- TNO - Geological Survey of the Netherlands
Princetonlaan 6,
3508-TA, Utrecht
The Netherlands - +31 888 66 22 76
Geert-Jan Vis
TNO - Geological Survey of the Netherlands, Geomodelling, Department Member
Exploration for hydrocarbons in the NE Atlantic mainly focuses on the central eastern margin. The western margin has remained virtually unexplored, with no exploration wells drilled so far. A cost-efficient way to infer the presence of... more
Exploration for hydrocarbons in the NE Atlantic mainly focuses on the central eastern margin. The western margin has remained virtually unexplored, with no exploration wells drilled so far. A cost-efficient way to infer the presence of natural hydrocarbons in the poorly explored regions of the NE Atlantic is the application of synthetic aperture radar (SAR). This study presents four areas, the Western Barents Sea Margin, the Irish Atlantic Margin, East Greenland and Jan Mayen, where clustered oil-slick data indicate possible active oil seepage. The eastern margin of the NE Atlantic contains numerous oil-slick observations, but along the western margin the number of observations is limited, partly due to a persistent sea-ice coverage. Based on the tectonos-tratigraphic setting, it is suggested that Triassic and Jurassic source rocks are the most likely candidates for the generation of seeps in the areas studied. Near Jan Mayen and East Greenland, Cenozoic source rocks could also be present. SAR data are a useful tool in an early stage of exploration , but further work is needed to improve the understanding of the subsurface below the observed oil slicks in the NE Atlantic to determine the origin of the seepage. Gold Open Access: This article is published under the terms of the CC-BY 3.0 license.
Research Interests:
This study presents the 3-D geometry of the Oligocene Rupel Clay Member and a review of its depositional environment based on new and published data. The Rupel Clay Member (RCM) is a clay layer in the Dutch subsurface which is informally... more
This study presents the 3-D geometry of the Oligocene Rupel Clay Member and a review of its depositional environment based on new and published data. The Rupel Clay Member (RCM) is a clay layer in the Dutch subsurface which is informally known as the Boom Clay. New depth and thickness maps show that the member is present in nearly the whole subsurface of the onshore Netherlands to a depth of about 1500 m. The thickness of the member is variable but rarely exceeds 125 m. We identified three subunits: RCM-U, with a thickness of 15–40 m; RCM-M, with a thickness of 40–90 m; and RCM-L with a thickness of 25–50 m. The Rupel Clay Member is not a homogeneous clay; both vertical and lateral grain-size trends are present. These trends match with general palaeogeographic trends which foresee near-shore facies in the south and southeast of the onshore Netherlands and a more distal setting when moving northward. The three subunits are correlated with global climatic and regional tectonic events, which have mainly affected marginal facies. Faults are known to cut through the clay layer, but have not been mapped. A mismatch of lithostratigraphic nomenclature between the Netherlands and neighbouring countries is present. Part of the solution for this mismatch lies in the proper interpretation of well data in the Netherlands, both on- and offshore.
Research Interests:
The spatial distribution of porosity and permeability of the Rupel Clay Member is of key importance to evaluate the spatial variation of its sealing capacity and groundwater flow condition. There are only a limited number of measured... more
The spatial distribution of porosity and permeability of the Rupel Clay Member is of key importance to evaluate the spatial variation of its sealing capacity and groundwater flow condition. There are only a limited number of measured porosity and permeability data of the Rupel Clay Member in the onshore Netherlands and these data are restricted to shallow depths in the order of tens of metres below surface. Grain sizes measured by laser diffraction and SediGraph R in samples of the Rupel Clay Member taken from boreholes spread across the country were used to generate new porosity and permeability data for the Rupel Clay Member located at greater burial depth. Effective stress and clay content are important parameters in the applied grain-size based calculations of porosity and permeability. The calculation method was first tested on measured data of the Belgian Boom Clay. The test results showed good agreement between calculated permeability and measured hydraulic conductivity for depths exceeding 200 m. The spatial variation in lithology, heterogeneity and also burial depth of the Rupel Clay Member in the Netherlands are apparent in the variation of the calculated permeability. The samples from the north of the country consist almost entirely of muds and as a consequence show little lithology-related variation in permeability. The vertical variation in permeability in the more heterogeneous Rupel Clay Member in the southern and east-southeastern part of the country can reach several orders of magnitude due to increased permeability of the coarser-grained layers.
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The distributions of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs), which are transported from the soils where they are predominantly produced to marine sediments via rivers, have been applied in reconstructing mean annual air... more
The distributions of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs), which are transported from the soils where they are predominantly produced to marine sediments via rivers, have been applied in reconstructing mean annual air temperature (MAT) and pH of soils. However, paleoclimate reconstructions using sedimentary brGDGTs have proven difficult in arid regions, including the Iberian Peninsula. Recently, six novel 6-methyl brGDGTs have been described using new analytical methods (in addition to the nine 5-methyl brGDGTs previously used for climate reconstructions), and so new pH and MAT calibrations have been developed that were shown to improve the accuracy of reconstructions in a set of global soil samples, especially in arid regions. Because of this we decided to apply the new method to separate the 5-and 6-methyl isomers along with the novel calibrations to a sample set from the Iberian Peninsula to determine whether it improves paleoclimate reconstructions in this area. This set includes samples that run in a transect from source to sink along the Tagus River and out to the deep ocean off the Portuguese margin spanning the last 6000 years. We found that although pH reconstructions in the soils were improved using the new calibration, MAT reconstructions were not much better even with the separation of the 5-and 6-methyl brGDGTs. This confirmed the conclusion of previous studies that the amount of aquatically produced brGDGTs is overwhelming the soil-derived ones in marine sediments and complicating MAT reconstructions in the region. Additionally, the new separation revealed a strong and until now unseen relationship between the new degree of cyclization (DC') of the brGDGTs and MAT that could be making temperature reconstructions in this and other arid regions difficult.
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Hoe goed gaat het met onze wijn? Kunnen we de smaak van de bodem, de invloed van terroir in Nederlandse wijnen proeven? Experts laten in Wijn van Nederlandse bodem voor het eerst heel visueel de resultaten en smaken zien en gaan in op de... more
Hoe goed gaat het met onze wijn? Kunnen we de smaak
van de bodem, de invloed van terroir in Nederlandse
wijnen proeven? Experts laten in Wijn van Nederlandse
bodem voor het eerst heel visueel de resultaten en
smaken zien en gaan in op de toekomst van wijn in
Nederland. Tien wijngaardeniers uit Gelderland en Zuid-
Limburg, die hun druiven en grond lieten testen, vertellen
over hun liefde voor wijnbouw en geven tips over hun
favoriete wijn-spijscombinatie.
Geert-Jan Vis en Denise Maljers zijn geologen en
onderzoekers bij TNO, Geologische Dienst Nederland.
Stan Beurskens is een van de weinige oenologen van
Nederland en studeerde in Stellenbosch (Zuid-Afrika) en
Geisenheim (Duitsland).
TNO, Geologische Dienst Nederland
Provincie Gelderland
Wijnbouwadvies Beurskens
van de bodem, de invloed van terroir in Nederlandse
wijnen proeven? Experts laten in Wijn van Nederlandse
bodem voor het eerst heel visueel de resultaten en
smaken zien en gaan in op de toekomst van wijn in
Nederland. Tien wijngaardeniers uit Gelderland en Zuid-
Limburg, die hun druiven en grond lieten testen, vertellen
over hun liefde voor wijnbouw en geven tips over hun
favoriete wijn-spijscombinatie.
Geert-Jan Vis en Denise Maljers zijn geologen en
onderzoekers bij TNO, Geologische Dienst Nederland.
Stan Beurskens is een van de weinige oenologen van
Nederland en studeerde in Stellenbosch (Zuid-Afrika) en
Geisenheim (Duitsland).
TNO, Geologische Dienst Nederland
Provincie Gelderland
Wijnbouwadvies Beurskens
Research Interests:
A paleogeographic understanding of the genesis of a landscape in time and space is needed to collect and understand data for sea-level reconstruction. So-called sea-level index points can be derived from numerous sedimentary environments,... more
A paleogeographic understanding of the genesis of a landscape in time and space is needed to collect and understand data for sea-level reconstruction. So-called sea-level index points can be derived from numerous sedimentary environments, but what is their indicative meaning and value? This chapter discusses specific paleogeographic methodologies to help answer this question. Key paleogeographic insights are presented from coastal and deltaic depositional sedimentary environments and guidelines are provided to interpret sea-level index points from them.
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The NAG-TEC Atlas provides a comprehensive review of geological and geophysical information over the north-east Atlantic region. The Atlas was produced as part of the NAG-TEC project, a collaborative effort by the British Geological... more
The NAG-TEC Atlas provides a comprehensive review of geological and geophysical information over the north-east Atlantic region.
The Atlas was produced as part of the NAG-TEC project, a collaborative effort by the British Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, the Geological Survey of Ireland, the Geological Survey of the Netherlands, the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, the Geological Survey of Norway, Iceland GeoSurvey, and Jarðfeingi, the Faroe Islands, along with a number of academic partners and significant support from industry. The main focus was to investigate the tectonic evolution of the region with a particular emphasis on basin evolution along conjugate margins.
The Tectonostratigraphic Atlas of the Northeast Atlantic Region is one of the key outcomes and provides the foundation upon which ongoing research and exploration of the area can build.
The Atlas can be purchased for €200 at www.nagtec.org.
The Atlas was produced as part of the NAG-TEC project, a collaborative effort by the British Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, the Geological Survey of Ireland, the Geological Survey of the Netherlands, the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, the Geological Survey of Norway, Iceland GeoSurvey, and Jarðfeingi, the Faroe Islands, along with a number of academic partners and significant support from industry. The main focus was to investigate the tectonic evolution of the region with a particular emphasis on basin evolution along conjugate margins.
The Tectonostratigraphic Atlas of the Northeast Atlantic Region is one of the key outcomes and provides the foundation upon which ongoing research and exploration of the area can build.
The Atlas can be purchased for €200 at www.nagtec.org.
Research Interests:
Estuaries constitute the frontier between terrestrial, fluvial and marine environments, representing areas of high biological productivity that are particularly sensitive to global, regional and local environmental and climatic changes.... more
Estuaries constitute the frontier between terrestrial, fluvial and marine environments, representing areas of high biological productivity that are particularly sensitive to global, regional and local environmental and climatic changes. The lower Tagus valley experienced a transgression period from 12000 - 7000 calendar (cal) years BP (Vis et al., 2008;QSR). Trying to understand the interaction between land-river and ocean, we are studying paleoenvironmental conditions of the Tagus river estuary, using a 52,76 m long core drilled near Vila Franca de Xira (38°56´24´´N; 8°56´19´´W, 2 meters elevation). The age model of this core is based on 6 AMS 14C dates. Marine/estuarine productivity and river input have been reconstructed for the last 14 000 calendar years BP, using a high resolution, multi-proxy study of diatoms, C37 alkenones, higher plant C23 - C33 n-alkanes and C20 - C30 n-alkan-1-ols, Fe and Ca content derived from XRF analysis and Total Organic Carbon (TOC). Our data shows that major river input events (as revealed by higher concentrations of terrestrial lipid biomarkers and phytoliths) control the primary productivity at this site because increased productivity - maxima in diatoms, C37 alkenones and TOC - are synchronous. Marine and brackish diatom genera and C37 alkenones occur between ca. 11500- 4500 cal years BP indicating a marine to brackish environment, probably in a shallow marine pro-delta. After 4500 cal years sea level had risen so much that the marine influence was reduced (low abundance of marine diatoms) and the environmental was similar to the modern, i.e., a brackish tidal flat. Further work is needed to improve the understanding of this estuarine record.
Research Interests:
Estuaries constitute the frontier between terrestrial, fluvial and marine environments, representing areas of high biological productivity that are particularly sensitive to global, regional and local environmental and climatic changes.... more
Estuaries constitute the frontier between terrestrial, fluvial and marine environments, representing areas of high biological productivity that are particularly sensitive to global, regional and local environmental and climatic changes. The lower Tagus valley experienced a transgression period from 12000 - 7000 calendar (cal) years BP (Vis et al., 2008;QSR). Trying to understand the interaction between land-river and ocean, we are studying paleoenvironmental conditions of the Tagus river estuary, using a 52,76 m long core drilled near Vila Franca de Xira (38°56´24´´N; 8°56´19´´W, 2 meters elevation). The age model of this core is based on 6 AMS 14C dates. Marine/estuarine productivity and river input have been reconstructed for the last 14 000 calendar years BP, using a high resolution, multi-proxy study of diatoms, C37 alkenones, higher plant C23 - C33 n-alkanes and C20 - C30 n-alkan-1-ols, Fe and Ca content derived from XRF analysis and Total Organic Carbon (TOC). Our data shows that major river input events (as revealed by higher concentrations of terrestrial lipid biomarkers and phytoliths) control the primary productivity at this site because increased productivity - maxima in diatoms, C37 alkenones and TOC - are synchronous. Marine and brackish diatom genera and C37 alkenones occur between ca. 11500- 4500 cal years BP indicating a marine to brackish environment, probably in a shallow marine pro-delta. After 4500 cal years sea level had risen so much that the marine influence was reduced (low abundance of marine diatoms) and the environmental was similar to the modern, i.e., a brackish tidal flat. Further work is needed to improve the understanding of this estuarine record.
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The aim of this field trip is to appreciate the value of outcrop analogues for the understanding of the Schoonebeek oil reservoir. The Schoonebeek oil field is the largest oilfield in western Europe, of which the reservoir rock is formed... more
The aim of this field trip is to appreciate the value of outcrop analogues for the understanding of the Schoonebeek oil reservoir. The Schoonebeek oil field is the largest oilfield in western Europe, of which the reservoir rock is formed by a shallow marine sandstone. The field was abandoned in 1996, and in 2009, the first well of a re-development program was drilled. The field trip includes a visit to a re-development site as well as a visit to the adjacent German Emmlicheim field. An equivalent of the reservoir rock is outcropping just 50 km south of Schoonebeek: the well-known Bentheimer sandstone.
The focus of the field trip is on a hands-on field evaluation exercise of a theoretical “Bentheim oil field”. Students will perform an exercise in small groups, using data from the visited outcrops. The aim is to estimate the STOIIP and reserves. Outcrops in four quarries will show facies, thickness and reservoir-property changes over relatively short distances; essential parameters and knowledge for efficient field development. The team with the best estimate will receive an appropriate prize.
The focus of the field trip is on a hands-on field evaluation exercise of a theoretical “Bentheim oil field”. Students will perform an exercise in small groups, using data from the visited outcrops. The aim is to estimate the STOIIP and reserves. Outcrops in four quarries will show facies, thickness and reservoir-property changes over relatively short distances; essential parameters and knowledge for efficient field development. The team with the best estimate will receive an appropriate prize.
Research Interests:
The first oil discovery in the Netherlands was made in 1938 at demonstration well De Mient in The Hague. Almost 70 years later, tomato grower Rik van den Bosch started the first successful commercial geothermal project in the... more
The first oil discovery in the Netherlands was made in 1938 at demonstration well De Mient in The Hague.
Almost 70 years later, tomato grower Rik van den Bosch started the first successful commercial geothermal project in the Netherlands at a stone’s throw distance from that location. Two exploration wells for a geothermal doublet were drilled to a Lower Cretaceous aquifer at about 1700 m depth.
Since the first successful project, some 116 license applications have been submitted and 18 geothermal wells have been drilled across the country. Many of the proposed geothermal sites are located within or near existing hydrocarbon licenses and fields. This causes a serious risk for interference between both types of energy production. During this trip we will visit a site where both oil and gas are produced as a by-product of water production. In fact, more oil is being produced than from the nearby oil field.
Geothermal heat needs to be used on-site. We will visit a greenhouse where the geothermal heat is used for heating. We will also visit an urban heating project where a hospital and nearby residential area are heated with sustainable geothermal heat.
Summarizing, this field trip will focus on several aspects of this new branch of energy production such as geology, technology, interference with hydrocarbons, spatial planning, applications and the state-of-art.
Almost 70 years later, tomato grower Rik van den Bosch started the first successful commercial geothermal project in the Netherlands at a stone’s throw distance from that location. Two exploration wells for a geothermal doublet were drilled to a Lower Cretaceous aquifer at about 1700 m depth.
Since the first successful project, some 116 license applications have been submitted and 18 geothermal wells have been drilled across the country. Many of the proposed geothermal sites are located within or near existing hydrocarbon licenses and fields. This causes a serious risk for interference between both types of energy production. During this trip we will visit a site where both oil and gas are produced as a by-product of water production. In fact, more oil is being produced than from the nearby oil field.
Geothermal heat needs to be used on-site. We will visit a greenhouse where the geothermal heat is used for heating. We will also visit an urban heating project where a hospital and nearby residential area are heated with sustainable geothermal heat.
Summarizing, this field trip will focus on several aspects of this new branch of energy production such as geology, technology, interference with hydrocarbons, spatial planning, applications and the state-of-art.
Research Interests:
This PhD thesis deals with the Tagus River in Portugal, the 12th largest river of Europe. One of the first times terrestrial and marine environments are integrated in one study. The results show that this river experienced enormous... more
This PhD thesis deals with the Tagus River in Portugal, the 12th largest river of Europe. One of the first times terrestrial and marine environments are integrated in one study. The results show that this river experienced enormous changes during the last 20,000 years. These changes range from erosion of a deep valley during the last ice age, through drowning of the valley and creation of an inland sea, to the dramatic effect of human impact during the last 1000 years.