. GSF, Munich, pp. 35–38; Kraus, A., Ludwig, M., 2003. GLOWA-Danube Papers Technical Release No. 002 (Danubia Framework), Software-Release No.: 0.9.2, Documentation Version: 0.10, Release Date: 27 March 2003] are required to solve the emerging problems. After a first successful public demonstration of the DANUBIA package (nine models) in May 2002 [Mauser, W., Stolz, R., Colgan, A., 2002. GLOWA-Danube: integrative techniques, scenarios and strategies regarding global change of the water cycle. In: GSF (Ed.), GLOWA, German Program on Global Change in the Hydrological Cycle (Phase I, 2000–2003) Status Report 2002. GSF, Munich, pp. 31–34], the research consortium is now preparing a first validation run of DANUBIA for the period 1995–1999 with all 15 models. After successful completion of the validation, a scenario run based on IPCC climate scenarios [IPCC, 2001. Climate Change 2001: Synthesis Report. In: Watson, R.T., Core Writing Team (Eds.), A Contribution of Working Groups I, II, and III to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, 398pp] for a five year period between 2025 and 2040 will follow at the end of 2003. The research group “Groundwater and Water Resources Management” at the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering, Universität Stuttgart, is contributing both a three-dimensional groundwater flow model of the catchment and an agent-based model for simulating water supply and distribution. This paper gives a general overview of the GLOWA-Danube project and describes the groundwater modeling segment. Nickel et al. deal with the water supply model in a second contribution to this special issue. A three-dimensional numerical groundwater flow model consisting of four main layers has been developed and is in a continual state of refinement (MODFLOW, [McDonald, M.G., Harbaugh, A.W., 1988. A modular three-dimensional finite-difference ground-water flow model: US Geological Survey Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations, Washington, USA (book 6, Chapter A1)]). One main research focus has been on the investigation of upscaling techniques to meet the requirement of a fixed 1 × 1 km cell size. This cell size is compulsory for all models in DANUBIA in order to facilitate a one to one parameter exchange. In a second stage, a transport model (nitrogen) will be added (MT3D: [Zheng, C., Hathaway, D.-L., 1991. MT3D: a new modular three-dimensional transport model and its application in predicting the persistence and transport of dissolved compounds from a gasoline spill, with implications for remediation. Association of Ground Water Scientists and Engineers Annual Meeting on Innovative Ground Water Technologies for the ’90s, National Ground Water Association, Westerville, Ohio, USA. Ground Water 29 (5)].

A GUIDE TO THE HYDRAULIC ANALYSES OF SINGLE-SPAN ARCH BRIDGES.

Keywords PLYMOUTH UNIVERSITY BRIDGES, ARCHES, SINGLE SPAN, HYDRAULICS, ANALYSIS, AFFLUX, SEGMENTAL, DISCHARGES, METHODS, MASONRY, WATERWAYS, RIVERS, FLOW, HEADS, LOSS, FROUDE NUMBERS, CALCULATIONS CANNS MILL, DEVON, RIVER DALCH UK... Show All