Facilities

**Apply now for free of charge Facility Access to EPOS-NL research facilities**

Call open from 25 July to 31 August 2022, for proposals to get access to the Multi-scale Imaging and Tomography (MINT) facilities at Utrecht University (MINT-UU) and Delft University of Technology (MINT-TU Delft), the ESL High Pressure and Temperature (HPT) and Tectonic Modelling (Tec-)Labs at Utrecht University, and/or the Delft Petrophysics Lab (DPL) at Delft University of Technology.

Researchers from anywhere in the world can apply for access to the HPT lab, the TecLab and the DPL. In this call, MINT (Microscopy and Tomography) access is only available for Netherlands-based researchers. Are you based outside the Netherlands and interested in MINT access? The befriended EXCITE network is now offering trans-national access to 24 microscopy and tomography labs in Europe, including those embedded in EPOS-NL. Have a look and apply by 31 August!

How to apply?

EPOS-NL provides facility access to researchers from other institutes than the university hosting the facility. Access can be either physical (you come over to do the analysis, with help from local staff), or remote (you send us your samples by mail for analysis by local researchers). The choice between physical vs. remote access depends on the type of research, wishes of the hosting lab and your own wishes and will be discussed upon awarding access.

Proposals for facility access (max 2 pages) can be submitted at any time between 25 July and 31 August 2022. Projects accepted under this call can start as early as 17 October 2022 and should strive to be completed by 31 January 2023, or 28 February 2023, in case of Tec-Lab Access. See the table below for facility-specific access periods.

Successful applicants receive the following services free of charge: lab/equipment use, technical support and scientific support for analyzing data for the duration of the access period. In the case of physical access, travel costs and accommodation costs up to 100 Euro/night are covered for the duration of the stay. In the case of remote access, sample shipment costs up to 100 Euro will be covered.

Before submitting a proposal, applicants are obliged to contact the facility they wish to apply to (see contacts in below table), to discuss the technical feasibility of their plans and specific equipment availability. We would appreciate if in email enquiries you include the following standard text in the subject field: “EPOS-NL facility access inquiry” and include info@epos-nl.nl in Cc for all correspondence regarding facility access.

The e-mail address of the contact person per facility, the equipment available, the maximum number of days the equipment is available for per applicant and a weblink providing additional technical equipment specifications are given in the table below. For general information on Facility Access please contact us by email: info@epos-nl.nl.

Proposal guidelines

A proposal should include a short summary (max 150 words) and the project description (max 2 pages), including:
A. Scientific background and rationale (what and why?)
B. Research methodology and approach (how?), with:

Sample information
The type of analyses you require plus justification
Estimate and justification of analysis time

C. Innovative aspects (what is new?)
D. Anticipated advancement (how will the analysis benefit your research?)

Proposals are assessed by EPOS-NL -affiliated researchers, on technical feasibility and quality of the proposal.

>> Apply by clicking here

Facility	Contact	Apparatus	Availability	Max #days	Accessible to
MINT-TU Delft	Auke Barnhoorn	Micro-CT scanner	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	8	Netherlands-based researchers only**
		Macro-CT scanner	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	5	Netherlands-based researchers only**
MINT-UU	MINT-UU	Gemini SEM with EDS, EBSD and CL	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	2	Netherlands-based researchers only**
		EVO SEM with auto-mineralogy	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	3	Netherlands-based researchers only**
		Helios Focussed Ion Beam (FIB-)SEM	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	3	Netherlands-based researchers only**
		Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM)	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	3	Netherlands-based researchers only**
		Versa X-ray tomography	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	3	Netherlands-based researchers only**
		Axioscan thin section scanner	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	2	Netherlands-based researchers only**
ESL-HPT lab UU	André Niemeijer	Hydrothermal rotary shear apparatus	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	10	Researchers worldwide (inc. NL)
		Room temp. rotary shear apparatus	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	15	Researchers worldwide (inc. NL)
		▪ Includes acoustic monitoring
		Triaxial pressure vessel	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	10	Researchers worldwide (inc. NL)
		▪ Includes fluid flow-trough capability
DPL-TU Delft	Auke Barnhoorn	Triaxial pressure vessel	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	15	Researchers worldwide (inc. NL)
		▪ Includes accoustic monitoring
		▪ Also suitable for creep tests
		Unconfined compression apparatus	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	15	Researchers worldwide (inc. NL)
		Direct shear apparatus	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	15	Researchers worldwide (inc. NL)
		▪ normal stress < 3 MPa
		He-pycnometer	17 Oct 22 -31 Jan 23	15	Researchers worldwide (inc. NL)
ESL-TecLab	Ernst Willingshofer	Analogue modelling setup	9 Jan 23 -28 Feb 23	25	Researchers worldwide (inc. NL)
		▪ deformation table, surface scanners, CT scanner

**Are you based outside the Netherlands and interested in Microscopy and Tomography access? The befriended EXCITE network is now offering trans-national access to 24 microscopy and tomography labs in Europe, including those listed here. Have a look on their website and apply!

Earth Simulation Lab (ESL)

The Earth Simulation Lab (ESL) at Utrecht University is a unique facility with unprecedented capabilities for multi-scale research into the physical behaviour of the Earth’s crust: fully coupled reservoir analogue scale models, new generation rock mechanics experiments under true crustal conditions, fluid flow experiments and petrophysical analyses, all linked in an advanced numerical modelling facility with a focus on upscaling from the laboratory to the reservoir and field scale. Two of the main labs within the ESL are incorporated in EPOS-NL:

The Tectonic modelling laboratory (TecLab) uses scaled analogue models to better understand kilometer-scale, tectonic deformation processes, such as the breakup of the Earth’s crust or the formation of mountain ranges. An analogue model is typically 50x50x20 cm in size and consists of a stack of layers of materials with different flow behavior. Together, these layers represent the various multi-km thick rock layers that form the Earth’s crust and upper mantle. Tectonic deformation is simulated by slowly pushing or pulling one of the walls bounding the analogue model. Tracking deformation through time is achieved in 2D by taking repeated snapshots of the model surface, or in 3D, using Laser Vibrometry and/or X-ray tomography.

The High Pressure and Temperature (HPT) laboratory conducts research on the mechanical behaviour and transport properties of Earth materials at conditions pertaining to the crust and upper mantle. It is equipped with apparatus for deformation at high stress, pressure and temperature, high temperature furnaces and apparatus for thermal, microstructural and IR analysis.

To get an impression of the HPT lab, check out this video made by NAM on research on induced earthquakes in the Groningen gas field:

At the European level, ESL contributes research data and facility access to the EPOS Thematic Core Service: Multi-scale labs

MINT (Multi-scale Imaging and Tomography Facility)

The MINT (Multi-scale Imaging and Tomography) facility is a distributed facility, hosted partly at TU Delft and partly at Utrecht University. It is a cluster of instruments, that together allow visualization and correlation of 2D and 3D rock structures, at an unprecedented range in imaging scales: from nanometers (e.g.nanopores) to decimeters (e.g. drill core). Capabilities include multi-scale 3D analysis down to atomic resolution, environmental observations under liquid conditions, automated digitization of thin sections (up to 50 in one session), automated mineralogy analysis, ultra-fast crystallographic (EBSD) mapping, valence state analysis down to atomic resolution, ultra-high resolution SEM-based EDX, even for light elements such as N, C, Li and much more. EPOS-NL has contributed the following scanners to this workflow, which have been operational since summer 2020:

·       A versa X-ray scanner for µm-resolution, 3D tomography
·       A Gemini SEM for imaging and crystallographic EBSD mapping under cryogenic conditions
·       An EVO environmental electron microscope with automated mineralogy analysis
·       An Axioscan for automated, optical scanning of up to 50 sections in one run

At the European level, MINT contributes research data and facility access to the EPOS Thematic Core Service: “Multi-scale labs”.

Geothermal well at TU Delft (DAPwell)

The Delft Aardwarmte Project (DAP)well is a geothermal well that will be installed on the TU Delft campus in 2021. DAPwell will serve as a national infrastructure for research on a natural geothermal system within an urban setting and, at the same time, as an operating geothermal facility that heats buildings on the TUD campus. The unique aspect of the facility will be the possibility to do research on an operating geothermal system, using state of the art monitoring equipment. The DAPwell research and monitoring infrastructure will be used to investigate the fundamental scientific challenges that are presently limiting the development of geothermal energy.

For more information on DAPwell and geothermal energy in Delft click here.

Delft Petrophysics Laboratory (DPL)

The Delft Petrophysics Laboratory (DPL) at TU Delft contains experimental equipment for the determination of petrophysical rock properties. Properties that can be measured include density, porosity and permeability, electrical and thermal conductivities, acoustic velocities and mechanical properties. DPL is part of the Geoscience and Engineering Laboratory at TU Delft. Highlighted instruments available for access through EPOS-NL include:

Unconfined compressive strength measurement devices
Triaxial apparatus
Ultrasonic and passive acoustics systems
He-pycnometer
TEMPOS thermal properties analyser

At the European level, DPL contributes research data and facility access to the EPOS Thematic Core Service: “Multi-scale labs”.

ORFEUS Seismological data center

The Observatories and Research Facilities for European Seismology (ORFEUS) data center, hosted at KNMI, is the European data center for broadband seismic waveform data. Nationally, ORFEUS is crucial in the monitoring and provision of data from a unique geophysical, seismic and satellite monitoring network, focusing on induced earthquakes in the Groningen gas field and natural earthquakes in the tectonically active regions of Europe.

ORFEUS (founded 1987) is one of the oldest, most mature infrastructures for seismology in Europe, together with the European-Mediterranean Seismological center (EMSC) (established in 1975) and the European facilities for Earthquake hazard and risk (EFEHR). No other community driven seismological infrastructures exists in Europe.

To access the ORFEUS data portal, click here.

Internationally, ORFEUS is one of the key infrastructures on which the larger European Integrated Data Archive (EIDA) and EPOS Thematic Core Service “Seismology” infrastructures are being built.

Top image: ORFEUS Data Centre seismic monitoring network in the Netherlands. Note the dense monitoring cluster in the Groningen gas field, NE Netherlands. Bottom image: The ORFEUS Data Centre is one of the main pillars in the global EIDA seismic monitoring network.