The German Continental Deep Drilling Program Ktb

In October 1986 the German Minister for Research and Technology (Bundesminister fUr Forschung und Technologie), Dr. H. Riesenhuber, officially announced that the super-deep borehole of the Continental Deep Drilling Program of the Federal Republic of Germany (KTB) would be drilled in the Oberpfalz area of Northern Bavaria. The site selection was based on a recommendation from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) made after an evaluation by the Project Management of the technical and financial risks involved. This decision was preceded by a conference held from September 19 to 21, 1986 in Seeheim/Odenwald at which the results of the site studies in the Oberpfalz and the Schwarzwald were presented and thoroughly debated. The models and scientific targets resulting from these investigations formed the basis for a vote by the DFG Senate Commission for Geoscientific Interdisciplinary Research which was taken immediately after the conference. After evaluation of all scientific and technical aspects, the members of the commission voted almost unanimously for the Oberpfalz site. It was, ho",'ever, strongly emphasized that both locations had a wealth of attractive research objectives and that despite clear-cut differences in some major aspects scientifically the two could be regarded as more or less equivalent. Both'locations would be excellent sites for research drilling and would certainly cor.

DEKORP, the German continental reflection seismic program, was the major focus of deep seismic research in Germany in the 1980s and 1990s. The seismic sections provided fundamental new insight into deep geological structure of the European continent and the dynamics of continental formation. They formed the basis for worldwide comparative studies of orogenic structure. The complicated signature of the reflections from the deep crust indicated that new processing and interpretation techniques must be considered to better image the crystalline crust. Results of these efforts, including pre-stack migration, 3-D imaging, shear waves and seismic anisotropy, are presented in this special volume. In part, the articles open the perspective to new and future research. In part, they document research activity triggered by technical and interpretational questions raised by DEKORP field work and profiling results. Many of the presented methods can find immediate application in industrial seismic prospecting.

On cover & title page: Megascience: the OECD forum. Deep drilling = Earth drilling

The purpose of this book is to inform geoscientists about the progress made in scientific continental deep drilling as a new method for studying the continental crust. The Seeheim symposium was the second meeting organized for experts of the various national programs to present and discuss the results and progress made in their respective programs since the first symposium in Tarrytown in 1984. Various contributors dealt with the present state of - and experience in - deep drilling techniques as well as with the development of logging tools for drilling at high temperatures. Special emphasis was laid on the Continental Deep Drilling Program of the Federal Republic of Germany and its scientific aims.

This book presents the results of the Third International Symposium on Observation of the Continental Crust through Drilling held in Mora and Orsa, Sweden, September 7 - 10, 1987. Volume 2 reviews new and general information on geology, geophysics, rock mechanics, geochemistry, drilling techniques and drilling problems in very deep holes of the FRG, USA and the Soviet Union. The proceedings are invaluable for earth scientists as well as for exploiters of geoenergy and other natural resources in the crust. Volume 1 summarizes the results of the Deep Gas Project in the Siljan impact structure, Sweden, including papers dealing with general aspects of astroblemes. It is of interest to all researchers working in the drilling industry and those interested in the problem of "deep gas".

The superior goal of the gebo research association was making important contributions for the future reliable drilling under the existing “hot-hard-rock” conditions in Niedersachsen and their development to the geothermal drillings with sustainable geological subsurface heat exchangers. This goal should be achieved due to the solid research and innovative technology approaches in their combination within one concept for pioneering methods in deep geothermal drillings in hard rock, to be more exact - in interdisciplinary cooperation on engineers and scientists - in cooperation between industry and University, researchers and users Gebo research association comprised scientists and technicians of different research institutions and universities who are working in 33 projects. The individual projects were assigned to one of the 4 main research fields or focus areas. Gebo research association started its activities with 7 project partners participating: - Technische Universität Braunschweig (TUBS) - Technische Universität Clausthal (TUC) - Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover (LUH) - Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (UGOE) - Leibniz-Institut für Angewandte Geophysik (LIAG) - Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR) - Energie-Forschungszentrum Niedersachsen (EFZN) Baker Hughes, an industrial partner, participated in the association and supplies it with its experience and additional funds.

Stress Field of the Earth’s Crust is based on lecture notes prepared for a course offered to graduate students in the Earth sciences and engineering at University of Potsdam. In my opinion, it will undoubtedly also become a standard reference book on the desk of most scientists working with rocks, such as geophysicists, structural geologists, rock mechanics experts, as well as geotechnical and petroleum en- neers. That is because this book is concerned with what is probably the most pe- liar characteristic of rock – its initial stress condition. Rock is always under a natural state of stress, primarily a result of the gravitational and tectonic forces to which it is subjected. Crustal stresses can vary regionally and locally and can reach in places considerable magnitudes, leading to natural or man-made mechanical failure. P- existing stress distinguishes rock from most other materials and is at the core of the discipline of “Rock Mechanics”, which has been developed over the last century. Knowledge of rock stress is fundamental to understanding faulting mechanisms and earthquake triggering, to designing stable underground caverns and prod- tive oil fields, and to improving mining methods and geothermal energy extraction, among others. Several books have been written on the subject, but none has atte- ted to be as all-encompassing as the one by Zang and Stephansson.