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ANDRA BGR CHEVRON CRIEPI DOE ENRESA ENSI GRS IRSN JAEA NAGRA NWMO OBAYASHI SCK •••CEN SWISSTOPO Mont Terri Project TECHNICAL REPORT 2014-07 August 2014 SO ( Sedimentology of the Opalinus-Ton) Biostratigraphy of the Basal Part of the Opalinus-Ton at the Mont Terri rock laboratory, Switzerland A.G. Reisdorf (1,2), B. Hostettler (1), A. Waltschew (3) , D. Jaeggi (4) and U. Menkveld-Gfeller (1) (1) Naturhistorisches Museum der Burgergemeinde Bern, Switzerland, (2)Geologisch-Paläontologisches Institut, University of Basel, (3)Nürnberg, Germany, (4)swisstopo, Switzerland Mont Terri Project, TR 2014-07 Distribution: Standard distribution: ANDRA (S. Dewonck) BGR (K. Schuster) CHEVRON (P. Connolly) CRIEPI (T. Oyama) DOE ( P. Nair, J. Birkholzer) ENRESA (J.C. Mayor) ENSI (E. Frank) DOE (P.Nair, J. Birkholzer) GRS (K. Wieczorek) IRSN (J.-M. Matray) JAEA (N. Shigita) NAGRA (T. Vietor) NWMO (M. Jensen) OBAYASHI (Masaaki Fukaya) SCKCEN (F. Druyts) SWISSTOPO (P. Bossart, A. Möri and Ch. Nussbaum) Additional distribution: Every organisation & contractor takes care of their own distribution. Mont Terri Project, TR 2014-07 Table of Contents List of Figures .................................................................................................................................... - 3 - List of Plates ...................................................................................................................................... - 3 - List of Tables...................................................................................................................................... - 3 - 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... - 5 - 2 Geological setting ................................................................................................................ - 6 - 3 Materials and methods ......................................................................................................... - 9 - 4 Results ................................................................................................................................. - 11 - 4.1 Groups of organisms - 11 - 4.2 Classification of ammonites recovered from the Mont Terri rock laboratory - 12 - 5 Discussion and conclusions ............................................................................................. - 15 - References: ...................................................................................................................................... - 21 - - 2 - Mont Terri Project, TR 2014-07 List of Figures Figure 1-1. Location map: the Mont Terri rock laboratory is located in Canton Jura adjacent to the Mont Terri highway tunnel along the A16 Transjurane connecting Biel to Porrentury. Figure 2-1. Cross section of the Mont Terri ramp fold with the location of the Mont Terri rock laboratory indicated in red. Note that the folded Jura is overthrusted onto the tabular Jura in the NW. Figure 2-2. Section of the basal strata of the Opalinus-Ton at the ”Galerie de Reconnaissance” of the Mont Terri Rock Laboratory (modified after Bläsi et al. 1996). Colour coding of the facies types is the same as of Figures 3-1 and 3-2. Figure 2-3. Simplified geological map of the Mont Terri rock laboratory with the most important tectonic faults indicated. Figure 3-1. Simplified geological map of the Mont Terri rock laboratory with sampling sites for macrofossils. Figure 3-2. Simplified geological map of the Mont Terri rock laboratory with sampling sites for microfossils. Figure 5-1. Chrono- and lithostratigraphical correlation of the late Toarcian and early Aalenian sediments in northern Switzerland and SW Germany (not to scale). Figure 5-2. Current and traditional stratigraphic nomenclature: lithostratigraphic units of the latest Early Jurassic and early Middle Jurassic of northern Switzerland and SW Germany and their biostratigraphic/chronostratigraphic range (strongly modified after Feist-Burkhardt & Pross 2010). Figure 5-3. Sample of the pyrite horizon at tunnel metre GM 901, unprepared on the left, prepared on the right (NMBE D4583). List of Plates Plate 1. Typical ammonites from the basal strata of the Opalinus-Ton at the Mont Terri rock laboratory (also noted are the sampling site and register number of the Naturhistorisches Museum der Burgergemeinde Bern). Specimens coated with ammonium chloride. List of Tables Table 5-1. List of biostratigraphically relevant ammonites that were found in the outcrops, the drill core material, and in the material excavated from the Opalinus-Ton at the Mont Terri rock laboratory. Appendix Micropalaeontological investigation (by A. Waltschew). - 3 - Mont Terri Project, TR 2014-07 Abstract For the first time since the existence of the Mont Terri Project, the Opalinus-Ton (“Opalinus Clay“) has been the subject of a macropalaeontological study. Extractions of ammonites were made from a number of small exposures as well as a drill core at the Mont Terri rock laboratory. Additionally, ammonites were obtained from excavated material from a particular stretch of drifting. It was possible to make a biostratigraphical subdivision of the Opalinus-Ton’s basal strata from the faunal spectrum. In the >10-meter-thick basal strata of the Opalinus-Ton, Pleydellia aalensis s.l., P. fluitans , P. subcompta ?, P. leura and P. costula were found. As proven by the stratigraphical occurrence of these ammonites, a significant part of the Opalinus-Ton of the Mont Terri rock laboratory is most definitely part of the latest Toarcian (aalensis Subzone, Aalensis Zone). In addition, the exposed section provides evidence that the Late Toarcian ammonite fauna was succeeded without significant lithofacies change by an Early Aalenian faunal assemblage that included Leioceras opalinum . Our micropalaeontological data set is corroborated by these macropalaeontological and lithological facts. However, it should be noted that the ostracod stratigraphy for northern Switzerland as compiled by Tröster (1987) does not coincide with the Late Toarcian/Early Aalenian ammonite zones: the decisive index ostracod species Aphelocythere kuhni crosses the Toarcian/Aalenian boundary and thus is not suitable for determining an exact biostratigraphic boundary of the Early/Middle Jurassic in the Mont Terri rock laboratory. The basal strata of the Opalinus-Ton of the Mont Terri Rock Laboratory are lithofacially significantly different from the deposits of the same age of the Tabular Jura and the eastern Folded Jura, which appear in a mostly phosphoritic marly facies (= Gross Wolf Member after Reisdorf et al. 2011, “Jurensis-Schichten” sensu Jordan 1983, “Jurensismergel” sensu Müller et al. 1984). However, close examination of the facies and thickness relationships of the latest Toarcian in the Mont Terri area reveals a strong affinity with the strata found south of Freiburg i. Br., Germany (cf. for example Etter 1990; Geologisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg 1996; Wetzel & Allia 2003). Consistent with this, the base of the Opalinus-Ton in the Mont Terri rock laboratory cannot be correlated chronostratigraphically with the occurrences of this formation further to the east of Switzerland, e.g., those encountered by the Nagra drilling campaigns. It is necessary to consider these facts when developing sequence stratigraphic models (including the average net sedimentation rate). Finally, it has to be noted that the strata assigned to a large number of the experiments that have been conducted and are currently being conducted in the Mont Terri rock laboratory are of Toarcian age (Early Jurassic). In other words, the traditional chronological assignment of the Opalinus-Ton only to the Aalenian age does not apply for the basal strata of this formation. - 4 - Mont Terri Project, TR 2014-07 1 Introduction The Opalinus-Ton ( Moesch 1857, = “Opalinus Clay”) has been selected as the preferred host rock for disposal of nuclear waste in Switzerland since its properties, such as sorption of radionuclides, self- healing of excavation-induced fractures and cracks, and especially its very low permeability, has been assessed as safe long-term storage. Furthermore, the Opalinus-Ton is available in sufficient thickness and in ideal depth ranges in regions of no or low tectonic deformation. The Mont Terri project is an international research project, which is dedicated to the research of the Opalinus-Ton, an argillaceous rock of very low permeability. A total of 15 partners from various countries all over the world are involved in this project, which started in 1996 at the Mont Terri. The Mont Terri rock laboratory is operated by the Federal Office of Topography (swisstopo) which furthermore directs the Mont Terri Project. Currently, 44 experiments are being conducted which focus on three main topics: i) characterization of the rock, ii) development of devices and techniques and iii) demonstration experiments. Most of these experiments are dedicated to investigating the Opalinus- Ton as a host rock for nuclear waste disposal; however, the number of experiments dealing with CO 2 sequestration, well bore-sealing and geothermal issues in rocks of very low permeability is continuously increasing. In 1989, the security gallery of the Mont Terri tunnel of the A16 highway was excavated (Figure 1-1), which revealed the Opalinus-Ton to a length of almost 250 m, yielding a true thickness of about 150 m (e.g., Bläsi et al. 1991, 1996; but see Nussbaum & Bossart 2008). This unique access to the Opalinus- Ton is situated