Fossil resources from past to present: from coal to coalbed methane in northern Lorraine
During this field trip to the former Saar and Lorraine coal basin, you’ll be visiting the Explor Wendel Park and its museum on the site of a disused coal mine in Petite-Rosselle.
You’ll also have a chance to discover the former coalmine in Landsweiler-Reden in Germany, protected as part of Saarland’s industrial heritage, as well as coalbed methane exploration currently being carried out by La Française de l’Énergie in northern Lorraine.
Geological storage of radioactive waste and forest management in response to climate change in southern Lorraine
A trip to the south Lorraine countryside in order to acquaint yourself with the activities of ANDRA, the French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency. During the last two decades, ANDRA has built an underground research laboratory to study geological storage of radioactive waste in a clayey geological formation 500 meters deep.
During the afternoon, take a stroll in the State-owned forest nearby, where ANDRA and INRAE, the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment, have built a unique experimental drought system and carry out experiments on the forest ecosystem.
Salt and its age-old history in Lorraine
Visit France’s last active salt mine, located in Varangéville, where salt has been extracted for 150 years. You will also have the opportunity to savor a typical Lorraine meal at 100 meters below ground.
Back on the surface, discover impressive landfalls due to salt dissolution at depth for industrial chemical uses.
Finally, explore the fortified village of Marsal, where the salt layer is almost outcropping. Salt was mined there for more than two thousand years. Take a stroll around the salt ponds and acquaint yourself with the unique halophilic flora.
Past oil exploitation and present geothermal energy in northern Alsace
Get to know the history of the first European oilfield, located in northern Alsace. Visit the French Oil Museum along with oil resurgences directly in the forest.
Enjoy a typical Alsatian lunch.
During the afternoon, visit a geothermal plant in the Rhine Graben owned by the ÉS-Géothermie company. The geothermal loop currently includes a production well and two reinjection wells 5 km underground, for gross electricity production of approximately 1.7 MWe.