PhD opportunities

Convection and temperature anomalies in the central zone of the Upper Rhine Graben. Role of top basement heterogeneities and possible link with the spatial distribution of lithium

Thesis proposal

Area of expertiseGeoscience and Geoengineering
Doctoral SchoolGRNE - Géosciences, Ressources Naturelles et Environnement
SupervisorM. Dominique BRUEL
Research unitGeosciences
ContactBRUEL Dominique
Starting dateOctober 1st 2021
Keywords., .
AbstractThe Upper Rhine Graben is known for its thermal anomalies with locally strong gradients in its sedimentary part. Several geothermal sites exploit this resource at temperatures above 150 °C, thanks to deep drilling, down into the basement at depths between 2 and 5 km. These fluids extracted from the basement are brines and have also a lithium content which makes them interesting for the battery industry. However, their geochemical signature indicates an equilibrium with deep basin formations, at temperatures of the order of 225 ° C,which implies a migration of the deep parts of the basin towards its margins. This thesis project proposes to investigate the different driving mechanisms of convection given the general morphology of the altered fractured zone associated with fault corridors and then check if the Li content can be the result of the migration of brines.
Profile.
FundingConcours pour un contrat doctoral