Investigation of Depth and Dimension Effects on Ireland’s Karst Aquifers Using Synthetic Seismic Reflected Data

Description

Karst regions are frequently classed as aquifers because they often contain sufficient groundwater to meet various needs. In Ireland approximately 16 percent of public water supply is provided by groundwater resources and karst limestones are important sources of groundwater.
There is evidence of karst features (conduits/caves) at depths >100 m below ground level in
Irish limestones that can be water bearing. The nature and extent of these types of features are poorly understood, and, to date, deep groundwater resources are largely untapped and uncharacterised. Groundwater exploration and development of these deeper features could be based on 3-D imaging using geophysics to identify potential strategic drilling targets. Karst areas are very difficult environments for any geophysical exploration due to strong lateral
and vertical heterogeneity. The main objective of the study is to develop a better understanding of deep groundwater resources in Ireland’s limestones using available seismic datasets.
We focus on direct reflection of water filled structures using characteristic seismic features

Period	1 Mar 2024 → 3 Mar 2024
Event title	Irish Geoscience Research Meeting
Event type	Conference