Ground and Surface Water Monitoring Program Report
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Phase 1 Geoscientific Desktop Preliminary Assessment, Processing and Interpretation of Borehole Geophysical Log and 2D Seismic Data MUNICIPALITY OF CENTRAL HURON, ONTARIO APM-REP-06144-0127 SEPTEMBER 2015 This report has been prepared under contract to the NWMO. The report has been reviewed by the NWMO, but the views and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the NWMO. All copyright and intellectual property rights belong to the NWMO. For more information, please contact: Nuclear Waste Management Organization 22 St. Clair Avenue East, Sixth Floor Toronto, Ontario M4T 2S3 Canada Tel 416.934.9814 Toll Free 1.866.249.6966 Email [email protected] www.nwmo.ca Phase 1 Geoscientific Desktop Preliminary Assessment, Processing and Interpretation of Borehole Geophysical Log and 2D Seismic Data Municipality of Central Huron Revision: 0 (Final) Prepared for: Nuclear Waste Management Organization 22 ST. Clair Avenue East, 6th Floor Toronto, Ontario M4T 2S3 Prepared by: Document ID: Central Huron_Final 2DSeismic BHGeophys Report_R0 NWMO Report Number: APM-REP-06144-0127 September, 2015 Interpretation of Borehole Geophysical Log and 2D Seismic Data Municipality of Central Huron Final Report Phase 1 Geoscientific Desktop Preliminary Assessment Processing and Interpretation of Borehole Geophysical Log and 2D Title: Seismic Data, Municipality of Central Huron Client: Nuclear Waste Management Organization Document ID: Central Huron_Final 2DSeismic BHGeophys Report_R0 Revision Number: 0 Date: September, 2015 Prepared by: Sean Sterling and David Schieck Reviewed by: Kenneth Raven Approved by: Kenneth Raven September, 2015 i Interpretation of Borehole Geophysical Log and 2D Seismic Data Municipality of Central Huron Final Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In July 2014, the Municipality of Central Huron (herein “the Municipality”) expressed interest in continuing to learn more about the Nuclear Waste Management Organization nine-step site selection process (NWMO, 2010), and requested that a preliminary assessment be conducted to assess potential suitability of the Municipality for safely hosting a deep geological repository (Step 3). This request followed successful completion of an initial screening conducted during Step 2 of the site selection process. The preliminary assessment is a multidisciplinary study integrating both technical and community well- being studies, including geoscientific suitability, engineering, transportation, environment and safety, as well as social, economic and cultural considerations. The findings of the overall preliminary assessments are reported in an integrated report (NWMO, 2015). The objective of the geoscientific desktop preliminary assessment is to determine whether the Municipality contains general areas that have the potential to meet NWMO’s geoscientific site evaluation factors. This report presents the findings of an interpretation study looking at historical borehole geophysical well log data and historical 2D seismic data. The assessment focused on the Municipality and its immediate periphery, referred to as the Central Huron area. This study was completed as part of the Phase 1 Geoscientific Desktop Preliminary Assessment for the Municipality of Central Huron (Geofirma Engineering Ltd., 2015). The main information sources relied on in this study include: • the petroleum wells subsurface database from the Ministry of Natural Resources Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Library (OGSRL) current as of December 2014; • historical 2D seismic data purchased from a seismic data brokerage company; • the OGS bedrock depth (drift thickness) data (Gao et al., 2006); • ground surface elevation data defined by a topographic model created from Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) data provided by National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA, 2006); • Additional information sources included several files on drainage features, watersheds, lake depths, aggregate pits, and roads obtained from Land Information Ontario (LIO, 2014); and, • Additional stratigraphic information was provided by the site characterization activities undertaken at the Bruce nuclear site (NWMO, 2011; Intera Engineering Ltd., 2011). The study addresses the following four main objectives: • Assessing key bedrock formation top elevations across the Central Huron area based on the reinterpretation of available borehole geophysical data. • Interpreting available 2D seismic data and evaluating their usefulness for the purpose of identifying geological structures in the Precambrian basement and Paleozoic bedrock within the Central Huron area. • Providing a better understanding of the three-dimensional geometry (depth, thickness and extent) of key Paleozoic sedimentary packages and the top of the Precambrian basement, based on the borehole geophysical data assessment and the interpretation of 2D seismic data. September, 2015 ii Interpretation of Borehole Geophysical Log and 2D Seismic Data Municipality of Central Huron Final Report • Interpreting potential geological structures such as: pinnacle reefs, faults, salt dissolution features, and karst, within the Central Huron area. To meet the study objectives outlined above, the scope of work involved the completion of two complimentary desktop studies, including a borehole geophysics data interpretation and a 2D seismic data interpretation, based on available data for the Central Huron area. A total of 335 boreholes from the OGSRL exist within the Central Huron area and its surrounding region, 111 of which contain useful gamma and neutron borehole geophysical logs. These borehole geophysical logs were studied to select formations which could be easily and consistently identified based on the geophysical signals. Eight formation tops were identified and termed "key formation tops". A dataset of these eight key formation tops for each of the 111 boreholes was created. These key formation tops included: • Bass Islands Formation; • Salina Group G-Unit; • Salina Group F-Unit; • Cabot Head Formation; • Queenston Formation; • Cobourg Formation - Collingwood Member; • Coboconk Formation; and, • Precambrian. The updated formation top dataset discussed above was used to create geological cross-sections to assist with the interpretation of regional geology and 2D seismic data. A total of approximately 9.9 km of historical 2D seismic data, originally acquired as part of a single line during 1977, was purchased, re-processed and interpreted as part of this study. The quality of this historical data was sufficient for use in this study but considered to be of lower quality compared to current 2D seismic standards. Key formation tops reinterpreted from borehole geophysical data remained mostly unchanged from the OGSRL (MNR) picks. The reinterpreted key formation top that changed most frequently compared to the MNR pick was the Cobourg Formation, mostly due to differences with the way this formation top was historically picked in the past. The cross-sections constructed using the updated formation top dataset highlight the relatively uniform apparent dip and relatively uniform thicknesses of the Upper Ordovician shale and limestone packages beneath the Municipality of Central Huron. The interpretation of the 2D seismic data also generally supports this interpretation of lateral continuity and uniformity of the thickness of the Ordovician formation packages. It was not possible to interpret any faults or reefal structures in the Paleozoic sequence within the Municipality based on the borehole data, constructed geological cross- sections, or the 2D seismic data. The results of the study provide a foundation for developing an integrated interpretation of the subsurface geological and stratigraphic framework in the Central Huron area. September, 2015 iii Interpretation of Borehole Geophysical Log and 2D Seismic Data Municipality of Central Huron Final Report TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................... II 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Central Huron Area ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Study Objectives .................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Qualifications of the Team ..................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Report Organization ............................................................................................................... 3 2 SUMMARY OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY .......................................................... 4 2.1 Physical Geography ............................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Bedrock Geology.................................................................................................................... 4 2.2.1 Geological Setting ......................................................................................................... 4 2.2.2 Geological and Tectonic History .................................................................................... 5 2.2.3 Precambrian Geology ................................................................................................... 7 2.2.4 Paleozoic Stratigraphy .................................................................................................