It all starts on Monday, December 8: four measuring vehicles, the so-called vibro-trucks, will travel the first section of the route in a convoy with accompanying vehicles. They are expected to start in Kornelimünster in the morning and move north-west via Napoleonsberg to Trierer Straße.

On Tuesday, they will continue in the direction of Madrider Ring. On Wednesday, they will drive from there via Berliner Ring and Prager Ring to the highway entrance at Krefelder Straße. The initiator of this measurement campaign is the energy supply company STAWAG.

"We will be on the roads in the Aachen region with the vibro-trucks for a total of two weeks," explains Gorig Quaas, STAWAG's project manager for deep geothermal energy. "We are driving four lines with a total length of 39 kilometers. Line 1 will start on Monday from Kornelimünster to the highway access road on Krefelder Straße, where we expect to arrive on Wednesday evening."

This will be followed by line 2 from Beverau to Stolberg main station from Thursday, December 11 (up to and including Saturday, December 13). In the following week, lines 3 (Stolberg to Würselen) and 4 (Rothe Erde to Aachener Land freeway service area) will be on the program.

How the measurements work
During the measurements, the vibro-trucks stop for a few minutes at each measuring point - approximately every 20 meters - and send sound waves into the ground. The oscillations can be felt as vibrations close to the vehicles, and the noise of the compressor that generates the sound waves is particularly noticeable. This heralds the start of the measurement convoy and after around two hours it is all over again. During the measurements, the slow-moving convoy, which is around 60 meters long, may cause temporary traffic obstructions, similar to a roadworks site. STAWAG asks residents for their understanding for any inconvenience during the measurement phase.

The 2D seismic method was developed to investigate the deep subsurface as gently as possible - i.e. without interfering with it. Measuring vehicles send vibrations into the subsurface via a lowerable plate, which are reflected differently by the various rock layers at depth. At the earth's surface, the reflected signals are recorded using special microphones (geophones). The data obtained can then be used to create two-dimensional (2D) images of the subsurface - comparable to an ultrasound image.

Saturday first test measurements
Before the 2D measurements can begin, a so-called parameter test is carried out in advance. This involves setting and calibrating the measurement parameters of the vibro-trucks - in particular the intensity and length of the individual vibration cycles - on site. With the optimum settings, the measurements provide precise and reliable data on the geological subsurface. The measurement convoy will be on the road this Saturday, December 6, on Würselener Straße in Stolberg.

The investigations are an important step towards a climate-friendly and independent heat supply for the future of the Aachen region. Project manager Quaas: "Please support us and leave the geophones, which store the data from the seismic measurements, on site. They are equipped with GPS and are essential for data evaluation."

All information about the measurements can be found on Stawag's social media channels and on the website at

www.stawag.de/tiefengeothermie

Source: STAWAG