Browsing by Author "Boxberg, Marc S."

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Open Access
Icy ocean worlds - astrobiology research in Germany
(2024) Klenner, Fabian; Baqué, Mickael; Beblo-Vranesevic, Kristina; Bönigk, Janine; Boxberg, Marc S.; Dachwald, Bernd; Digel, Ilya; Elsaesser, Andreas; Espe, Clemens; Funke, Oliver; Hauber, Ernst; Heinen, Dirk; Hofmann, Florence; Hortal Sánchez, Lucía; Khawaja, Nozair; Napoleoni, Maryse; Plesa, Ana-Catalina; Postberg, Frank; Purser, Autun; Rückriemen-Bez, Tina; Schröder, Susanne; Schulze-Makuch, Dirk; Ulamec, Stephan; de Vera, Jean-Pierre Paul
Icy bodies with subsurface oceans are a prime target for astrobiology investigations, with an increasing number of scientists participating in the planning, development, and realization of space missions to these worlds. Within Germany, the Ocean Worlds and Icy Moons working group of the German Astrobiology Society provides an invaluable platform for scientists and engineers from universities and other organizations with a passion for icy ocean worlds to share knowledge and start collaborations. We here present an overview about astrobiology research activities related to icy ocean worlds conducted either in Germany or in strong collaboration with scientists in Germany. With recent developments, Germany offers itself as a partner to contribute to icy ocean world missions.
Open Access
Uncertainties and robustness with regard to the safety of a repository for high-level radioactive waste : introduction of a research initiative
(2024) Kurgyis, Kata; Achtziger-Zupančič, Peter; Bjorge, Merle; Boxberg, Marc S.; Broggi, Matteo; Buchwald, Jörg; Ernst, Oliver G.; Flügge, Judith; Ganopolski, Andrey; Graf, Thomas; Kortenbruck, Philipp; Kowalski, Julia; Kreye, Phillip; Kukla, Peter; Mayr, Sibylle; Miro, Shorash; Nagel, Thomas; Nowak, Wolfgang; Oladyshkin, Sergey; Renz, Alexander; Rienäcker-Burschil, Julia; Röhlig, Klaus-Jürgen; Sträter, Oliver; Thiedau, Jan; Wagner, Florian; Wellmann, Florian; Wengler, Marc; Wolf, Jens; Rühaak, Wolfram
The Federal Company for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BGE mbH) is tasked with the selection of a site for a high-level radioactive waste repository in Germany in accordance with the Repository Site Selection Act. In September 2020, 90 areas with favorable geological conditions were identified as part of step 1 in phase 1 of the Site Selection Act. Representative preliminary safety analyses are to be carried out next to support decisions on the question, which siting regions should undergo surface-based exploration. These safety analyses are supported by numerical simulations building on geoscientific and technical data. The models that are taken into account are associated with various sources of uncertainties. Addressing these uncertainties and the robustness of the decisions pertaining to sites and design choices is a central component of the site selection process. In that context, important research objectives are associated with the question of how uncertainty should be treated through the various data collection, modeling and decision-making processes of the site selection procedure, and how the robustness of the repository system should be improved. BGE, therefore, established an interdisciplinary research cluster to identify open questions and to address the gaps in knowledge in six complementary research projects. In this paper, we introduce the overall purpose and the five thematic groups that constitute this research cluster. We discuss the specific questions addressed as well as the proposed methodologies in the context of the challenges of the site selection process in Germany. Finally, some conclusions are drawn on the potential benefits of a large method-centered research cluster in terms of simulation data management.