Our research focuses on understanding the chemical implications of injecting water into the hot, deep, crystalline rocks during reservoir stimulation and subsequent long-term circulation. For this we use natural analogues such as the thermal springs at the Grimsel mountain pass, fluid and rock composition data obtained from drilling campaigns (e.g. from the geothermal exploration well at Basel), and fluids obtained during the construction of the Gotthard rail base tunnel. Data are being used to constrain reactive transport models designed to predict the thermal, hydraulic and chemical processes likely to occur in petrothermal systems at conditions anticipated for Switzerland.
