How does geophysics contribute to determining subsurface material properties?
The characterisation of a geosystem spans a wide range of spatial scales – from the pore scale to core and borehole scale, all the way up to catchment and reservoir scale. LIAG employs a variety of laboratory and field-based measurement methods, supported by specialized equipment and infrastructure.

Aquifers and georeservoirs are typically characterized by significant heterogeneity in key parameters. This high variability stems from their sedimentary and facies-based depositional history, diagenetic processes (such as compaction and cementation), and tectonic overprinting during geological evolution. In most cases, only limited point, line, or area-based data – such as borehole logs, geological maps, or 2D seismic profiles – are available to describe subsurface architecture and the properties of its individual structural elements. However, spatially distributed models for inverse modeling of Earth system behavior and for forecasting future conditions of aquifers and reservoirs require a continuously parameterized spatial domain.

Information derived from the genesis of reservoirs, aquifers, and landscapes can help to describe and understand subsurface structures, their spatial variability and extent (regionalization), and their material properties (characterization). At LIAG, this genesis-based approach is purposefully used in combination with geophysical data (point, line, and area information from subsurface exploration) to perform regionalization. This enables the extrapolation of localized data into a consistent, multidimensional parameter space. To incorporate the temporal dimension, various geochronological methods are additionally applied.

The department is divided into two research groups:

• Research Group: Regionalisation
  
  This area focuses on the detection and analysis of geological structures using seismic and potential field methods.
   
• Research Group: Petrophysical Characterization
  
  This group is dedicated to determining rock physical parameters, translating them into usable input parameters for modeling, and describing the relevant property distributions of geological media.