UFAZ Teacher’s Article Published in a Prestigious International Journal

Dr. Lucas Bofill, a faculty member at the French-Azerbaijani University (UFAZ) and Associate Professor at the University of Strasbourg, has published an article in the Q1-ranked journal Geothermics. His main research areas include the study of sedimentary environments, heterogeneity of groundwater resources, and the assessment of their quality and quantity.

The article, titled “From Outcrop to Groundwater Flow: The Impact of Overlooked

Heterogeneity on Advective Transport in Lower Triassic Sandstones,

Eastern France,” investigates the Lower Grès Vosgien formation and its lithium-rich geothermal brine resources. Dr. Bofill and his team assessed how heterogeneity arising from depositional and diagenetic processes affects groundwater flow models, which are crucial for both water management and geothermal energy applications.

The study was conducted using digital outcrop models and sedimentological analyses to examine how flow and macrodispersion change and how simplifications of heterogeneity

influence modeling results. The findings show that distinguishing fluvial and aeolian sandstones plays a critical role in flow and macrodispersion models, while oversimplified models fail to accurately capture preferential flow paths and the timing of first particle arrivals.

This research emphasizes the importance of sedimentological knowledge in groundwater management and supporting energy transition strategies.