Office of Science
BES - Geosciences

Sandia's basic geoscience research provides an improved scientific basis for advanced technologies that impact energy, defense, and environmental programs. The mix of DOE Office of Science projects changes every year in response to evolving DOE initiatives and new research thrusts in geosciences. Sandia's geoscience research comprises fundamental studies that provide the basis for innovations and improvements to nuclear waste repository design, fossil energy exploration and production, environmental and nuclear waste remediation, defense applications such as hard and deeply buried targets and earth penetrating weapons, global climate change, geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide, and geothermal energy exploration. Our geoscience research has four fundamental thrusts: geochemistry, geohydrology, geomechanics, and geophysics.

Geochemistry research emphasizes a mechanistic and atomic-level understanding of interfacial and bulk mineral processes using a combination of techniques. Research utilizes empirical and ab initio molecular modeling codes to simulate clay and carbonate mineral bulk structures, relaxed surface structures, and fluid/mineral contaminant sorption interactions. This work provides a better understanding of contaminant sorption, weathering, and materials science processes.

Geohydrology research focuses on detailed physical experiments and high-resolution numerical modeling of fluid flow and mass transport in porous and fractured media. Projects include defining capillary, gravitational, and viscous forces controlling fracture flow and transport of multiphase fluids; understanding gas/liquid interfacial processes in soils or rocks; characterizing and understanding geomedia properties that govern permeability upscaling; exploring mass and heat transport of dissolved and suspended particles in porous media and fractured rocks; and determining the role of fracture intersections on flow and transport. These studies provide improved models and computer codes to better understand and predict fluid flow through complex geologic media.

Geomechanics research combines experimental, analytic, and numerical studies of inelastic deformation of geomaterials with confining pressure and pore fluids, and microscale flow modeling and brittle failure processes in porous materials. Projects include an evaluation of fluid flow on inelastic deformation, failure during dilation and compaction of rocks, and the characterization and prediction of flow in porous media under compressive stress. This research provides a better understanding of the mechanics affecting natural and manmade underground structures and oil reservoirs.

Geophysics research develops computer algorithms to improve subsurface imaging of complex geologic structures and fluid flow. We are developing three-dimensional inversion techniques to interpret field and synthetic seismic and electromagnetic data, numerical waveform inversion algorithms to accommodate three-dimensional heterogeneity, and massively parallel computational approaches and algorithms for terabyte-scale, three-dimensional data sets. Results should improve subsurface imaging of complex natural and manmade subsurface structures.