Boom Clay natural organic matter: Status Report 2011

Boom Clay contains an appreciable amount of low-maturity natural organic matter. This organic matter may be operationally subdivided into different pools, which have various impacts on, among others, the pore water chemistry and radionuclide geochemistry. Moreover, the creation and operation of a geological repository located in the Boom Clay will cause perturbations to the organic matter, which need to be properly assessed. This state-of-the-art report aims at bringing together the results obtained from various scientific sources and communities involved in the study of Boom Clay organic matter. Both origins, preservation pathways, nowadays in situ situation (Mol-Dessel reference site) and expected future evolutions of Boom Clay natural organic matter (and important subfractions thereof) are evaluated and discussed.