Research

LOC3G project seeks to advance the knowledge of multiscale and multiphysics localization phenomena in porous geological media, with the aim of creating new predictive models for geophysics, geohazards, and geoengineering. The consortium combines a diverse array of expertise, including geological surveys, constitutive modeling and numerical simulations, laboratory tests, and real-world applications such as CO2 storage and geo-resource/energy exploitation. The project will incorporate innovative research techniques and utilize advanced constitutive models and next-generation numerical approaches to investigate the localization of deformation in geological media. The ultimate goal is to provide cutting-edge knowledge and interdisciplinary training to improve the capacity for research and technology globally, and to provide practitioners with the tools they require to tackle relevant problems in their fields. Additionally, LOC3G is expected to have a significant impact on addressing EU energy crisis caused by geopolitical issues.

Climate change is currently one of the greatest challenges of our time. The influence of the building sector is enormous, with a raw material consumption of 47.5 gigatonnes per year and an energy consumption of 40% of the total energy consumed worldwide. According to the BMK report Energy in Austria 2021: Facts and Figures, the provision of space heating and air conditioning consumes almost 24% of the total final energy demand. Progress with regard to the environmental efficiency of residential and service buildings is therefore particularly crucial in this sector. 30% of Austrians live in buildings constructed in the sixties and seventies, another 30% in houses older than 40 years. The newly constructed buildings are responsible for only 10-20% of the total energy consumption due to the high demands on thermal insulation. 80% of the energy is consumed by older existing buildings. In Austria, about 1.9 million residential units are in a thermally insufficient condition and thus in need of renovation. The renovation of existing buildings and in particular the renovation and thermal refurbishment of the façade is therefore currently one of the most important sub-sectors of the building industry. The advancement of research as well as the large-scale establishment of environmental and economically attractive systems is therefore indispensable. The aim of this project is to research the basics for the development of serially prefabricated systems (e.g. from renewable raw materials). With the help of these fundamentals, a basis is to be created for the industry in order to be able to offer innovative and, in particular, environmental competitive alternatives to the currently largely used composite thermal insulation systems with corresponding capacities on the market in the future. The focus will be on resource-efficient and recyclable systems and building materials as well as efficient and economical production and installation. Accompanying the research into technical solutions, an ecological and economic analysis will be carried out in order to be able to quantify the potential accordingly.

The objectives for this expedition are focusing on a better scientific understanding of Lake Altaussee, Austria through its cultural, geological, and ecological significance. The priority was to obtain a multi-beam sonar map of Lake Altaussee and a sub-bottom profiling of the lake bed. Biologists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, California, and from the Paul Ricard Oceanographic Institute (France) collected samples from all water-entry points and from the lake surface area. At the deepest part of the lake (74.2 m), a Deep Trekker remotely operated vehicle (ROV) provided an important view of a geological occurrence: images of colored sediment and rock suggested the presence of iron ore. The Team also collected water, sediment, snow and air samples destined to be tested for microfibers, with the goal being to understand the dynamics of these fibers and eventually, by collecting and analyzing two juvenile fish and a dozen copepods, determine if they enter the local food web.