GeoMetEr – a Research Project to Prepare Site Selection in Germany

Summary Germany’s site selection procedure for a repository for high-level radioactive waste involves several phases, with detailed surface exploration of potential siting regions expected to start in 2031. Suitable host rocks include rock salt, claystone, and crystalline rocks. To prepare for the exploration phase, the GeoMetEr research project, funded by the Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE), is evaluating and improving geophysical methods and their combinations. Research is conducted in two regions already excluded from the selection procedure: At Langenweißbach (Saxony) the project targets a crystalline rock, while at Harsefeld (Lower Saxony), the focus is on the overburden of a salt dome. In the first phase, a wide range of airborne, surface-based, and borehole geophysical methods - such as seismic surveys, semi-airborne electromagnetics, and magnetic measurements - are applied to image geological structures and rock properties. In the second phase, results will be verified through research drillings and borehole testing. GeoMetEr is carried out by nine partners from universities, non-academic research institutions, and industry. The project emphasizes joint interpretation of diverse datasets and the development of inversion strategies to build integrated 3D geological and parameter models, including an assessment whether the collected data meet repository site evaluation criteria.