ALBERT

Beschreibung: The interdisciplinary project “Integrity of nuclear waste repository systems – Cross-scale system understanding and analysis (iCROSS)” combines research competencies of Helmholtz scientists related to the topics of nuclear, geosciences, biosciences and environmental simulations in collaborations overarching the research fields energy and earth and environment. The focus is to understand and analyze close-to-real long-term evolutionary pathways of radioactive waste repositories across nanoscales to repository scales. The project is subdivided into work packages dealing with laboratory studies, field experiments in underground research laboratories (URLs), advanced modelling studies and the integration and alignment of data and information using virtual reality methods. In this sense, the project structure aims at a holistic view on relevant processes across scales in order to comprehensively simulate potential repository evolutions. Within the multi-barrier system of a repository for heat-generating radioactive waste, a number of complex reactions proceed, including dissolution, redox processes, biochemical reactions, gas evolution and solid/liquid interface and (co)precipitation reactions. At the same time, thermal and external mechanical stress has an impact on the conditions in a deep geological repository. All those processes are highly coupled, with multiple interdependencies on various scales and have a strong impact on radionuclide mobility and retention. In recent years, substantial progress was achieved in describing coupled thermal-hydro-mechanical-chemical-biological (THM/CB) processes in numerical simulations. A realistic and concise description of these coupled processes on different time and spatial scales is, at present, a largely unresolved scientific and computational challenge. The close interaction of experimental and simulation teams aims at a more accurate quantification and assessment of processes and thus, the reduction of uncertainties and of conservative assumptions and eventually to a close-to-real perception of the repository evolution. One focus of iCROSS is directed to relevant processes in a clay rock repository. In this context, the iCROSS team became a full member of the international Mont Terri consortium and worked in close collaboration with international and German institutions in URL projects. Respective experiments specifically deal with coupled processes at the reactive interfaces in a repository near field (e.g. the steel/bentonite and bentonite/concrete interfaces). Within iCROSS, the impact of secondary phase formation on radionuclide transport is investigated. At Mont Terri, experiments are in preparation to study radionuclide transport phenomena in clay rock formations within temperature gradients and in facies exhibiting significant heterogeneities on different scales (nm to cm). Beside those studies, high resolution exploration methods for rock characterization are developed and tested and the effect of temperature and other boundary conditions on the strength, creep properties and healing of faults within Opalinus clay are quantified. Multiphysics models coupled to reactive transport simulation have been further developed and applied to laboratory and field experiments. Results are digitally analyzed and illustrated in a visualization center, in order to enhance the comprehension of coupled processes in repository systems across scales. The present contribution provides an overview on the project and reports selected results. The impact of considering complex coupled processes in repository subsystems for the assessment of the integrity of a given (generic) repository arrangement is discussed.

Beschreibung: The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) operates the Norwegian Snow Avalanche, Lake Ice, Landslide, and Flood Warning Services and has been using Copernicus satellite data since 2014 to improve these services, enhance safety management, and support research. The NVE Copernicus Services project, launched in 2022, aims to provide operational monitoring of snow avalanches, snow cover, lake ice, glaciers, floods, and other potential hazards using Sentinel data. In addition, the services make a baseline for future studies quantifying the climatic effects on snow avalanches, snow, and glaciers.New neural network-based detection algorithms have been implemented to improve monitoring of snow avalanches and snow cover. In addition, the project seeks to enhance monitoring of glacier lake outburst floods, snow and firn lines on glaciers, lake ice phenology, and flooded areas among others. The project also explores new applications for the Copernicus data, such as mapping and monitoring landslides and slushflows and using soil moisture data for hydrological models. Furthermore, the project investigates the potential use of Sentinel data for energy purposes. To ensure the efficient and safe delivery of these services, the project focuses on upgrading the IT infrastructure at NVE. The project not only generates new products from satellite data but also combines satellite data with modelled data and will use in situ data from the "Varsom" mobile app for validation. Visualization of products derived from optical and radar satellite images will be published in NVEs warning and preparedness tools xGeo and seNorge, among others.