The hydrogeologist Kai Zosseder has evaluated 20,000 boreholes and created a 3-D model of Munich’s underground. The city is rich in groundwater, but far too many areas are being sealed. And that can be dangerous.
What is happening in Munich’s underground? How can one better use the dormant resources there? Kai Zoßeder, 51, and his team at the Chair of Hydrogeology at the Technical University of Munich are concerned with these questions. For eight years they have been collecting and evaluating data from boreholes on behalf of the Bavarian Ministry of the Environment and the Bavarian State Office for the Environment. This resulted in a 3-D underground model. Initially, they were ridiculed for their meticulous work, says Zosseder. They said to him: “Scanning data is not research.” No way: The findings from this hard work enable sustainable use of the subsurface.