The 3rd International Conference on Coupled Processes in Fractured Geological Media: Observation, Modeling, and Application (CouFrac 2022) took place at Berkeley Lab and online everywhere else on November 14-16. Berkeley Lab Research Scientist Mengsu Hu led the conference along with Berkeley Lab Senior Scientists Carl Steefel and Jonny Rutqvist to explore the exciting new advances in all areas of coupled processes associated with fractured geological media.
The conference was the result of 11 months of effort and preparation by these Berkeley Lab co-chairs, who were joined in their efforts by Ki-Bok Min (Seoul National University), Antonio Pio Rinaldi (ETH Zürich), Pengzhi Pan (Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, CAS), Hideaki Yasuhara (Ehime University), and 43 organizing committee members and session conveners. The conference was a great success, with 256 participants (including 150 onsite and 106 online) from 32 countries and regions.
A photo of onsite attendees of the CouFrac 2022 Conference. The conference brings together researchers from around the world to discuss the advances in all areas of coupled processes associated with fractured geological media and applications to different activities in the near-surface, subsurface, and Critical Zone.
The conference included a discussion of “Carbon Neutrality” with panel members Derek Elsworth, Dongxiao Zhang, Maurice Dusseault, Hajime Yamamoto, Ranjith Gamage. Also included were six keynote lectures given by Chin-Fu Tsang, Wenlu Zhu, Janos Urai, Mark Zoback, Patrick Selvadurai, and Jishan Liu, and seven Distinguished Invited Lectures given by Christopher Spiers, David Nolte, Hari Viswanathan, Hongkyu Yoon, Yuxing Ben, Gregory Beroza and Nantheera Anantrasirichai. Peter Kang from University of Minnesota gave the Chin-Fu Tsang Award Lecture, and Cyprien Soulaine, Anna Suzuki, Xuhai Tang, Sehyeok Park, Harrison Lisabeth, and Luke P. Frash gave Emerging Scientist Plenary Lectures. Berkeley Lab Affiliate Scientist Tim Kneafsey delivered a Distinguished Banquet Speech highlighting personal and professional experiences in investigating coupled processes.
The first CouFrac 2022 keynote lecture was given by Chin-Fu Tsang, a Berkeley Lab Senior Scientist Emeritus.
A panel discussion on Carbon Neutrality by (from left) Maurice Dusseault, Derek Elsworth, Dongxiao Zhang, Hajime Yamamoto, and Ranjith Gamage (on screen) was chaired by Carl Steefel.
A distinguished banquet speech was delivered by Berkeley Lab Affiliate Scientist Tim Kneafsey.
The conference included 24 technical sessions with 118 talks (including 7 invited lectures), 6 virtual poster sessions with 44 virtual posters, and an onsite poster session with 26 posters. The conference program covered a wide range of classic topics relevant to coupled processes in fractured media, including numerical modeling, lab tests, field tests, hydraulic fracturing, flow and transport, induced seismicity, geothermal energy, nuclear waste disposal, and carbon sequestration. In addition, several sessions new to CouFrac2022 were developed by the organizing committee members and session conveners, including machine learning, hydrogen storage, Earth’s critical zone, shearing of fractures, reactive transport, salt mechanics and science, and clay and shale.
CouFrac 2022 Virtual Poster Session B moderated by Roman Makhnenko of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
A presentation by Ilenia Battiato of Stanford University in the Reactive Transport session.
The 2022 Chin-Fu Tsang Coupled Processes Award named after Berkeley Lab Senior Scientist Emeritus Chin-Fu Tsang was given to Peter K. Kang of the University of Minnesota who was selected from among 12 outstanding international nominees. The Chin-Fu Tsang Award, which will be given at all subsequent CouFrac conferences, was created to recognize outstanding contributions from early career geoscientists investigating thermal-hydrological-mechanical-chemical (THMC) coupling in fractured rock.
Chin-Fu Tsang Coupled Processes Award Ceremony: From left to right: Ruben Juanes of MIT, Berkeley Lab Senior Scientist Emeritus Chin-Fu Tsang, Chin-Fu Tsang Coupled Processes Award 2022 recipient Peter K. Kang of University of Minnesota, and Berkeley Lab Senior Scientist Jonny Rutqvist (CouFrac 2022 Co-Chair).
Following the great success of CouFrac 2022, the next CouFrac conference will be held in Japan in 2024.