Presence or absence of oxygen in groundwater is an important factor affecting many biological and chemical reactions taking place in the deep subsurface, including deep seated nuclear waste repositories. For example, anoxicity can reduce microbial and chemical corrosion of disposal canisters. With the funding from the SAFER2028 program our group studies the molecular oxygen found in deep, dark bedrock groundwater environments. The objective of this project is to evaluate the presence of free oxygen in continental deep groundwater environments, understand its origin and production pathways, and assess its effects on microbial processes in the deep biosphere.
Hydrogen is considered a potential clean energy source for the future. In our group we study geological hydrogen using geochemical and isotopic methods.
The deeper the better! We are involved in several projects through the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP), and study bedrock groundwaters down to more than 5 km depth.