Modelling of the hydro-mechanical response of sedimentary rocks of southern Ontario to past glaciations

Glaciation is considered as one of the main natural processes that can have a significant impact on the long term performance of a deep geological nuclear waste repository (DGR) located in the Northern Hemisphere. The northern part of the American continent has been subjected to a series of strong glaciation and deglaciation events over the past million years. The last glacial cycle in the Northern Hemisphere started approximately 110,000 year ago. During that cycle, southern Ontario was buried under a continental ice sheet, with a maximum thickness of up to 3000 m at about 20,000 years ago. The ice cap retreated approximately 10,000 years ago. However, field data from deep boreholes in sedimentary rocks of southern Ontario show anomalous pore water pressure including underpressure and overpressure zones. In this paper, a large-scale coupled hydro-mechanical (HM) model is developed to investigate the hydro-mechanical (HM) response of the sedimentary rocks of southern Ontario to past glacial cycles. Particular emphasis has been placed on the evolution of pore water pressures and surface displacements. The HM model is verified using analytical solutions. The results of the large-scale HM modeling study shows that the past glaciation, particularly the second cycle (22,000 apb) had significant impact on the pore water pressure gradient and effective stress distribution in the sedimentary rocks of southern Ontario. Furthermore, good agreement between the large scale modeling results and anomalous pressures leads us to the conclusion that these anomalies could be glacially induced. The results of this research can provide information that will contribute to a better understanding of the impact of future glaciations on the long term performance of DRGs in sedimentary rocks.

► A model is developed to study the response of Ontario’s rocks to past glaciations.
► The model is verified using analytical solutions and field data.
► The large scale modeling results agree well the anomalous pressures.
► The past glaciations had impact on the pore water pressure and effective stress.