Monitoring and numerical applications for environment and geosciences – eLabo

The UMR Geosciences Rennes/UMS OSUR and the company Itasca Consultants S. A. S. (ICSAS) propose to create a Joint Laboratory in the field of geomechanical, hydrological and hydrogeological systems modelling. This project represents a new stage and a real change of scale in the collaboration initiated between the UMR Geosciences Rennes and ICSAS over the last 15 years. By strengthening and extending collaboration on other environmental issues, the company and the laboratory intend to promote new researches on modelling of environmental systems, more integrated development of software tools and better exploitation of results.
The eLabo Joint Laboratory program focuses on the modelling of environmental impacts and risks, and on the improvement of the methods for exploiting geological resources. The Joint Laboratory will be structured around 3 research programmes involving researchers from the UMR Géosciences Rennes and engineers from ICSAS.
• The DFN programme - for Discrete Fracture Network - is part of the ongoing work already underway between the partners. Research is focused on describing the properties of fractured media, and the modelling of transfer fluxes (hydrological, contaminant, thermal) and of the geomechanical behavior of rocks.
• The RIVER programme aims to improve hydrodynamic and hydrosedimentary models in rivers for a better prediction of floods, sediment transport and morphological changes. The program combines the development of methods for characterizing environments, and researches on the modelling of these systems. This program is maturing.
• The TRANSFERT programme aims to develop monitoring and modelling tools to quantify transfers and chemical reactivity in river basins. The applications mainly concern the environmental management of basins. This program is maturing.

The innovations expected from these programs are at three levels:
• The basic knowledge acquired by the Joint Laboratory constitutes a base of scientific expertise that can be mobilized for industrial or public projects. The first example is the basic research work on fracturing of geological environments; the partners are already responding to requests for expertise on the implementation of underground nuclear waste storage by SKB (Sweden) and Posiva Oy (Finland).
• The development of software for environmental modelling is a competence of the research laboratory - for example, the H2OLab, UFMLab, EROS platforms - and an expertise of the Itasca International Inc. group for more than 30 years with PFC, 3DEC, FLAC software. This partnership should strengthen Itasca's international position.
• The specific research on environmental monitoring, which will be developed by the Joint Laboratory in the three programmes, is the source of multiple innovations in several fields: high-resolution topography imaging (Lidar), geophysical imaging (seismic, gravimetry, radar), measurement of groundwater or surface water flows (optical fiber, Döppler), and the chemical composition and age of water. These techniques contribute to environmental expertise.
The Joint Laboratory will act as both a knowledge accelerator and a transfer incubator and accelerator.