Analysis of Seismic Data Acquired at the Forsmark Site for Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, Central Sweden

• The Forsmark area, the main study area in this thesis, is located about 140 km north of Stockholm, central Sweden. It belongs to the Paleoproterozoic Svecokarelian orogen and contains several major ductile and brittle deformation zones including the Forsmark, Eckarfjärden and Singö zones. The bedrock between these zones, in general is less deformed and considered suitable for a nuclear waste repository. While several site investigations have already been carried out in the area, this thesis focuses primarily on (i) re-processing some of the existing reflection seismic lines to improve imaging of deeper structures, (ii) acquiring and processing high-resolution reflection and refraction data for better characterization of the near surface geology for the planning of a new access ramp, (iii) studying possible seismic anisotropy from active sources recorded onto sparse three-component receivers and multi-offset-azimuth vertical seismic profiling data (VSP). Reflection seismic surveys are an important component of these investigations. The re-processing helped in improving the deeper parts (1-5 km) of the seismic images and allowing three major deeper reflections to be better characterized, one of which is sub-horizontal while the other two are dipping moderately. These reflections were attributed to originate from either dolerite sills or brittle fault systems. First break traveltime tomography allowed delineating an undulating bedrock-surface topography, which is typical in the Forsmark area. Shallow reflections imaged in 3D, thanks to the acquisition design were compared with existing borehole data and explained by fractured or weak zones in the bedrock. The analysis of seismic anisotropy indicates the presence of shear-wave splitting due to transverse isotropy with a vertical symmetry axis in the uppermost hundreds of meters of crust. Open fractures and joints were interpreted to be responsible for the large delays observed between the transverse and radial components of the shear-wave arrivals, both on surface and VSP data.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Geofysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Geophysics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Forsmark site

anisotropy

deformation zone

reflection seismic

shear-wave splitting

fractures and traveltime tomography

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

dok (subject category)