Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory Project; Synthesis of phase I investigations 2001 - 2005, volume "Geoscientific research"

Ota, Kunio ; Abe, Hironobu ; Kunimaru, Takanori

The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory (URL) Project is a comprehensive research and development project aimed at studying the host sedimentary formations at Horonobe in Hokkaido, northern Japan. In phase I, following the selection of the URL area and site in Horonobe, stepwise surface-based investigations were carried out from March 2001 to March 2005. The relevant surface-based investigation techniques were developed and the design and safe construction plans for the URL finalised. Integration of the results ensures that the phase I goals were successfully achieved and identifies key issues that need to be addressed in phases II and III. More importantly, efforts have been made to summarise as many lessons learnt from the phase I investigations as possible to form a "knowledge base" that will reinforce the technical basis for both implementation and the formulation of safety regulations. The present report summarises the results of the phase I geoscientific research.