Understanding fluid flow in fractured rocks has been, and still is, a critical issue for geoscientists and engineers who deal with geofluids supply (groundwater, geothermal energy, hydrocarbons), waste storage (radioactive waste, anthropogenic CO2) as well as risk evaluation (groundwater contaminant transport, rock mass stability). Structural discontinuities, organized in Fracture Networks (FN), may dramatically influence hydraulic and mechanical properties of the rock mass. In particular, basin- and reservoir-scale fluid flow is heavily influenced, if not even steered, by discontinuities below or at the limit of seismic resolution. Fluid flow through FN leads to fluid-rock interaction that triggers mineralogical changes, variation in rock petrophysical properties and hydro-mechanical behaviour. Therefore, in-situ quantification of geometrical, dimensional and petrophysical properties related to sub-seismic resolution FN and related fluid-rock interaction processes are critical to properly understand and model the hydro-mechanical behaviour of the fractured medium. The integration of these data into Discrete Fracture Networks (DFN) is a promising methodology to extend and upscale the sub-seismic FN properties to the larger scale (i.e. reservoir-, basin-, geothermal field-scale) through stochastic and/or deterministic description of FN distribution.
In this session we welcome multidisciplinary contributions highlighting research focussing on the multi-scale quantification of petrophysical properties and sub-seismic-resolution FN characteristics. In addition, we welcome contributions dealing with the application of DFNs to the understanding of tectonic processes and fluid flow within large geological provinces and domains that also focus on high-impact environmental/industrial/societal topics such as risk management and efficient resource recovery.