Seismic Monitoring at the Underground Nuclear Research Laboratory in MOL, Belgium

Micro-seismic piezoelectric transmitters installed in the Boom Clay at HADES produce predominantly high frequency signals, above 5 kHz, which favour the generation of P waves. However, above 5 kHz shear (S) waves are not detected by the installation. Recent studies at HADES indicate that it is possible to detect S waves with the current setup when applying a low (5 kHz) cut-off filter. The results also show that S waves have frequencies mainly below 1 kHz, while P waves are detectable at all of the eight transmitted frequencies but show optimum resolution in the range of 7 to 23 kHz. Although the system offers great potential for monitoring the evolution of a geological disposal site, further improvements in signal generation and treatment are necessary. One of these includes the design and testing of a new S-wave source at HADES planned in the framework of the EC MoDeRn project (http://www.modern-fp7.eu/).