Abstract. The contemporary stress state in the upper crust is of great interest for geotechnical applications and basic research alike. However, our knowledge of the crustal stress field from the data perspective is limited. For Germany basically two datasets are available: orientations of the maximum horizontal stress (SHmax) and the stress regime as part of the World Stress Map (WSM) database as well as a complementary compilation of stress magnitude data of Germany and adjacent regions. However, these datasets only provide pointwise, incomplete and heterogeneous information of the 3D stress tensor. Here, we present a geomechanical–numerical model that provides a continuous description of the contemporary 3D crustal stress state on a regional scale for Germany. The model covers an area of about 1000×1250 km2 and extends to a depth of 100 km containing seven units, with specific material properties (density and elastic rock properties) and laterally varying thicknesses: a sedimentary unit, four different units of the upper crust, the lower crust and the lithospheric mantle. The model is calibrated by the two datasets to achieve a best-fit regarding the SHmax orientations and the minimum horizontal stress magnitudes (Shmin). The modeled orientations of SHmax are almost entirely within the uncertainties of the WSM data used and the Shmin magnitudes fit to various datasets well. Only the SHmax magnitudes show locally significant deviations, primarily indicating values that are too low in the lower part of the model. The model is open for further refinements regarding model geometry, e.g., additional layers with laterally varying material properties, and incorporation of future stress measurements. In addition, it can provide the initial stress state for local geomechanical models with a higher resolution.

Abstract. The contemporary stress state in the upper crust is of great interest for geotechnical applications and basic research likewise. However, our knowledge of the crustal stress field from the data perspective is limited. For Western Central Europe basically two datasets are available: Orientations of the maximum horizontal stress (SHmax) and the stress regime as part of the World Stress Map (WSM) database (Heidbach et al., 2018) as well as a complementary compilation of stress magnitude data of Germany and adjacent regions (Morawietz et al., 2020). However, these datasets only provide pointwise, incomplete and heterogeneous information of the 3D stress tensor. Here, we present a geomechanical-numerical model that provides a continuous description of the contemporary 3D crustal stress state on a regional scale for Western Central Europe. The model covers an area of about 1000 × 1250 km2 and extends to a depth of 100 km containing seven lithostratigraphic units, with specific material properties (density and elastic rock properties) and laterally varying thicknesses: A sedimentary unit, four different units of the upper crust, the lower crust and the lithospheric mantle. The model is calibrated by the two datasets to achieve a best-fit regarding the SHmax orientations and the minimum horizontal stress magnitudes (Shmin). The modelled orientations of SHmax are almost entirely within the uncertainties of the WSM data used and the Shmin magnitudes fit to various datasets well. Only the SHmax magnitudes show locally significant deviations, primarily indicating too low values in the lower part of the model. The model is open for further refinements regarding model geometry, e.g., additional layers with laterally varying material properties, and incorporation of future stress measurements. In addition, it can provide the initial stress state for local geomechanical models with a higher resolution.

Information about the absolute stress state in the upper crust plays a crucial role in the planning and execution of, e.g., directional drilling, stimulation and exploitation of geothermal and hydrocarbon reservoirs. Since many of these applications are related to sediments, we present a refined geomechanical–numerical model for Germany with focus on sedimentary basins, able to predict the complete 3D stress tensor. The lateral resolution of the model is 2.5 km, the vertical resolution about 250 m. Our model contains 22 units with focus on the sedimentary layers parameterized with individual rock properties. The model results show an overall good fit with magnitude data of the minimum (Shmin) and maximum horizontal stress (SHmax) that are used for the model calibration. The mean of the absolute stress differences between these calibration data and the model results is 4.6 MPa for Shmin and 6.4 MPa for SHmax. In addition, our predicted stress field shows good agreement to several supplementary in-situ data from the North German Basin, the Upper Rhine Graben and the Molasse Basin.

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<p>Numerical modelling is an important method in the improvement of the understanding of a variety of geological processes such as the reactivation of faults and seismicity, orogeny or volcanism. Furthermore, it can be crucial for geotechnical activities such as geothermal use of the underground, oil and gas production or the use of dams. Geomechanical models enable stress predictions even in areas without stress data and can therefore greatly contribute to the long-term safety and productivity of underground activities.</p> <p>As computational power is limited the geology of geomechanical models often needs to be simplified, especially for larger scale models. This is true not only for the resolution of the implemented stratigraphy but also for the implementation of faults as they severely increase the amount of required elements and influence the model stability. Furthermore, the implementation of faults often leads to artifacts and can therefore reduce the accuracy of the model results. Due to these limitations it is frequently necessary to distinguish between faults that are crucial for the model as they influence the stresses in magnitude and orientation on a large scale and faults that will only influence the model on a local scale and may therefore be neglected on a regional perspective. The impact of faults on a geomechanical model depends on various different factors such as geometry and mechanical properties of the fault itself, the tectonic regime or the scale of the model. As the relevance of a fault for a geomechanical model is not necessarily identical to its relevance in other geoscientific fields it can be challenging to identify relevant faults.</p> <p>The SpannEnD project focuses on the generation of a 3-D geomechanical model of Germany and adjacent areas in the context of the disposal of nuclear waste in order to predict the tectonic stresses in areas without stress data. There is a multitude of faults known in the modelling area but due to their sheer amount not all faults can be incorporated. Criteria have to be found that drastically reduce the number of faults while keeping the change in the geomechanical stress pattern to a minimum. We will present different criteria that can be used for the fault selection which have being worked out in the framework of the SpannEnD project.</p>