Rapid Identification Of Water-Conducting Fractures Using A Trace Methane Gas Measurement

Identification of water-conducting fractures is important for the safety assessment of underground projects in crystalline rocks at geological disposal sites. We applied a portable methane gas analyzer by wavelength-scanned cavity ring-down spectroscopy to detect the water-conducting fractures in the underground tunnel of the Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory, central Japan. The tunnel is excavated in granite with CH4-rich groundwater. Two approaches were taken to obtain the profile of CH4 concentration along the gallery walls: (1) "Scan by walking" at the speed of 0.5 m/s and (2) monitoring for 30 s at 0.5 or 1 m intervals. In the Scan by walking approach, the peaks of the CH4 concentration corresponded well with the occurrence of high water flow rate fractures. Thus, this method is useful for rapid identification of major water-conducting fractures. Monitoring at constant intervals takes more time than the Scan by walking approach; however, this method can largely detect occurrences of fractures with low fluid fluxes.