Exploration of young sediment formations

Alfbach Valley, Eifel Region

Prior to paleo-climatic and paleo-volcanic research, high-resolution, shallow, shear wave seismic was carried out to investigate sediments of a lake that was damed naturally by a volcanic eruption in the Eifel region. The aim of the investigation was an analysis of the internal structure of the sediment body, of which the maximum thickness of 60 m had been estimated, for the optimal positioning of a subsequent research well.

Results
Two locations for new research wells were fixed, based on the new subsurface information from seismic results. Due to the special conditions of a relatively small sediment structure in a tectonically-formed environment, excellent datasets could be acquired for further methodical research.

Outlook
Further investigations will focus on the application of modern seismic processing tools for resolution enhancement and improved imaging. A detailed evaluation of the results will be carried out subsequent to the research well drilling.