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Geological repositories: scientific priorities and potential high-technology transfer from the space and physics sectors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Susana O. L. Direito ,
Samantha Clark ,
Claire Cousins ,
Yoshiko Fujita ,
Jon Gluyas ,
Simon Harley ,
Richard J. Holmes ,
Ian B. Hutchinson ,
Vitaly A. Kudryavtsev  and
Jon Lloyd
...Show all authors
Susana O. L. Direito
Affiliation:
UK Centre for Astrobiology, SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, Midlothian, Scotland
Samantha Clark
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences,Centre forResearch into Earth Energy Systems,DurhamUniversity, DurhamDH13LE,UK
Claire Cousins
Affiliation:
UK Centre for Astrobiology, SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, Midlothian, Scotland
Yoshiko Fujita
Affiliation:
Nano-Science Center, Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Jon Gluyas
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences,Centre forResearch into Earth Energy Systems,DurhamUniversity, DurhamDH13LE,UK
Simon Harley
Affiliation:
School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JW, Scotland
Richard J. Holmes
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Sheffield, Houndsfield Road, Sheffield S3 7RH, UK
Ian B. Hutchinson
Affiliation:
Space Research Centre, Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
Vitaly A. Kudryavtsev
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Sheffield, Houndsfield Road, Sheffield S3 7RH, UK
Jon Lloyd
Affiliation:
School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Ian G. Main
Affiliation:
School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JW, Scotland
Mark Naylor
Affiliation:
School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3JW, Scotland
Sam Payler
Affiliation:
UK Centre for Astrobiology, SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, Midlothian, Scotland
Nick Smith
Affiliation:
School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK National Nuclear Laboratory, Chadwick House, Birchwood Park, Warrington WA3 6AE, UK
Neil J.C. Spooner
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Sheffield, Houndsfield Road, Sheffield S3 7RH, UK
Sam Telfer
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Sheffield, Houndsfield Road, Sheffield S3 7RH, UK
Lee F. Thompson
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Sheffield, Houndsfield Road, Sheffield S3 7RH, UK
Katinka Wouters
Affiliation:
Microbiology Unit, Institute for Environment, Health and Safety, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK•CEN, Mol, Belgium
Joanna Wragg
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey, Environmental Science Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK
Charles Cockell*
Affiliation:
UK Centre for Astrobiology, SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, Midlothian, Scotland
*
*E-mail: C.S.Cockell@ed.ac.uk
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Abstract

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The use of underground geological repositories, such as in radioactive waste disposal (RWD) and in carbon capture (widely known as Carbon Capture and Storage; CCS), constitutes a key environmental priority for the 21st century. Based on the identification of key scientific questions relating to the geophysics, geochemistry and geobiology of geodisposal of wastes, this paper describes the possibility of technology transfer from high-technology areas of the space exploration sector, including astrobiology, planetary sciences, astronomy, and also particle and nuclear physics, into geodisposal. Synergies exist between high technology used in the space sector and in the characterization of underground environments such as repositories, because of common objectives with respect to instrument miniaturization, low power requirements, durability under extreme conditions (in temperature and mechanical loads) and operation in remote or otherwise difficult to access environments.

Keywords

carbon dioxideCCS (Carbon Capture and Storage)climate change mitigationgeological disposalgeological repositoriesradioactive waste disposal (RWD)space sectortechnology transfer
Type
Research Article
Information
Mineralogical Magazine , Volume 79 , Issue 6 , November 2015 , pp. 1651 - 1664
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2015. This is an open access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2015

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