The various utilizations of the subsurface, for example as natural gas or heat storage system, stands in a big contrast to the small amount of field experiments assessing the potential of groundwater hazards. For the storage of energy in urban regions, studies to heat- and gas storage systems in the near-surface are important. The effect of gas leakage and formation of gas phases d/t heating processes in the near-surface are poorly investigated at the same time. With the installation and setup of a test site the project is aimed at making reliable explanations to the processes of multiphase-, and heat transport along near surface aquifers.
Therefore geophysical, hydro geochemical und microbiological studies are conducted to investigate the effect of methane and hydrogen as well as the impact of heat storage to transport processes in aquifer structures. The field experiments are going to be accompanied by numerical simulations.

Exploration and monitoring by combining geophysical methods and direct-push technologies is the main focus of the MET Department. For the development of appropriate gas phases and temperature field monitoring an adaptive approach for explicit exploration is pursued. The testing and validation of geophysical and numerical procedures take place in due consideration of detectability, predictability and controllability of the transport processes. The usage of the test site is supposed to be prospectively open for all interested national and international research groups to test own methods in the meta-scale.

After extensive pre-investigations specific test locations have been set. The installation of measuring sites both for the methane- and for the heat storage test site are in their final throes. For the planned gas- and heat injection the installation of the technical equipment is currently starting. The baseline monitoring of all project partners takes place at the same time.