BIOCLIM Deliverable D2
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2002 Deliverable D2: Modelling Sequential Biosphere Systems Consolidation of Needs under Climate Change for Radioactive of the European Waste Waste Disposal EC-CONTRACT : FIKW-CT-2000-00024 Management Agencies and the Regulator of the Consortium Work package 1: Site-specific and palaeo environmental data Foreword The BIOCLIM project (Modelling Sequential BIOsphere systems under CLIMate change for Radioactive Waste Disposal) is part of the EURATOM fifth European framework programme. The project was launched in October 2000 for a three-year period. The project aims to provide a scientific basis and practical methodology for assessing the possible long-term implications of climate and environmental change on the safety of radioactive waste repositories in deep geological formations. Five work packages have been identified to fulfil the project objectives: Work package 1 consolidates the needs of the European agencies belonging to the consortium and summarises how environmental change is currently treated in performance assessment. Work packages 2 and 3 are concerned with the development of two innovative and complementary strategies for representing time series of long term climate change, based on (a) a detailed mechanistic analysis of the regional implications of specific ‘snapshots’ of projected global climate conditions at selected times (the hierarchical strategy) and (b) empirical downscaling of continuous projections of global climate change over the next glacial-interglacial cycle and beyond (the integrated strategy). Work package 4 explores and evaluates the potential effects of projected climate change on the nature of biosphere systems associated with identified regions in Europe, taking into account their possible implications for the long-term safety performance of hypothetical radioactive waste disposal systems. Work package 5 is concerned with the final dissemination of the results obtained from the three-year project among the international community. The project brings together representatives from European agencies with national responsibilities for the safe management and disposal of radioactive waste, either as waste management agencies or regulators, together with a number of highly experienced climate research teams. The participating organisations and their representatives are listed below. • Agence Nationale pour la Gestion des Déchets Radioactifs (Andra), France M. Calvez, J. Brulhet • Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique/ Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (CEA/LSCE) France - N. de Noblet, D. Paillard • United Kingdom Nirex Limited (NIREX), UK - P. Degnan • Gesellschaft für Anlagen und Reaktorsicherheit mbH (GRS), Germany - A. Becker • Empresa Nacional de Residuos Radioactivos S.A. (ENRESA), Spain - A. Cortes • Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas (CIEMAT), Spain - P. Pinedo, F. Recreo, A. Aguero, C. Ruiz, L. Lomba • Universidad Politecnica de Madrid Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieros de Minas (UPM-ETSIMM), Spain - T. Torres, M. Lucini, J.E. Ortiz • Nuclear Research Institute Rez, plc - Ustav jaderneho vyzkumu Rez a.s. (NRI), Czech Republic - A. Laciok • Université catholique de Louvain/ Institut d’Astronomie et de Géophysique Georges Lemaître (UCL/ASTR), Belgium - A. Berger, M.-F. Loutre • The Environment Agency of England and Wales (EA), UK - R. Yearsley, N. Reynard • University of East Anglia (UEA), UK - C. Goodess, J. Palutikof RESTRICTED • ENVIROS QuantiSci, UK - B. Watkins, M. Egan ‘All property rights and copyrights are reserved. Any communication or reproduction of this document, and any communication or use of its For this deliverable the main contributors are the waste management agencies (Andra, Nirex, GRS, ENRESA, NRI), the regulator (EA) and the consultant content without explicit authorization is prohibited. Any infringement to this rule is illegal and entitles to claim damages from the infringer, company (Enviros QuantiSci). Note that M. C. Thorne and Associates Limited and V. Cilek (Institute of Geology, Czech Republic) also contributed to this without prejudice to any other right incase of granting a patent of registration in the field or intellectual property.’ document as subcontractors to Nirex and NRI, respectively. BIOCLIM, Deliverable D2 Contents List 3 - Palaeodata for France 39 1- Introduction 9 3.1 - The palaeoclimatic context of Eastern France 39 1.1 - Background and Objectives 9 3.1.1 Reference Data 39 1.2 - Approach 11 3.1.1.1 Glacial advances 39 1.3 - Calibration of Timeframes 13 3.1.1.2 Climatic records 39 3.1.1.3 Synthesis 40 3.1.2 Environmental Change during the Last Climatic Cycle 42 2 - Present-day characteristics of selected regions/sites 16 3.1.3 Periglacial Phenomena occuring during Cold Stages 45 2.1 - France 16 3.2 - Vegetation Reconstruction for the French Site 45 2.1.1 Site Location and Geology 17 3.2.1 Bibliographic Data from 400 000 years BP 45 2.1.2 Human Communities and Land Use 18 3.2.1.1 Recent data from the Grande Pile (Vosges) 45 2.1.3 Topography 18 3.2.1.2 The Velay Sequence 48 2.1.4 Climate 19 3.2.1.3 Pollen data near the site during the last glacial cycle 50 2.1.5 Lithostratigraphy 19 3.2.2 Original Data from 16 000 years BP 51 2.1.6 Surface Water Bodies 19 3.3 - Landform Change 53 2.1.7 Biota 20 3.3.1 Development of Permafrost 53 3.3.2 Landscape and Soil Evolution during a Climatic Cycle 55 2.2 - Spain 20 2.2.1 Cùllar-BazaBasin 20 3.4 - Summary of Meuse/Haute-Marne Site Palaeoenvironmental Records 57 2.2.1.1 Site Location and Geology 20 2.2.1.2 Topography 22 2.2.1.3 Lithostratigraphy 22 4 - Palaeodata for Spain 58 2.2.1.4 Climate 23 4.1 - Cullar-Baza Basin 58 2.2.1.5 Surface Water Bodies 23 4.2 - Padul Peat Bog 60 2.2.1.6 Biota 23 4.3 - Toledo area 62 2.2.2 Padul Peat Bog 23 4.4 - Quaternary Climate Stages for the South of Spain 63 2.2.2.1 Site Location and Geology 23 4.4.1 Introduction 63 2.2.2.2 Human Communities and Land Use 25 4.4.2 Palaeoclimatic Reconstruction from Padul Data 64 2.2.2.3 Topography 25 4.4.3 Palaeoclimatic Reconstruction from the Cúllar-Baza Basin Data 67 2.2.2.4 Climate 25 4.4.4 Reconstruction of Sequences of Change during the Last Climatic Cycle 68 2.2.2.5 Lithostratigraphy 25 4.5 - Palaeoenvironmental Reconstructions for the Toledo Area 71 2.2.2.6 Surface Water Bodies 27 4.5.1 Quaternary Climatology 71 2.2.2.7 Biota 27 4.5.2 Geology and Hydrology 72 4.5.3 Vegetation 74 2.2.3 Toledo Area 27 2.2.3.1 Site Location and Geology 27 4.6 - Characterisation of Palaeoenvironments in Spain 75 2.2.3.2 Topography 28 2.2.3.3 Lithostratigraphy 28 2.2.3.4 Climate 28 5 - Palaeodata for Central England 79 2.2.3.5 Surface Water Bodies 28 5.1 - British Nomenclature for Quaternary Stages 79 2.2.3.6 Biota 29 5.2 - Climate characterisation 80 2.3 - United Kingdom 29 5.2.1 The Eemian and Early Weichselian (c. 120 ka BP onward 80 5.2.2 The Middle Weichselian Pleniglacial (41-38 ka BP) 82 2.3.1 Location, Geology, Topography and Quaternary Lithostratigraphy 29 5.2.3 The Late Glacial (Late Weichselian) to Holocene Transition (22 – 9 ka BP) 83 2.3.2 Land Use, Soils and Biota 31 5.2.4 The Holocene Thermal Optimum (6 ka BP) 86 2.3.3 Climate 35 5.2.5 Summary of the Sequence of Late Quaternary Climate Stages in Central England 87 2.3.4 Surface and Near-surface Hydrology 37 BIOCLIM, Deliverable D2 BIOCLIM, Deliverable D2 Summary p. 6/7 5.3 - Vegetational Characteristics 90 5.4 - Geology and Hydrogeology 91 5.4.1 Valley Incision and Erosion Rates 91 5.4.2 Soil Development and Hydrogeology 93 he nature of long-lived radioactive wastes is that information collated in this report for three of these 5.5 - Conclusions 94 they present a radiological hazard over a period countries (France, Spain and the United Kingdom) will T of time that is extremely long compared with the be used within BIOCLIM to guide the development of timescale over which the engineered protection downscaling rules for regional climate characteristics 6 - References 96 systems and institutional management of a disposal, or and thereby to provide a basis for linking climate model Appendix A: Narrative description and palaeodata for the long-term storage, facility can be guaranteed. Safety output to system descriptions required for the purposes assessments for potential deep repositories need long-term safety assessment. Czech Republic (Central Europe) 108 to be able to provide indicators of safety performance A.1 - Introduction 109 over time periods of hundreds of thousands of years. In each case, the description begins with a summary of A.2 - State of the Palaeoclimatological art on the area of Czech Republic 110 On such timescales, it is generally assumed that the present-day characteristics of the regions/sites of A.3 - Methods 111 radionuclides may be slowly released from the interest, categorised under the following headings: A.4 - Pleistocene climate and environment 111 containment system, migrating via geosphere pathways •site location and the geology of the region; A4 - 1 Introduction 111 until they reach the accessible environment. Hence, •human communities and land use; A4 - 2 Pleistocene ice ages 112 there is a need to study the evolution of the •topography; A4 - 3 Cyclicity 113 environment external to the disposal system and the •climate; A4 - 4 Abrupt climatic changes 113 ways in which this might impact on its long-term •lithostratigraphy; A4 - 5 Pleistocene palaeometeorology 114 radiological safety performance, for example in terms •surface water bodies; and A4 - 6 The extent of continental glaciations 115 of influences on the migration and accumulation of A4 - 7 Permafrost distribution 116 radionuclides.