Mineral raw materials are essential for industrial value creation and the use of modern everyday technologies in Germany. At the same time, Germany is highly dependent on imports, particularly of metal raw materials, while the price and supply situation on the international raw materials markets remains uncertain. Metal recycling is therefore gaining strategic importance as a secondary raw material source. The DERA Recycling Atlas estimates the financial volume of key metals produced from recycling in Germany for 2024 at approximately EUR 36.5 billion-compared to a total German metal import volume of approximately EUR 83 billion. Recycling therefore already plays an important role, but the potential for scaling up-particularly for technology metals-remains significant. The Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) was the first geological survey to systematically incorporate secondary raw materials into its supply monitoring. Following the German Raw Materials Strategy 2020, and commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), a dedicated secondary raw materials unit was established within the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA). This expanded DERA's raw materials monitoring to ensure a secure and sustainable supply for German industry-through the DERA Recycling Atlas, the dialogue platform on secondary raw materials, technology-specific studies, and a systematic approach to analysing recycled raw materials markets across value-added stages.
Faults significantly influence subsurface processes that are crucial for a variety of geoscientific applications, yet their characterisation remains challenging in regions with limited subsurface data. Geological maps often represent the only source of information on the fault geometry but they are inherently uncertain in regions where outcrops are scarce. To overcome these limitations, we propose a framework to systematically evaluate the fault plausibility by combining multi-scale geological maps and lineament analysis from high-resolution digital elevation data. The workflow consists of (1) fault map compilation, (2) manual lineament interpretation, (3) automated lineament extraction, (4) combination of individual lineament mappings, and (5) qualitative plausibility assessment. The interpretational bias associated with manual lineament analysis is addressed by performing five independent interpretations. We exemplified the workflow in the Western Erzgebirge (East Germany), where notable discrepancies between different geological maps exist, especially for smaller faults. Each interpreter identified several hundred lineaments, with considerable differences in their number, length, orientation, and spatial distribution, but they generally agreed on the most prominent features. The local geology emerged as a primary factor determining the degree of consensus among interpreters. Anthropogenic features heavily influenced the automated lineament detection and had to be manually removed. While the majority of geomorphological lineaments show no clear association with known geological structures, still over 50 mapped faults correlate with lineaments. By combining geological map data, lineaments determined by remote sensing and interpreterdependent variability, the combined fault dataset delivers a quality-controlled structural framework that enables a differentiated treatment of fault geometries in subsequent 3D structural modelling. We consider our approach as a scalable and flexible template for evaluating the fault plausibility in regions with limited or contradicting surface and subsurface data.
In northern Germany, the lowermost unit of the Cretaceous, the Berriasian stage, is characterised by sedimentary successions deposited under lacustrine to deltaic conditions within the landlocked, continuously subsiding Lower Saxony Basin (LSB). This study improves the understanding of parameters controlling the sedimentation patterns of the late Berriasian B & uuml;ckeberg Group ('German Wealden') which comprises coal-bearing siliciclastics. An integrated bio-and lithostratigraphic approach is employed to reconstruct the spatial distribution and interrelationships of different sandstone bodies at the southeastern margin of the central LSB, the focus area of this study. Newly acquired micropalaeontological data from cores and outcrops allow recalibration of the stratigraphic position of the sandstones. In addition, an updated biostratigraphic range chart of the established ostracod zonation is presented, numerous marker species illustrated, and a new subspecies, Cypridea lata bullata subsp. nov., is formally described. Several intercalated near-marine to brackish ingressions have been identified within the coarser grained siliciclastics at the basin margin. These can be correlated with coeval surfaces in the central LSB and the North Sea, forming the basis for a sequence stratigraphic interpretation. The proposed depositional and sequence stratigraphic model integrates these findings to elucidate the facies architecture of the LSBs clastic successions. This model provides an improved framework for interpreting the basin evolution and offers valuable implications for geothermal and hydrocarbon exploration, as well as prospective CO2 storage assessments. Kurzfassung: In Norddeutschland ist die unterste Einheit der Kreide, das Berriasium, durch lakustrine bis deltaische Sedimentabfolgen gekennzeichnet, die im landumschlossenen, kontinuierlich absinkenden Nieders & auml;chsischen Becken abgelagert wurden. Die vorliegende Studie vertieft das Verst & auml;ndnis der Steuerungsfaktoren, welche die Sedimentationsmuster der B & uuml;ckeberg-Gruppe (& bdquo;Deutscher Wealden") beeinflussten, in der kohlenf & uuml;hrende Siliziklastika dominieren. Ein integrierter bio-und lithostratigraphischer Ansatz dient der Rekonstruktion der r & auml;umlichen Verbreitung und der Beziehungen zwischen den Sandsteink & ouml;rpern am s & uuml;d & ouml;stlichen Rand des zentralen Beckens, dem Schwerpunktgebiet dieser Untersuchung. Neue mikropal & auml;ontologische Daten aus Bohrkernen und Aufschl & uuml;ssen erm & ouml;glichen eine pr & auml;zise Erfassung der stratigraphischen Position der Sandsteine. Zus & auml;tzlich wird eine aktualisierte biostratigraphische Reichweiten & uuml;bersicht der etablierten Ostrakodenzonierung vorgelegt, und eine neue Unterart, Cypridea lata bullata subsp. nov., formell beschrieben. Mehrere eingeschaltete, brackisch-marine Ingressionen wurden innerhalb der grobk & ouml;rnigeren Siliziklastika am Beckenrand identifiziert. Diese sind auch im Beckenzentrum nachweisbar und lassen sich mit den borealen Sequenzen der Nordsee korrelieren. Sie bilden die Grundlage f & uuml;r eine sequenzstratigraphische Interpretation. Das hier vorgestellte sequenzstratigraphische Modell bietet einen Rahmen f & uuml;r die Interpretation der Beckenentwicklung und liefert wertvolle Implikationen f & uuml;r die geothermische und kohlenwasserstoffbezogene Exploration sowie f & uuml;r zuk & uuml;nftige Bewertungen potenzieller CO2-Speicher-st & auml;tten.
