Deep geological disposal

Environmental Earth Sciences, vol. 84

Abstract

The subsurface geological environment, historically a key source of fossil and mineral resources, has seen a significant broadening of its potential applications in recent years, with increasing emphasis on its use for energy production and storage (Bauer et al. 2017 ; Kabuth et al. 2017 ). These topics have been the focus of previous thematic collections in EES, Footnote 1 , Footnote 2 including geothermal energy systems (Huenges et al. 2013 ; Kühn et al. 2012 ; Kong et al. 2017 ), gas storage (hydrogen) (Böttcher et al. 2017 ; Kühn et al. 2012 ) and carbon capture and storage (Schütze et al. 2012 ; Dethlefsen et al. 2012 ; Zielinski et al. 2024 ; Chen et al. 2024b ). A critical factor in utilizing subsurface space is ensuring the sustainability of management practices, with particular attention to the potential environmental impacts that may result (Kumar 2024 ; Suryawanshi et al. 2023 ; Liu et al. 2022 ; Stewart 2022 ). This issue has been addressed in a recent topical collection in Environmental Earth Sciences. Footnote 3 The current Topical Collection on Deep Geological Disposal places greater emphasis on the geotechnical aspects of geological disposal, with a particular focus on the safe isolation of hazardous materials, including radioactive waste. Footnote 4 The Topical Collection on Deep Geological Disposal covers both experimental (laboratory and in-situ) and theoretical studies of various geotechnical applications, such as geological disposal of radioactive or other materials, e.g. coal-based solid waste (Xia et al. 2024 ), carbon dioxide sequestration in fractured reservoirs (Chen et al. 2024a ) and brine solutions (Dehaghani et al. 2023 ), but also aspects of uranium mining (Yang et al. 2023 ).

Authors 12

1. Thomas Nagel

   Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research · TU Bergakademie Freiberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research UFZ, Leipzig, Germany

   Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany

2. Wolfram Rühaak

   Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung

   Affiliation as printed

   BGE Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH, Peine, Germany

3. Florian Amann Aachen

   Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geotechnologies IEG · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geotechnologies IEG, Aachen, Germany

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

4. Guido Bracke

   Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management

   Affiliation as printed

   Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE), Cologne, Germany

5. Stefan Buske

   TU Bergakademie Freiberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany

6. Julia Kowalski Aachen

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

7. Sönke Reiche

   Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung

   Affiliation as printed

   BGE Bundesgesellschaft für Endlagerung mbH, Peine, Germany

8. Thorsten Schäfer

   Friedrich Schiller University Jena

   Affiliation as printed

   Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Jena, Germany

9. Traugott J. Scheytt

   TU Bergakademie Freiberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Freiberg, Germany

10. Thorsten Stumpf

    Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

    Affiliation as printed

    Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V., Dresden, Germany

11. Florian Wellmann Aachen

    Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geotechnologies IEG · RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geotechnologies IEG, Aachen, Germany

    RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

12. Olaf Kolditz corresponding

    Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research · Technische Universität Dresden

    Affiliation as printed

    Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research UFZ, Leipzig, Germany

    Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany